Basement A/C removal by Duner, can't find, need help.

[FIRE UP]

Gents,
For some reason, I never have any luck with the search section of these forums. I put all kinds of search words, phrases etc. and it never comes up with what I'm looking for. I hate it. Anyways, the coach is about 6' off the ground right now in prep for removing the basement A/C unit so I can replace/rebuild the cheap-o bronze bushing in the fan area. I looked around and can't find Dunners write up on it. I even had it in my favorites but, when I clicked on it, it came up as one of those "404" things.

So, could someone please direct me to it, or could it be re-posted so I can check all the procedures before I screw something up. It doesn't look all that hard to lower it and get it out to work on it. A few screws that attach the ducting to the unit itself then, some frame bolts and, it looks like it will come right out but, I want to be sure. I'd sure appreciate some help here folks.

I guess it's about time to do something about it because during a recent camp trip, my son-in-law knocked on our door and told me that, he could hear that bearing over our generator and he was, at the time, about 60-75' away from our coach. Yep, it's time.

Scott

[Clifftall]

Here ya go.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f101/base...ure-42567.html

[FIRE UP]

Clifftall,
That's exactly what I needed. I surely appreciate your help here. I'll be tackling that project shortly.
Scott

[Clifftall]

You're welcome. Update us when you do. Glad that's what you were looking for. Cliff

[sswilson]

Wrong site, sorry

[sswilson]

I do not understand, I went in right away and edited to remove the bad link but it still stayed on there. Wonder if someone can delete it so the name and email don't show?

[Clifftall]

Originally Posted by sswilson

I do not understand, I went in right away and edited to remove the bad link but it still stayed on there. Wonder if someone can delete it so the name and email don't show?

Done.

[sswilson]

Thanks very much

[Sammie]

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

Clifftall,
That's exactly what I needed. I surely appreciate your help here. I'll be tackling that project shortly.
Scott

Scott,
As I know you will, please take some pictures and post the parts you are replacing so that all of us freeloaders can take advantage of the repairs to your AC unit. I'm sure I'll be doing the same thing in the future.

Thanks, Sammie

Oh yeah, Sophie says hi through both eyelids.

[KIX]

Scott, While you have the unit out you will want to replace the outdoor blower wheel to the newer plastic one. The newer one makes it quieter at least on the outside of the coach.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by Sammie

Scott,
As I know you will, please take some pictures and post the parts you are replacing so that all of us freeloaders can take advantage of the repairs to your AC unit. I'm sure I'll be doing the same thing in the future.

Thanks, Sammie

Oh yeah, Sophie says hi through both eyelids.

Hey Sammie,
Will do Bud. I just printed out all 32 pages of that write-up and, put sheet protectors on all of them and, into a binder. Now, I can handle the pages with my dirty/greasy paws and won't screw things up. As stated, the coach is about 3' off the ground and all six wheels/tires are suspended. I do that so I can get my fat body, ON A CREEPER, under there and do what I have to do in order to get the big A/C unit disconnected and ready to slide out.

Yes, yes, the coach and frame is supported. But, as I was getting ready to jump into the project, the DW came home and I broke my concentration. I hate that when it happens. She always has to stop before entering the driveway 'cause the Sophie character is doing her normal impersonation of a slain animal, in the middle of the drive way. Once she realizes it's the DW, she's up like a lightning bolt and jumps into the truck for the massively long ride, ABOUT 30', into the drive way.

Someday we'll get them together. And, stand by for pics and descriptions. Hopefully it will all be normal and civil, as long as I don't break something while trying to save myself money by doing this job myself.
Scott

[Duner]

Hey Scott,

The primary reason your search failed is because I'm "Duner" and not Dunner. I have a link in my signature to my website where you can download the procedure....[On edit I used to have the link...it's in my profile contact too. Got fix that signature.].

It sure is a great feeling to continue to help folks 5 yrs after I wrote the document and got mine fixed and still working fine today.

I'm at the FMCA Western rally in Indio and tpdaywas looking at the 2014 Winnebago's. The sales guy said they don't use basement air anymore because there were too many complaints about service problems. He didn't know he was talking to a guy that knows how easy it really is to repair these basement units.

Good luck Scott,
Bill

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by Duner

Hey Scott,

The primary reason your search failed is because I'm "Duner" and not Dunner. I have a link in my signature to my website where you can download the procedure....[On edit I used to have the link...it's in my profile contact too. Got fix that signature.].

It sure is a great feeling to continue to help folks 5 yrs after I wrote the document and got mine fixed and still working fine today.

I'm at the FMCA Western rally in Indio and tpdaywas looking at the 2014 Winnebago's. The sales guy said they don't use basement air anymore because there were too many complaints about service problems. He didn't know he was talking to a guy that knows how easy it really is to repair these basement units.

Good luck Scott,
Bill

Bill,
First off, very sorry for the improper name. I do that a lot. Comes with age. And, this dumb forum, won't let you "edit" any post, after more than an hour after you've posted. Once that hour's gone by, the edit feature is gone. Anyway, I want to thank you sincerely for your write up and pics. While mine was very close in operation to get it out, there were items and steps in your removal that weren't in mine. No big deal. If I'd have known it was actually going to be this easy to remove, I'd have done it a long time ago. It was one of those things that, just like other repairs I've done on this big beast, I thought it was going to be a pain in the a..

But, my only problems were the rust on the four lowering bolts and, the screws that hold on the ducting had corroded to the point that, the point of the Phillips driver would not seat well and, I had to resort to alternative methods of removal. I eventually got them out. I only had to drill one and, fortunately, it was on that was clearly accessible, on the plastic bottom edge. No biggie, I'll be able to clean that up, now that the unit is out in the open.
Those four lowering bolts, were one serious pain. I had to use a breaker bar with a ratchet adapter on it. I soaked them with KROIL continuously. I had to work them back and forth, taking a couple more threads at a time, up, down, up, down, soak, up, down, soak, finally they started breaking loose and I could lower the unit.

I had to lower it about an inch and a half or more to get the clearance needed to slide it out. Then, I started thinking, what in the world am I going to use to put this big box on when I finally get it out. Well, just for the heck of it, I thought I'd see if my metal saw horses would be close. It just so happened, they were the EXACT right height. They were about a half inch lower than the big box. It slid right out and on to those. Man, did I get lucky.

Of course, the coach is about 3' high right now, all 6 wheels and tires are off the ground. So, the bottom edge of that A/C unit was just the right height for the saw horses.

Tomorrow I'll pull the top off and see what I can see in terms of any damage and or worn parts. I'm pretty sure I'll replace the one fan with a plastic one and, I still can't believe that those companies still used "bronze" bushings instead of bearings. Those went out in the 60s. So, I have a Graingers not very far from us and, we'll be heading down there for the bearings.

I'm going to do some scraping, wire brushing, sanding and painting of the framework, the sheet metal and more while the unit is out. And, I'm going to replace all those screws with hex head screws, and the four lowering bolts will be replaced too with possible stainless ones.

Thanks again for your insight and thoughtfulness in writing this up so that folks like me can have a "DIY" attitude and be confident that I'm not biting off too much. Been there done that.
Scott

[Sammie]

Scott, It looks like a great time to clean up the battery ground connections too.

Sammie.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by Sammie

Scott, It looks like a great time to clean up the battery ground connections too.

Sammie.

Hey Sammie,
I agree only, if you're looking at what I think you're looking at, those aren't ground connections. Look at the pics. I think they're starting solenoids and maybe something else. But, until I had this A/C unit out, I knew they were there and were going to need some cleaning up, SOMEDAY! And, if you've ever laid under your coach, in that area, between the back side of the A/C unit and the frame, you might see those connections and battery cables. It would be darn near impossible to get in there and clean all them up with that A/C unit in place.

So, this was kind of a blessing in disguise. Getting that A/C unit out of the way really allows room to sit up (on a creeper) and take your time in removing all those badly corroded cables and connections and do a thorough job of clean-up. Sophie's on her third nap of the evening right now, in between my legs as I type on the recliner. What a character.
Scott

[NeilV]

Originally Posted by Duner

Hey Scott,

I'm at the FMCA Western rally in Indio and tpdaywas looking at the 2014 Winnebago's. The sales guy said they don't use basement air anymore because there were too many complaints about service problems. He didn't know he was talking to a guy that knows how easy it really is to repair these basement units.

Good luck Scott,
Bill

When I showed the basement air in my coach to a friend who has rooftop air on his coach and services residential AC including mobile homes and offices that use the same basic systems as the basement air he told me how easy they are to service and how he wished his coach had basement air too. No more worrying about delicate RV roofs or having to climb up flimsy rv ladders or find ways to hoist ac components up onto an rv roof.

The real reason to dump basement air was more likely to accomodate the 40'+ coaches that need over 40,000BTU to cool and would have required a larger package possibly with a third compressor or a second ac unit along with making room for the additional equipment to support the ultra low sulpher diesel engines in the pushers.

[Clifftall]

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

Bill, First off, very sorry for the improper name. I do that a lot. Comes with age. And, this dumb forum, won't let you "edit" any post, after more than an hour after you've posted. Once that hour's gone by, the edit feature is gone. Anyway, I want to thank you sincerely for your write up and pics. While mine was very close in operation to get it out, there were items and steps in your removal that weren't in mine. No big deal. If I'd have known it was actually going to be this easy to remove, I'd have done it a long time ago. It was one of those things that, just like other repairs I've done on this big beast, I thought it was going to be a pain in the a.. But, my only problems were the rust on the four lowering bolts and, the screws that hold on the ducting had corroded to the point that, the point of the Phillips driver would not seat well and, I had to resort to alternative methods of removal. I eventually got them out. I only had to drill one and, fortunately, it was on that was clearly accessible, on the plastic bottom edge. No biggie, I'll be able to clean that up, now that the unit is out in the open. Those four lowering bolts, were one serious pain. I had to use a breaker bar with a ratchet adapter on it. I soaked them with KROIL continuously. I had to work them back and forth, taking a couple more threads at a time, up, down, up, down, soak, up, down, soak, finally they started breaking loose and I could lower the unit. I had to lower it about an inch and a half or more to get the clearance needed to slide it out. Then, I started thinking, what in the world am I going to use to put this big box on when I finally get it out. Well, just for the heck of it, I thought I'd see if my metal saw horses would be close. It just so happened, they were the EXACT right height. They were about a half inch lower than the big box. It slid right out and on to those. Man, did I get lucky. Of course, the coach is about 3' high right now, all 6 wheels and tires are off the ground. So, the bottom edge of that A/C unit was just the right height for the saw horses. Tomorrow I'll pull the top off and see what I can see in terms of any damage and or worn parts. I'm pretty sure I'll replace the one fan with a plastic one and, I still can't believe that those companies still used "bronze" bushings instead of bearings. Those went out in the 60s. So, I have a Graingers not very far from us and, we'll be heading down there for the bearings. I'm going to do some scraping, wire brushing, sanding and painting of the framework, the sheet metal and more while the unit is out. And, I'm going to replace all those screws with hex head screws, and the four lowering bolts will be replaced too with possible stainless ones. Thanks again for your insight and thoughtfulness in writing this up so that folks like me can have a "DIY" attitude and be confident that I'm not biting off too much. Been there done that. Scott

There are many reasons that our edit function is only available to members for a one hour period. If you choose to have something edited beyond that time frame , please " contact us " and we'll be happy to assist where we can.

[vapor3000]

Originally Posted by NeilV

When I showed the basement air in my coach to a friend who has rooftop air on his coach and services residential AC including mobile homes and offices that use the same basic systems as the basement air he told me how easy they are to service and how he wished his coach had basement air too. No more worrying about delicate RV roofs or having to climb up flimsy rv ladders or find ways to hoist ac components up onto an rv roof.

The real reason to dump basement air was more likely to accomodate the 40'+ coaches that need over 40,000BTU to cool and would have required a larger package possibly with a third compressor or a second ac unit along with making room for the additional equipment to support the ultra low sulpher diesel engines in the pushers.

Winnebago told me the reason for eliminating the basement air is that the space where the BA was located had to be used for the environmental for the diesel pushers. They design all coaches to be the same so the gassers lost out on the basement HVAC as well. To bad, it is a great system.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by vapor3000

Winnebago told me the reason for eliminating the basement air is that the space where the BA was located had to be used for the environmental for the diesel pushers. They design all coaches to be the same so the gassers lost out on the basement HVAC as well. To bad, it is a great system.

Well Sir,
I also was told that was the origination reason for eliminating the basement A/C was/is for the DEF systems and more. Lots of discussions on this and other forums about the good and bad points of basement A/C units. Some don't like them and think they're noisier than the roof top units but, based what I've read on here and, speaking with other Winne and Itasca drivers that own the basement A/C units, it seems the majority of them would prefer the basement style over the roof units.
Scott

[Arizona]

These are great units. The only difference between them and your home a/c Is the addition of the bronze bushings on the end of the two motor shafts. I think they used them to support the bouncing of the fan while on the road.
Would be nice to have permanently oiled motors.