Will an air conditioner work on an hard side expo trailer?

[lacofdfireman]

I'm in the middle of a build right now on an Off Road Expo hard sided trailer. I've been throwing around the idea of maybe installing a small A/C unit like this one at lower. http://www.lowes.com/pd_530382-2251-FFRE06L3Q1___?productId=50139486&pl=1&Ntt=air+conditioners+window My issue is how would this handle the bumpy off road, washboard roads etc over time. I was thinking of making a metal frame up from to mount it to so it would be permanently affixed to my trailer. I really like the idea of an A/C unit mainly because I will often times see 100 plus degree days where I live. I live in the desert so temps like this are very common. I was thinking if I did this I would also mount my Honda 1000 generator to the side to power it since it obviously can't be powered off of batteries. Just wondering if someone could give me the pros and cons of doing this and also if anyone has any insight of the best way to mount one or where it would be greatly appreciated also..

 

[patoz]

Rather than trying to address your questions myself, I think your best bet would be to look through this thread. I believe everything you are asking has been answered in here: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/154815-Air-conditioner-alternatives

 

[lacofdfireman]

Thanks. Just read that article. They are talking about a popup type camper though. I think my trailer will be a lot more efficient due to the wall thickness and isolation compared to a popup. Also there is no talk about how well it would do off road. I just wondering if all the bouncing around etc would just rattle the insides so much it would become inoperable. Anyone actually used one on an off road situation. Talking window A/C units here.

 

[patoz]

Thanks. Just read that article. They are talking about a popup type camper though. I think my trailer will be a lot more efficient due to the wall thickness and isolation compared to a popup. Also there is no talk about how well it would do off road. I just wondering if all the bouncing around etc would just rattle the insides so much it would become inoperable. Anyone actually used one on an off road situation. Talking window A/C units here.

I didn't notice at first, but just reread your screen name. Always good to run into a fellow Firefighter, and it seems there are quite a few of us on here.

Obviously, the better your camper is insulated (hardside vs. pop-up) the more efficient the A/C unit is going to be. It's also obvious the survivability of the A/C unit is directly proportional to the quality of it's build, the suspension system on your camper, and the condition of the roads traveled. As to whether it would survive, who knows?

You mentioned you were wanting to power it with your Honda EU1000i generator, which in my opinion is the main go/no-go issue. There is a lot of discussion in that thread about this from people who have tried it, and about A/C units with hard start vs soft start compressors.

Personally, I have a 10 y/o Frigidaire 5,000-BTU 115-Volt Window Air Conditioner, and I know it will run just fine on my Honda EU2000i generator. However, that probably doesn't help you much because you will be trying to run a larger unit on a smaller generator. That A/C unit being brand new may have the soft start feature, but I didn't see anything about it on the specifications.

Maybe, someone will real world experience will chime in and be able to answer your questions better.

 

[lacofdfireman]

Well the A/C is going to happen on my trailer build. I just bought a Frigidaire 6000BTU window A/C unit with extended 2 year warranty for another $24 and the A/C unit at 189. Also my Honda 1000 generator doesn't like it so I was at CalRanch today and they had a Champion 2k generator/inverter which had a list price of $699 for $399. Couldn't pass up the deal so I picked one up. I fired it up and ran it for about 4hrs straight with the A/C unit and it blows very cold. This will be a great asset to my build. Just need to figure out how to mount it up nice and strong for the dirt roads I plan on taking..

 

[patoz]

I didn't think that EU1000i was going to be able to run it, but I'm glad you got something that will work. I'm getting older and have sinus problems, so A/C is an absolute must for me to be able to sleep at night.

If you're going to be traveling in a lot of dusty areas, you might want to come up with some kind of cover to keep the dust out of the unit while you're moving. Maybe a fabric or vinyl cover held in place with Velcro or snaps.