What am I looking at here...

[macdasher]

What is this appliance which is located in my prospective 2720 from 2001 which is located a great distance from me?

Is it AC? If it is than it is obviously side mounted. Does anyone know how well the side mounted AC units work for cooling down a 2720?

It's important...it's currently 91 degrees with 60% humidity here!

Thanks!

[Leslie & Nick]

You're correct. It is a side mounted air conditioner. Our 2002 2619 has the same type unit. You'll no doubt get a lot of opinions, but we live where it is hot and humid much of the year, and I consider the AC performance in our TM to be marginal at best when the temp gets in the upper 80's. You don't get much cool air to blow toward the beds (the 2619 has beds fore and aft). I think the factory now uses roof mounted ACs, and I would think they would provide better air circulation, since cool air tends to fall.

We supplement the AC with a few small fans to help move the air. This seems to work pretty well for us.

Nick

[fcatwo]

I believe it was Denny-A who reported getting good service out of his side air conditioner by running the roof exaust fan at the same time. You have to get rid of the hot air near the ceiling if you want cool air to replace it. A 5' paddle fan blowing the hot air down to mix with the cool might work as well but I don't recall anyone having one of those :-).

[pbuck1]

I rotate the upper louvres past their detentes to fire the air upwards. It seems to help. I actually don't find the side air too bad overall although I'm sure the roof air does a better job. We have to use a portable fan at night to get the more cool air into the bed area.

[Freedom]

We have the side air on our 2000 2619 and last year in New Mexico in heat around 100°F the A/C did a very good job of cooling the TM. I was impressed as I had figured it wouldn't keep up. It did run constantly and the noise is obnoxious, but it cooled really well. Maybe some others need a little more Freon or something?

[Denny_A]

.........side AC unit is OK for moderate temps (i.e.; below 85deg F). Beyond that it takes a lot of improvisation to stay moderately comfortable. Lots of luck if there are kids going in and out regularly. At least yer feet will stay cool! :rolleyes:

South Atlantic and Gulf states during summer. Forget about it. I tended to go south in the fall & spring and stay north during the summer, so was rarely in extreme conditons. The few times were memorable:new_evil:.

Denny_A

[wbmiller3]

We have a 2001 2619 with side a/c. Our experience has been that it is, as someone said above, marginal. But with a good floor fan and turning the a/c on full blast as soon as the power cord gets plugged in, we have done all right in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, etc.

[Doug W.]

It is currently 104 here in North Central Texas. Tomorrow's forecast is for 105 with the heat index of 107. I don't care how efficient my a/c works, I'm staying home.....
All I could do, if camping, would be to stay in the shade and sweat or stay inside and listen to the a/c hum. (slight roar).
It will be that way 'till mid-September.
When I was younger, I did a 50 mile canoe trip in temps like this. I also crewed on a sailboat when it was 104. I don't remember what position we came in, but it was nowhere close to first place. Been there, done that.

Leon, You need to come up to the nice spring feed rivers of Missouri to canoe. Even if it is hot, a dip in the river cools you right off.

I have the roof mount A/C and it keeps our trailer cool even in the middle 90s.

[macdasher]

Thanks everyone for your advice and wisdom.

Incidentally, When I was younger I used to work in the engine room of a small ship that cruised exclusively in the Caribbean. I used to come out of there (120 degrees) into the 98 degree heat and think the outdoors was air conditioned.

[macdasher]

Tomorrow I'm going to call the dealer with an offer. If we work everything out I'll put down a deposit and plan on driving down in August. I hope to camp on the way home so do you have any suggestions for the first night in Texas?

[Freedom]

Here is a link that will help you find campgrounds in all the states: http://www.popupexplorer.com/ Once you open the site go to the top row and enter the type of campground you are looking for (Dropdown menu i.e. campground/rv, state park, national park, etc.) Then right beside that dropdown is one for the state or province. It is not an exhaustive list like in Trailer Life, but it's adequate and quick!

[sir1doc]

we camped this weekend and have the side mount a/c in our 1991 and it was ok. According to my weather station the kids got me it was 92 outside with 89% humidity and the inside temp was 79 with 40% humidity. Not what I call cool as can be but a nice change when you stepped in from the heat and after sunset we dropped to 78 outside and 68 inside. almost needed a blanket.
Best of luck with your TM you wont be sorry

[rockerga]

Always pack a fan in the summer to either circulate the A/C better or to aim right at any hot spot (as in where I'm sitting) this also works as well when the A/C is just turned-on and you are setting up. I am extremely hot-blooded and the fan works for me; the size fan you require can be based upon how well your A/C does or does not work, any size these days can be bought without much regard for weight as they do not weigh anything.

[MidwestDave]

We were camping at our favorite lake yesterday and the temperature was 99 degrees with a heat index of 112 degrees. The roof mounted air in our 2006 model 2720 worked wonderful. DW keeps it so cool at night you need blankets in July! Grand kids had showers and sat wrapped in blankets!
We love our 2720 and think Trail Manor did a great job planning and building the trailer.

Midwest Dave:cool:
John Deere International HDQS area:D

[macdasher]

I got it!! I also got a great price! It seems that selling a trailmanor when you're located at the edge of the country is almost as hard as finding that perfect used camper.

My wife and I are very excited and would like to thank everyone for their advice and encouragement. Thanks especially to Texas Camper for the PM's.

Also, since I'm buying from such a long distance the dealer is paying for a 3-day stay at a local campground so I can check everything out. I think that speaks volumes for their confidence in what their selling.

Michael & Joanne

[B_and_D]

Good for you! Let us know how your trip goes to pick it up.

[Bill]

Macdasher -

Park your TM in the shade if at all possible. The A/C will have a really hard time coping with full bright sun heating up the outside walls.

Some, but not all, household air conditioners (and that is what this one is) have a control that enables you to either recirculate the room air, or draw in fresh outside air. Presuming that your unit has such a control, it will do a much better job of cooling the inside of the TM if you leave it on the Recirculate setting. The air may get a little stale after a while, especially if you cook inside, but you can change the air quickly, without gaining too much heat, by simply opening the door for a few minutes.

Bill