Dphillip
Senior Member
A majority of our camping is at RV parks where we can plug into electricity and water. Every summer we have three camping trips we never miss, canoeing in the Ozark’s, Sturgis during the rally and Jeeping in Moab over Labor Day weekend. Air Conditioning is really necessary during these trips especially when trying to sleep at night. I can usually tolerate the unpleasantness but I feel bad for my wife. I drag her to all these events and she’s really a good sport but I want things as comfortable as possible. I called the 4 Wheel Camper factory about fitting a window AC unit to the back window of our Hawk. The labor to remove all the rear siding and reinforce the under frame wasn’t fiscally responsible. With our upcoming trip to Sturgis, I purchased a portable room AC unit off Amazon made by Black and Decker. It’s a 10,000 BTU unit shipped for $343.00, with a weight of 71 pounds. Adapting the unit to the Hawk was simple and inexpensive.
During transport the unit fits behind the side dinette seat.
I used a piece of 1/8 inch poster board to make a mount for the exhaust hose. The poster board attaches to the side window frame with Velcro so it’s easy on and off. I purchased the poster board at Lowe’s for 6 bucks it’s black on one side and white on the other which was perfect. The window is cranked open to vent the hose.
I fold down the side dinette seat, remove the cushion and place the unit on top with an rubber door mat underneath so not to scratch the wood.
Results:
In Sturgis, if the temp was 95 outside and about 95 in the camper the AC would bring the temp down to around 82 inside and remove all the humidity which really made a difference.
The unit has no drain hose but has a water collection tray you only drain at the end of the season.
It’s not a perfect system but it make summer time sleeping in the camper much more pleasant..
During transport the unit fits behind the side dinette seat.
I used a piece of 1/8 inch poster board to make a mount for the exhaust hose. The poster board attaches to the side window frame with Velcro so it’s easy on and off. I purchased the poster board at Lowe’s for 6 bucks it’s black on one side and white on the other which was perfect. The window is cranked open to vent the hose.
I fold down the side dinette seat, remove the cushion and place the unit on top with an rubber door mat underneath so not to scratch the wood.
Results:
In Sturgis, if the temp was 95 outside and about 95 in the camper the AC would bring the temp down to around 82 inside and remove all the humidity which really made a difference.
The unit has no drain hose but has a water collection tray you only drain at the end of the season.
It’s not a perfect system but it make summer time sleeping in the camper much more pleasant..