I am considering the installation of an air conditioner to our van I have been advised that an under bunk unit would be preferable to a roof mounted unit because of our existing wind up roof hatch arrangement & as such have been recommended an air command saphire r/c unit. I would like to know if any nomads have one of these units & how it performs in real conditions ??? Our old girl is a 1973 Viscount 15x7 full height caravan. The unit would be located under the rear bed & ducts could be located at head height via the wardrobe/overhead cupboard arrangement. This all makes good sense in keeping weight down low as the Viscount tows quite well considering its basic suspension & braking set up,
We looked at installing Truma saphir but the cost was over $2000.....ended up buying a small Kelvinator box A/C for $400 brand new and installed it under a bunk. Works quite well in our van and the cost saving is considerable.
If you direct the outlet vents so they blow upwards you will get proper cooling equivalent to overhead outlets without the complication.
Good Luck.
our campervan came with an air command split system (compressor under bunk and outlets at head height). The ducting is located in the wardrobe and doesn't cause any problems. We mainly free-camp and the only issue we have had is that on one occasion it didn't work after a lot of dusty roads had let enough dust in through the external compressor vent that the fan would not rotate. A good cleanout fixed that.
I find it a bit noisy but it is almost 10 years old. It would be rarely that we would run it on high for more than 15minutes before turning it down.
Hope that is of some help.
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BJC
"A year from now you'll wish you had started today."
I'm having a Truma Saphir Air Conditioner installed under-bed in my recently purchased Bailey Senator Louisiana next Tuesday.
This was recommended for its out of the way installation (and keeping the weight down low), low noise, and no major surgery to van required. However, the big down side is that the installed cost is $3K!
We will be living in this van a lot in the heat of WA's North so hoping the money being paid is well spent.
I have a Denso UB1 RC under bunk air con in our Coromal 615 poptop, and I believe it is under spec for the van (20ft). The outlet is above the bed at one end, and it struggles to get the air flow through the van. It really needs assistance from an electric fan placed halfway along the van... it may be OK for a 16ft-ish van. It is also not as quiet as advertised, and yoiu cannot sleep with it on. If I had my time again, or buy another van, I would look at installing a split system domestic unit.
FYI
Cheers
Greg
See a lot of domestic split systems fitted to vans You can buy a suitable one from Bunnings for around $400 but need to get it hooked up which can be almost as expensive as the initial unit . Most of the new inverter units run on start up under 10amps . if I was to fit one I would run a separate CB protected circuit back to the in van switch board.
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Pets are welcome but children must be leashed at all times
See a lot of domestic split systems fitted to vans You can buy a suitable one from Bunnings for around $400 but need to get it hooked up which can be almost as expensive as the initial unit . Most of the new inverter units run on start up under 10amps . if I was to fit one I would run a separate CB protected circuit back to the in van switch board.
Many of the split systems are pre-charged with gas so the instal cost will be reduced - just the electrical to worry about.
Yes the split units are already charged with gas but you still need a qualified installer to vacuum pump the lines and finally charge the system and leak test.
There is no need to run a dedicated 240v line back to the switchboard as the head unit is plugged into a normal power point and a cable is run from the head unit to the outside unit.
The startup current for a unit of the size required for a van is about 6 amps and cuts back to about 3 amps once the van is at the required temperature
Consider paying the extra for a well known brand of split system as you do get what you pay for and in some cases the installer may not be interested in installing a no name unit because of inferior quality tubing in some of these units.
Cheers
David
I have been advised that an under bunk unit would be preferable to a roof mounted unit because of our existing wind up roof hatch arrangement & as such have been recommended an air command saphire r/c unit. I would like to know if any nomads have one of these units & how it performs in real conditions ??? Our old girl is a 1973 Viscount 15x7 full height caravan. The unit would be located under the rear bed & ducts could be located at head height via the wardrobe/overhead cupboard arrangement. This all makes good sense in keeping weight down low as the Viscount tows quite well considering its basic suspension & braking set up,
