Sometimes it’s good to have a friend with a truck. Sometimes it’s really good to have a friend with equipment that helps make putting an AC in your rv seem easy!
I added a Coleman Mach 15K BTU ac to my bedroom on my 30 amp KZ Connect 261RL. I mainly did the 2nd ac add incase my main AC ever goes out. Watching your video helped me with install and running the wires. I was able to run the 12 gauge power wire along the same route that the factory wiring was going to the side closet down to the front storage compartment. The wiring was the hardest part fishing the wires where they needed to go. removing the vent and installing the AC was a piece of cake. For now my plug in is in the front storage compartment till i'm ready to drill into my camper in the correct location. Thanks.
That's great to be able to replace vent with an a/c unit. Wasn't aware if a unit like this was available. I've also wondered if a second a/c is installed, what would have to be done to tie in the new a/c and use the coach wiring. The existing 30 amp wire and connector would have to be changed out for a 50 amp cord. I'm sure the circuit breaker would have to be changed or a second breaker intalled, which would necessitate running the power wire all the way to fuse panel. I've thought about doing this when i reroof and redeck our trailer. Im certain there are a lot of people will be looking into this, especially here in the south and southwest. As you know, here in Texas in the summer it can get about 5 degrees cooler than the surface of the sun. Great video. God bless y'all and stay safe out there.
Don't care what my RV is worth. I already bought it. It's doing exactly what i need it to do and I'm modifying it to be more comfortable. I know things will break. The repairs are budgeted. I'm not flipping RVs. I know when i want another RV this one will be so old the value will be minimal. I can bring my dogs with me when i travel, my own food is cheaper that roadside meals, i don't get bedbugs in my own bed, and i travel with a toilet. That last one is very important as we get older.
I would not have used lap sealant to cover the screw holes. Eternabond tape would have sealed it nicely and is at least as strong as the roofing membrane. For sure it makes an almost perfect seal. At some point hes going to want to replace the AC seal and the lap sealant will make that a sticky mess. In either event it was another great review.
I did the same thing on my 28’ travel trailer. It’s probably the best upgrade you can do. The electrical install is just like what you did sans the twist lock.
We just had the same thing done to my 2002 Georgie Boy Landau 2950 DS. They plumbed it right into the ceiling ducting, and added a dedicated 30 amp shore cord, and circuit breaker box. Both a/cs now have soft-starts. We are fleeing Commifornia for the free state of Florida Wednesday. We will be living in an RV park for a couple of months while our house sells/closes. This will be our first RV trip, so we are jumping in head first into the deep end of the pool. I wanted to make super-sure its nice inside in the Florida summer. The reason why they wanted a 2nd 30 amp is because we will be using it as a house for months with all our computers, and I don’t want to have to play games to keep the main breaker from blowing. Also, we just made an offer on a house with a built-in dedicated 50 footlong RV garage. I'll later add an outlet to plug the 2nd a/c into if we need it. Just being aware, we have to be careful with the electricity usage.
I did the exact thing to my camper 2 years ago. I bought a heavy duty 10 gauge extension cord to plug in the 20 amp receptacle at the campgrounds. It works perfectly. Who needs a 50 amp service 😊
Great Video! We often use the Milwaukee multi tool with a worn down flat metal blade to remove old sealer in these circumstances. This is never fun and a putty tool and elbow grease really is the best option for 100% no rips!
I did the same thing to my Flagstaff 27VRL. Added a second Coleman Mach 13.5k in the bedroom. There was no pre-wire. Ran wire just like you did through and out the ceiling, down the wall. On the side wall I put a work box with a 20A breaker, on the outside wall I put a 20A male receptacle. It require a separate extension cord to connect it to power, which is fine. I just have to make sure the sites I'm at have both 30A and 20A connections that are both in good working condition. But, man, did it make a HUGE difference in comfort when camping during the dead of summer.
I'm sure your electrician guy provided the plug and such, but I'm wondering if you could get a link from him or if you know where to purchase that twist lock set up with the extension cord? Thanks!
This looks like a lot of shitting around. I mean it looks nice, but a lot of trouble. We use a 12.5k btu portable in addition to our rooftop if it’s too hot out and it works more than fine. I cut up a little frame out of plexiglass to mount the exhaust to the window with some double stick Velcro. It looks clean and works great.
Where did you buy the lower ducting portion of the unit? Mine shipped as a replacement unit, and like this customer, I only have the three wires and no thermostat in the trailer. I need the controls on the bottom of the unit, but my Advent didn't come with these.
I understand that this is a used unit and a retrofit; but my question is….. is it better and cheaper to buy a new unit with the second a/c installed or do this retrofit? Looks like a lot of work.
It wasn't too bad. Just need to make sure the roof area is clean and the opening is beefed up a bit. It's significantly cheaper to add a unit in my cases.
I’ve seen that mini splits are becoming very popular lately in RVs. I’m told it’s because the RV rooftop units can only bring your temperature inside down about 15 degrees under ambient temperature. I have no way of knowing if this is true or not, but if so, I can see why mini splits are popular. In the same vein, will adding a unit bring down temps a further 15 degrees?
@@fatmuscle1 I’m almost 60 and I’ve never noticed that. Maybe I’m misunderstanding the magnitude of it, because my house can stay at 70 degrees even if it’s over 100 degrees outside. From what these people were saying, an RV AC can’t do that. If it’s over 100 degrees your camper will be like 85. We just bought our first RV, so I don’t have the experience to say whether they’re right or wrong.
@@robertboyer5498 Two different things. The one I am speaking to, which I thought you were discussing is system related. From return to supply there would only be a 15º to 20ºF differential. Now, when discussing the difference between inside temp and outside temp, there are other variables. Insulation and age of the air conditioning unit being of high importance.
I used sealant under my gasket because of videos like this. Ruined my roof and caused the gasket to shift. Not a good idea, now I have to pull the AC and start over.
What was the two Yellow and White wire harnesses that were there before adding the additional 120 line? Were they 12v for lights? This is an upgrade I would love to do on my TT. Like the concept of soft start as well.
So it’s a 30 amp coach. Curious if the original ac has soft start as well so as he can run both ac’s and anything else on shore power.I’m no electrician.
The second ac/bedroom ac isn't needed at night, the single ducted unit will do just fine by 8-10:00 at night...and provide that nice hum that helps a lot of people sleep
Why don't these ac companies just install the soft starts on every ac and bump ac price up $50..?
Because that would make sense. We can't have any of that, now can we?
Absolutely a great question
Sometimes it’s good to have a friend with a truck. Sometimes it’s really good to have a friend with equipment that helps make putting an AC in your rv seem easy!
I added a Coleman Mach 15K BTU ac to my bedroom on my 30 amp KZ Connect 261RL. I mainly did the 2nd ac add incase my main AC ever goes out. Watching your video helped me with install and running the wires. I was able to run the 12 gauge power wire along the same route that the factory wiring was going to the side closet down to the front storage compartment. The wiring was the hardest part fishing the wires where they needed to go. removing the vent and installing the AC was a piece of cake. For now my plug in is in the front storage compartment till i'm ready to drill into my camper in the correct location. Thanks.
That's great to be able to replace vent with an a/c unit. Wasn't aware if a unit like this was available.
I've also wondered if a second a/c is installed, what would have to be done to tie in the new a/c and use the coach wiring.
The existing 30 amp wire and connector would have to be changed out for a 50 amp cord. I'm sure the circuit breaker would have to be changed or a second breaker intalled, which would necessitate running the power wire all the way to fuse panel.
I've thought about doing this when i reroof and redeck our trailer.
Im certain there are a lot of people will be looking into this, especially here in the south and southwest.
As you know, here in Texas in the summer it can get about 5 degrees cooler than the surface of the sun.
Great video.
God bless y'all and stay safe out there.
Don't care what my RV is worth. I already bought it. It's doing exactly what i need it to do and I'm modifying it to be more comfortable. I know things will break. The repairs are budgeted. I'm not flipping RVs. I know when i want another RV this one will be so old the value will be minimal. I can bring my dogs with me when i travel, my own food is cheaper that roadside meals, i don't get bedbugs in my own bed, and i travel with a toilet. That last one is very important as we get older.
I would not have used lap sealant to cover the screw holes. Eternabond tape would have sealed it nicely and is at least as strong as the roofing membrane. For sure it makes an almost perfect seal.
At some point hes going to want to replace the AC seal and the lap sealant will make that a sticky mess.
In either event it was another great review.
I did the same thing on my 28’ travel trailer. It’s probably the best upgrade you can do. The electrical install is just like what you did sans the twist lock.
We just had the same thing done to my 2002 Georgie Boy Landau 2950 DS. They plumbed it right into the ceiling ducting, and added a dedicated 30 amp shore cord, and circuit breaker box. Both a/cs now have soft-starts. We are fleeing Commifornia for the free state of Florida Wednesday. We will be living in an RV park for a couple of months while our house sells/closes. This will be our first RV trip, so we are jumping in head first into the deep end of the pool. I wanted to make super-sure its nice inside in the Florida summer. The reason why they wanted a 2nd 30 amp is because we will be using it as a house for months with all our computers, and I don’t want to have to play games to keep the main breaker from blowing. Also, we just made an offer on a house with a built-in dedicated 50 footlong RV garage. I'll later add an outlet to plug the 2nd a/c into if we need it. Just being aware, we have to be careful with the electricity usage.
I did the exact thing to my camper 2 years ago. I bought a heavy duty 10 gauge extension cord to plug in the 20 amp receptacle at the campgrounds. It works perfectly. Who needs a 50 amp service 😊
I need to do this to my mid bunk the bunk room gets really hot and the ducted ac doesn't do much
This is great, I’ve been looking for a video to show installation for an ac. Now I need to identify the water heater on mine
Great Video! We often use the Milwaukee multi tool with a worn down flat metal blade to remove old sealer in these circumstances. This is never fun and a putty tool and elbow grease really is the best option for 100% no rips!
Hey jd I use a plastic gasket scraper and I round the edges with a flap disc in a grinder so I don't tear the roof membrane
Interesting! I hope to never do this install again, so hopefully I won't need to remember that tip lol
Awesome install. I would like to know about condensation on the metal tape in the plenum area. You may want to put some insulation behind the tape.
I did the same thing to my Flagstaff 27VRL. Added a second Coleman Mach 13.5k in the bedroom. There was no pre-wire. Ran wire just like you did through and out the ceiling, down the wall. On the side wall I put a work box with a 20A breaker, on the outside wall I put a 20A male receptacle. It require a separate extension cord to connect it to power, which is fine. I just have to make sure the sites I'm at have both 30A and 20A connections that are both in good working condition. But, man, did it make a HUGE difference in comfort when camping during the dead of summer.
JD, you ALL did a great, clean job. Especially running the wire. 👍👍👍
I thought the a/c was pretty quiet.
Why wouldn’t you have installed the soft start when you unboxed the unit on the garage?
Great point! Can't give you a good answer lol
Now why didn't you put the soft start on when it was on the ground?
Yeah, not sure. Would have been smart.
What about ceiling fan install? Gr8 video!!!
I'm sure your electrician guy provided the plug and such, but I'm wondering if you could get a link from him or if you know where to purchase that twist lock set up with the extension cord? Thanks!
This looks like a lot of shitting around. I mean it looks nice, but a lot of trouble. We use a 12.5k btu portable in addition to our rooftop if it’s too hot out and it works more than fine. I cut up a little frame out of plexiglass to mount the exhaust to the window with some double stick Velcro. It looks clean and works great.
Where did you buy the lower ducting portion of the unit? Mine shipped as a replacement unit, and like this customer, I only have the three wires and no thermostat in the trailer. I need the controls on the bottom of the unit, but my Advent didn't come with these.
Can you post part number for the plug in and plug for cord
Do you have a list of the parts that you used for this install
I understand that this is a used unit and a retrofit; but my question is….. is it better and cheaper to buy a new unit with the second a/c installed or do this retrofit? Looks like a lot of work.
It wasn't too bad. Just need to make sure the roof area is clean and the opening is beefed up a bit. It's significantly cheaper to add a unit in my cases.
Curious how much that weighs and how much weight was added to the tongue weight?
Probably a total of 75lbs. Likely added about 40lbs to tongue.
@@BTBRVReviews not bad at all. Thx
I’ve seen that mini splits are becoming very popular lately in RVs. I’m told it’s because the RV rooftop units can only bring your temperature inside down about 15 degrees under ambient temperature. I have no way of knowing if this is true or not, but if so, I can see why mini splits are popular. In the same vein, will adding a unit bring down temps a further 15 degrees?
15º to 20º differential is average for all air conditioning units. Mini-Splits simply have more capacity.
@@fatmuscle1 I’m almost 60 and I’ve never noticed that. Maybe I’m misunderstanding the magnitude of it, because my house can stay at 70 degrees even if it’s over 100 degrees outside. From what these people were saying, an RV AC can’t do that. If it’s over 100 degrees your camper will be like 85. We just bought our first RV, so I don’t have the experience to say whether they’re right or wrong.
@@robertboyer5498 Two different things. The one I am speaking to, which I thought you were discussing is system related. From return to supply there would only be a 15º to 20ºF differential. Now, when discussing the difference between inside temp and outside temp, there are other variables. Insulation and age of the air conditioning unit being of high importance.
I used sealant under my gasket because of videos like this. Ruined my roof and caused the gasket to shift. Not a good idea, now I have to pull the AC and start over.
What was the two Yellow and White wire harnesses that were there before adding the additional 120 line? Were they 12v for lights? This is an upgrade I would love to do on my TT. Like the concept of soft start as well.
12vt fan and light wires
So it’s a 30 amp coach. Curious if the original ac has soft start as well so as he can run both ac’s and anything else on shore power.I’m no electrician.
The original AC unlikely has soft start.
hopefully he can sleep with all that noise
In our case, my wife can't sleep without the noise lol. He said they're the same way
The second ac/bedroom ac isn't needed at night, the single ducted unit will do just fine by 8-10:00 at night...and provide that nice hum that helps a lot of people sleep