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Old 10-19-2021, 08:11 PM   #21
p1um1oco
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Join Date: Oct 2021
Location: TwinCities
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 0rion View Post
Thanks for your input. Anything that has really impressed you with it or anything you wish was different?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blueswede View Post
We bought a new 368MBI in January. Really love the layout. Cooling the middle room has not been an issue for us, but we also live in So California. There is a product out there called the RV Air Flow that has gotten lots of good reviews. It can increase the cold air flow thru your ducts by up to 40%. I intend on installing one as soon as my knee heals. You may want to check it out. For us, the 368 is what we have been looking for in a 5th wheel.

I also have a 2021 Cougar 368 MBI, our first trip was a dry run to a local RV Park for 2 nights to make sure everything was good before heading off for 3 weeks to the SW, Utah, Arizona and Colorado. I can tell you it hit 115 in downtown Moab, UT while we were there, 113 up at the RV Park. Both AC were running full time and couldn't keep up , the inside was able to keep around 85-87 degrees, mid bunk was about 10 degrees warmer, it only has the one 3" tube coming down from the ceiling into the mid bunk. After having a day of that kind of heat I found some foil tape and started to fix the AC Duct and not so great installation of the AC units into this RV. There were multiple leaks into the area between the ceiling and roof. After fixing that the system was able to keep the indoor temp under 80 degrees, so not too bad considering the outside temps were above 110. But the mid bunk doesn't get a lot of flow and will be 5-10 degrees hotter, but with the door open the temp was fairly even. This is not an issue with heat in the cooler climates as we hit the north shore this fall, and heating worked well in that room. In the South West at night the outside temps really came down so it wasn't a temp issue in the evening or morning, or for that matter sleeping. It was just the mid day heat that was fun.


Overall I am fairly happy with the trailer, it is very roomy with the 4 slides, our kid sleeps in the upper bunk over the mid room and we use the mid bunk as a den, so I can work on the road if necessary. Didn't have to for this trip through


I think the only big surprise we had was with the residential fridge, battery capacity and the truck's crappy 7 pin wiring that really doesn't help charge the battery at all. I purchased 2 x 6V Golf Cart Batteries, knowing I would need something for this trip, and overall they worked as expected, we were able to overnight at a rest area with no issues. The problem was the second night as we found out the truck was not really charging the battery while we drove. Jumper cables and high idle on the truck put back enough power for the second night. The fridge only draws around 50watts when running, so it doesn't draw a lot of power, that's a 4 amp draw.



Digging into the charging issue after the trip I found that there is tremendous voltage drop in the 12V auxiliary pin that is suppose to be capable of charging the battery. Testing at home with a 10 amp draw with my DC load, the voltage would drop to 9.8V not really helpful in charging the battery in the RV. it could trickle charge at about 1amp but that was about it. Since then I found they use 16awg wire from the front to back of the truck. I replaced it with 8awg wire for the 12V aux and also GND, now there is very little voltage drop, but since the Golf Cart batteries were temporary, i.e. I purchased some LiFePO4 batteries, but with supply shortages didn't have them in time for the trip. I have also purchased a DC/DC charger to ensure that it can properly charge the new LiFePO4 batteries since with the 8awg wire it could draw a lot more current than the Alternator could handle, the DC/DC charger will isolate and limit current along with charging at the correct voltage levels for LiFePO4 batteries. They worked well for our North shore trip which included some boon docking. Very happy with the new Li batteries with a combined 412 Ah rating.
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Old 10-21-2021, 08:01 AM   #22
Blueswede
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Location: Moreno Valley, Ca
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Ours has the OTG solar package, which has been great when it's stored. The batteries are always fully charged when we go pick it up. That's a big plus. The refrigerator has been great. Lots more space than the Hideout had. I do have an issue with the recliners. I can't figure out why Keystone couldn't put in different colored lights to indicate when the heat or vibration is on. We have dogs that like to be on laps and when they jump up onto the chairs they will often hit the buttons to turn the heat or vibration on. Since the indicators don't change, we often don't know that they are on. Minor concern....we just unplug them until we want them. Other than that, it's been a wonderful 5th wheel. Lots of room and very comfortable.
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Old 10-21-2021, 08:12 AM   #23
Jorick
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Join Date: May 2020
Location: Ashuelot
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Cool AC solution in the 368MBI

I live full time in a 368MBI in Mesa, AZ, and it gets hot out here. Up to 120 degrees hot. I've found that the rear AC can't keep up with the cooling since it seems to have a lot more area to cool than the front AC. So I bought a Lasko Wind Tunnel Remote fan from Walmart (biggest floor fan they had) and set it at my bedroom door facing out. I then opened both main vents on the ACs to allow the maximum volume of air to exit. The fan pushes most of the cold air from the bedroom into the rest of the trailer and allows the hot air back into the bedroom to be cooled. The thermostat for both ACs are set to 80 degrees since that's the most comfortable temperature in this dry desert heat.

The ACs in tandem with the fan work great up to 110 degrees although I don't use the fan below 90 degrees. After that it starts to get above 80 inside. When the inside temperature hits 86 degrees (typically when it hits 115 degrees outside) I switch on a 120v window AC next to the recliners to help cool things down. This AC is also set to 80 degrees.

One of the best ways to keep cool is find a slot in the shade of a tree. Direct sunshine is your worst enemy in the summer. Barring that, a set of solar panels seem to work well so long as there's a space between the panel and the roof for ventilation.

I should probably mention the fridge at this point. Above 86 degrees it has a problem keeping things cool. At 115 degrees outside the fridge was at 50 degrees and the freezer was at 15 degrees (normally under 5 degrees. I put a 12v thermostatically controlled fan in the back blowing up on the coils when the temperature gets above 86 degrees and that improved the temperature somewhat. Also the freezer needs to be defrosted about once a year to avoid ice buildup on the fins that can seriously degrade performance.
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Old 10-21-2021, 01:17 PM   #24
SteMax
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Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Taos
Posts: 17
I have a ‘16 Sprinter 347FWLFT with the room under the loft. Mine has 1 a/c duct in that room.
We traveled I-40 across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas in August. I took the door off and hung a curtain for privacy and the little room stayed comfortable. I love the floor plan!!
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Old 10-21-2021, 09:49 PM   #25
p1um1oco
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Location: TwinCities
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Originally Posted by Jorick View Post
I should probably mention the fridge at this point. Above 86 degrees it has a problem keeping things cool. At 115 degrees outside the fridge was at 50 degrees and the freezer was at 15 degrees (normally under 5 degrees. I put a 12v thermostatically controlled fan in the back blowing up on the coils when the temperature gets above 86 degrees and that improved the temperature somewhat. Also the freezer needs to be defrosted about once a year to avoid ice buildup on the fins that can seriously degrade performance.

LOL, I forgot about the fridge, in Moab at 113 degrees, the fridge did heat up some. I put a small 12V blower fan like you did to fix the issue. The rear wall behind the fridge was only about 15degrees cooler than the outside. We did have the sun on the fridge side of the trailer.


And someone else mentioned the heat and massage recliners, yes those damn switches are easy to activate. We unplugged them to not have them activate whenever you arm passes over them.
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Old 10-22-2021, 02:33 AM   #26
BP68
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Join Date: May 2020
Location: Magnolia
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We have the 359MBI, which is the previous version of the 368MBI. All of our camping is in Louisiana and Florida in the summer.

The 3rd room is kept cool with a circulation fan and leaving the bedroom door open. Not an issue if you blow air into the room.
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