Mini Split

[shark24]

Best mod we ever did! Pioneer model and 100 degrees out and 68 in Livin Lite. 3rd summer and loving it! Quiet and awesome! Can monitor temp. from anywhere on phone. Very quiet.

[the]

VERY interested in this. have you seen your total watts used? can you give more deets on your outside install? I curently run 630 watts of solar, and could expand up to 2000w really easily. Minisplit is about the only way i could run AC off solar.

[Merlin]

I think if a manufacturer came up with an appropriately sized mini split with the outdoor unit mounted horizontally on the roof and indoor unit on ceiling it would take the RV industry by storm and be extremely profitable with super high sales. Complaints about the noise, vibration, and inefficiency of standard A/C units and their lack of heating are probably one of the most common with RV owners.

I installed an all-in-one heat pump in place of the original A/C unit 2 years ago and love it. It's quiet, efficient by RV standards, and both heats and cools. A mini split would be even better.

[shark24]

I will have to ask my husband about the specifics on power. All I know is we use a Champion dual fuel but we use propane when the power goes off. I think it is the 3450 watt model and we run everything we want with it all at the same time if needed.

[shark24]

My husband and a friend ran the pipes and electrical. As a female, I would have done this differently and neater but I can't complain. It only took almost two years for him to help me on this mod. He always hates honey do lists but then he gets the benefits after as well:)

[shark24]

We actually have a cover we put on the outside piece when traveling to protect from rocks. We also have an aluminum cover when we are parked to protect from hail, etc. We also can use heat bulbs inside the cover when temps get in the negative numbers that keep it from ever freezing up. It is rated for below I think -7 or -15 but it does seem to slow down the cycles in those temps. We added the heat bulb in the top of our aluminum cover and it thought it was in the bahamas instead of Kentucky.

[shark24]

We are looking at solar panels as well just to be able to run a quiet generator in camp grounds if needed. I know nothing about it but wish I understood what all is needed to run as we do with the champion and how long it would run on the solar. Maybe some of you that have understanding in this could do some posts for solar dummies like me who would like to venture into it but get the most bang for the buck while adding another honey do to my hubby. I do think after running the champion he understands flipping a switch would be much better and quiet.

[shark24]

We are looking at solar panels as well just to be able to run a quiet generator in camp grounds if needed. I know nothing about it but wish I understood what all is needed to run as we do with the champion and how long it would run on the solar. Maybe some of you that have understanding in this could do some posts for solar dummies like me who would like to venture into it but get the most bang for the buck while adding another honey do to my hubby. I do think after running the champion he understands flipping a switch would be much better and quiet.

[shark24]

I would like to remove the ac on top but my husband says no leave for backup. It never was much of a help brand new out of the box. It is a conditioner for a few degrees but the minisplit is cold air like being in a hotel! Any suggestions what I can do with the hole it would leave in the roof?

[Merlin]

Thanks for all the additional photos and info!

If you remove the roof A/C unit, it would be a great place for an additional vent and fan. All openings in a RV roof are standard 14X14 inches, so any fan/vent would fit fine. A fan would need 12VDC, which may require wiring, depending on what's up there already.

[the]

This is all awesome info, any chance you could post the unit model?

[shark24]

Here is the model information

[shark24]

Looks like Pioneer has this now since we put ours in almost 3 years ago. Go to the website and see what you think and post your thoughts.
I think if a manufacturer came up with an appropriately sized mini split with the outdoor unit mounted horizontally on the roof and indoor unit on ceiling it would take the RV industry by storm and be extremely profitable with super high sales. Complaints about the noise, vibration, and inefficiency of standard A/C units and their lack of heating are probably one of the most common with RV owners.

I installed an all-in-one heat pump in place of the original A/C unit 2 years ago and love it. It's quiet, efficient by RV standards, and both heats and cools. A mini split would be even better.

[Chappy133]

Interesting new Furrion AC unit: https://furrion.com/products/furrion-chill-cube-variable-speed-rv-rooftop-air-conditioner-r32-18k-btu-non-ducted-chill-cube-18k-non-ducted?srsltid=AfmBOopHzWsS9sODezkqzBdf-JA1vzLugMp4ia1dUE-0iIdp8lATLOFd&variant=44974149861565

[Merlin]

Regarding the Pioneer unit...... I have one in my porch and one in my garage and in those locations they are great. The problem is installing a unit designed for residential use in a RV requires significant modifications to many aspects of the RV, including safe routing of wiring, practical routing of the piping, rearrangement of the major items on the tongue, good drainage location, and safely hanging the inside part. I also seriously wonder about residential type component longevity, given that I've heard it said camper equipment has to survive and keeping working for many years while subjected to hurricane force wind and earthquake force shaking. I'm hoping for an RV unit designed and built for that use.