It is about 105* riight now. What is a realistic expectation.

[msubobcats]

As said, about 105 and yesterday was the same. Tomorrow should be a bit cooler.
What should we expect from the ac? There is not a lot of shade until about this time of day. Were being overly optimistic as to how cool the 5th Wheel should be. Not real bad inside but still pretty warm. I guess it is a "hey silly, you are out in the blazing sun with nominal shade".
So what are reasonable expectations?

[swanson]

Most A/C is figured at 20 to 15 degrees difference between outside and inside temps. That being said you are in an RV and it is over a 100 outside. If it feels good to you inside I would say you're gold.

[msubobcats]

Also wanted to add that the fridge in the morning is at 34-36 and by the end of the day we are looking at 45-48.
We had never been out in temps this high with our old but great 92 Road Ranger...
Just curious.

[Stew]

1 A/C or 2?

[msubobcats]

Only 1 ac but if we find we like ring and want to go full time we will trade and we will definitely look at something with an option of 2 ac's.

[GaryWT]

I would think about 85 but run it all night and get it to go as low as you can get it before the sun comes up again. Keep your shades closed and block off you vents as best you can.

[chuckster57]

Refer: since RV refers make heat to cool, when it gets hot they start to lose efficiency. I installed a fan that moves air over the cooling stack at 100* ambient. Helps keep my Ben & Jerry frozen.

Some of the newer units and higher end models will have a fan mounted from the factory. The Class A motorhomes we carry that have an RV refer come from the factory with two fans above the cooling stack to "pull" cooler air and help the refer stay cold.

[Hideout17]

When you can tint the windows with reflective tint. It helps keep inside temps down on our TT. Granted there was some new colorful phrqses doing it myself but it only coasted me 50$ to do.

[Jgkopp]

Were parked on our spot for a few months and we were able to do a few things.
The heat gain from the windows if addressed will make a huge impact on reducing your cooling loads. Purchased from Ace Hardware (South end of Lake Havasu City, AZ) this 80% window covering is blocking 80% of the suns rays and you can still see out the windows. You notice how I secured it? "No holes" around my frame-less windows. See the string stuff I bought. That is how I am holding this stuff in place. Another sheet is over the bathroom roof skylight and is being held down with two Velcro strips that have 3M glue on the backside. I also put a sheet of Reflex bubble insulation inside of the back bed rm window as this large back window was getting direct sun most of the day. So our bedroom is now our meat locker as it stays cooler then the rest of the rig. Just some ideas for how you can make your rig cooler. We have two-15K BTU ducted a/c's for our 41' long rig with 5 slides. Keystone built our rig with a radiant barrier roof and this stops much of the solar heat from even entering our rig. This stuff really works and I am glad to see that they are using it. Some companies don't see value in the hidden details of a rig but Keystone does.

John

Video of Keystone Montana roof construction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_1JQYSZbmY


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[Jgkopp]

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[Dave W]

I just bought a 24" wide by 25 foot long roll of Reflectix from Lowe's and have cut it to size to fit most of the windows and the bath skylight. I added a second a/c last month. The negative on using this 'stuff' is that it will also restrict your outside view so am only using it on the South and rear sides of our 5er. I don't know how much this will help in the final analysis but it has to better then darkened windows that RV manufacturers are using now. Then that second a/c .....:D

[Desert185]

I just bought a 24" wide by 25 foot long roll of Reflectix from Lowe's and have cut it to size to fit most of the windows and the bath skylight. I added a second a/c last month. The negative on using this 'stuff' is that it will also restrict your outside view so am only using it on the South and rear sides of our 5er. I don't know how much this will help in the final analysis but it has to better then darkened windows that RV manufacturers are using now. Then that second a/c .....:D

Works well in the shower skylight. Now I don't have to wear a baseball cap while taking a shower to avoid a sunburn on my exposed follicles. :)

[Dave W]

Works well in the shower skylight. Now I don't have to wear a baseball cap while taking a shower to avoid a sunburn on my exposed follicles. :)

...unless you are over 6'2" and then it tends to rub those follicles raw. I'm 6'4" :)(or was until the world 'rubbed' me down some)

[Steve S]

We were in Riviera Maya last month and it was pretty hot! With the shades down, temp set @ 72 and the fan on low I could keep the inside 20 degrees lower and that's with it running from 5am till about 2am.

[Desert185]

...unless you are over 6'2" and then it tends to rub those follicles raw. I'm 6'4" :)(or was until the world 'rubbed' me down some)

I'm conveniently height challenged at 6'. You could check the roof condition while taking a shower. :)

[Whitewolf]

My wife is currently in Southern Missouri to be near her parents who are in a nursing home. Our 5r came with 1 A/C. She called me up one day crying because it was so hot. I don't mean whining, I mean crying. Heat index was 117. We're Yoopers and 80 is almost unbearable. I got out of here as fast as I could and drove the 15 hrs to pick her and the camper up to take it another 3 hrs south to have a second A/C installed. Most new 5r's are prewired at the factory for a second A/C in the bedroom. Made all the difference in the world. She also is at a campground that's basically a field with no shade. After I returned home she called and told me that even though it was overcast it was still 90+ outside but inside it was 67. I was a happy happy man because she was a happy happy lady. "bounce:

[SADLY]

Most A/C is figured at 20 to 15 degrees difference between outside and inside temps. That being said you are in an RV and it is over a 100 outside. If it feels good to you inside I would say you're gold.

Most A/C can generate a 20 degree difference (or better) between the air intake (inside RV, near ceiling) and the air delivery (vent).

[JRTJH]

The ability to "generate a 20 degree difference" in reality doesn't matter (other than as a measure of whether the A/C is actually functioning or not). If you think about it, as the RV interior "cools down" the 20 degree difference will also "cool down" so when you first start the A/C in a "hot RV", with an interior of 100F, the A/C output may be 80F, but once the interior air cools to 80F, the A/C output might well drop to 60F.

The real measure is the ability to "remove BTU's of heat, and "theoretically" if the sun is "pumping" 18000 BTU's of heat and you've got a 13,500 BTU A/C, or even a 15,000 BTU unit, it's a "loosing battle".

With the "limited insulation", big thermally passive windows and the current "modern design colors" (read: DARK) it's a difficult battle to cool the interior of any RV with a limited A/C capability.

There are things owners can do to limit the BTU input (sun and temp) such as parking in the shade, not having a sidewall or big windows facing the west, keeping the shades drawn and starting the "cool down" early in the day, hopefully to get a "jump on the afternoon's BTU rise".

As has been stated by many others, a 13,500 or even a single 15,000 BTU unit may be adequate for most RV's in the northern parts of the US and Canada, but with any RV longer than about 30', when parked in the sun, on a hot day, when the sun is exposing the RV to more BTU's than the A/C can remove, you're going to be hot. It doesn't matter if you can get a 20 degree drop to the intake air or a 40 degree drop, the ability to remove BTU's just can't keep up with the sun's heat.

[336]

Run the fridge on propane. It seems silly but the fridge actually works better and cooler burning propane rather than elec. If your running ac I assume your on shore power. So turn fridge to gas only and it will likely help your temps. As for the ac. I'm in the same boat. Prob gonna add the bedroom ac as soon as I save some change. One ac, in the sun, on a hot day really struggles.

[mfifield01]

Just to post my results. I have a 2810bh with 15k A/C. I put reflectix in the 2 - large windows, 2 - bunk windows, and skylight. I also have the Camco insulated vent covers. Last weekend it was 96-98 (heat index up to 105-106). I was in an open RV park with zero shade. In the worst part of the day, the inside temp was between 77-79 (based on Accurite temp). At about 5p it dropped down to 73. I had the thermostat set at 72 all day.

[SADLY]

Just to post my results. I have a 2810bh with 15k A/C. I put reflectix in the 2 - large windows, 2 - bunk windows, and skylight. I also have the Camco insulated vent covers. Last weekend it was 96-98 (heat index up to 105-106). I was in an open RV park with zero shade. In the worst part of the day, the inside temp was between 77-79 (based on Accurite temp). At about 5p it dropped down to 73. I had the thermostat set at 72 all day.

Under the same outside air conditions and similar shade, I can maintain 71-72 in my 40' 5er. 1 ducted main; and 1 non-ducted in bedroom.

I have no slide-awnings; nor have I cut any reflectix for windows... I DO have the pillow/vent covers in both of my vents.