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The Newbie Thread
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I couldn’t live without OTR in my 91 XL and that (compressor) would be a fix I would have to make. As somebody said earlier if the gen set went out and you didn’t have OTR here in 100 + degree days in Texas driving, you would be literally toast. But, to each his own.
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As Jon describes it,
OTR sounds like a house AC Compressor Unit. I see OTR puts out 80,000 BTU. If OTR is rated like a residential AC unit, by the known AC formula, “24,000 Btu’s/12,000 Btu’s per ton = 2 tons” this would equate that the OTR is like a 6.5 ton unit. For reference, a 2.5 ton unit can cool 1,500 sqf in Arizona, which technically means an OTR unit could actually cool a 4,500 sqf house! If this equation holds true for OTR, I’m assuming that’s why the compressor is in the bay since it’s such a beast the roof wouldn’t support it.
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The compressor is engine driven and is by the engine. The condensing unit is in the bay on the passenger side and the evaporator is in the bay on the driver’s side. Between the two units which only occupy about 1/4 of the bay is the coach fuel tank
There is no Prevost installed AC system on the roof.
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Our previous coach, an 03 Liberty had Prevost OTR, dash air and 4 Cruise Aire units installed in the basement. Our current coach, an 05 Marathon does not have OTR. It has dash air and 4 roof airs. The OTR in the Liberty was sweet but the way we use the coach does not make it an option that is necessary for us. We typically are not driving in 90+° heat and we stay parked in one place for months at a time. Cruise Aires are quieter inside the coach but I found them to be annoying when I was trying to watch TV outside. Due to being installed in the basement the fans made a lot of noise right next to the entertainment bay. In our current coach we can run the dash air and 2 of the roof airs without running the generator. If we need more than that we would have to run the Gen set. The additional basement storage is a huge plus for us with this coach. One other advantage to roof air vs cruise Aires is that in the event one needs replaced I believe the roof air units are considerably cheaper.
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I wish I had roof airs over cruise air. They work much better IMO.
As for OTR, I just, I just spent $4000 for a new condenser on mine. And I still love OTR air!!
The first photo shows a dark spot on the lower left corner. A lot of times, spilled fuel from filling on that side may cause that. But, I am very carefull with fueling on that side. Mine had a crack, and had lost 6 lbs of freon over the last year. I noticed the spot when cleaning that area. It was still cooling, but not quite as cool as it should have been, and I didn’t want to get to 100 degree summer time, and have a problem. So, I had Prevost Jax replace it with a new one. Paul did a great job. I had him replace two of the service valves as well, since another shop decided to use vise grips on them, instead of the proper square head wrench, when adding freon before.
I talked with John about it, who is the regional Service rep now, who was the service manager at Jax. He is easy to get a hold of now if you have any problems.
Cindy and her crew at Prevost Jax, did a great job!
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My 1999 Country Coach has Dash Air, CC OTR Air, and three Roof Airs. The roof airs are ducted through the entire coach. The CC OTR has two cooling zones, one in the kitchen and one in the bedroom.
I normally only have the Dash Air on. If I want the entire coach cold upon arrival, I will turn on the CC OTR Air shortly before arrival.
Most of my driving is in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada during the summer when temps can get up to 120 degrees. I have driven and camped in some extreme temps., 112 degree days and 85 degree nights. I did camp in Las Vegas on the asphalt at Circus Circus RV Park the summer it hit 120 degrees +.
Since the Roof Airs are ducted and I can have one, two, or all three on, it is easy to control how cold it is inside the coach. I normally only run two Roof Airs when I stop overnight. Driving in extreme heat, I will use the Dash Air and the CC OTR Air. This keeps the coach very cool.
All my bays are clear, since I have roof airs.
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