AC only cools down 12 degrees below outside temps.

[ialwaysneedaroadtrip]

Oh....my daughter moved out a little more than a year ago. It was her second attempt. The first was when everyone was losing their jobs right and left...so she had to come back for a year.

You do miss them, though! So I see her once a week or so.

Payson would be nice...you had so many issues with your AC...I think that would be like a real retreat!

Yes, we should get together! I am particularly fond of Starbucks

[ialwaysneedaroadtrip]

Follow-Up:

I ended up taking MINE! back to La Mesa Service, and sure enough the AC ducting was allowing heat in...PLUS the filter needed cleaning, but mostly it was the heat getting in. They repaired it under the 30 day warranty they give to all new clients. But if anything happens next time...I'm on my own...even with the extended warranty I bought, since that only covers major mechanical stuff. But I did learn about how to clean that filter, from this experience.

Prior to taking her back I had bought another thermometer to stick up in the interior house, as opposed to the one hanging over the door in the atomic clock. Yep...there's quite a bot of difference in the readings....so I average it out to get a whole house temp.

THEN when I went to pick her up they had forgot to put the shrouding back on up top! I drove away like that, but luckily the tech was standing there and saw it as I went away. He called me right back on my cell, and climbed up there to screw it down with a muffled, "sorry..." under his breath. I'm just glad I didn't get on the freeway like that!

I think they are a little overworked over there. In the morning when I dropped her off...2 separate people were yelling at their tech in the waiting room. I'd like to blame the heat over here, which gets on everyone's nerves every year...but I don't think so. This particular La Mesa Service location has bad review after bad review on Yelp.

Sigh...I hope I don't have to go back there too much in the future.

[JoanE]

As soon as the temp hit high 90s in NM, I noticed that my ac wasn't keeping my rig cool enough for Maggie. I changed my filter (it was really dirty from all the dust blowing here), added solar shields everywhere and keep my thermostat set at 75. It all helped. It also helps not to have the TV on.

[ialwaysneedaroadtrip]

Yeah...I wondered how well the AC would work after they serviced it. Well...I had a chance to find out last month when I cooled it down the night before embarking on a test weekend trip with the dogs. I didn't want to have to put them directly into a hot unit just before take-off.

Well it stayed nice and cool all night, but as soon as the sun came up...just like the time at the RV resort on the 4TH...it froze up. And the thing is...the manual SAYS it will freeze up under these conditions! So...I can only determine that this unit's set-up is not the greatest in super hot weather, no matter how clean it is. Plus...there is no thermostat in the unit.

Also to your point about the solar shields; I had already put up silver windshield covers over all the windows...but that's not good enough, apparently. Next year I'm going to invest in the silver insulation stuff that comes in a roll. It's more of an investment of time rather than $, since it's a bear to cut and attach them to each window.

I thought about saving up for a different/better AC unit...but I already know from the experience with my house's units that that doesn't always fix the problem...I was only able to fix the problem of keeping the upstairs cool in my house by investing in triple-paned windows...even with a brand new AC unit.

[JoanE]

Cindy, what you describe and my own experience convinces me I am not a desert gal in the summer.

[BirdbyBird]

Joan, I agree. It is good to know but I wouldn't want to go out of my way to experience. I minimized my over nights when the temps are below 20 degrees, also! I usually take the day light hours to drive towards the warmth!

[Bethers]

I'm glad I don't need it 75 in here! 80 is fine with me when it's hot out. My ac has always been able to get me there - even the summer I spent on the hot and humid TX coast!

As to cold - I'm so glad for sweats and warm comforters when I'm in the cold temps -

Peaches survives both, but she prefers cold, while I prefer warmth. Luckily she loves me anyway. (Course she's on her 3rd summer now in AK, she's in heaven!)

[ialwaysneedaroadtrip]

I WISH I could get it down to 80 here in the summer! The best I can do is 96.

While I won't die from that, and likely the dogs won't either...dogs that have pushed-in faces like 2 of mine have a very hard time with heat that high!

[avalen]

Yeah...I wondered how well the AC would work after they serviced it. Well...I had a chance to find out last month when I cooled it down the night before embarking on a test weekend trip with the dogs. I didn't want to have to put them directly into a hot unit just before take-off.

Well it stayed nice and cool all night, but as soon as the sun came up...just like the time at the RV resort on the 4TH...it froze up. And the thing is...the manual SAYS it will freeze up under these conditions! So...I can only determine that this unit's set-up is not the greatest in super hot weather, no matter how clean it is. Plus...there is no thermostat in the unit.

Also to your point about the solar shields; I had already put up silver windshield covers over all the windows...but that's not good enough, apparently. Next year I'm going to invest in the silver insulation stuff that comes in a roll. It's more of an investment of time rather than $, since it's a bear to cut and attach them to each window.

I thought about saving up for a different/better AC unit...but I already know from the experience with my house's units that that doesn't always fix the problem...I was only able to fix the problem of keeping the upstairs cool in my house by investing in triple-paned windows...even with a brand new AC unit.

just a little note about the silver bubble stuff on the windows....
when I was in my fifthwheel, I put that stuff on my door window cause the setting sun caused a huge glare through that frosted glass.
It caused the plastic frame around the glass to warp and the glass fell down an inch into the door. I had to replace the frame. After
the fact....a friend of mine out in AJ told me never to use that cause it would cause the windows to crack and instead to use cardboard
as in old cardboard boxes. She did that for hers and never had a problem and it kept it nice and cool inside. I've always trusted what
she told me as they are seasoned fulltimers for more years than I know. Wishing I had known before I put it in the window, it would
have saved me $$ and of course the headache of doing the work on the frame.

[Bethers]

Have had that silver stuff in my overhead window continually since I purchased this rig. No damage to window. See it used all the time. Since it's the most common material to protect against heat in windshields, I have trouble believing about that damage.

[mitch5252]

..
Are you guys talking about this, or something different?



..

[Bethers]

Looks like what I use.

[JoanE]

I just used a second windshield solar shield on my large side window in addition to the one on my windsgield and two thin panels on my driver/passenger windows. No damage.

[ialwaysneedaroadtrip]

On the windshield things I bought...it actually said on the package to make sure that you don't place them in the windshield in a way that there is a space between it and the window. In other words if your dash is exposed the sun will reflect off the silver and actually create MORE heat on the dash, and cause it to warp.

This was on the package disclaimer...so if there was damage to your window...there must have been enough of a space between the silver and the edge to create that same kind of heat pocket.....enough to do the damage.

Also, I would pay attention if you've got plastic vs. metal in these areas where it's being used. It seems to me that the plastic would be more susceptible. A dash is made of plastic, too...by the way.

[Sandersmr]

One thing to remember - these units are not well insulated. So you aren't going to get a large differential like you would in a house - even with covering the windows and stuff. Make sure you vent just a little to let the hot air escape and keep a fan going to circulate the air - both of those will help. But unless you have a 4-season trailer, I don't think you will get 20 degrees differential, close maybe.