My van prior to this one (coachman laser) came with a/c as standard, We found that in the time we had the van we would rather have had the windows open during the day but obviously fro security reasons this is not possible at night. The a/c system was noisy if on full fan but you don,t need full fan at night just a gentle breeze, we did receive one complaint from a couple about the noise but this same couple had complained about other peoples kids, dogs, barbeques, etc. I listned to what the chap was saying then in that he had lay awake most of the night in the heat listening to my a/c running,when i pointed out that i would also probably have been lying awake in the heat if i had not had a/c he saw my point that the only reason he heard it was becouse he was awake anyway and looking for something to blame, nobody else was concerned infact some said they would be getting it fitted if the weather in this country keeps getting warmer.
On the subject of portable machines, as a fully qualified refrigeration and airconditioning engineer (before becoming a train driver) i must advice that most of the portable type units i sold when they where new to this country tended to be a little inferior in the quality stakes, a refrigeration sytem has a compressor in which the motor is sat on springs encased in steel these springs in domestic type units are not desighned to hold the compressor if continually moved, they are ok on theire own wheels but not to be thrown about in a car / caravan, the result is a compressor off its mounts running very noisy and then burning out, I have seen it so many times. Try to get the best quality you can afford and keep the machine from any violant movement and you should be ok, the type of unit designed for travel like the dometic unit have springs and retainers fitted plus the pipe work has annecondas (probably spelt wrong) fitted to remove the chance of the pipe work "work hardening" and cracking under stress of travel. In the long run a much better proposition if you intend to keep the van long enough to warrant the extra cost. i have no experiance of the bed box type a/c unit as i have never seen one in a van, this would be my choice for a retrofit as the weight is in the bottom of the van so stability is effected less, its just a bit harder to fit due to the duct work. i wonder whether the company thats makes them wants a review doing ? I am available as is my van.
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