I been camping for over 35 years and have had 3 popup campers. I've modified most everything, until today when I cut a hole in a perfectly fine camper roof with the hopes of installing a new 15 btu air conditioner with 5,4k btu heat strip.
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The hole needs to be 14" x14", same size as a standard roof vent. I laid out the 14" square but also laid out a 12" square and drilled pilot holes from inside.
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I then used a hole saw to drill rounded rounds so there is less of a stress point on a square corner.
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Next, a used a multi-tool to cut and remove the exterior metal layer on the outside of the camper. I did the same from the inside.
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I removed the styrofoam center and inserted 1" PVC blocking around the opening so the roof wouldn't crush when the upper and lower unit and tightened. Wood will work also.
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We set the upper unit. I did put a bead of silicone caulk around the opening to extra protection.
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From inside the camper, I install the lower bracket with 4 corner screws and installed the heat strip.
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I feed the power wire through the roofs support bar and drilled a hole to turn across the side of the camper.
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Then installed the lower unit, filters and knobs.
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The camper already has a dedicated 20a receptacle for the air conditioner.
Good job! When we had a boat, DH installed a rod holder which meant cutting into the fiberglass (obviously above water line) but we had read about the fiberglass cracking and such so it was a very scary thing. I'm sure your install was better than what would have come from the factory.
My goal in life is to be the person my dog thinks I am.
Did you open it up to see if it leaked after the rains last night?
EwwBugs....open the door and toss a cup of water on the floor to freak joe out before he checks 🙂
Matt O 2006 Skyline Nomad 27' travel trailer. Previously owned 1986 Coleman Columbia / 1992 Coleman Senecca / 1989 Born Free Class C RV.
I bought the Coleman AC Unit over the Dometic because I also wanted the electric heat strip option and the Dometic doesn't have a thermostat for the heat. They recommend that you only leave it running for a max of 4 hours.
http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/p.....arts-1.htm
Coleman 15K - $564.00
or
Coleman 13,5K - $463.00
Coleman Ceiling Assembly - Heat Ready, Non-Ducted - $54.99
or
Coleman Deluxe Ceiling Assembly - Heat Ready, Non-Ducted - $59.99
optional:
Coleman Electric Heat - $44.23
*SHIPPING - $105.00 to Pennsylvania
So you could go $463+55+105=$623.00 and have a nice 13,5k AC unit.
I went will the larger 15k and heat strip since the camper is the 16' box and a little free heat at the campground would be nice.
We used the heat strip and air conditioning this past weekend in Gettysburg. It was in the high 30s Thursday evening and a little humid Saturday during the day.
THE HEAT STRIP IS AWESOME! well, after I remembered to change the thermostat to hot... it worked great. Saves storage from an electric heater, 3 times larger BTU than a standard heater, fan to move the heat around and you don't have to worry about putting anything near the heating element.
A/C worked very well also.
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