Air conditioner in Escape

[Chama]

For quieter operation of the A/C, do you all take the fan out of "auto" setting and run in on low? Is that the idea? I know that for proper furnace operations, the fan needs to be set to auto but no so for the A/C?

[Iowa Dave]

Sometimes we leave the campground in the morning when it’s cool to look around and don’t get back until later. The trailer hot, we will put the AC on high till it cools down. Then step it down to low which keeps up nicely once the sun gets down. It’s a lot quieter on low and is good for us into the evening. We cook primarily outside which helps a lot too. YMMV
Iowa Dave

[drjp]

Loud but has worked like a charm. Sure have needed it sometimes during the summer in the States. The Dometic digital thermostat has been fine, too. Just can't use the 'Auto' setting--it's either set on cooling or on heat. I've been able to run it on 30 amp shore power fine. Apparently it'll even run on the little Honda generator but haven't gotten one yet to try!

[mgfreeman]

We have a factory installed Dometic rooftop AC in our 2017 19ft Escape trailer. Our combination office/bedroom trailer was parked in Arizona all last summer. The AC worked flawlessly (mid-hundred teen degrees).

Prior to using the trailer, as we were preparing the routine/preventive maintenance checklist for the trailer, we discovered we didn't receive an installation/maintenance manual for the AC when we bought the trailer. When we contacted the Escape parts department, they told us Dometic no longer gives them paper manuals, so they don't include this manual in the initial purchase packet. They sent us a PDF file with the manual that is appropriate to our trailer. They also highlighted the exact model for our trailer, in yellow, in the Dometic multi-model PDF document.

We cleaned the inside-the-trailer filter weekly.

Due to the location at which the trailer was parked, we also checked around the AC unit on the roof of the trailer a few times while we were there, to make sure there was nothing up there that might end up blocking the outside AC unit.

[StarvingHyena]

I bought the AC package with my trailer and I'm sorry that I did. A better option for my style of camping and typical camping locations …. dry camping and camping primarily in the Pacific Northwest. When if it gets too hot, I'll head for the ocean or gain altitude in the mountains to cool off. I think a better option for me for AC would be to have Escape install a second roof top fan. It would get used a lot more often and I really like how quiet my fan is on low.


A second thought on AC is …. its a good idea to turn on your AC once in a while and get the lube in the refrigerant moved around to all parts of the compressor.
No machinery likes to sit unused.
Tom

[NCopp]

We use our air conditioner in our 2017 19' quite a bit. We camp in Florida during winter months and invariably there are some pretty warm days. Yes it a little loud but we will trade that for being to hot any day. Also, we leave our cats alone sometimes during the day and keep the thermostat set so it stays comfortable if too watm to just leave windows open. If you head out west (or live there) it seems that temps are rising all the time...

[Stargeezer]

Hey Blue,

Our A/C in our 2014 5TA has worked very well until last spring (2018). This included our 2017 trip to Arco, Id (solar eclipse) where I ran the A/C with my Honda 2000. We live on Vancouver Island and at the end on May we left for Calgary/Edmonton and when we arrived at Merritt, I tried the A/C which includes the heat strip. Needless to say the compressor came on, but then a "thud" was heard and then nothing further except for a sound of a motor being stalled. The good news was that the weather was such that we didn't require the A/C and the furnace was more that enough to keep us warm. We traveled on through Revelstoke, the Kootenays, Calgary and finally Edmonton, where I could find a tech to look into our problem at the rv park. He, as I had, checked the inside of the unit. When all appeared okay, the next step was to go to the trailer roof and remove the shroud. As soon as he did, the problem was obvious. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words... and as such, the attached pictures speak for themselves...

The A/C c/w heat strip is GREAT... nature not always so...

Larry

[Stargeezer]

Whoops... try the pictures again...

[Greg A]

Are those Red Dog's Conga Rats?

[StarvingHyena]

But then …. did your AC work after that?
Tom

[Stargeezer]

Originally Posted by StarvingHyena

But then …. did your AC work after that?
Tom

Hi Tom,

Once removed the A/C worked fine. We were a bit lucky in that the rat did not chew up any of the wiring. Just entered the fan (squirrel cage) and its weight turned it and the rat got wedged inside. The rest was history

Larry

[StarvingHyena]

Oh good … you lucked out! Those BC mice can be pretty tough.
Tom