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Old 06-23-2021, 09:46 AM   #1
Jeff53
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Bedroom AC

Greetings. Our new-to-us 2009 Montana 3000RK came with only the main AC unit. We think we'll probably need to add a 2nd AC in the bedroom for travel to hotter areas. I'm not concerned with connecting it into the ducting or using the Zone 2 portion of the thermostat. I'm fine with just installing and manually controlling the unit. The trailer came from the factory with wiring and frame for the 2nd AC. My main question is BTUs. I've been looking at the RecPro unit made by Houghton that is 9500 BTU. It's gotten good reviews for being quieter than the Dometic or Coleman units. For those that have the 2nd AC, is 9500 BTU enough to keep things cool in the bedroom? The 13,500 BTU unit is about $500 more and I'm not sure it's necessary. I'm assuming the 15K main unit will keep the rest of the trailer cool enough. Also, with those that have the 3000RK with just the main AC unit, does it do a good enough job keeping the whole trailer cool in hotter climates or do I really need the 2nd unit for that? Thanks.
 
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Old 06-23-2021, 09:51 AM   #2
Carl n Susan
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The one is adequate in hot weather. I would go with the 13.5K unit minimum. The 15K is not unreasonable either.
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Old 06-23-2021, 10:05 AM   #3
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When we had our 2010 2955RL we added the low profile 13.5K Penguin AC in the bedroom. Had it tied into the duct system and the CCC T-stat zone 2, but it also had the "Dump Feature" vents that could be opened on the it to dump all the cold air into the bedroom.
Worked great for us.
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Old 06-23-2021, 10:44 AM   #4
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In all honesty, if you're going to go to the trouble of adding a second AC.. I'd go with at least the 13.5 BTU. A 9500 BTU AC is just the next thing above a block of ice with a fan blowing on it in my opinion.
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Old 06-23-2021, 12:30 PM   #5
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Having a 2006 3000RK I can tell you one is not adequate if it gets above 90 and high humidity. I installed a second unit like you are thinking. I put in a 13.5, manual operation, and a straight dump into the bedroom. It works fine and keeps the unit comfortable even when temps approach the century mark. If I had to do it again I would install a 15k ducted unit. That way if the main ever goes out I have some forced air into the rest of the 5'er. The ceiling diffuser for ducted is the only thing that is different and at least on mine, access to the ducting was already in the ceiling.
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Old 06-24-2021, 01:42 PM   #6
Jeff53
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Originally Posted by jimcol View Post
Having a 2006 3000RK I can tell you one is not adequate if it gets above 90 and high humidity. I installed a second unit like you are thinking. I put in a 13.5, manual operation, and a straight dump into the bedroom. It works fine and keeps the unit comfortable even when temps approach the century mark. If I had to do it again I would install a 15k ducted unit. That way if the main ever goes out I have some forced air into the rest of the 5'er. The ceiling diffuser for ducted is the only thing that is different and at least on mine, access to the ducting was already in the ceiling.
Thanks for the info. I think I've been convinced by everyone to do at least the 13.5. I'm still leaning towards keeping it simple and doing the manual operation rather than tying into the ductwork and thermostat, although mine is equipped with that option.
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Old 06-24-2021, 03:12 PM   #7
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One more question

For those of you that have the 2nd AC and had it installed after purchase, did you go with the condensate pump or do you just let it drain onto/off of the roof? I've stated looking at 13.5 units and the Coleman Mach 8 looks like it would work well for my application. It's available with and without a condensate pump, evidently.
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Old 06-24-2021, 04:13 PM   #8
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Most any roof AC on any RV you'll see just drains out to the roof onto the gutter and then on to the ground.
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Old 06-30-2021, 06:58 PM   #9
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We added a second unit to our 2009 3400RL to keep the temperature down since we do a lot of our camping in Florida and our rear unit would run constantly when the temp got into the 90's. We went with a 13.5 Advent unit that cost $1100.00 installed and that's the best money we've spent. Not only is the trailer more comfortable, but the main unit runs less which is extending it's life. We run both units during the day and just the rear unit night.
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Old 06-30-2021, 08:29 PM   #10
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Just got a second AC

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff53 View Post
Greetings. Our new-to-us 2009 Montana 3000RK came with only the main AC unit. We think we'll probably need to add a 2nd AC in the bedroom for travel to hotter areas. I'm not concerned with connecting it into the ducting or using the Zone 2 portion of the thermostat. I'm fine with just installing and manually controlling the unit. The trailer came from the factory with wiring and frame for the 2nd AC. My main question is BTUs. I've been looking at the RecPro unit made by Houghton that is 9500 BTU. It's gotten good reviews for being quieter than the Dometic or Coleman units. For those that have the 2nd AC, is 9500 BTU enough to keep things cool in the bedroom? The 13,500 BTU unit is about $500 more and I'm not sure it's necessary. I'm assuming the 15K main unit will keep the rest of the trailer cool enough. Also, with those that have the 3000RK with just the main AC unit, does it do a good enough job keeping the whole trailer cool in hotter climates or do I really need the 2nd unit for that? Thanks.
We just received our 2nd AC tonight. Haven't installed it yet. Based on advice from an RV tech we went with a 15k Dometic. It was $749 to the front door. Its better to have more than we need than not enough, also based on advice we added the heat element in the event we encounter a polar vortex like they had in TX, and propane freezes up we will still have some heat options. We opted for a single zone thermostat so we can set a specific temp. The ceiling controls don't give you that option. All of our stuff came to MO within 3 or 4 days from United RV in TX. It cost us just over $1000 for everything. We still have to install it but we figured out a few weeks ago that one AC just wasn’t enough.
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Old 07-01-2021, 04:52 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by Ttman View Post
We just received our 2nd AC tonight. Haven't installed it yet. Based on advice from an RV tech we went with a 15k Dometic. It was $749 to the front door. Its better to have more than we need than not enough, also based on advice we added the heat element in the event we encounter a polar vortex like they had in TX, and propane freezes up we will still have some heat options. We opted for a single zone thermostat so we can set a specific temp. The ceiling controls don't give you that option. All of our stuff came to MO within 3 or 4 days from United RV in TX. It cost us just over $1000 for everything. We still have to install it but we figured out a few weeks ago that one AC just wasn’t enough.
Was that a low profile unit for that price? I ended up purchasing a 13.5 Coleman Mach 8 Ultra Low Profile unit from Camping World, as they had the best price that I could find. Everything, including the inside unit, came to $1,051 with a 10% off coupon.
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Old 07-01-2021, 05:22 AM   #12
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We added a Dometic Penguin 13.5K Btu low profile unit to ours. It's not ducted since I couldn't see any way to do that without pulling the ceiling down or installing a different thermostat to control both. With that said, it will actually cool the entire trailer alone in a not too scorching a day - recall that cooled air 'falls' and that a/c is right at the stairwell and that air tumbles down into the LR/kitchen . I also added the optional heat strip for those chilly mornings. My DW is happy about that.

One thing to take into consideration when you add one of these a/c units to the front - it adds considerable height. I started at a measured 12'11" after some suspension upgrades. The trailer is now right at the 'magic' number of 13'6" over the a/c which is now the high point.

Noise - on low, it's not too bad but quieter then the main 15K Btu unit. On high speed - well let's say that any RV a/c that close wont be a good way for a restful night
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Old 07-01-2021, 07:46 AM   #13
Ttman
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff53 View Post
Was that a low profile unit for that price? I ended up purchasing a 13.5 Coleman Mach 8 Ultra Low Profile unit from Camping World, as they had the best price that I could find. Everything, including the inside unit, came to $1,051 with a 10% off coupon.
No, we went with the Brisk II, so its not low profile. The Penguin II is the low profile model for $899.00. Your price seems good compared to everything I looked at. We have a lightly used 2002 3280 Montana, new to us last year. We are a little bit shorter and lighter than the new Montanas.
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Old 07-01-2021, 12:12 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by Dave W View Post
We added a Dometic Penguin 13.5K Btu low profile unit to ours. It's not ducted since I couldn't see any way to do that without pulling the ceiling down or installing a different thermostat to control both. With that said, it will actually cool the entire trailer alone in a not too scorching a day - recall that cooled air 'falls' and that a/c is right at the stairwell and that air tumbles down into the LR/kitchen . I also added the optional heat strip for those chilly mornings. My DW is happy about that.

One thing to take into consideration when you add one of these a/c units to the front - it adds considerable height. I started at a measured 12'11" after some suspension upgrades. The trailer is now right at the 'magic' number of 13'6" over the a/c which is now the high point.

Noise - on low, it's not too bad but quieter then the main 15K Btu unit. On high speed - well let's say that any RV a/c that close wont be a good way for a restful night
Dave, there is a noise solution that I use but you loose your “dump” vent. It puts all of your a/c into your duct work. I found it helps to cool the entire rig better and cuts down a lot of noise. It includes a washable filter. Check them out.
https://wackoproducts.com/contact/
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Old 07-01-2021, 01:47 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by Mikelff View Post
Dave, there is a noise solution that I use but you loose your “dump” vent. It puts all of your a/c into your duct work. I found it helps to cool the entire rig better and cuts down a lot of noise. It includes a washable filter. Check them out.
https://wackoproducts.com/contact/

Thanks! I'll take a good look at that for the main a/c Losing the direct dump is not a problem since it's seldom used. Unfortunately the BR unit ducting is 4 or so feet away from the unit and not accessible for hooking on that unit without major ceiling surgery
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Old 07-01-2021, 03:18 PM   #16
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More is better and it sure does get HOT out there. Go for the bigger AC, since you are going to do it anyway. No regrets then.
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Old 12-07-2021, 11:37 AM   #17
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Originally Posted by jimcol View Post
Having a 2006 3000RK I can tell you one is not adequate if it gets above 90 and high humidity. I installed a second unit like you are thinking. I put in a 13.5, manual operation, and a straight dump into the bedroom. It works fine and keeps the unit comfortable even when temps approach the century mark. If I had to do it again I would install a 15k ducted unit. That way if the main ever goes out I have some forced air into the rest of the 5'er. The ceiling diffuser for ducted is the only thing that is different and at least on mine, access to the ducting was already in the ceiling.
We have a 2007 3000RK and agree that one is not sufficient when temps are as noted above. We are actually on our second front AC as the first one rusted out. Ours "dumps" to the bedroom vice being ducted. One thing we did that was "unique" was how we chose to power the front A/C.

Our 2007 came "pre-wired" for the second air conditioner but DW told the techs to take the wires from the back of the circuit board and wire it directly to a heavy Duty extension cord. The techs originally put the cord in the curb side front basement area but I ran it over to the convenience center. It now will feed out the hole in the bottom along with the water, cable, etc. This has proven to be very useful as most campground have a 120V plug on the pedestal along with the 30A or 50A plug. Plugging the front A/C in with it's own cord mean we can run both A/C even if we only have 30A power available. It also is nice for the tedhs at the repair center or when I am fixing things at the house to be able to run an A/C with just a 20A receptacle available
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Old 12-07-2021, 02:49 PM   #18
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I have had a 2006 and a 2013. I added an A/C to the front on both units. You definitely need a 2nd A/C. The only drawback is the dump units in the front don't really help a lot with the rear of the trailer. I have used a fan to try to push it to the back, but then the hall gets quite cool and guess where the thermostat is located! So I have to pay attention to temps otherwise the thermostat shuts off the rear unit!!!
My units neither were capable to use the ducts. Wish I could have done that.
By the way, when in the middle of Nebraska in the summer and temps around 100-105 we stopped at a park in the middle of nowhere. Hooked up and apparently they had a problem and blew our some electronic appliances and I think the A/C. Immediately bought a surge protector and it has saved my 2 or 3 times at parks. One park in N Idaho was mostly filled with Canadians! They only had 2 or 3 open temporary sites, so I got one. Each afternoon the voltage would drop to around 102 or so. The surge guard shut us down every afternoon, and would restart again in 3 minutes. I finally turned off the A/C until the temps dropped. A neighbor said his son stayed there the days prior, and said the same thing happened to him.

Just a FYI.
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