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Originally Posted by Steverino
Great info so far - thanks to everyone...
Ray, can you tell us more about your side A/C retrofit?
Where did you place it? Did you do it yourself? And of course, what did it set you back?  |
I had my TM dealer (
The Car Show) do it as (1) they're just across town from me and (2) they still had one install kit and an AC unit of the right dimensions in stock as a holdover from the previous summer. They also had a template to know exactly where to cut through the wall. What they installed was a moderately high end Sears Kenmore 10,000 BTU window type unit...even came with a fancy remote control.
The AC replaced the large side cabinet just to the right of the stove. On my '02, TrailManor still was wiring an 120V receptacle inside this cabinet for side mounted ACs to plug into. IIRC, TM stopped providing this 120V receptacle beginning with the '03 models.
Prior to the AC install, that specific cabinet (which is the largest one) had been my primary pantry cabinet and after the AC was installed I found I really missed the storage space for canned/bottled foodstuffs. So I eventually bought some ready-to-assemble cabinets that were short enough and light enough to ride inside the trailer...these I put along the blank wall ahead of the door on my 2720SL and store my dry/bottled/canned foodstuffs therein. An additional cost (about $130 plus my time for finishing/assembling) and weight but worth it to regain storage space.
Cost...not cheap...about $560 for AC and install.
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I suppose this begs another question - if you get a unit with roof A/C and want to switch to side, how would you patch the hole in the roof? Good opportunity for skylight installation?
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Not a good plan. The roof AC has a major advantage over the side AC in that cool air is denser than warm air and thus sinks downward. If the cool air is coming out of the ceiling, it will descend around you and provide very nice cooling. OTOH, if the cool air is coming out of the low mounted side AC, it tends to pool around your feet and takes a lot of blowing from fans to get it up around your head. Fans equal mucho noise.
Furthermore, the side mounted ACs use ordinary window type household air conditioners and are constrained by size to about a max of 10,000 BTU. These household type ACs weren't designed for the jolting/jarring that's part and parcel of highway travel so they may have premature failure. The roof mounted ACs are designed for the rigors of RV use and put out 13,000 BTUS...about 30% more and, as noted above, it's coming from above where it will do the most good.
If there's a garage clearance problem I'd personally try to replace the roof unit with a lower profile unit before going to a side AC.