running the roof air while driving?

[86rader]

Is this possible? I would expect that the alternator would be fighting a loosing battle trying to keep the battery charged as the inverter sucks the life out of it.

I ask this because we are planning a trip out west this summer including some driving through the desert. My 86 sunrader has dash a/c, but the previous owner took the drive belt off as most of his use was trips up to nova scotia where they haven't even heard of a/c!!. He believes the a/c would work if the belt was replaced. I ain't buying it. It is a 21 year old R-12 system that hasn't been run in quite some time.

What are the odds of this system still working? If not how difficult/effective is an r-134 retrofit? My previous experience with retrofitted systems is that they loose some effectiveness. Maybe when I'm out west, I'll just shoot down south of the border and get me some cheap r-12. I here it is available there.

[Gulfstream Greg]

Is this possible? I would expect that the alternator would be fighting a loosing battle trying to keep the battery charged as the inverter sucks the life out of it.

I ask this because we are planning a trip out west this summer including some driving through the desert. My 86 sunrader has dash a/c, but the previous owner took the drive belt off as most of his use was trips up to nova scotia where they haven't even heard of a/c!!. He believes the a/c would work if the belt was replaced. I ain't buying it. It is a 21 year old R-12 system that hasn't been run in quite some time.

What are the odds of this system still working? If not how difficult/effective is an r-134 retrofit? My previous experience with retrofitted systems is that they loose some effectiveness. Maybe when I'm out west, I'll just shoot down south of the border and get me some cheap r-12. I here it is available there.

I would get the system hooked up to the gauges when you first turn it on and verify right then that its got pressure. Your right the odds are against it still having enough freon.

Two years ago I had our system recharged using the r-134. Now supposedly you are supposed to do some major component changes but in our case the system was evacuated and then a new special oil was introduced into the system that can blend with the old r12 oil and recharged all for $100. Adapters, oil and r-134. The r12 is really outrageously expensive per pound. So far its been fine. But then again we have probably only put about 2000 miles on the truck and far less on the A/C. As far as reducing the efficiency I can not say as ours really cooled badly in the first place. Driving west bound on a 100 degree day with the sun shining directly into the cab is when it really has a hard time but then again maybe any A/C would be stressed. Any how the oil that blends with the old seems to be the trick. As far as running the coach air with an inverter I think most will agree with me that its not really feasible. It would have to be a big inverter and a really big alternator to do the job. Some though do run their generators to power the coach a/c.

[88WIT]

Is this possible? I would expect that the alternator would be fighting a loosing battle trying to keep the battery charged as the inverter sucks the life out of it.

I ask this because we are planning a trip out west this summer including some driving through the desert. My 86 sunrader has dash a/c, but the previous owner took the drive belt off as most of his use was trips up to nova scotia where they haven't even heard of a/c!!. He believes the a/c would work if the belt was replaced. I ain't buying it. It is a 21 year old R-12 system that hasn't been run in quite some time.

What are the odds of this system still working? If not how difficult/effective is an r-134 retrofit? My previous experience with retrofitted systems is that they loose some effectiveness. Maybe when I'm out west, I'll just shoot down south of the border and get me some cheap r-12. I here it is available there.

[86rader]

So, looks like I might be in the market for a genset then. Any recommendations? I suppose an lp one would be the way to go. Are there small light weight units hat will mount on the rear bumper? How big will I need to supply the AC?

[knowltondata]

I did a conversion a year ago on my 93 Astro with the kit from Advance with no problem. It had four cans, one oil and three 134. Just remember it takes a good while to empty a can. I saw no difference between 12 and 134. My 89 Toyota pickup was done the same way before I got it and no problemo there.

For 30-40 bucks it might be worth a try.

[86rader]

Well, it looks like it's a choice between a cheap, but noisy coleman or similar and a not so cheap but quiet honda. What do you folks think? Are the cheaper ones really that noisy? Will it be noticable strapped to the rear bumper while driving?

Whatever I get, looks like I'll be mounting it on the rear bumper. I don't like the idea of craming a running engine with a can of gas inside a tight compartment, even if it can fit, which I doubt.

The extra noise isn't that big a deal since, I doubt I'd be using it much while parked. I don't plan on doing much boondocking in areas where AC is neccessary.

One other question. Why aren't there any small gas powered ACs? I would think that a small gas powered motor spinning the compressor is alot more efficient than a larger one spinning a generator to make power to spin an electric motor. I realize there are such things, but, they are larger diesel models used in high end RVs or buses.