2005 GMC Savana 1500 Explorer.. trying to convert to a Micro RV.

Mat Mobile

Adventurer
[...]The AC was become the only MAJOR block. After a LOT of research, the ONLY reasonable way is to put it in the Rear Window using a small home-type Window unit AC. SOMEONE ?? Actually DOES make a real 'kit" inclusing a fiberglass mouting shell, and a nice upholstered inside part with the AC cutout etc.

BUT! The ONLY place i can find that sells the thing is in Canada. And they prefer to speak French. Unfortunately I can't. What i find odd is that they are a small retailer it appears and that means they have to get this whole setup from SOMEBODY. But I have nto found a trace.

I would actually not mind ordering from the people who say they DO have it, if i could get someone to take my order.. Yep, it is that hard.

If anyone here has any info on this thing The only specifics i can find are that i would order part/item "DANBY". It looks great and the one person i know who got one, says it works great too.

So I am now posting this info on every forum i'm in hoping that someone , somewhere, has seen such a thing. Remove window glass from rear door pop in this kit. Bolt down with no permanent changes to door frame so window glass can be reinstalled if desired. It is all fiberglass outside with all the brackets needed for mounting the AC
OR
you can buy it with a 5000 btu unit they supply. Anyone with info on something like this please reply. :sombrero:

The company (Safari Condo if I'm not mistaken. Correct?) is from the province of Québec. Our native tongue is french and, especially in the regions outside of big cities, not everybody is billingual. Long story! I'm from Québec so my native tongue is also french but I spent considerable time watching Sesame Street as a kid!
darksesamestreet10.jpg


Have you tried e-mailing them and having them use Google Translate?

I would prefer if you ordered directly from them but if Google Translate doesn't work, I guess I could help you out. Just PM me.
 

questorfla

New member
WOW Many thanks
I am doing me level best.
The other person who got one from them (THAT I KNOW) is on another forum
His name is MarcoPolo.

He said he finally drove up there and got his.
I am about ready to do the same .. but long drive from Florida but...
Gotta do what I gotta do..

I dont know who MAKES that shroud and it is the only practical way to do this.
I MIGHT be getting through to them now. I tried Google translate :)
I hope it did not make me say anything ... odd?

Have you ever seen one of these? Marco got his Years ago. They still make and sell them so somebody must be producing the things. Could be made in USA for all I know.

Fits most/many GM/GMC vans to swap out the rear window
I can send a pic.
 

Corneilius

Adventurer
Is your only opposition to running an RV style roof AC your fiberglass roof? Mine is QUITE beefy, like I jump around on it. Its not fiberglass like a canoe, its a honeycomb structure thats about 1" thick. My 2 cents would be to do exactly what TemporaryVanDweller did
 

questorfla

New member
Mostly that no one i can find would agree to mount one on MY fiberglass roof

But height is also something to consider. I have driven under trees already where the branches scraped over the top. As i am not used to the height of it now, adding another 12" to what is there AND for that 12" to be something so important .... I would be more comfortable with the rear layout i think. I dont mind the trip to Canada one bit. This is actually a great 'excuse' to go :).

I already have one section of roof that has an electric "vent/skylight" so there isn't a lot of places the could cut another hole to mount it anyway. I can only see one spot. If that one would not work, then the roof is out anyway.

It all worked out in the end. I was able to get past the language issues but I appreciate the offers to help. This is a pretty much Custom made item (as you can imagine) so it isn't like they could just grab it off the shelf. Fortunately, they were able to make it all happen so I am a "Happy Camper" (no pun intended!)

The one thing i don't yet know is how long it takes to drive (and not RUSH) to get to Quebec City from Pensacola Florida. And back. I have about 11 days. Anyone know? I can have i shipped but really would enjoy the trip if we can do it.
 

Mat Mobile

Adventurer
But height is also something to consider. I have driven under trees already where the branches scraped over the top. As i am not used to the height of it now, adding another 12" to what is there AND for that 12" to be something so important .... I would be more comfortable with the rear layout i think. I dont mind the trip to Canada one bit. This is actually a great 'excuse' to go :).

I already have one section of roof that has an electric "vent/skylight" so there isn't a lot of places the could cut another hole to mount it anyway. I can only see one spot. If that one would not work, then the roof is out anyway.

It all worked out in the end. I was able to get past the language issues but I appreciate the offers to help. This is a pretty much Custom made item (as you can imagine) so it isn't like they could just grab it off the shelf. Fortunately, they were able to make it all happen so I am a "Happy Camper" (no pun intended!)

The one thing i don't yet know is how long it takes to drive (and not RUSH) to get to Quebec City from Pensacola Florida. And back. I have about 11 days. Anyone know? I can have i shipped but really would enjoy the trip if we can do it.

11 days is plenty if you don't have any mechanical issues. Quebecers go down to Florida for winter all the time with their RVs and they usually take about 3 days if they "race". Don't expect to do any sightseeing though... If you are going to Safari Condo, try to visit their plant. Super cool folks that love vans!
 

questorfla

New member
We managed to get a good run through Tennessee and Georgia: The Trip.

Since this was our "First-ever" road trip, we (of course) had Mr. Murphy (of Murphy's Law Fame) as a full time passenger. Anything that could go wrong, DID go wrong. But the fun of it was that Unplanned instances on a Road trip can lead to unexpected rewards! :)

The RV Park we had located on a map was full to overflowing when we arrived. But one of the kind residents who happened to be standing in the road after dark gave us directions to nearby Stone Mt. State park and we arrived just in time for the Saturday night Laser/Music Show. Fireworks and all. We also found a super great spot to park for the night in the Stone Mtn. RV Camp. If anyone ever goes there, I give that State RV Park 5 stars and Two Thumbs Up!

The next day, Luck again played a part as the Sky Lift up to the top of Stone Mtn., which had been closed for the past few weeks for refurbishing, had opened back the very next day so we got to make the pilgrimage up the mountain top on it. Great Fun and so were the other attractions there.
Everyone we met was friendly and that went long way toward making us feel at home while traveling in a a very tiny portable house.

I would definitely recommend that most people consider a full size camper rather than a Van conversion as we got. If you are over 5 ft tall you will get more than a few bumps on the noggin.

We only had 7 days for this trip so we tried to make each one count. Nest stop: Nashville, TN. where we spent a whole day visiting all the famous landmarks from the Country Music Hall of Fame to the Grand Ol' Opry house. We even learned that in 2010, that it along with the rest of Nashville was washed out in a freak flood by up to 24 ft of water! We saw the pictures or I would never have believed it!

From there we headed down to Memphis to try some of that Famous Memphis Bar-B-Que and I can testify that it was worth the trip. So was getting to see Elvis's Graceland Park and then spending the night in the local "party sector" in Downtown on a weekend. A lot like the French Quarter in New Orleans though not quite as wild and a lot cleaner.. The police block off the streets in a 10 block square radius and music pours out the doors at every establishment. Open Containers are allowed inside the party area. Ten back to out nice quiet camper in the park which was located directly outside the gates of Graceland.

Sadly, we both had to be back at work on Monday so we had to cut this first trip short. From Memphis we drove down through Birmingham with a quick stop at the old "Iron Man" statue called 'VULCAN' that sits atop the hillside outside the city. Then it was back home to the Beaches of the Emerald Coast of Florida.

All in all, it was definitely a great time and we are both looking forward to our next outing. Now that we have had time to figure out al the small details that should have been done before we left, I m sure the next adventure will be a lot better organized and (I hope) more comfortable.

The Rear Window A/C that we had planned to drive to Quebec to pick up, ended up being shipped by FedEx. I hope to install it this weekend. Having to deal with one of those "portable A/C units" for this journey was one of the biggest issues. After testing at least 5 different models where the first ones were not even worth the power it took to run them we finally ran across one that worked! It almost froze us in our small conversion van.

The one that actually did the job was a surprise as it was an off brand that came from WALMART!
But it outperformed ALL the name brands like LG, Frigidaire, Whynter and others and at 12,000 BTU only cost $299. I have to give that A/C unit '5 stars' but it is way to powerful for use in a Conversion Van.
 

bdog1

Adventurer
Can you share a link to the AC unit you got from WM? Was it a dual hose unit? I've been wondering if this is a good part time solution.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

questorfla

New member
Here is the link

https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=gree%20portable%20air%20conditioner&typeahead=gree%20portable
I tried to add more info but every time I do, the site drops me offline :(It has a warning buzzer to alert you if it finally collects more water than it can hold. The DRY setting does appear to run the compressor on a low power mode but the air that comes out is refrigerated not just "dry".

It has wheels which made it easy to shift around and we found that the best location for it was to put it in the passenger seat with a towel underneath so as to not hurt the upholstery. This is out of the way at night and allows the exhaust to go right out the passenger window. With the window rolled up tight to hold the tube, my wife took a towel wrapped in a garbage bag for protection from rain, and used that to fill in the remaining gaps to keep bugs etc. out. I pointed the exhaust pipe down so rain would not get in (thankfully we had no rain while gone).
 
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questorfla

New member
This unit has a "DRY" setting and when using that, there is no selection for temperature. But in every place we stayed, at night, even when set on DRY it was still far more than cold enough. We were able to run the unit on a 40 ft. 12 gauge extension cord that did not even get warm to the touch even when on full A/C mode which we used only during the daytime heat. At full A/C use, it is rated at 10 amps. (1200 watts on 120 VAC) . I don't know what it draws on DRY Worked Better than any other brand we tested. No need to connect drain as it recycles the condensed water. It has a warning buzzer to alert you if it finally collects more water than it can hold. The DRY setting does appear to run the compressor on a low power mode but the air that comes out is refrigerated not just "dry".
 

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