Proposed AC in rear of Hawk

[dorocks]

Greetings all,

I sold my RV years ago but I do miss one item - the AC. Even though we like primitive camping, we travel long distances across hot areas to get to those places and do stop at RV campgrounds with power and showers. We would much prefer sleeping in our FWC than some cheap fleabag motel. And cheap is getting rarer and rarer. I also am leary of summer trips now.

I have read about the AC installations on the forum. The side mount one is ok but I do not want to have to put it in and out. The front one I saw seemed Ok but maybe not the one I would choose.

My preference for the ac would be where my rear window is on the Hawk. I really don't use it much. My idea is to take out the window and frame it with a solid permanent mount. Something as good as FWC would fabricate. I measured the AC that my boy has in his bedroom window and it measures 12" high and 18" wide. Costs about $100 and I think it is 5000 btu.

My question for FWC or some of you on the forum here that are very familiar with the framing of the campers, is does this seem feasible?

The pictures I posted show what is about the size of the ac inserted in the window space.

My concerns are whether the frame strength can be maintained. I do not know what is behind the aluminum. I know one step would have to go and the get-in handle would be crowded. Would be worth it to us to be cool and to cut down humidity.

Keith Barnes
La Mesa CA

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

Hey Keith

Can it be done? Yes.

Will it be easy? No, probably not.

We usually don't even mess with trying to install the rear wall air conditioner on FWC's that have already been built.

To do it right you would need ro remove the window, remove the aluminum exterior skin around the window area, reframe / resize the hole and try and beef it up as best as possible. You might need to replace the interior wood wall panel too (or at add some moulding if the hole is not the same after the AC goes in).

You might loose your door handle and rear wall step(s).

Then you will need to figure out the 110/120V electric wiring.

Run wires back there ?

Leave a cord hanging off the AC unit and just plug it in whan needed ?

Sealing the AC properly is very important too. When most AC's are running they need somewhere to drain the water they take out of the air.

Here are some pics of what the frame looks like after we "beef it up" for the installation of a rear wall air conditioner.

Hope this helps.

Happy Camping !





.

 

[chnlisle]

How about something like this?
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/LG-Electronics-9-000-BTU-Portable-Air-Conditioner-Refurbished/5552687/product.html?cid=202290&kid=9553000357392&kw={keyword}&adtype=pla

 

[White Dog]

More a question than suggestion.

Has anyone tried installing one of the compact RV air conditioners on the roof? This may need the lift assist kit.

Just curious.

 

[LLS]

How about something like this?
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/LG-Electronics-9-000-BTU-Portable-Air-Conditioner-Refurbished/5552687/product.html?cid=202290&kid=9553000357392&kw={keyword}&adtype=pla

I tried one of the portable ACs, it does cool, but it sucked in all the smokey air from the outside and occupied a "lot" of floor space. I returned it and got a cheap, small window unit. No more smoke, pollen and takes up less room.

 

[simimike]

Another option might be a swamp cooler. Here in the west they are a viable alternative. Some months back I read an article in Truck Camper Magazine where FWC installed a " TurboKool " in one of their customers campers. I'm not sure how they got the water line to the cooler, but you can check with FWC on that. You'll probably need the roof lifter shock thingies.

 

[imix]

In the desert southwest those turbokools work great, except during monsoon season when the humidity increases and when the temp soars above 100 F. Swamp coolers loose efficiency dramatically over 100 degrees. A friend of mine in Utah put one on his camper shell and that thing, even on low cool, practically blew me out of the back of his truck. It moves like 700 cubic feet of air a minute or something.

 

[Simpleman (shanz3n5)]

Hey Keith

Can it be done? Yes.

Will it be easy? No, probably not.

We usually don't even mess with trying to install the rear wall air conditioner on FWC's that have already been built.

To do it right you would need ro remove the window, remove the aluminum exterior skin around the window area, reframe / resize the hole and try and beef it up as best as possible. You might need to replace the interior wood wall panel too (or at add some moulding if the hole is not the same after the AC goes in).

You might loose your door handle and rear wall step(s).

Then you will need to figure out the 110/120V electric wiring.

Run wires back there ?

Leave a cord hanging off the AC unit and just plug it in whan needed ?

Sealing the AC properly is very important too. When most AC's are running they need somewhere to drain the water they take out of the air.

Here are some pics of what the frame looks like after we "beef it up" for the installation of a rear wall air conditioner.

Hope this helps.

Happy Camping !

.

Hi Stan
Do u think it would be possible to obtain a framing schematic for my '09 Grandby. Im looking at adding the hotwater heater and outside shower as well perm mounted rear wall a/c. If so i would really apprechiate it. maybe email or i can grab from you at the rally this weekend.
Thanx
John Shanley