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RVAC
Is it true that the RVAC system can not be serviced? in other words you can not charge it? Mine works fine just not as cold as the Cruise Airs. Got a tech coming to look at it tomorrow night. Thoughts?
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14 Replies
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Prevosnob
What coach do you have? There are different systems out there.
I have a H-3 Featherlite and Featherlite in Sanford, Fl completely rerbuilt mine.
Two new compressors, two new fan motors, new control board, rebuilt ducting in bay. Around $7000. Say around because I had other issues addressed too.
Chuck
P.S. Featherlite had the old unavailable control boards reversed engineered and now have New control boards in stock for the older systems.
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I have a 2001 h3 Featherlite as well my unit is working but I have to run the aux ac systems to be able to cool down the bus efficiently is it the same for you?
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This is just my observation and may not apply to everybody.
My coach has 4 Cruiseair units with a total BTU of somewhere around 52,000 or about 13,000 BTU each unit.
I also have OTR which probably has about 90,000 to 100,000 BTU. With the OTR system I can be pretty careless about maintaining the coach interior temperature. It has a lot of cooling capacity so if the interior gets heat soaked I have a whole lot of cooling capacity to deal with that.
But if I did not have that ability to make the entire coach comfortable pretty quickly I would have to manage the interior temperatures. If the interior gets very warm even running all 4 house A/Cs (the equivalent performance of an RVAC plus 2 other units) it will be a struggle to get the interior temps cool, especially if it is warm out and the sun is beating down on the coach. So it is important to never let the coach interior temp get too warm.
However, if the coach interior is comfortable and I keep the sun from shining in and heating up interior surfaces like the dash and the furniture and cabinets by using the shades 2 units will maintain the temps. However, the placement of the A/C units, combined with the interior configuration an even distribution of interior temps is a challenge so during the hottest times of the day we tend to use 2 units up front to keep the LR and kitchen area comfortable, and as the sun goes down a little, we switch one front unit off and turn on the bedroom (aft) A/C.
Having said that there are two things to consider. When I want it cool, my definition is the interior is so cool the windows get condensation on the outside. Certain Floridians (whose initials are TC) who wear hoodies when the temps drop below 85 complain about my preferred interior coach temps. My willingness to select where the 2 A/C units are located as described above is based on being on shore power and by using only 2 A/C units (one on each leg) I can be pretty sloppy when it comes to managing shore power. But if I am dry camping and running the generator I use every A/C unit, and let the thermostats let them cycle as needed because the start up current draw on A/C units isn’t enough to even come to be a current management problem with the generator.
2000 Featherlite H3-45
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Leesburg, FL -
Noob, the RVAC will only cool from the salon to the vanity. In any heat you will have to run the cruise air for the bedroom and the front one also depending how cool you like it up front. If you do not have OTR, you will have to make sure the entire bus is cool (especially the bedroom) before you stop. I am not a big fan of basement AC units and particularly RVAC which is no longer supported. They can be repaired as any AC unit except for the proprietary circuit boards. In that case the normal retro-fit is a Coleman-Mach unit. I have OTR, so when I stop the bus is plenty cool. As soon as i am plugged in or turn the genset on I set the bsmt AC and both cruise airs on to the temp I desire. They will not kick in immediately as the temp is lower from the OTR, but will as the temp rises. Then I adjust accordingly. If you do not have OTR and it is real hot while you are moving you will already be running everything. Just make sure you get it a bit colder before you stop as you don’t want to let the bus heat soak as you hook up. Geo.
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Yes I agree with you, as I am realizing our buses are intended to run all units on hot summer days to keep temps under control, I thought at first the Rvac was a total solution for cooling as would be a central residential ac as the Rvac is a central bus air but there is no way the Rvac with 27000 Btu will cool down our rigs when they are hot inside, I believe I can manage the bus with the Rvac and the front cruiseair unit upfront, the rear bedroom stays pretty cool with the Rvac system.
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Unless your bsmt air is ducted differently than mine, the last outlet is before the bdrm. I have to use the rear cruise air for the bdrm. It’s actually overkill for that space so it just idles along on low fan. Geo.
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I have a 2001 H3 and replaced my Rvac last year at Tradewinds for a brand new Coleman for right at $4K. It plus my front cruise air does a good job cooling even in New Mexico summer heat, however, I sometimes have to hit the AC Boost fan switch. I usually turn my rear cruise air off during the day because I keep it set at 62 for night time sleeping. I have OTR, so like Jon, the bus is really cool when I shut down. I agree with everything George/corey says.
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Corey – RVAC circuit boards have been reverse engineered and NEW CIRCUIT boards are available from Featherlite for their HVAC basement units.
Triple Fox – You noted Tradewinds installed a Coleman unit in your coach for around $4K. Was that a basement unit?
Chuck
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Chuck, it’s about time! I knew it could be done as about 11 yrs ago my refrig guy was smart enough to make a new board on a HR Navigator we had. Luckily on my current Vantare the previous owner had just recently done the Coleman-Mach retro-fit before we purchased it. Geo.
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Corey
I am confused, is the coleman mach a basement unit or a roof unit?
Chuck
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Yes I have OTR air as well and it definitely does the job lol
i wish the Rvac would have the same result as the OTR. My RVac is vented all the way down to the bedroom I have 3 vents in the salon one in the kitchen one in the hallway in front of the thinking chair and three in bedroom. I have blocked off the vents at the bedroom and doing so have increased the air flow to the salon which has made a considerable difference in airflow.
Yes the coleman unit is a basement ac which is ducted, I have seen them online for around 2500. The board on my Rvac went and I just converted the system to mechanical with some contactors and a fan relay switch and a 110v to 24v transformer works great with a dual stage thermostat which controls the dual stage cooling of the compressors. If any of you need help doing this I would be more thank glad to help with the process it would definitely save you a bit of money.
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Ralf, Now I understand your set up. I have 4 in the salon and 2 in the vanity area in the bdrm. I wish the rear cruise air in the bdrm had another duct to the vanity area so I could block of the ones from the bsmt AC and increase the air flow to the salon. I am not crazy about how Featherlite did it. My thinking chair area duct is hooked to the OTR resulting in 50 deg bathroom while traveling. Then, I have to leave the bathroom door open while parked to cool it. We just live with it and use the bathroom door as the final check of being perfectly level when parked. Geo.
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Chuck, the Coleman is a basement unit and fits the same footprint as the RVAC. It is about 3/4 inch wider is only difference.
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George, that is odd they would duct the OTR into the bathroom and not your Rvac You would figure they would think you wouldn’t really need the OTR into the bathroom since you would be using it while driving, very odd they did that. On my setup I believe it has to many ducts to cool effectively, my bathroom is also ducted off the OTR. The only option I have for better cooling is block off the bedroom ducts and the hallway duct in front of the thinking chair. I wound if the Coleman unit that has been brought up on this topic cools any better or more efficient, I know it has the same BTU capacity as ours. I wouldn’t want roof ac as those are large holes cut into the roof and can always be a potential leak.
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