Caravan air conditioners
Hi,
This is our first summer caravanning, and I’m guessing it’s going to get very hot inside assuming we have a decent summer!
We have a new 2021 Bailey Alicanto Grande Faro, so 8ft wide and around 27ft long, and I’m just wondering if anyone has experience with air conditioning units and could recommend anything ?
Also how do they tend to be vented, and ideally something that has a thermostat for automated control
Many thanks
Comments
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Roof fitted air con units tend to be noisy and can make you unpopular on site. They add to your payload and add to your power consumption. There are a few free standing units available which someone may have knowledge of.
We don't often get unbearable temps in the UK but if it is hot, opening windows, rooflights and the door usually does the trick. The blinds can be pulled on the sunny side and a plug in electric fan can help.
As it will be your first summer caravanning, I suggest you don't rush into buying anything expensive but pack a fan and try it and see.
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SPR1968
I love your optimism, however I would suck it and see, as I am considered a cold blooded creature and the Caravan ventilation system has always been adequate for me in this country. Should you be venturing abroad then it is a different story. As Tinwheeler has suggested, there are many ways of alleviating the heat without splashing out big bucks.... should we be lucky enough to have the problem.
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Thanks for the replies, yes I am probably being over optimistic but the general wait and see advice seems to be a good idea, so won’t be buying anything until I’ve experienced the ‘burn’! Lol
Was just looking into possible options as I can’t sleep if I’m really hot. I have a home in Spain, got back yesterday from 30c temperatures there and no way could I sleep in that without some air conditioning
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Air conditioning units are heavy and will significantly reduce your caravan payload. However, we have an AC unit in our caravan that’s permanently in Italy and an AC unit in our motorhome. Both units are free standing but vented through the floor. This arrangement enables us to easily remove the AC unit in the motorhome when we’re not in mainland Europe in the summer.
The free standing units are domestic units and are made in their hundreds of thousands. AC units made for caravans and motorhomes are generally built for that purpose and whilst many of the component parts are common to the domestic units they are made in much smaller numbers and in my experience tend not to be as reliable as the domestic ones. As others have said, its less likely you will need one in the UK but I wouldn’t like to holiday in Italy without one.
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David.
I've been looking at the Transcool coolers but haven't taken the plunge because i am unsure how effective the are, and as you say they are they are not cheap for a fan in a box. I would be interested in your opinion of how good they are. Would you buy another?
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We've had temps of 31 - 32c here in France last week, it was still 28c at 23.00 one night, very uncomfortable on going to bed but it cooled down fine and the fans were switched off. Slept with just a sheet for a couple of nights, now back to normal temps and duvet back on the beds.
Would I invest in a/c, maybe if I was in Spain/Italy for months on end in high season. In the UK probably not, it doesn't last long enough to warrenty the cost.
As said not popular things on campsites.
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I too think you are being a little cautious. We are currently in Tuscany where the temp is about 32 deg. Careful siting under any shade, closing the sun blinds but keeping the roof windows open help keep the caravan bearable. However, in the glorious weather we are having, and you hope to experience, you tend to live outside until late in the evening. We have a pull out sun awning which allows the air to circulate - the awning in the pic is only used in UK!. Only once in my years of caravanning have I felt the need for AC that was when it was 40 deg in Italy a few years ago; a drive to the hills with the car AC on allowed us to survive! Suck it and see before investing in an AC unit, get a smallish fan which should be ok in most temps you will experience in UK. Enjoy your caravanning.
We used to have a portable domestic AC unit when we lived in France; they are heavy and I would not like to have one in my caravan - ours was also noisy!
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Hi there, we have actual first hand experience of using an air conditioning unit (Truma Aventa Comfort) on our Coachman (Laser 575 Excel). This was factory a fitment. We have used the unit in the UK to cool the van in the evenings on one occasion to provide ventilation overnight during a rain storm at Modbury in south Devon when the rain was so heavy it was spraying through a part opened skylight.
Advantages:
- ability to reduce the internal temperature of the caravan by 10 degrees + relatively quickly
- dehumidifies the air so no more sticky nights
- has a night time mode which provides a multi directional fan with occasional boost of cold air from the compressor (we frequently use this setting in Europe and UK)
- sufficient fan power to cool the whole caravan (the body of our van is about 5.7m long and 2.5m wide)
- It links up with our Alde heating controller to provide automatic climate control (bit of a gimmick really but could be useful in the Alps where it gets very hot on a summers day and cold at night)
- It isn't noisy and I've had no complaints from neighbours (when we first used it I asked our neighbouring caravaners if it disturbed them - neither realised we had a/c and were using it)
Disadvantages:
- Cost and weight. Coachman automatically up-plated our caravan as part of the cost to 1800 kg so we gained payload
- Something else to service?
- more continental sites are metering electricity if you stay more than 5 days - that said I was just able to run a/c , hot water and the fridge together off 6Ah EHU in France last September
If you would like another unbiased view try Dan Trudgian's vlog on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alCG6yntQ7Q
Hope that helps,
Roger
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Thanks David.
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If its only going to be used in the UK I would question how often you would need to use it. OK we do sometimes have short periods of very hot weather in the UK but is that enough to justify an Air Conditioning system?
An alternative might be to have a thermostatically controlled fan installed, something like a Maxx Air We have one fitted to our motorhome and whilst we have yet to use it in very hot conditions we do find it effective for cooling the van whilst using the cooker. Also a lot lighter and cheaper that full air con. If you follow the link there is a video on the operation of the Maxx Air.
David
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We had a Dometic roof mounted unit fitted when we bought our large twin axle van back in 2008 as we used to spend 3-4 months abroad each year.
It is not noisy on the low fan setting outside the van, even standing right next to the van you cannot hear it, it is however much louder inside the van.
We have rarely needed to use it overnight, we generally leave it running on low when we are out, that way the van never gets that hot inside, so is cool overnight.
We do sometimes use it in UK, in the same manner, as a metal box sitting in full sun all day can get unbearably hot after a while. However, newer vans have better insulation, so if only travelling in UK, I would see how it goes first.
I believe all the fitted units have a thermostat, certainly ours does, there is a remote to operate it, and the unit switches on and off automatically to maintain the set temperature. It can also be used for heating, but we have never had the need to use it for that.
Our model weighs about 30kg, but we had an 85kg upgrade on our MTPLM, which is more than enough to cover the mover and the aircon, and a few other improvements.
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