Grandby dinettes and airconditioners

[TZtraveler]

After years of reading this forum, researching and planning, we are about a year away from ordering an FWC Grandby to put on a Ford F-150 long bed with the heavy duty payload package. This will be a retirement present, so we are planning on ordering a new truck and a new camper.
We will be traveling/camping in the southeastern states, among other places, and from experience we know that it can be very important to have airconditioning at times.
My question is how to choose the dinette arrangement with this in mind. What are the options? What has been your experience with the need for A/C in your camping trips around the hot and humid southeast? How about in other places when it gets really hot? How do you handle the heat?
I would be happy to hear any stories, suggestions, experiences and ideas from any of you who would care to respond.
Thanks!

 

[JHa6av8r]

We have a Grandby with a front dinette and mostly dry camp. Unless you have it built without a cabinet on the rear passenger side there isn't any room for an a/c unit on the back wall. Haven't camped in high humidity but have where the daytime temps were 105 plus or minus. It's doable but not the most comfortable. You'll need shore power to use an a/c unit. As far as handling the heat we always camp near a lake or river when it's hot. We vent the camper during the day. Everything is open. I'd sleep with all the windows fully open at night but the wife closes them to a sliver because she want it dark as long as possible in the morning so our son sleeps a little longer.

 

[TZtraveler]

Thanks for that information. Yes, I'll need shore power for A/C and we may not need it often, but I think it would be good to have some of the time. It sounds from what you said that the vents and fan are very effective most of the time, which is good to know.

How do you like the front dinette? It looks very roomy. Is the storage adequate for your use? Do you have the cassette toilet in the back? Is there much cabinet space behind the cassette toilet?

I really appreciate your response. I'm going to write to FWC directly to ask about possible layouts to consider, but it is wonderful to know the experiences of other customers.

These campers look like they are great fun and that they open up some wonderful possibilities for exploration and travel. We really look forward to getting ours, and hope you continue to have a great time with yours.

 

[JHa6av8r]

There's 3 of us, me, wife, & 5 year old son. It took a few trips to determine how we stowed things efficiently for us. Except for clothes & toys, everything fits in the Grandby's cabinets. We augment with 2 plastic storage bins that fit in the dinette foot space. We also have Yakima racks with a lite weight Basketcase, gunwale brackets for the kayak, and paddle/fishing pole holder. There's also a swing away Yakima bike rack of the hitch in back. Ours is normally configured with the dinette converted to the bed. We normally cook & eat outside unless the weather is bad. Decided not to get the cassette toilet and opted for a dry folding toilet & Wag Bags. This came with a privacy shelter that doubles for the outside shower. The space where the toilet goes is all cabinet storage. For us the front dinette was by far the best layout in terms of useful space & functional layout. We love the camper and heading out for a 3 day weekend on Friday.

 

[subterran]

I live down here, and I can confirm what you already suspect - camping in the southeast in summer without an A/C is miserable. I've done it for years, in the back of my pickup with a camper top in late July, and the only way I can sleep is with a powerful fan blowing directly on me. There are a few hard-to-find spots up in the mountains that remain cool enough to sleep perhaps, but I sure wouldn't depend on it. I've been out west, and even on a 100F day, it's nice at night but down here it never gets nice. As we say: Heat you can feel, but humidity you wear. If you plan on spending any time down here, a window unit will save you. If you get a small one like mine (frigidaire mini 5000 btu) you can run it on a 1000 watt Honda Genny, as it only uses 500 watts, and has a 'soft start' feature that won't kill the little genny. That's if you intend dispersed camping, as opposed to campgrounds.

One other space-saving A/C you might consider, if you have the coin, is a ClimateRight 5000. With one of those, you only need to drill (2) 4" ports wherever you have room, one for air and one for return. This is what I plan on doing with my Woody next year. I'm going to get a hitch-hauler, put the Climateright on one side, and the Genny on the other when it's hot weather, and leave it at home when it's cold - using the hitch haul for firewood.

Anyway, I hope your camper is wonderful, and enjoy your trip!