jordano Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 does anyone have the under locker/bed air conditioner? this would be great for us as we have very limited space on the roof. wanted to know if the performance was as good as roof mounted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 I assume you are referring to the Truam system. On a Watt per Watt basis it should be at least as good as a roof mounted unit of similar power. Two major advantages of the Truma unit are that (A) it keeps the weight low down and (B) the output of cold air is ducted around the van to where it is needed. Downside is installation is a fair bit more complicated with additional trunking needing to be installed through high level lockers (the cooled air outlets should be high so that as the cooled air falls you get maximum benefit from it) so installation costs may well be very high. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 In view of Dave's comment (Happy Ney Year, Dave :-)), would your roof accommodate a Dometic Fresh Jet roof mounted A/C unit (link: http://tinyurl.com/ppzdx6t ) that replaces a rooflight, but incorporates a fixed roof window so that natural light is retained? It has a larger footprint than the rooflight itself, so may not be feasible, but you must have some "rattle space" on your roof somewhere, surely? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Blimey Brian that one is 40kg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave225 Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 I fitted a Truma Saphire unit to my van last year and have found it to be excellent. I fitted mine under the bed and merely allowed the cold vents to exit through the bed end and sides. This is an accepted method for installation by Truma and yes, it may not be as good as having the cold air venting up high, but it is much much easier in an aftersales fitment. One way to improve things is to run a fan at the same time as this 'stirs' the air up. We used it a lot (as you can imagine) in Spain last summer when the ambient temp was 35 degrees and it cooled the van down to a very comfortable 26 degrees in about 1 hour. It was great to go to bed with a cool van but I do admit that on more than 1 occasion I switched it back on in the middle of the night as the van had heated up again. Yes, we could hear it but no more than the fan we had used previously. Lulls you to sleep and you can set it on timer so you can forget about switching it off. If you do get one and use it in hot climes as we do, then consider a shade over the van as this helps a lot. Every few degrees drop will make life easier to cool the van and do remember the outside metal will get very hot in the sun and eventually the insulation gets warm as well, and takes a long time to cool down. You will find the inside roof very warm to the touch. Also keep the shades down as this stops the sun warming it up even more. I fitted it myself and it was not too difficult although do take your time and measure up everything before grabbing the saw. Print out the template from Truma and try it for size before you do anything. Also do NOT use the heater trunking as this is not lined and the condensation will rot it very fast.However, you can run the cooling trunking alongside th heating trunking to make things look tidier. My unit weighed in at 20kg so I solved the weight increase by dropping 1 gas cylinder and a bunch of the tins the 'boss' felt were needed.I bought my unit from Leisure Supplies who were excellent. https://leisure-supplies.co.uk/ Good luck and stay cool. The downside is you will have other campers knocking on the door asking if they can come inside to cool off??????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Dave225 - 2014-01-07 7:22 PM I fitted a Truma Saphire unit to my van last year and have found it to be excellent. I fitted mine under the bed and merely allowed the cold vents to exit through the bed end and sides. This is an accepted method for installation by Truma and yes, it may not be as good as having the cold air venting up high, but it is much much easier in an aftersales fitment. One way to improve things is to run a fan at the same time as this 'stirs' the air up. We used it a lot (as you can imagine) in Spain last summer when the ambient temp was 35 degrees and it cooled the van down to a very comfortable 26 degrees in about 1 hour. It was great to go to bed with a cool van but I do admit that on more than 1 occasion I switched it back on in the middle of the night as the van had heated up again. Yes, we could hear it but no more than the fan we had used previously. Lulls you to sleep and you can set it on timer so you can forget about switching it off. If you do get one and use it in hot climes as we do, then consider a shade over the van as this helps a lot. Every few degrees drop will make life easier to cool the van and do remember the outside metal will get very hot in the sun and eventually the insulation gets warm as well, and takes a long time to cool down. You will find the inside roof very warm to the touch. Also keep the shades down as this stops the sun warming it up even more. I fitted it myself and it was not too difficult although do take your time and measure up everything before grabbing the saw. Print out the template from Truma and try it for size before you do anything. Also do NOT use the heater trunking as this is not lined and the condensation will rot it very fast.However, you can run the cooling trunking alongside th heating trunking to make things look tidier. My unit weighed in at 20kg so I solved the weight increase by dropping 1 gas cylinder and a bunch of the tins the 'boss' felt were needed.I bought my unit from Leisure Supplies who were excellent. https://leisure-supplies.co.uk/ Good luck and stay cool. The downside is you will have other campers knocking on the door asking if they can come inside to cool off??????? Yes this is an accepted installation setup but the unit does give better cooling performance if the outlets are high level. Certainly using a separate fan to "stir" the air up will help it a lot. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul.jackson Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Dave I'm tempted by the Truma Saphire system but worried it would be too noisy to use on a busy stellplatz/aire. How loud is it outside of the van. Would it bother someone parked 8 feet away? Thanks Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave225 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 paul.jackson - 2014-01-08 2:16 PM Dave I'm tempted by the Truma Saphire system but worried it would be too noisy to use on a busy stellplatz/aire. How loud is it outside of the van. Would it bother someone parked 8 feet away? Thanks Paul I can only speak from personal use. You have to listen hard to hear it outside the van and certainly you cannot hear it on the next pitch except possibly on a very still night when everything else is silent. I have noted that roof mounted ones are much noisier and yes, you can hear them a distance away, but inside under the bed, no. If the fan that exhausts the hot air is an issue Truma have a device that dampens the sound, but we have not seen a need to fit it. I also agree that high outlets are best but if you cannot get behind the furniture then fitting them will be obtrusive and will downgrade the value of your van. I wanted the best of both worlds so compromised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordano Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 thanks for all your replys no room on the roof previous owner put 3 extra roof vents on and a very large solar panel so will go for the under bench design allthough would like to get cold air as high as possible do anyone have any idea how to do it without them being seen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 jordano - 2014-01-09 7:40 PM thanks for all your replys no room on the roof previous owner put 3 extra roof vents on and a very large solar panel so will go for the under bench design allthough would like to get cold air as high as possible do anyone have any idea how to do it without them being seen? Why not convert one of the roof vents? as you already have the hole in roof. Our roof is pretty full, with air con (which can also be use while traveling (with remote )and as extra heating (On Hook up) we also have a sat dome, but only one large Heki and a small vent in the loo. Van is only 6 metre PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul.jackson Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Thanks Dave225 It sounds like the Truma would be right for us. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 But is it worth it? I looked at air con but eventually didn't bother, I stay in the UK in July/August. One big plus for MH is that if it is too hot you can just go somewhere else. How often is it used? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retread24800 Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Just love some of the Spanish sites, they sling a large tarp from the trees over the van to keep the heat off. Even here we have temperature problems in mid summer, so I stay at home beside the pool :D . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordano Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 just looking at the truma vario it has 3 settings and would work on the move with an inverter plus omly 200 high a littleheavier at 27kg but still looks good cheapest is on ebay at £1375 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave225 Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 jordano - 2014-01-13 1:51 PM just looking at the truma vario it has 3 settings and would work on the move with an inverter plus omly 200 high a littleheavier at 27kg but still looks good cheapest is on ebay at £1375 Download and print out the template full size and then check the space you are looking at. You need to allow space around all sides and at least 200 mm for the vents. Do NOT run any vent pipes behind the fridge and as for getting them up high, only you know your van and whether this is feasible. You can get 90 degree bends to fit the tricky bits., again Leisureshop supply all these and are very helpful. (He is quoting the Vario at £1350 so save yourself £25). We have not found it to be necessary. The vent pipes are 60mm diameter so about 2 1/2 inches so not exactly unnoticeable. Unless you fancy taking wall units off the wall, then I think you may be unlucky. However if the wardrobe is near at hand you could try that. I 'cheated' a little and fitted the sensor to a free standing panel which sits on the work top. This allows us to hide it away when not in use and also allows me to test for the best place to fit it permanently. As for whether you actually need it, that again is up to you, We spend about 5 months per year in Spain with 2-3 months in hot season so yes, we need it, and use it. I could mention that the Truma heater in the van has been used about 4 hours total in 6 years so you can see where our priorities lie. All I can say is there are many times in the summer when my wife loves it more than me. By the way, if your van has a false floor you can fit it there if you wish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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