a/c in model 3685

[pandew]

Just got a Montana 3685 (front Living room). It only came with one a/c unit (over the back bedroom and ducted to kitchen and living room). Over the weekend we camped at Panama City in 90+ degree weather. I could not get the temp below 86 degrees during the day. I talked to our salesman and he's not convinced that we need a second a/c unit. Anybody with similar experience?

[Kathi]

He isn't the one that is dealing with the heat issue. You have to do what you think is right for you. Camping World has them on sale right now. Good prices. Our dealer told us that we didn't need a second a/c either. But then he wasn't with us when we were in Blythe Ca. and the temps reached 120 degrees. So I am getting a second a/c for the future. I suggest you do the same. What could it hurt. I do hope that you did get prewired for the second unit. Kathi

[Montana Sky]

I have the 15,000btu main a/c and will be adding the second a/c in the bedroom this spring. It has been in the 95+ degree mark for the past month and one a/c is not enough for a coach that is 40 feet. I also am having a pull down awning for the rear back window made this winter. It will be see through but should help cut down on the heat, since the coach rear faces west and we get the 12-9pm sun every day of the week. Also thinking of having the awnings made for the side windows as well.

[cs413]

Pandew - I live in Panama City and I know what you mean. The last 3 weeks have been pretty brutal with the heat. I don't do heat very well anymore. I bought a 3650RK and the next investment I made was the second a/c unit. Dou-Therm 13.5K. First time out locally, we were like you - couldn't get temp below 86. Turned on the other unit and within 15 minutes it was 70 AND ran both units on 30 amps. However you can't run them both very long on 30 amps. Most State parks only offer 30 and the other outlet is run off the the 30 amp outlet so you cannot use the 50 amp box adapter that combines the 30 amp outlet and 15 or 20 outlet next to it and gives you 50 amps. They have to be seperate circuits and none of them are. But if you are hooked up to a 50 amp plug it is an investment you will not regret. A couple reminders - I made a mistake not getting the high effeciency unit. My 3650, to my surprise, came with a 15K high effeciency unit. If both units are high effeciency, they advertise you can run them both on a 30 amp circuit if a 50 amp is not available to you. You wouldn't be able to run a lot of other appliances but you would be comfortable in the heat of the afternoon. Also the second unit will put your overall height around 13'4"-13'6". Watch those small town bridges!! The other thing to look at is your pin weight. It adds approx. 110-120 pounds to the pin weight. The 3685 already has the heaviest pin weight of all the Montanas. Hopefully your TV can handle the extra weight. We looked and almost bought a 3685. Loved that front living room! At the time our Chevy just wouldn't handle the pin weight, but come to find out it wouldn't handle the 3650 either (no thanks to salesmen). So my next unplanned investment was a new truck. Thank goodness for some stock options or we'd be camping in the back yard. We love the 3650 though. Don't get out much, but really enjoy it when we do.

[Fordzilla]

We made the dealer throw in the second A/C when we purchased the Monty. Glad we did as I don't do well in high humidity and heat. It works well to quickly cool the whole coach when first getting set up. Then once it is cooled down we have to adjust a little more as the front A/c plays havoc with the thermostat that controls the main A/C above the bedroom. The front one blow right down towards the kitchen and keeps the main A/C thinking it is cold enough and shuts it down before the back of the trailer is cool enough.

[Broome101]

I would not have my 3685Fl without the second AC. As stated in previous post our dealer as well told us one would do it but they were wrong. I installed the second AC myself and glad we did, these rigs are bigger than you think especially with 4 slides and tall ceiling height they have. get the second AC you will be glad you did.

[sreigle]

I don't have any facts but would think the front living room models would be most likely to need the second AC simply because the main daytime living area is also the highest part of the rig.

We don't see a need for a second AC in our unit but we have experienced just enough of the inability to really cool the rig in hot humid temperatures that we'd opt for the second AC if we were going to spend more than our one month per year in that kind of weather.

[Kathi]

We just got back from taking our 3400RL in for maintenance. We ask the service man if he thought we should have a second a/c. He told us most deffinitely, that a coach that size should have 2. So we are having the second one installed today. I know when the salesman told us we didn't really need a second a/c that he didn't know what he was talking about. We should have ordered it anyway regardless of what he said. Oh well, we are getting one now.

[Montana_4107]

hi, we just bought the 3685fl this weekend. we camped last night and today and could not get the temp below 85 on a 90 degree day. our salesman assured us we did not need the second a/c unit, but we're not so sure... looks like we'll be purchasing the second a/c unit. i think montana dealers should let potential consumers know of this issue prior to purchase!

[Roman4]

We have two air conditioners. It seemed to us that the bedroom A/C (which is not connected to the ductwork but instead discharges directly into the bedroom) put out much colder air than the larger main-room A/C discharged through the ductwork.

We took it back to the dealership for a check-up. They determined that the ductwork for the main A/C was not properly sealed to the plenum. They apparently taped or otherwise sealed it up, and it now cools much better.

I seem to recall another poster mentioning this same shortcoming. That might be something to have your dealer look into if you are experiencing an air conditioner that doesn't cool properly.

[Parrothead]

I think some of this is personal comfort level. I don't mind it being a little warm. San Jose was hot (90's) and we did okay running the A/C and the fans. It was 108 in Hemet yesterday and cooled down today to 104. We are in our stick house but if we were in the Monty, we would not be in this type of heat. We'd be in the mountains.
Happy trails...................