The air conditioning situation has been nightmarish over the last few months. We do not have the “traditional” roof air like most RVers. It might have saved us time and aggravation, but we opted for a Dometic Split Unit for a more stealth camping look. One part of the unit mounts inside the van and the compressor mounts under the van. Since this system is designed for Semi-Trucks, we had to play with the outside condenser to get it in the right orientation for maximum potential. Let me repeat to stress the level of pain-in-the-buttness….THE FAN AND COIL IS UNDER THE VAN! Poor Chad has spent hours working under the van tweaking the angle at which the compressor is mounted. remodel2

When we moved the compressor down it caused the fan to suck the hot air right back into the system thus reducing the efficiency for cooling. After moving to provide more airflow, we could not get system below 80 degrees.

AT LAST!!!  I think we have done it dear boy! The A/C cools much more efficiently! The compressor is angled at like 10 degrees or so. It is now blowing the hot air away and not sucking it back up. It is now able to get the interior of the van into the high 60’s even when it is 90 degrees outside. Nice!

Also…just so you know, it is not feasible to run the air conditioner when you are on battery/solar power despite what you might read out there in internet land. Your battery bank & solar array would have to be GINORMOUS! I have heard that you need a system capable of producing a two hundred DC amps to keep up even with a 13500 BTU air unit. If you have questions about your own solar system, you can contact OutsideSupply.com. They will get you on the best path for your lifestyle and application.