rowekmr
Chicago
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Hello
I have narrowed down my search for an older MH (thanks to advice/info here) and most of the ones I'm looking at the dash ac doesn't blow cold. They mostly say it needs freon but I know from cars it can be anything from the compressor to condensor plus hoses and other hard parts (plus freon). Do the ac systems in older GM or Ford chassis share parts compatibility with cars or medium duty trucks? Are parts available for early 90's class A's? And finally for vehicles where the repair would be cost prohibitive is it feasible and safe to drive down the street and highway with the roof top ac's on or the propane furnace burning?
Thanks
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fordsooperdooty
Southern California
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The RV Furnace will at the most blow out at freeway speeds and attemp a couple of re-lites. The roof A/C can and will work when traveling. Since you are running the genny to use the roof A/C, in cold weather you can also run the genny to power a good electric heater to warm the interior.
My posts shouldn't be taken for factual data. They are purely fictional, for entertainment purposes and should not be constituted as actually related to scientific, technical, engineering, legal, spiritual or practical advice. Amen. 
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past-MIdirector
Michigan
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We've run the furnace, fridge, TV/DVD, hot water heater and the A/C on the road for years. The on board generators use a 1/2 to 3/4 of a GPH.
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bsinmich
Holland, MI
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It is a lot easier and less expensive to add a heater coil and blower for heat if the AC is too expensive to repair. In some cases the people were given info or thought it would be too much to fix the AC. Untilyou have it checked you won't know for sure. We sometimes use the dash AC and the roof one. If there are more p eople in the RV you may need to cool a larger area.
2003 Newmar Mountain Aire, Workhorse W22, 2008 Saturn Vue, Falcon 5250, & US Gear Unified Tow Brake
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PapPappy
Wilmington, NC
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We run the roof-top A/C....works fine, and while it does a better job of cooling the RV than the dash A/C, I use that too, but I would probably be fine with just the roof top unit working.
Expect to see your mileage drop a bit, with the use of the genset, but nothing really drastic....maybe 1 mpg with what you normally use...so about 6 mpg with the RV.
We've never used the furnace while on the road.....but then again, we have space heater that I can plug in to 110VAC with genset if we needed it....so far, haven't needed it.
As far as parts is concerned, it will depend on what vehicle you get. For the most part, the engine size will dictate what you need for parts.....and yes, they are usually the same as other engines of that size. A Ford V-10 in an RV should be similar to the V-10 you might find in a truck with a similar chassis....but as with all things, don't take that as gospel, as there are bound to be different units....
Good luck Happy Camping
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IAMICHABOD
Sunny So Cal
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I found that it is cost prohibitive to repair the old dash air and if you do it is not very efficent in a large area like a Class A. What we did was run the ONAN and the roof a/c it was less than 1 gph and worked much better than the dash air and cost less in fuel and power.Same with heat just plug in a space heater but I never used it.
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MandalayJim
Southern Arizona
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Our concern out here in the southwest is A/C. With the 8kw generator we can run two of the three roof tops A/C's while in motion as long as we switch the fridge to propane.
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tropical36
Southwest Florida_USA
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rowekmr wrote:Hello
I have narrowed down my search for an older MH (thanks to advice/info here) and most of the ones I'm looking at the dash ac doesn't blow cold. They mostly say it needs freon but I know from cars it can be anything from the compressor to condensor plus hoses and other hard parts (plus freon). Do the ac systems in older GM or Ford chassis share parts compatibility with cars or medium duty trucks? Are parts available for early 90's class A's? And finally for vehicles where the repair would be cost prohibitive is it feasible and safe to drive down the street and highway with the roof top ac's on or the propane furnace burning?
Thanks
I thought everyone ran their roof A/C's when traveling, or at least they do in FL and especially when most dash A/C's are worthless, even if you can keep them in repair, which is the biggest problem.
Most will run the fridge on gas when underway also, assuming you can do without the A/C.
"We are often so caught up in our destination that we forget to appreciate the journey."
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Gale Hawkins
Murray, KY
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We have a 1992 P30 chassis which was the last year to get r-12 gas because 1993 chassis came from GM with R-134a. It has the Evans dash air and you can get most of the parts off the web. It is a good cold system we find.
Do not know about Ford but our 1992 P30 dash air is simple to work on. After we got it we redid the 'dirty' change over to R-134a and changed to the green O-rings and installed a new dryer when our trinary switch failed plus we purged both the condensor and evaporator because we had added R-134a containing sealant before we learned better.
So far 5 years later it is still cooled as of the last time we drove it this year.
We ran the roof AC when road signs like in Yosemite state NO Dash AC use. Since that trip was in Sep/Oct dash air was about all we used to say cool when underway.
Duct temps will get down to about 44F while not as cool as a car but good to keep us cool. The roof AC just does not cut it when driving into the sun for the two front seats.
With google how to rework dash air systems really was easy. 'Rented' the vac pump from Autozone and gauges too.
Best of luck
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bluwtr49
Green Valley, AZ
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My dash air crapped out just recently and when I took it in for repair a couple of days ago I ran the roof air. Interestly, I quickly realized that the roof air duct(s) are behind the drivers seat and didn't help much when the sun was coming through the front windows....better than nothing but still toasty driving. With the dash air, if takes care of that problem nicely.
To me, worthwile to repair.
Dick
2000 40" DP Beaver Patriot Thunder Cat C-12 425 HP, 1550 Tq
1997 Jeep GC Limited ---toad
2008 Toyota Tundra Crew Max Limited TRD (Retired)
2009 Cougar 268 RLS ~8700 lbs road wt (Retrired)
2006 Jeep Liberty Turbo Diesel.....TV in Training
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