We live in Nth Qld, In December we had a Kelvinator 2.6Kw Splitsystem AC installed on our 25'Jayco, we had a Dometic Harrier 3.6Kw which in retrospect was a piece of crap performance wise.
For example mid afternoon the harrier would struggle to cool the entire van fortunatly we have a concentina door where we could close off half the van, even then we had to have the thermostat set at 20 deg, rarely do we set the theromostat below 22 deg even on the most extreme days. generally its set at 23 during the day and at night its on 24.
There are a few of advantages the first is price, to replace our Harrier with a new one it was over $3000 plus installation, the kelvinator $1600 installed, noise level new splits are almost silent, Harrier weight 45Kg Kelvinator 32Kg, depending on your van things to consider, you may have to loose an overhead cupboard, where to locate the outdoor unit, in my opinion if you have space locate it on the drawbar ( you should consider a cover for it while travelling) if not then on the rear of the van is ok.
Remember after installing the AC you may need to adjust the ball weight, if its on the drawbar it could exceed you TBW, likewise on the rear of the van it could remove TBW
Quite a few have, just do a search. 2.5kW Mitsubishi seems to be the go.
2.5kW systems are extremely efficient, & will run off a reasonably good sized battery set-up. Maybe you just need to add another battery.
If you are a bit tight on battery capacity, use the AC in eco mode, or just use the dehumidifier mode & don't put the temperature too low. 2.5kW running at rates capacity will be 500watts, but if in an eco mode you are only looking at roughly half the power consumption.
Make sure you have enough payload capacity etc. Let's say 50kg for the AC internal & external units & another 30kg for an additional battery.
__________________
Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!
50L custom fuel rack 6x20W 100/20mppt 4x26Ah gel 28L super insulated fridge TPMS 3 ARB compressors heatsink fan cooled 4L tank aftercooler Air/water OCD cleaning 4 stage car acoustic insulation.
Agree with the weights, payload, TBW & rear axle weight.
Waiting on some manufacturer replies & specs. Its seems searching around warranty may not be not included for the intended use on a moving caravan. Anyone had any issues when travelling? I am considering installing some sort of vibration dampening.
There will be no warranty, but they are so much cheaper, you will have 2 to 3 AC installations up your sleeve (home & investment property AC since 1990, they all seem to die at 12 to 13 years. Let's say you get 7 years being mobile, I think you are still way ahead. & a far better system). Let tyres down if off-road, it will save a lot of wear & tear.
If you put in extra dampening, put in extra U turns for plumbing from condenser to caravan. Don't want stress cracking of the copper pipes.
__________________
Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!
50L custom fuel rack 6x20W 100/20mppt 4x26Ah gel 28L super insulated fridge TPMS 3 ARB compressors heatsink fan cooled 4L tank aftercooler Air/water OCD cleaning 4 stage car acoustic insulation.
Agree with the weights, payload, TBW & rear axle weight.
Waiting on some manufacturer replies & specs. Its seems searching around warranty may not be not included for the intended use on a moving caravan. Anyone had any issues when travelling? I am considering installing some sort of vibration dampening.
Dont expect any warranty, I had the AC installed in Adelaide and then travelled to Nth Qld on some pretty terrible roads, mine is mounted on thick rubber blocks on the rear of the Van.
Kelvinator 2.6Kw weights air handler 9kg, Compressor 23kg plus piping, the most expensive part was the install cost the unit was under $600, the advice I received is most likely part to fail would be within the compressor.
