Portable A/c for 16ft Bailey Pageant

[RayR]

Hi, We live in Australia and have a UK Bailey caravan and love. There is no A/c in the van and in OZ it can get very warm to say the least. Don't want to put rooftop A/c because vof weight up top and loss of payload. So has anyone had experience with portable A/c if so witch ones and how good/bad was it
Thanks
Ray

 

[Buckman]

Living in the bush in Zimbabwe with temperatures exceeding 35C in the shade and then later Durban, South Africa where the heat and the humidity are a real killer, I never had air con in any caravan as all doors and windows were open at night and somehow I managed, but certainly could not cope these days.

However in the UK there is a unit called "Cool my Camper" which seems to be okay for smaller caravans. One of the posters on here has used one in Spain, but Spain probably does not get as hot as the Outback.

 

[Seblo]

I looked into AC for our caravan this year. I found 3 options...

Roof top installation - they are expensive and difficult to justify the cost here in the UK. I also didn't like the idea of losing a roof light. It's also a lot of permanent weight high up, not good for stability. Approx £1800

Eurom or "Cool my Camper" - They are decent bits of kit, my friend uses one. They are a bit fiddly to install when you get on site and can be difficult to position so the cool air blows the full length of the caravan. When you go out for the day you might feel the need to remove it and store it inside the caravan. They are low powered so might not be powerful enough for very hot weather or larger caravans despite what the marketing info claims. Everyone will know you have air con. £550 approx

Portable AC unit - A bit bulky to transport and need to be kept vertical really. There are a massive range of units to choose from with varying power outputs. Some consideration needs to be given to exhausting the hot air duct. From £150 upwards

I opted for the 3rd choice. We have predictably only needed it once this year for a recent 7 day hot spell in the UK but it was delicious in the caravan. I opted for a more powerful model (£300) and glad I did. It uses 4.1 amps btw I have made an exhaust fitting (removeable) for the shower roof light and it works perfectly. No-one would know we use air con other than all the windows are closed in 30 degree weather. To transport it I put it in the tow car (I opted for a short fat version rather than a tall slim one). I can also use the unit in the house, which I have done. If the weather forecast isn't for hot weather we don't take it on caravan trips.

 

[Mr Plodd]

I have a "Cool My Camper" unit and have used it in 30⁰+ heat in my Bailey Phoenix (4 berth single axle caravan) and can offer the following experience.
First up it's 230v only, so cannot be used "off grid" but then neither can roof mounted A/C
It's is somewhat unwieldy to move around and/or fit onto the window ledge as there are two sections that are permanently linked together (look on their website). But it's reasonably easy to manage.
It's nothing like as "efficient" as a cars air/con so dont expect the output to feel as cold as your cars does. The reason being the cars unit is driven by the engine so has a much higher power input.
It's pretty weighty at around (I think) 20kg, but check that figure.
It works pretty well, but don't expect it to cool the whole caravan to be like a fridge in the middle of the day, it simply doesnt have tHe capacity, however, it WILL cool the lounge OR the bedroom during the day but will keep both cool at night.
It cooled our lounge down by about 6-7⁰C during the day but the biggest advantage was it took the humidity right down.
During the evening we opened the door twixt lounge and bedroom and that cooled the bedroom down. A small fan to circulate the (wonderfully de-humidified) air around the caravan between lounge and bedroom is useful at night. It is VITAL that you keep the caravan closed up as much as possible at all times to retain the cold air.
I did look at a domestic 230v unit, but they are very bulky so take up a lot of internal space, plus they need a fairly hefty "exhaust" hose/trunk so you have to leave a window open to feed it out through.
To sum up the CMC unit is a reasonable alternative to roof mounted, but it doesn't perform quite as well as a roof mounted unit (I had a motorhome with roof mounted so have experience of both) It also doesn't cost anything like as much but it DOES make a very noticable difference provided you accept its limitations.
If I had the money, and the payload, I woukd opt for roof mounted, but having neither I consider my CMC a pretty decent compromise that does tge job well enough. Its certainly VASTLY better than no air/con.
Hope that helps?

 

[Buckman]

The roof top air con has zero affect on stability otherwise they would not fit them there. You don't lose a roof light as generally the air con replaces the Omnivent as the wiring is generally already in place. However what does need to be taken into consideration is whether the roof is capable of handling the extra load of about 30kg.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I can only relate to portable units sold in the UK. That means their usually designed for domestic use, rather than caravan, and are not set up for the extreems you might find in Aussie. As I'm sure you know, to make AC work most efficiently, you need to prevent any unnecessary air exchange between the inside cooled space and outside. This is why the better systems are usually are split, and use a small bore connection system, or their condenser and evaporator systems are properly segregated internally and their respective inlets and outlets are designed to maintain the segregation and may use ducting for the air circuits.

The systems that are designed specifically for recreational vehicles, do mange the air circuits, but they are not classed as portable, being fitted into the caravans, what we see as portable "AC" units are usually stand alone devices that either use evaporative cooling using water(otherwise humidifiers, and are less effective) or devices that use a compressor refrigeration system but usually only duct the condenser (heated) air away, meaning it uses some of the internal air to carry the heat away, but that means the room has to allow more external air in to replace it. That significantly reduces the efficiency. You also have to manage the exhaust duct, which either means having a window or door open, or to have hole cut for it somewhere.

The next concern is the expectation of performance, Again in the UK and EU, the amount of mains (230V AC) power into a caravan is limited anything between 3 to 16 Amps, and that means the cooling capability of the units is nothing like the performance of a cars AC.

If you have better power options, then you should investigate products available in the USA, where I believe some RV's will have AC systems rated up to 7kw!

 

[ProfJohnL]

The roof top air con has zero affect on stability otherwise they would not fit them there. You don't lose a roof light as generally the air con replaces the Omnivent as the wiring is generally already in place. However what does need to be taken into consideration is whether the roof is capable of handling the extra load of about 30kg.

Every thing you add to a caravan will have some effect on its overall stability. Adding 30 to 40Kg of weight to a roof WILL make some difference. It may not make a towing impossible, but It will reduce the margin of safety and it's certainly not zero difference.

 

[Seblo]

The roof top air con has zero affect on stability otherwise they would not fit them there. You don't lose a roof light as generally the air con replaces the Omnivent as the wiring is generally already in place. However what does need to be taken into consideration is whether the roof is capable of handling the extra load of about 30kg.

It will have a pendulum effect, albeit upside down. Not good

 

[Buckman]

Every thing you add to a caravan will have some effect on its overall stability. Adding 30 to 40Kg of weight to a roof WILL make some difference. It may not make a towing impossible, but It will reduce the margin of safety and it's certainly not zero difference.

It makes ZERO difference as it is in the middle over the axles and certainly does NOT reduce the margin of safety.

Are you saying that cars become unstable if fitted with a roof boxes and that safety is reduced?

 

[otherclive]

It makes ZERO difference as it is in the middle over the axles and certainly does NOT reduce the margin of safety.

Are you saying that cars become unstable if fitted with a roof boxes and that safety is reduced?

Don’t know about a caravan aircon but putting the equivalent of an average adult (75kg) on a cars roof must raise its Center of gravity and affect its stability. Fortunately most drivers don’t take their cars to the limit where the roofbox weight does impact stability.

 

[ProfJohnL]

With a caravan roof mounted AC nearly 2M above the axle, That is at a radius to the axle, and that will by virtue of the caravans articulation and ability to rotate about its axle will add mass to its moments of inertia and that will erode any margin of stability thet outfit had and does affect the handling of the caravan to some extent.

 

[Dustydog]

You are both right and wrong imo😜
My Wyoming was designed without ac as an option. A retro fit will put a substantial weight high up which goes against all the lessons I have learnt about safe loading with heavy weights low down.
Conversely there are more caravans on the market today where ac is a factory fit option. I am entitled to assume designers have factored in the high up weight to the extent there should be no adverse effect on handling.👍

 

[Buckman]

You are both right and wrong imo😜
My Wyoming was designed without ac as an option. A retro fit will put a substantial weight high up which goes against all the lessons I have learnt about safe loading with heavy weights low down.
Conversely there are more caravans on the market today where ac is a factory fit option. I am entitled to assume designers have factored in the high up weight to the extent there should be no adverse effect on handling.👍

The battery, oven, fridge, furniture and in our case E&P are all low down so 32kg on the roof will have minimal or zero effect on stability otherwise dealers would not be fitting roof mounted air cons.

However I think Mr Plod has answered the OP with hands on experience of using a portable unit suited for small caravans.

 

[Seblo]

It makes ZERO difference as it is in the middle over the axles and certainly does NOT reduce the margin of safety.

Are you saying that cars become unstable if fitted with a roof boxes and that safety is reduced?

It does, it makes a big difference potentially.

The distance from the axle to the roof top AC unit would have a lever effect probably of approx 8x. If a sway initiated there could be 8 x 32kg extra effective weight (256kg) swinging from side to side.
The same weight loaded centrally over the axles at floor level would have little comparable effect in the same scenario. It's the same principle as why we don't load heavy weight near the front or rear of a trailer.

 

[Buckman]

The OP wants a portable AC like the Cool my camper and not a roof mounted so not sure why the merits of a roof mounted are even being discussed?

 

[Seblo]

The OP wants a portable AC like the Cool my camper and not a roof mounted so not sure why the merits of a roof mounted are even being discussed?

You might want to read your own earlier comments.

 

[ProfJohnL]

... I am entitled to assume designers have factored in the high up weight to the extent there should be no adverse effect on handling.👍

I agree the designers of both the caravans and the AC probably have considered the effects of adding such a mass to the roof, but the effects are never zero.

The effects of added mass to the roof will degrade the margin of control, and as such there is an adverse effect on handling. If a caravan were already poorly loaded, and an AC were added it is entirely possible the additional mass at 2M above axle could be the straw that breaks the camel's back

If the caravan is loaded sensibley , the margin all-be-it reduced should remain large enough for the outfit to be kept under normal proper control, but it does mean that it will take a less severe manoeuvre to upset the outfit under exceptional conditions.

 

[ProfJohnL]

The OP wants a portable AC like the Cool my camper and not a roof mounted so not sure why the merits of a roof mounted are even being discussed?

Given the location the caravan is being used in there are other aspects which might affect the choice of AC the OP might consider.

In practice I have never seen an alternative split mobile AC unit like the Cool My Camper unit, And by your own, and other comments in the thread it's clear the CMC unit has limited power so it's reasonable to offer alternative possibilities and discuss any of the associated considerations.

 

[Buckman]

You might want to read your own earlier comments.

Actually it was yourself that first mentioned roof a/c and stability issues. I just corrected some of the myths surrounding a/c.

 

[Mr Plodd]

Just to confirm the CMC unit fits over a caravans window cill, it has two components One sits inside the caravan and the other outside. They are connected by a thin umbilical that the window closes over. The window rubber seal compresses over the umbilical so there is no "leakage" of cold air and all the hot air, from the compressor, remains outside.
I am very happy with my unit, it does the job reasonably well and is a lot better than nothing! Its obviously not as easy as simply switching it on like a permanent fitting, but it doesn't cost anything like as much, and can be left at home when not required (and can be taken with you when changing caravans!)
I transport mine in my towcar (large estate car) so as not to use up valuable caravan payload.

 

[Seblo]

Just to confirm the CMC unit fits over a caravans window cill, it has two components One sits inside the caravan and the other outside. They are connected by a thin umbilical that the window closes over. The window rubber seal compresses over the umbilical so there is no "leakage" of cold air and all the hot air, from the compressor, remains outside.
I am very happy with my unit, it does the job reasonably well and is a lot better than nothing! Its obviously not as easy as simply switching it on like a permanent fitting, but it doesn't cost anything like as much, and can be left at home when not required (and can be taken with you when changing caravans!)
I transport mine in my towcar (large estate car) so as not to use up valuable caravan payload.

For a 16ft caravan I would say the "Cool my Camper" is the best option (if they're available in Aus)

 

[Milkfloat]

Cool My Camper seems to be a rebadged Eurcom AC 2401, but at about half the price.

​

 

[Seblo]

Yes the Cool my Camper is just a Eurom slightly rebadged/. When I looked the Eurom was quite a bit cheaper

 

[Mr Plodd]

I can confirm mine is indeed the Eurom item. I bought it off Facebook marketplace and had it re-gassed to be sure it was going to do the job.
I referred to it as a Cool My Camper as that's what most people seem to know them as

Available for a good price Here if anyone is interested. No use to the OP in Oz though!

 

[RayR]

Thanks all for info
Rooftop is out because i do believe it has to make a difference to stablility with 30kg+ on the roof, + lose of payload.
I have seen the "Cool my camper" looks good but i would vhave no help in threading it thro the window as my wife has a dissability and can't help me. We have single beds so an underbed will not fit, i have measured it.
Had a lrge Portable on wheels in a previour van apart from been heavy to lift around and taking up a lot of floor space too much hot air came our the back and could't duct it out very easy so it faught against itself. Will just have to keep looking around to see what i come up with. Again thanks for replies and hi from OZ
Ray