Cougar 368MBI HVAC Sound Level

[Camping Connells]

New member here, lots of good info.

I have a question to anyone with a 368MBI or any similar Cougar 5th wheel. How loud are the Air Conditioner units? We had a Jayco travel trailer and the unit was loud, I'm looking to buy either a 30.5 MBOK Jayco or the 368MBI Cougar. The jayco comes with the whisper quiet units which I assume are quiet but they are not going to be an option on the cougar according to the sales department. I'm sure they will be quieter than what we had but really looking forward to some less white noise for a change.

thanks in advance for any advice.

B

[JimMach1]

We have a cougar and if it is set to vents instead of full force in living room it is tolerable. That being said we also have 2 ac units on ours. Chuckster can chime in on this as he works on them he may have better insight on the question. I have the ac set to blow only in living room the tv has to be on very loud to hear it.

[Firewall]

I have found them to be no louder or quieter than any other RV I have owned. I am a white noise person though and they don't bother me :)

[wiredgeorge]

The Jayco system sounds interesting but I would get a tour and listen to one of these "Whisper Quiet" set ups before deciding if it was actually within the bounds of what you can stand noise-wise. Any ducted Dometic has a "quick cool" feature where you slide a tab on the inside part of the unit to shut off air to the ducts. It is supposed to cool the main area quicker. It IS noisy. Once the cabin is at a tolerable heat level, you shut the tab on the A/C lower unit and air is directed into the vents and the whole affair is more quiet than in "quick cool" mode. Still a bit noisy but tolerable. Hard to compare to the Jayco set up without hearing the effects of the A/C in both trailers.


Found this discussion on another forum:https://www.heartlandowners.org/showthread.php/49050-Whisper-Quiet-A-C

[JRTJH]

The "quiet factor" of the quick cool vs regular ducting cool features is purely a matter of relative noise....

If you've been listening to jet engines all day, listening to a screaming construction generator is "quiet by comparison" but if you've been sitting in a library all day, that generator is SCREAMING LOUD !!!!!

So goes the level of quick cool dump "noise" compared to ducted air "noise".... When you're "enduring the noise" from the central dump, it is LOUD... when you close it, it seems more quiet, temporarily, but within a couple minutes, when you turn on the TV and try to listen to the news, you still have to turn the volume up and Up and UP to hear the TV. There's really not much improvement with the "whisper quiet system".... You still have the TV volume "wide open" to hear clearly.....

Neither one is going to be as quiet as a "S&B central A/C system".... and neither one is going to be "welcome during the evening news" if you're trying to listen to the TV....

The "whisper quiet" system eliminates the rush of "return air" into the central intake, otherwise, it's nearly the same as any other rooftop air conditioner. Quieter? Yes, comparatively, but once you are in the trailer and trying to watch TV, they're all too loud !!!!

[chuckster57]

The only truly "quiet" RV AC system that I know of is either the basement model found on old Class A's or the newer design that places the returns on the outer edges of the ceiling, or in the case of Newmar ( I think) that uses the entire center of the ceiling for return. Tiffen has the D/S of the ceiling for return and the P/S of the ceiling for cold air out.

As John said, Quiet is relative, I have stood in a Tiffen and it is fairly quiet even with 2 roof units operating, so a "normal" conversation can be had.


I just worked on a big horn made by Heartland and it had the returns on the edge of the ceiling. It was quiet, but you would have to speak up to be heard.


Never got the chance to listen to a Newmar since I was at the factory in December.

I regularly work on Fivers with 2 Roof units and the "quick cool" grills. Either way the TV volume has to be turned up to hear it. If you are looking at a unit with 2 AC'S ask if its all ducted together ( most are). That way you can operate the one in the OTHER area while your not there, and just push the cool air into the area you are in.

Hope this helps.

[smithfrh]

We purchased our 368mbi last week and have used it for 4 days, the hvac is louder while using the quick cool feature.