Portable AC for RV
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- čas přidán 26. 07. 2023
- Portable AC for RV
We, the Two Tired Teachers, talk with you about our Costway portable AC unit in this video. We chose the Costway 8,000 BTU because of the positive reviews we read about it and the size works for where we store it when the are driving.
We will talk with you about both the pros and the cons. Before we get started, you need to know that our travel trailer is 22' from ball to bumper. The box is 18' long and 7' wide or 8' with the slide. The reason we tell you that so you won't think the this small AC unit will begin to cool a large RV.
The Costway 8,000 BTU cools our Micro Minnie. It will drop the temperatur 12 to 15 degrees or more especially if we close off the bathroom, getting rid of about 2' of room for it to cool. This AC unit is designed for single rooms, I imagine it would work well in a bedroom. It's only going to cool the part that is in front of the unit.
The second pro is it works very well with our solar. Because the Costway is 8,000 BTU, the draw of it is roughly half of the draw of our roof mounted AC. That is a huge savings on the power. Also this unit will run from our Westinghouse iGen 2,000 generator. Sharon has a dedicated extension cord that she runs from the Costway to the Westinghouse. That frees our solar to run a microwave, coffee pot, or other things. The Costway will also run off a 110 outlet.
The first con is that it is a pain the set up the Costway because it has to be vented. It takes less than two minutes once you have your RV set up for venting. Sharon used a truck visor (to keep the sun out). She folded it over to double it and taped it together. She cut a hole for the exhaust. On the window, Sharon put velcro with the curl up side attached to the window frame. She also attached velcro to the visor. She checked her measurements once more before she attached the visor to the window. She left it attached for a couple of days. During that time she would rub it down to be sure it would stick. That visor keeps the exhaust out, and it keeps the heat out. The prep did take some time, but that is a one-time thing.
Once you've done the prep to the window, the next steps are what you will do each time you use the Costway. Attach the visor to the window. Take the exhaust hose and attach it to the window adapter by screwing it into the adapter. Then you take the hose adapter and slide it into the exhaust on the AC unit. If you are in high humidity areas, you will want to attach the drain hose to the unit, and put the other end of the hose into a receptacle to catch the drainage. We do one more step. Because the exhaust hose gets hot, we wrap it in a blanket.
If you get one of these, you will need to be able to secure it when you drive; otherwise, it could damage itself or things inside your RV.
Thank you so much . I learned a lot about it .
Another great video ladies thank you for sharing your information that does seem like a great little air conditioner
It's been great for us.
Thank you! Will think about this,
It pairs so great with our solar.
Never thought of doing this. Great idea especially for Texas summers.
It works so well with our solar.
Great idea using a sun visor. I will do the same. Thank you both so much for sharing this
You are most welcome. When we find something that works, we like to share it.
I have one that I use from time to time. It's great.
We love it
Very nice. Thank you for the info!
You are very welcome.
Very resourceful ladies! You gotta do what you gotta do to stay cool. You must have a stout battery set up to run that AC all night. I've thought about running a window AC in the emergency exit window myself when the roof top caputs. Thanks for your video!
Bert, we have 800 amp hours of batteries.
Hi ladies, very smart and helpful video . I actually have an air conditioner like that just a different brand and 12,000 btu its not as good as my windows ac but adds enough to keepit cool. Good advice and stay 😎
We are thrilled that it runs off of the generator. It's a great find for us
I have an ecoflow and used reflectix to make a sleeve , works great. Made it a little larger diameter so it would slide on and off. Also made two sections so it would not be so long.
Good ideas.
Cool ❄️
Literally.
Hello from the sunny quiet Ozarks Melina and Sharon! Another video of value! Portable ac great asset and backup if the rv ac has trouble and helps the rv ac so it doesnt run so much! Tight lines and bent poles!
Phil, we made a quick trip back to the Fort Worth area to see friends. With our roof unit, it cools until we are cold. Then, it turns off until we begin to sweat. We decided to sleep with only the portable unit. It kept a consistent temperature all night and was wonderful.
@@TwoTiredTeachers i agree! i do the same. its great to cool
where you are and save the electricity for the Texas afternoon furnace! tight lines!
It had been plenty hot here. How's the weather been in your neck of the woods?
@@TwoTiredTeachers lots of storms and warmer than usual but not over 100 this summer. lakes at regular pool, no drought like in texas/ its been an enjoyable summer without the excessive heat. tight lines!
What lovely ladies! I live in a camper and just bought one cause my ac went out. It was gonna be $700 to fix so I just went out and got this for $299. I subscribed!
We hope it works well for you. Because we live in Texas, we take the part of the directions about needing to catch the water from humid places seriously. We used an Igloo 16 quart Playmate cooler, and it was over half full of water
😊@@TwoTiredTeachers
School bus driver here in East Tx. Am finishing up my 6by12by6 cargo trailer build and also chose a portable unit to cool my rig. I installed my exhaust thru the floor. Just subed and hope to one day run into the two of you!!! Blessings to you both!
First, we love meeting Texans as we travel, and we're always happy to meet subscribers. Also, putting the exhaust through the floor is a great idea. If your portable AC has a place that drains water, be sure to use a large enough container for the drain. In the FDW area we needed a large Igloo cooler to hold water. In places that aren't so humid a smaller container will do.
@@TwoTiredTeachers Ran my exhaust water thru the floor too and plan on collecting that water to wipe down things outside. Ran my Ac in the yard to test it and in two days got 5 gal. Lots of humidity in East Tx right now!
@@simpligypsi5503 Great idea. I love that you tested your AC before traveling with it. We had a viewer comment that it should produce hardly any water. That may be true if you are in Phoenix, but in East Texas it's humid.
Clever girls!
Thanks so much.
I bought one similar.
Mine is a ZAFRO 10,000 BTU, and i run it on solar and batteries on my 22-foot 2004 VW Rialta RV.
My rooftop A/C compressor gave out, and I just decided to remove the A/C, and now I have room for 600 watts of solar in my roof and two 410ah LiFePO4 batteries.
I can run the A/C for all day in Yuma AZ.
Edit: I went to Home Depo and bought an HVAC Aluminum Flexible Duct Hose for Heating, replaced plastic one that the unit came with, it keeps the heat inside the hose and blows it out.
Great idea about the hose from Home Depot.
Morning girls. I am actually testing the one I just bought - literally just hauled it all into my office (I didn't get the cheap option though...I got the Ecoflow battery/solar one on Prime Day) - we have dual A/C's on the RV and that keeps it cool enough. But our screen shelter needed an upfit...Anyhow - these little units like you got are amazing. I have two at the house - one in the garage and one in a spot that we can't keep cool upstairs. I love your window kit (BRILLIANT INSULATING THE TUBE!!!!) - mine came with a nice little template to make different window vents for different places (i.e. truck window, tent, RV). Also just heard you're passing through OKC. My RV is literally at Arcadia Lake Cottonwood campground. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND staying at Arcadia. Its beautiful and clean and close to everything you need - including Walmart and Sams. Have a safe trip and thanks for the videos!!!!! Enjoy OKC!!
Also, right off I-35 - plus me and my Pirate kids will be there this weekend haha :) The other thing is excellent bike trials and fishing. Bon Voyage!
@@carltuckerson7718 Sorry, but we're home now.
@@TwoTiredTeachers no worries! next time you head north, it’s a great spot! It’s our go-to. A lot of the time we just pull it out and will do just regular life and go have a campfire and stay at the RV. Ton of fun.
@@carltuckerson7718 We just might do that.🙂
How big is your solar panel to be able to run that ac unit? Looking at it for my pop up. Thanks!!
Interesting application. Hmm, while that wouldn’t work for my cargo minivan camper, it might be an option for us in our SF Bay Area condo that doesn’t have AC when we have a heatwave once or twice a year. We aren’t allowed to have traditional window units, but I can see making an exhaust “mask” to push the air out the window of a smaller room.
Karin, it has worked very well for us.
What brand truck visor did you use ?
Did you have to cut the screen out or did you leave the screen in?
Wife and I enjoy your videos. Are you still happy with this ac unit. We are thinking of buying one. Thanks
Our Micro Mini is an 18' box. The portable AC keeps things relatively cool when it's around 90 degrees. A fan or two in conjunction with the portable AC makes it even better. It would also be good for a single room in a home. If you live or travel to places that are really hot, 100+ in the summer, it would help, but you will probably find it warmer instead of comfortably cool.
Did the circular attachment that you taped onto the truck visor piece come with the ac unit?
3:07
Hi ladies. Thank you. My husband and I love in Central Texas and our rv ac sometimes doesn't keep up with 100+ Temps until around midnight. Do you ever use the portable in conjunction with your rv ac?
Great question. One of the things we didn't like about the RV AC is that when we run it at night, it stays on until we are freezing then it turns off until we're sweating. When we use the portable, it keeps the RV at a steady temp. A word of warning, be sure you have a big enough container to catch the water that drains. Even in central Texas where it's relatively dry, you still want a a container that will hold two or three gallons of water.
How many watts yhat thing pulling? My rooftop pulls 2100 and is terrible
I'm not sure. I know that if you have a large area to cool, this may not be enough to cool it.
you dont need to have the small hose to drain the water because when you use the AC mode, the water automatically evaporite itself through the exhaust hose
When we've run it for a long time, we feel safer using the drain hose.
I have one and it still makes a small amount of water. Keep the hose.
@@billjones6106 We were in Fort Worth this past week, and each night it produced more than a gallon of water.
i use a 5000btu portable in my van
We had thought we'd get a 5000 BTU, but we're very pleased with the one we got.