larryw123
Texas
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What would be the pros and cons - If any - on Roof A/C and Basement
A/C units on Motorhomes.
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rk911
Wheaton IL
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Joined: 05/30/2004
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roof air means more opportunity for roof leaks, potential damage from low hanging branches and plastic deterioration from UV rays but more storage space. basement air means less storage space and a cleaner look. we've had both and prefer the basement AC.
73,
rich, n9dko
www.bananaboatbytes.com
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2000 Itasca Suncruiser 35U
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bsimonds
Winnsboro, TX, USA
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A/C under the bed under the floor is quieter than on the roof over the bed.
Bill Simonds
'99 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom
330HP "Yellow" motor
'94 K5 Blazer 4X4 toad
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ferndaleflyer
everywhere
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Same feelings here. Especially about the low hanging branches etc + they are so much quieter in my opinion...I have had both and much prefer the basement units.
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Jackha1949
Any Where USA
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Never have had roof A/C units. Our first rig was a Journey and now we have an Itasca Horizon both have basement A/C units. I like the fact that there is less chance of a leak on the roof and they seem to keep the coach really cool and the heat pumps are great to save on LP when plugged into 50amp or 30amp. The only drawbacks are loss of storage and they are a bit noisy in the bedroom as the units are right under the bedroom. I do like the fact they have a very large air filter that is easy to change and you can buy them at Walmart or just about any other home building store. I even found the filters in Texas at HEB stores. Good Luck and Happy RVing!
Jack & Peg
USN Ret AGC
K1ZMB
Sioux Falls, SD
06 Itasca Horizon 40KD
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adrianl
Sammamish, WA
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Jackha1949 wrote:Never have had roof A/C units. Our first rig was a Journey and now we have an Itasca Horizon both have basement A/C units. I like the fact that there is less chance of a leak on the roof and they seem to keep the coach really cool and the heat pumps are great to save on LP when plugged into 50amp or 30amp. The only drawbacks are loss of storage and they are a bit noisy in the bedroom as the units are right under the bedroom. I do like the fact they have a very large air filter that is easy to change and you can buy them at Walmart or just about any other home building store. I even found the filters in Texas at HEB stores. Good Luck and Happy RVing!
Yes...agreed on all points. Add a drawback, coils are hard to clean. Our dealer/manufacturer didn't place an air filter in our unit and we didn't check when we accepted delivery. We went to change after 6 months and to our horror, noticed no filter. Spent a good amount of time delicately cleaning dust/lint from the coils which were hard to reach with the bed lifted over our heads. Now...with a filter...won't have to do that again.
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FIRE UP
Ramona, CA. USA
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Larry,
We have an '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD Diesel with the 330 CAT. It has the basement air. When we first purchased this rig, we'd only had roof units up 'till then and for the most part, were pretty satisfied with their performance. I'm not too worried about "potential" roof leaks as, after four of them, we've never had a leak in any roof vent, A/C unit, antenna mount and more.
Now, many on the Winne and Itasca sites have expressed claims of basement units being too loud and noisy as compared to the previous roof units they had. Some have complained about them not being as effecient as the roof units they had. Some have found duct work behind the unit that was partially disabled and therefore not, transferring all the cold air to the needed areas of the coach.
In the time we've owned ours and, used it, it's been pretty darn good. We've ran it at night, once or twice, depending on the need, and I don't recall it waking us up during sleeping hours. Anythings going to make some noise, just how much and, just how sensitive the people are that are in the coach will certainly vary.
My advice, try and find a friend that has a basement A/C unit and run it for a bit and then compare it to a roof air unit to really get a good feeling for your evaluation.
Yep, it does take up a compartment but, so far, that's of no consequence to us. I've got all my stuff neatly stored in the compartments I do have available. Hope this helps some.
Scott
Scott and Karla
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2004 Itasca Horizon, 36GD Slate Blue 330 CAT
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Big Katuna
Deland, FL
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I have known a few owners of basement AC's in FL that have added either a roof AC or a portable freesstanding unit as the basement AC wouldn't keep up in the FL summer. Also, basement requires a residential AC tech to work on them and many RV shops won't touch them. They are more expensive to repair. All RV shops are familiar with replacing roof AC's. I have had six RV's with roof AC's, never had a leak. A plus for the basement AC is no dripping from the corners. I personally would not have one. And they eat up a storage bay.
My Kharma ran over my Dogma.
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Fishinghat
Western Washington, USA
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We have a basement air in our 19 year old coach and it works great. Our previous coach had roof air and it worked as well, but I'd prefer a basement air if I had the choice.
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bluwtr49
Green Valley, AZ
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One small con for basement is that they are quite noisy outside which I've seem drive neighbors up a wall. Not your concern I know, but just something to be aware of. In one case the complaints were vocal enough where the park decided the basement air violated the "quite hours" and had to be shut off after 10:00 pm.
Dick
2000 40" DP Beaver Patriot Thunder Cat C-12 425 HP, 1550 Tq
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