Campervan Aircon

[Gavin and Bigi]

We are buying a 2008 Autosleeper Warwick Duo - based on a Peugeot Boxer.

The vehicle doesn't have aircon - so we are thinking of having aircon fitted as we will be travelling extensively in Europe. The dealer we are buying from thinks it will be about £1300 to fit an aircon - from what I've read it would be more - anyone have experience with this?

Secondly, I'm thinking of a roof aircon for when we are onsite somewhere. Couple of questions come to mind:
Is this only working when hooked up to mains electricity or does it work with 12V? I guess if 12V it would run the battery down quickly? We will have solar - would that kinda compensate? How effective are these 12V units?
If I did install a roof aircon then could this be used when driving and then we wouldn't need a cab aircon?

Welcome any thoughts on this.

Thanks

Gavin and Bigi

 

[TheBig1]

Lot's of questions, but the simple answer is try using the van without first. Roof aircon is generally 240v but could be run for a while on inverter but very power hungry. If you bought a portable one it could go with you if you changed van, but no use when driving.

 

[rob1234]

i have the truma aircon and i must say its brilliant in Spain France ect ,,mine heats and cools, mine can only be used on 240v, i think its possible to run them on an inverter ,but you would need a large bank of power i imagine ? the roaming radfords do it look them up ,,

 

[Suenliam]

We had one fitted over the central skylight when we bought our coachbuilt Adria in 2005. It was about £1500 then but that was from the dealer. It worked well if on EHU but was noisy so a bit of a pain for others when on a busy site. We didn't use it much so had it taken off and appreciated the extra light. We have not missed it. Two tower fans placed either end of our campervan keep the air moving and us cool.
Sue

 

[Richard n Ann]

Wouldn't bother fitting cab AC, it's a big job, easier to buy a van with it factory fitted. We never had habitation AC, I fitted a fan in the roof light which I could also move to a window during the day, was enough in Benidorm, especially if you mist yourself

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[CazPaul]

I would look for another van same model that has cab air con, very expensive to retrofit.

 

[rob1234]

for me fans only push the hot air around ,,i personally wouldn't go to Spain or France without the aircon ,i love it

 

[Richard n Ann]

for me fans only push the hot air around ,,i personally wouldn't go to Spain or France without the aircon ,i love it

My ceiling fan brings cooler outside air in at night, and it's over the bed

 

[EuroTrotters]

Lot's of questions, but the simple answer is try using the van without first. Roof aircon is generally 240v but could be run for a while on inverter but very power hungry. If you bought a portable one it could go with you if you changed van, but no use when driving.

i have the truma aircon and i must say its brilliant in Spain France ect ,,mine heats and cools, mine can only be used on 240v, i think its possible to run them on an inverter ,but you would need a large bank of power i imagine ? the roaming radfords do it look them up ,,

I have worked on RAC and Automotive A/C for most of my life.

Rooftop and Ducted A/C 240v units can be run off 12v via an Inverter, pure sine wave . But its the Alternator that can be the issue as the minimum you are looking at for a small unit is around 120amp.

I Fitted Ducted Truma as I don't like the rooftop units. We have had rooftop units on previous motorhomes and we have one on our caravan. Very noisy.

If the OP is looking at retrofitting cab A/C, you are looking at much more than £1,300. Thats probably just a dealer fib to get a sale if that's the case.

There is always this option, but you still need a big alternator.

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[Soycd]

If you are going to get a Dometic or Truma roof mounted aircon then you'll need to make sure you don't just go for the cheapest, make sure it's suitable for the van size. We had a Dometic Freshjet 2200 (watts) on a 6m PVC. I think ours was about £2500 fitted. Our new Adria Twin (due November) will have a Truma Aventa 2400, factory fitted unit. Also depends on where you plan to go. Personally I would not be without it as we tend to enjoy the hotter parts of Europe where there is not a lot of cool air even at night, so a fan, no matter how good, would be of little use to us.

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[Neil S]

Truma Aventa compact runs on very low amperage sites , not noisy on night mode
£1900 fitted by this guy www.autoadditionsnationwide.com

 

[Neil S]

My ceiling fan brings cooler outside air in at night, and it's over the bed

When it’s 40c your fans won’t be much good when the humidity is high .

 

[scotjimland]

We have travelled extensively in Europe, full time for there years , and despite having both cab and two habitation a/c units in our USRV that could also run from an onboard genny, we found it was better just to travel North when its too hot and South when you gets cold .

Without cab air con, when travelling in hot weather, to keep cool, put towels over the seat backs, a wet bandana on your head and have a water filled spray bottle to mist your face and head ..

 

[Richard n Ann]

When it’s 40c your fans won’t be much good when the humidity is high .

If it's 40c at night I'd be going home

 

[Neil S]

If it's 40c at night I'd be going home

Unlikely but we‘ve experienced 29c at nights and around 40c during the day
having air conditioning is an escape when it gets to much

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[EuroTrotters]

When it’s 40c your fans won’t be much good when the humidity is high .

That’s been the problem in our house here in Spain. The medication I take makes me suffer from the sun and humidity more.

I just set the house A/C to 23/24c and on silent mode.

Works a treat.

 

[Peavy]

If next summer is like this one has been (and probably it will be worse), we'll have to move to Norway