# A/c Not Keeping Up With Heat



## 5946 (Jul 17, 2007)

HI, I'm Heidi, Tom's DW (Gunsmokesetters) We are on our second camping trip in our new 2006 OB27RLS Sydney, Branson, MO - it's 91 degrees outside - it's 6pm - AND WE ARE HOT.







The A/C has been loosing the race with the heat. we have our pop-up and skylights covered since early this morning, and have a Jumbo Car wind sheild defelctor on the back picture window. -

Can someone tell me if this loss of cooling ability is normal? I have a digital thermometer in the living area, and it has been steadily gaining a degree every 15-20 minutes! What should we do. It happend yesterday too, and when we woke up, the a/c and the thermometer were only off by 2 degrees. So we went and bought all the insallating and heat defelcting stuff this morning. So, please you experienced OBr's, what should I do?









Thanks! Heidi

Please remember, we are brand spanking new at this stuff. ALL YOUR HELP IS NEEDED.


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## albion (Jul 17, 2007)

How hot is it there?

We have used ours in about 95* and had no problem.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Check the air outlet temperature from the AC vents. It should be in the 50's. If colder fine if warmer then you need to find out why.

Use a mirror and pull the little vent down and look in the ducts to see if any are plugged or have obvious issues with the ducting. Also pull down the cover on the bottom of the AC you may find the distribution plenum was not sealed up correctly and a lot of your air is being used to cool the space between you roof and ceiling.

Check that and get back on to let us know what you found.


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## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

> Can someone tell me if this loss of cooling ability is normal?


No, it's not normal. As a matter of fact, we were in Branson just last month and the temp was in the 90's. Trailer was cool. Always has been.

My DIL even complained it was too cold, especially at night.

We usually leave the thermostat on 66 or 68 and it remains rather cool, despite outside temps in the 90s or even higher. I've never actually measured the temp with a thermometer; never felt the need. As long as I'm comfortable, so be it.

I'd have it checked out. There may be something obstructing the air flow. Or something may be wrong with the unit itself.

Mark


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## aantolik (Apr 8, 2005)

If I remember correctly, the Air V will cool to somewhere around 15 degrees difference from your spaces uncooled temperature. Therefore, if it's 95 in your trailer before you turn the air on, it will cool to about 80. As you can see, if your trailer is in full sun most of the day the temps may get much warmer than the outside air temp & then your inside temp will suffer. Good idea to insulate as well as possible & use the exhaust fan in the bathroom to help get rid of some of that hot air. You might even experiment & open the other vents slightly to see if some of the hot air will be driven out them.

Hope you can stay cool.


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## louvel1 (Jun 9, 2006)

I agree with the other Outbackers, I went to Yosemite in 102 outside weather and we were very cool inside. I keep the thermostat at about 68.


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## fspieg (Jul 31, 2006)

In Savannah our 27RLS had no problem achieving 72 with an outside of 102F and I think these folks have figured out how to get the humidity above 100%. It was HOT! The Outback was a very welcome refuge.


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## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

If you turn your A/C on in the morning when it is cool and just leave it at 66 or 68, then it will keep up and stay cool throughout the day. If you walk into your rig mid-afternoon and it's 96 inside and you expect it to cool down in an hour or so, it probably won't happen. Least that has been my experience.


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## mountainlady56 (Feb 13, 2006)

I keep my a/c set on 70 or 72 degrees, and IF it has trouble, when the temps reach around 100, I keep the fan on the a/c on all the time as well as have the thermostat kept low. Radiant heat from the windows (especially slide windows) make it hotter. It's kinda like a bear in a cave. LOL. ALSO, check the a/c filters. That's very crucial to keep them clean. You don't realize how much dust circulates in there. I put a pre-filter on mine...made from a regular a/c filter for a window unit. Velcro is wonderful! I wash it every day. Helps with the allergies, too. I, recently, looked at a new 06 5th wheel model and the a/c was FILTHY on it. No way was I touching that thing. It may have a coolant leak, if you can't get things to cool down enough for you. Also, I turn the vents toward the area we sit at most. 
Oh, almost forgot........you got the vent pillow in the vents? and you may need to put it to "dry mode" for a while to help with humidity. I use the Dri-Z-Airs from Camping World to help with humidity, as well.
Good luck!!
Darlene


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## Rollrs45 (May 7, 2007)

This may sound like a stupid question, but are you sure your compressor is kicking on? The AC will continue to blow out air, even if your compressor is not coming on. Try flipping the fan mode from auto to high while in teh cool mode. The a/c will run continuous and wait to listen for the compressor to come on (there should be a noticeable sound change when this happens) If you don't hear this you may have a faulty compressor or some type of blown fuse. Not sure if the unit itself has an internal fuse just for the compressor, some of the more experienced OBers may be able to answer this.

Mike


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## Humpty (Apr 20, 2005)

........and when you are using that crazy remote to set the desired temperature, the A/C unit should respond to every change with a 'Beep'.

Even with new batteries, we had to be standing right under the unit and pointing the remote up. Not much range at all.


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## JEFF_69Z28 (Oct 27, 2006)

THERE ARE ALOT OF THINGS THAT COULD BE WRONG,IF YOU DONT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HVAC I WOULD TAKE IT TO A SHOP THAT WORKS ON HVAC EQUIPMENT.
HVAC=HEATING VENTILATION /AIR CONDITIONING.


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## GlenninTexas (Aug 11, 2004)

I'd do two things to see if they make a difference.
1. Turn the unit off. Get a square drive screwdriver and remove the four screws holding the trim ring from around the ac unit in the ceiling. (Take the filter out and wash it too). Look up around the inside of the air distribution plenum looking for places where the plenum is not sealed. Likely there are several places whereair is being forced into the ceiling space instead of into the ducts. Place some duct tape over any openingthat isn't a duct. You'll be amazed at the difference in air flow. I'll credit Ghosty for teaching us this tip. I would venture to say that every OB, and probably most other brands that have ducted AC have this same problem. Its an easy fix. By the way, while you have the unit opened, also check the four bolts that hold the lower unit to the rooftop part, just to make sure the bolts are snug.

2. As Humpty already mentioned, the remote ac controller can be a little finicky. Since your new owners of an OUtback you may not have figured it out yet. Stand under the ac unit and point the remote at it. press the temp down button one click at a time listening for the "beep" from the receiver. Keep doing this until the remote reading says 63 degrees (lowest setting) Then do it a couple more times to make sure the receiver and remote are both at the lowest temp setting. Then press the temp up button one click at a time, listening for the beep until the remote reads the desired temp.

3. If neither of these improves your ac performance, I'd make an appointment with the service department.

Good Luck, Glenn


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## Kyoutbacker (Apr 26, 2006)

What they have all said above and:

We keep our max-air vents open all the time to allow hot moist air out.

Turn your A/C vents away from the sensor in the ceiling unit.

Turn your A/C vents away from the doors being opened all the time.

Do the kitchen vent fan mod to remove heat/steam when cooking. Makes a BIG difference!

We just got back from a week of 95 degree camping and the warmest it got inside was 75 degrees, and that was because the kids were in and out.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

It doesn't look like anyone has brought up power quality yet. Last summer we had some problems with voltage coming from a campsite. I switched the fridge to Gas and turned the Water heater off to reduce the electricity draw, but if the campground electrical supply is bad, you simply won't get good performance (and could damage the compressor).


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## tomlholmes (Jul 3, 2007)

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR HELP! (GunsmokeLlewellins here)

We are home from our camping trip to Branson, and DH has an appointment to take it in to the dealer to have it "looked at". The dealer did tell him that there is only about a 15 degree difference from outside temp to inside temp - Well I say that doesn't sound right - (but one of you did mention that little detail.) We will have it checked out anyway, and make sure it is all charged up. (it's still under warrenty)









I also learned something new (for us everything is new







) - But if I want to watch television, run the A/C and cook something in the microwave AND NOT blow the breaker, I must turn my refridgerator to GAS as long as I am running the Microwave. I can live with that. But I would like to know if that is how you seasoned OBrs do it? Or should I have that checked out too while it is at the dealership?









You guys are Super! Thanks again for all the help.









Happy Trails.

Heidi


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## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

We usually blow a breaker if the DW uses her high-powered hairdryer when the A/C is on. Or if we use the microwave and A/C at the same time. I'm usually running on electric most times anyway (why pay for my propane when I can use the campground's electricity?)

Good luck and glad you enjoyed your recent trip.

Next time you're going down State Line Blvd, holler out to my SILs in Leawood.









Mark


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## tomlholmes (Jul 3, 2007)

ANNTOLIK said 'If I remember correctly, the Air V will cool to somewhere around 15 degrees difference from your spaces uncooled temperature. Therefore, if it's 95 in your trailer before you turn the air on, it will cool to about 80."

and CamperAndy said Check the air outlet temperature from the AC vents. It should be in the 50's. If colder fine if warmer then you need to find out why"

Well, that was pretty much what they told us at Liberty RV Service. and everything checkout -- So I am now investing in buying and adapting insullating/reflecting materials to keep the OB nice and dark from outside light. I have made vent "plugs" and modifying those big ole car windshield sun deflectors to cover the large picture window and the window beside the dinette. I purchased the outside door window insullated covers from camp world, now the only thing I need is something to shade the shower skylight. hmmmm...









But all of this should help us keep cool on our next outing, provided we can't find a big shade tree to park under. I just wanted to update yall, and say thanks to all of your help while we were on the road.

I beleive this case is closed --









*HEIDI*


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## Sierrab24r (Apr 2, 2006)

I know that the dealer has looked at your A/C and that "it's OK". However, I believe that your A/C will function much better if (as CamperAndy suggested) you seal the plenum in the main part of the unit with a foil duct tape as well as sealing between the duct and ceiling of each and every one of the A/C vents. I did this to my 25RSS and got a very noticeable increase in air volume as well as a colder outlet temp. They don't do this at the factory and you lose a lot of air and efficiency to the space between the ceiling and roof of the trailer. I just had my trailer in 98 degree heat and it worked fine. You still need to worry about radiant heat coming in the pop up vents and windows, but the improved airflow will help enormously.

If you run a search in this part of the forum, you will find pictures that show exactly what needs to be sealed. I'll try to find it myself and send you the link. Other than the foil-type duct tape (I prefer it to the standard silver fabric tape because the adhesive and rigidity of the foil tape tends to hold it in place better), it will only require a phillips screwdriver to remove the grill from the A/C unit and to remove the vent outlets. It's a very easy, although somewhat time consuming job.

If you have questions about the process, drop me a message with a phone number and I'll talk you through it.


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