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Royale roof A/C’s
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thanks for the info. A former Foretravel owner? Great!
And I’m in contact with Brandon!
Tom
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Some time ago I read about coatings applied to roof tops which are designed to reflect the sun. This might be something to look into rather then the cost and considerable remodel to add the 4th roof air.
Maybe someone can comment or has experience with roof coatings.
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Are you thinking about “Insulall” by Tempcoat?
http://www.tempcoat.com/temp-coat-products/temp-coat-101/prod_2.html
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Or this: Bus Kote
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I have never had any special roof coatings nor have I given consideration to the color of the roof. I can say this however.
My 97 non-slide 45 foot coach had the same placement of Cruiseairs as my current 45 foot 2 slide coach. One was located in the front above the dash, two were placed in the center, one directing all air flow into the kitchen and forward, one directing air toward the bath and the kitchen. The last Cruiseair was dedicated to the bedroom.
The 97 coach on hot days often needed 3 units operating to maintain the desired temps, and the current coach, even with the slides open rarely needs more than the front and aft ACs running. Until the question above was posted I always attributed the difference to a more efficient air flow over the condensing units but to my eye they looked like they were set up the same. The big difference however is the roof of the current coach is white and the 97 coach was gold.
My guess is a white roof, regardless of the type of material coating is going to be significant in contributing to cooling.
And all Liberty owners will understand the windshield shades have a huge impact on the ability to cool the coach. When they were down the black color was like a solar panel and inside the coach we could feel the heat radiating from them into the living room. Liberty changed ours to a tan color prior to us picking the coach up. That change made a very noticeable difference in how much heat was radiating into the living room compared to the black shades. Next time I will try to get white shades.
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The Temp Coat product looks very interesting. I wonder how flexible it is to stand up to an occassional walk across the roof. It also looks like it must be sprayed on. It sure would be easier to applied if it could be rolled.
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On our current Foretravel coach, we had the factory apply a white coating to the roof to stop the black streaks but it also has UV blocking in it and it looks very much like a truck bed liner and very easy to keep clean and to walk on. Also, the paint color of the sides will contribute to heat gain. We are looking at Prevosts that have somewhat of a lighter paint color than an all black coach, just for the heat reason.
I can’t tell if the coating has helped with cooling or not. We just drove thru 110 degree temps, dash AC, and two roof ACs on and the coach was very comfortable. Probably not to Jon’s meat freezer standards though!
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Just as a reference, we are sitting in the 90 degree Charleston humidity and 2 roof units keep our 40 foot H3, with no slides very comfortable. I have low 134 in my Prevost OTR and had to run the generator and roof airs for the trip down, but running all 3 keeps in pleasant on the road as well.
I have tightned several fittings on the OTR and going in a week to get it recharged. Just cannot beat the Prevost OTR!!! -
Welcome to the forum…
We live in East Texas and the heat here is unreal… we had a 4 slide plastic coach with 3 roof airs that couldn’t keep the bus cool… might get down to 78 overnight!
I wouldn’t consider 3 roof airs on anything with slides let alone 45′ with 2 slides… everyone’s comfort zone is different… Larry likes 68 degrees I like 72 degrees so 70 is a happy medium for us… stateroom at night 68 and overhead fan on !!
The H requires more air than the XL it’s much hotter in the front… the OTR is the answer on the road to keep the bus cool and I run mine after we park until I am happy that the temps are good… takes 15 mins sometimes but its important to me to get it cold so it will stay that way. We all learn eventually what works for your coach to keep it cool but I will say that I don’t think 3 roof airs have a chance if you like it cool and if one goes out you are cooked !!
On a good note roof airs have an advantage replacement wise.
What part of Texas are you in?
Good luck and stay cool.
Diane
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Diane, thanks for the information. We may change our search specs to include OTR. We are in the hill country near Austin so the temps are hot hot hot.
A Royale with 4 roof ACs would be great but we are not limiting our search just to those, but I do think we would like an XLII with two slides.
Thanks.
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One thing to consider which Diane brought up is if you do not get OTR and will use the driver’s air plus the roof or Cruiseair AC units, make sure you do get good air flow in the front of the coach. Some owners have not been satisfied with the air flow from the Prevost driver’s area AC. With all of the glass. plus the fact you have wind speeds at least as much as your driving speed you are pouring heat into the driver’s area. If you are driving south and the sun is hitting you, the dash and other areas of the interior that just adds to the heat load the AC units have to cope with.
I agree the H has more glass in the front, but the XLII has a lot also. If the driver’s air or OTR quits the house AC units are not sufficient to keep the front passenger and driver comfortable unless the converer has ducted them to provide ample air flow to offset the heat pouring in through the windshield.
The reverse is also true. In the extreme cold weather, when it is approaching single digit temperatures the cold air spilling from the windshields can be brutal. If you intend to head north in the winter for skiing for example, make sure the Webasto or Aquahot puts out the air flow to supplement the Prevost system. We have been in temps with the smaller windows of the XL in which full heat on the OTR system, plus the propane furnace, plus the auxiliary heaters weren’t enough and we had to have blankets across our knees.
Or you can wait to use the coach only in moderate temps. Naw, that ain’t gonna happen.
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