Howdy,

I survived a few nights in the 20's with a furnace on the fritz and learned how to fix it and got a good space heater and many blankets!

I want to be more prepared as it gets warmer (hopefully sooner than later! :D)

I have an Airstream Sport 22FB with stock Dometic AC that sounds like a jet plane!

Are smaller portable units an option?

How about small less amperage swamp coolers?

My plan is to avoid extremes but ya know how things can go... The Airstream opens up pretty good to get lots of air flow.

Thanks,

Az Tex

All you need to plan your trips with 'elevation' in mind.  6500' to 8000' elevation will allow you stay without air conditioning.  Personally, we prefer around 8,000' and have to use blankets at night!

A noisy Rooftop AC is usually the result of age but can often be the result of someone tightening the four nuts on the bolts that hold it on the roof. When that gasket gets too old it can leak causing folks to tighten the nuts too much. Here's another reason I had where my AC capillary line to the compressor was vibrating until it cut it through, letting the freon and oil run all over the roof which oil made a bad patch of my roof membrane. Th https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=checking+loud+RV+AC&pc=MOZI&ru=%2fsearch%3fq%3dchecking%2bloud%2bRV%2bAC%26pc%3dMOZI%26form%3dMOZLBR&view=detail&mmscn=vwrc&mid=537D8582C052948CF307537D8582C052948CF307&FORM=WRVORC

There are a bunch of videos there to help find the noise.

Edited February 18 by RV_

  On 2/18/2019 at 7:43 AM, aztex said:

I have an Airstream Sport 22FB with stock Dometic AC that sounds like a jet plane!

While it is true that needing maintenance can make them noisier, even under ideal circumstances roof air conditioners are loud and particularly so if they are not ducted. In recent years some of them have improved, but not a great deal. Swamp coolers are not generally very practical for use in an RV, particularly if you travel very much. I have seen them used in permanently parked RVs in the desert, but remember that they also require a water supply so aren't very useful if boondocking, which is also true of the roof air conditioners since they require more power than is practical from an inverter. I'm not sure how one could make one of the portable air conditioners work in an RV?

Thanks!

It's a brand new factory installed AC. It isn't rattling; just a loud fan! It's the roof mount type on an Airsteam.

I guess a "portable" would be doable with power but portable is relative and they aren't really when it comes to vehicles....

I'll have to see how it goes!

Thanks,

Az Tex

Aztex,

Pull the plenum down for the AC and check if the factory over tightened it and squeezed it down too much. If it has been compressed too much it may not re-expand causing leaks when it rains. But RV air conditioning units are very loud compared to home units. There are basement units in some motor homes but I have no experience with them or if they are quieter.

There is untapped profit for the company that silences them

  On 2/19/2019 at 5:07 AM, RV_ said:

There are basement units in some motor homes but I have no experience with them or if they are quieter.

Our one basement unit was much quieter than any of our roof units.

Linda Sand

Is it ducked? I once had a stand alone AC in the bedroom of a fiver and it was always loud.