ITASCA Ellipse 40KD 2006 A/C - URGENT

[GingeTowUK]

Hi There.

I am posting from the UK and have a urgent specification question about an ITASCA Ellipse 40KD 2006 that we maybe hiring out. I do have the 06 Ellipse specifications in front of me but they are not very clear when it comes to the air conditioning specs.

I understand that to maintain a comfortable climate, Ellipse comes with floor-ducted heating, ceiling-ducted TrueAir® residential central air conditioning. Compared to roof air conditioning, TrueAir cools 40 percent faster and runs 10 percent quieter.

Now please could someone clarify whether this means dual air conditioning ie it goes from the back bedroom through to main room or whether it is single; and whether this applies to the 40KD.

Will this RV be okay in the Nevada desert?

Thanks guys, I am eagerly awaiting your responses.

Tracey

[Doug Sage]

The TrueAir is a two stage air conditioner which means that one main unit has two parts and will provide the same or greater BTUs as two roof top air conditioners. You cannot expect it to hold 70 degrees in the full sun and in the Nevada desert in the summer but no RV will do this. You can expect it to hold under 80 degrees if you turn the air conditioning on as soon as it starts to get warm so that the heat doesn't get ahead of you. Also, you may need to keep the blinds closed to keep the heat gain down and if you can park with the rear of the RV facing south or southwest then that will present the smallest amount of body toward the sun. The TrueAir is as good or better than the roof air conditioners but a 40 foot RV has a lot of cubic feet to cool.

[RVThere]

I have this Winnebago AC system in my current coach and my previous coach. In my 2003 Itasca Suncruiser (35 foot), this AC system kept the motorhome cool in Las Vegas at the Circus Circus campground which is basically a parking lot. Black pavement, NO shade. The AC system ran non-stop for 3 days but kept this inside cool enough for the dog which I would say was the mid-70's degrees F. Outside temperature was over 100 degrees F.

My current coach is a 2007 Winn. Tour 40TD with the same AC system. Last summer the AC system worked fine through the heat of Nebraska and Kansas. This spring, it tackled the heat of the Floriday Keys.

You also have the engine AC system to use when driving. You will need to run the generator when driving if you want to use the TrueAir system.

In my opinion, you should not have any trouble in the Nevada desert keeping cool. But the beauty of a motorhome is that if you don't like the weather or the heat, you can drive over to the Colorado Rockies and cool down real quick!

[skigramp]

We own 2004 Journey. The Tru-Air in fact has two compressors that are on separate circuits (at the foot of the bed there are circuit breakers so that either can be shut off if necessary)

The energy management system in Winnebago coaches monitors the power being consumed (when on 20 or 30 amp power) and will shut off the second compressor (the fan still runs) so that you do not blow the circuit breaker on the power pedestal ... this becomes necessary when you turn on the microwave or the electric hot water heater

When you are on 50 amp connections (or the generator) it is never necessary to shut down the second compressor.

The point of this clarification: If you are running the generator or in an RV park with 50 amp service ... both compressors will run ... and you should remain comfortable.

PS. If you are in Nevada the humidity level will most likely be quite low ... and you will be quite comfortable at temperatures near 80

[ns09]

Originally Posted by GingeTowUK

Hi There.

ITASCA Ellipse 40KD 2006 that we maybe hiring out.

Will this RV be okay in the Nevada desert?

Tracey

My experiences in east texas:
We have a 2008 Winnebago Journey 39Z

We have not been as cool as we like on some outings.

I ran a test, here at home, what I consider to be worst case.

Drivers side facing broad side to west sun. All awnings out on east side. We covered all windows with R5 Rated foil backed foam board on the inside. We ran the unit for two days. No appliances and lights only when we went in to check on progress.

Outdoor temp reached 100 degrees both days.
We set t-stat on 72 degrees first morning at 9AM and the then current reading was 84 degrees. It made it to 77 degrees by 11:30 AM, then started back up. At 5PM the thermostat said 81 degrees & another thermometer over the couch said 88.7 degrees.
At 10PM it was 73 degrees.
8:30 AM next morning it was cycled off at 72.
4:30 PM it was 77 degrees.

We honestly believe the air conditioner was performing perfectly, just had more load than it could handle.

PS: It was on 50 amp service & we confirmed both compressors were running & it held 20 degree plus temperature differential between return & supply.

[rv rick]

Our 2008 Tour 40 TD did a good job last week in 107 degree temps in Sacramento, CA. I think if I was in hotter areas, I might pull a slide in to minimize the area I was trying to cool.

[NeilV]

Originally Posted by GingeTowUK

Hi There.

I am posting from the UK and have a urgent specification question about an ITASCA Ellipse 40KD 2006 that we maybe hiring out. I do have the 06 Ellipse specifications in front of me but they are not very clear when it comes to the air conditioning specs.

I understand that to maintain a comfortable climate, Ellipse comes with floor-ducted heating, ceiling-ducted TrueAir® residential central air conditioning. Compared to roof air conditioning, TrueAir cools 40 percent faster and runs 10 percent quieter.

Now please could someone clarify whether this means dual air conditioning ie it goes from the back bedroom through to main room or whether it is single; and whether this applies to the 40KD.

Will this RV be okay in the Nevada desert?

Thanks guys, I am eagerly awaiting your responses.

Tracey

Tracey,

It is one central system with two individual compressors that activate in stages depending on how far off from the thermostat setting the temperature in the coach has gotten. Once the coach has gotten withing a few degrees of the desired temperature it will cut back to one compressor to extend the run time, lighten the electrical load and help dehumidify the coach.

The coach would be okay in the Nevada desert for me however I have lived in Southern Florida for some time with temperatures hovering at 100+ degrees outside during the summer so my expectation is to maintain between 80 to 82 degrees in my home or around 20 degrees cooler than it is outside. You being from England may be accustomed to a much cooler home so okay for you may be quite different, possibly 70 or 65 degrees F. I have some aquaintences from the Baths who would come over for a fall season visit when I lived in New England and be out swimming when it was in the low 60's outside. I don't believe that they would be okay with inside temps in the low 80's. That being said what are your expectations?


Regards,

[David and Fran]

Our coach also has the a/c unit you refer to. We unfortunately have a dark colored coach which looks wonderful in the forest or in a treed rv park...but in the desert of AZ it is definately at a disadvantage. We have recently pulled some or all of the slides in to reduce the volume of air that must be cooled. I also run the fan continuously to even out the temperature. We keep all ceiling fans running, the blinds (night shades) down, use pop-up screens (from Wal-Mart) in the windshield as well as the sun screen, and keep the awnings out on the windows, but the patio only when we are there. The highest I have seen on the interior temp was 88 degrees...too warm but then the temp outside was well over a 100 degrees so we felt like that was acceptable although uncomfortable...so we went to a movie!!!

[RickO]

Our 2007 Ellipse spends a lot of time in the Southern California and Arizona deserts. We too wish that the a/c unit could keep the coach a bit warmer than the mid 80's we sometimes see but it's a darker colored coach and I just don't think it's possible to do much better. I'm sure the tips offered above help to minimize the discomfort... but I like the "go to the movies" idea!

[imgoin4it]

All the above is correct, but maybe for further clarification the acnd unit is mounted below the floor and the cool supply air is ducted up the back and then down the center of the ceiling of the motor home. There are supply registers / outlets along this duct from the front to back of the motor home. The return air is located in the back of the motor home