# 300Bh A/c Unit Can't Keep Up



## TommyG265 (Jan 14, 2010)

I have a 2010 300BH. we do not do much summer camping, but lateley it has been real hot here in FLA (90+ in the day). I have noticed that the A/C unit cannot keep up. is the standard unit too small to hadle the heat? thought about upgrading to the 15,000 one.

secondly, we noticed on the last camping trip, that we kept blowing the main fuse when we ran anything like the microwave or an outside fan. was this related? or maybe the campground had output problems due to the park being pretty full.

thanks!


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## swanny (Oct 31, 2007)

Yes in the 90+ heat the AC will struggle. You need to do some other things to help it out. First make sure you cover all the windows on the sunny side of your rv, use the same material you would use in the windshield of your vehicle. I bought the same stuff at Lowe's in a roll and cut it to fit all my windows. Second use the same material and block the heat registers in the floor. The colder air will sink to the floor and go through the duct work to the furness and lost to the outside. Make sure all the places you can lose air are fixed. I found a 3" hole under my cabinets for plumbing and cold air was leaking through it that i could feel it outside.

hope this helps, Kevin


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## Chuggs (Jun 8, 2010)

Our 282FE does a nice job w/ 1 13,500 A/C unit...but it does take time to get cool... We open the chill grill registers to make it liveable until the cabin comes down around 78 degrees...and then switch back to the ducts. Once the rv is cool...it does a pretty good job. We generally hunt for shady spots to park the camper. My wife actually wears a warmup suit because it will get down to the low 70's in the living area --- the thermostat is on the bathroom wall, in the bedroom, which is kinda a dead spot...probably could have choosen a better place for it.

If you park in full sun...the unit has to work really hard. And so does everyone elses...so you'll see a drop in voltage around the campground...the pressures will go up in the a/c unit making the compressor work harder...and POP goes the circuit breaker. I think it's a common thing to happen.

When it's really hot out --- You can either elect to run the water heater and fridge on gas...or try to find a shaded campsite. We just got back from a week long trip...all our campsites had good shade. We ran everything on electric Fridge/Air Conditioning/ Water Heater --- without any problem (I did ask my wife to turn off the water heater when using the microwave/ )

I thought about the 15,000 btu unit. But when I go to add a generator do I really want that extra load? Very happy with the 13,500 for now.


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## hottubwilly (May 3, 2008)

take it in and get it checked - I have the same camper, and had the same problem. Turned out to be a compressor problem and entire AC unit was replaced under warranty. Now it's blowing cold again


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## texandchica (Sep 7, 2010)

TommyG265 said:


> I have a 2010 300BH. we do not do much summer camping, but lateley it has been real hot here in FLA (90+ in the day). I have noticed that the A/C unit cannot keep up. is the standard unit too small to hadle the heat? thought about upgrading to the 15,000 one.
> 
> secondly, we noticed on the last camping trip, that we kept blowing the main fuse when we ran anything like the microwave or an outside fan. was this related? or maybe the campground had output problems due to the park being pretty full.
> 
> thanks!


Hi Tommy. We are new Outbackers who are picking up our 300BH this weekend; however, we have had a 26 ft Jayco for the past couple of years and we also live in Florida. We had the same issue with our Jayco blowing the fuse at some campsites. We found that it helps to run the A/C on low with the fan in the "on" rather than the "auto" position as the constant starting of the fan pulls additional amps which can cause the main fuse to trip. Hope this helps you!


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## kbrazielTx (Apr 29, 2004)

We have had our 2011 301BQ since late june and we upgraded the 13500 to a 15000 in July and all problems solved. The option for a 15K unit is not advertised but I am told it can be done by dealers in the south. We bouht our camper from Lakeshore in MI so it came with a 13.5 and id would not do the trick. We sold the 13.5 on Craigs list.

If you can afford to make the change then do it and you will not be sorry.

Good Camping

KB


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## ZHB (Mar 17, 2009)

I have a 300BH also, and we had it out for several 100 degree days earlier this summer. It blew cold the whole time, but it blew constantly, unless we were in shade.


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## maddog (Dec 16, 2009)

swanny said:


> Yes in the 90+ heat the AC will struggle. You need to do some other things to help it out. First make sure you cover all the windows on the sunny side of your rv, use the same material you would use in the windshield of your vehicle. I bought the same stuff at Lowe's in a roll and cut it to fit all my windows. Second use the same material and block the heat registers in the floor. The colder air will sink to the floor and go through the duct work to the furness and lost to the outside. Make sure all the places you can lose air are fixed. I found a 3" hole under my cabinets for plumbing and cold air was leaking through it that i could feel it outside.
> 
> hope this helps, Kevin


X2 on this, We were in Florida in June 95 degree temps. AC ran non-stop and still would not cool. I went to Lowes and bought the Reflectix insulation and put in on all the windows. AC still ran non-stop all day but did shut off at night. My breaker will pop with the AC and hotwater heater if the AC has to work hard.


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## TommyG265 (Jan 14, 2010)

Thank you so much for all the replies, I will definately tint the windows darker, and never thought about the Heater switching over to gas, Good call!

may wait on puting the A/C upgrade in depending on the cost.

TommyG


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## col. Sanders crew (Sep 28, 2007)

We have a 2010 300BH, the air works great, we kept it very very cold this past summer, we live in Kentucky and had record breaking temps in the upper 90's and 100's all summer long. Hopefully just a minor problem with yours.


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## booze123 (Jun 29, 2010)

We have not camped in HOT weather yet, but have ran the AC a bit. We upgraded our TT with a 15K at time of purchase (from Lakeshore) based on what I learned here and am glad I did. I can only assume we'll be nice a cool with it next year if we camp in the south. my vote: uprade to the 15K. Also, be sure you are getting 30amp service. I notice when I plug my AC in at the house temporarily, I know i'm only getting 15amps. It will start and run but i can tell it doesn't cool as much as when I'm on 30amps.


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## LaydBack (Aug 22, 2010)

I'm considering upgrading to the 15K BTU unit. I'm wanting input from people in the south and midwest climates (or just anyone that can attest to the true comfort level) that the difference is really justifiable. It seems I can purchase the unit online, and hopefully sell mine to recoup part of the cost. We had the experience of the 13.5K unit not being able to keep up, and I've checked the ducting for leaks, etc. We had pretty much resolved that we just may not be able to enjoy going camping during the summer months, and just focus on going in the spring and fall, but I'd really like to have that option. I have a portable AC unit, and will be upgrading the 312BH to 50A service, but I'd like to know if replacing the 13.5K with the 15K would make a big enough differece that I might not have to take up the space with the portable unit. If anyone thinks they'd be interested in the 13.5K unit, PM/email me. It has seen very limited use this first year, we only got out for 6 trips, and I think it got used on 3 of them.


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