Air Conditioner
Window AC unit
OK, so apparently nothing says Redneck like a window AC unit. I'm down with that, so here goes!
Problem 1: Find a window AC unit that will run off of a Yamaha EF1000is 1000 watt generator. Not so easy as it sounds. I went through 3 units trying to find one that would. This is something that the interwebs don't have a lot of information on. I found several videos on Youtube of folks running a small window unit off of a cheap Harbor Freight 1000 watt genny -BUT- what they don't show is that it won't run it for long. The video will show a guy crank up the genny, then turn on the AC, and even shoot it with a temp gun and show that it's cooling. But after the compressor cycles off the first time, it takes a lot more amperage on the motor to start it up the second time. So that's where the genny would fail. It would work for about the first 5 minutes or so. Adding to the confusion, the AC's fan would keep running, making you think it was still working, but no.
Here are the window AC units I tried that would not work:
LG model LW5012 500 watt 5000 btu (would not run at all)
Frigidaire FRA052XT7 500 watt 5000 btu (would run for first cycle only)
I finally found someone in a sailboat forum from 2009 who said that he had gotten an Arctic King 500 watt / 5000 btu Window AC that would run dependably on a 1000 watt genny from Walmart. Hey! that's where rednecks shop! So I ordered one up (Arctic King WWK-05CMN1-BI7). What do you know! It does in fact work in my tests!
Problem 2: Where to mount it. There is just no space anywhere in or on this rig to put a window unit. Whats more - I did not want to cut a hole in the side anywhere. This problem kept me up for a few nights trying to figure it out. Then, while trolling the WTW camper forum, I hit it: someone had hung one out the side window. So simple, so REMOVEABLE. Why coudn't I think of that? The original poster was not travelling with his in situ. He would take it out of the window and sit it in the floor until he got to his destination, then he would mount it in the window. Well, kind readers, that is an awkward bit of cargo to deal with, what with that big wonky board and it unable to sit flat, not to mention a waste of space. I needed to figure out how it could ride right there. The other designs I saw were using the window frame to support the weight. So, rather than fit the window, I just cut a 23"x24" square of 3/4" ply, and stuffed the unit through. I'm not using the window frame for support at all. I wanted it to protrude out of the side as little as possible, too - for clearance, balance, and appearance. So, I cut a bunch of aluminum angle to create a stout frame. I bolted it through the board for strength. Then I used self-tapping screws to fasten the AC unit to the aluminum frame. After I had a stout mount, I cut some old perforated metal screen to cover and reinforce the cooling fins. On the inside, I used some aluminum flashing to block off some of the ports left exposed by sitting the unit farther inside than it was set for. This will force it to draw air from only the part sticking outside. I finished it off by putting some speaker reinforcement corners on the metal corners sticking out. This is to keep someone from getting a painful poke by one of those sharp corners. Plus, it adds a certain 'rugged' look, I think.
So - I have Air Conditioning, and the whole shebang weighs only about 70 lbs. The AC unit is 35lbs. and the Yamaha Genny weighs 27lbs. Runs very quiet, too. If I don't take the genny, it's only 40 lbs. Not so bad.
Now, my junky rig looks so redneck, my wife refuses to ride in it anymore. I can't figure out of I should cry in my beer, or jump for joy. All I know is that in certain times and places that I may find myself, I can stop wishing I had AC...
looks like you this whole tc thing dialed in pretty good! The awning is a sweet mod.
