How does water drain out the back of my '96 Roadtrek

[VTPete]

When I picked up my Roadtrek last year, it had a household air conditioner up in the back back. The bottom of that bay is a metal plate with black caulking that seems to be in ok shape.

I removed it in an effort to sanitize everything.

But, before I put a new air conditioner in there, I would like to better understand where the condensed water is supposed to go! It looks like it would pool up for about an inch, and then just over flow out the bottom vents.

Similarly, if I'm driving in the rain, those open vents out back let water IN.

On the exterior, below the vent, is a channel that runs the perimeter of the roof. There's no drain hole in there, so it looks like it would fill with water and just spill over the top.

How are you supposed to install an air conditioner and make sure the water exits the van?

-Pete

[Jonathan Clement]

The old AC in our 98D190V quit so I installed a LG model that fit well. In the process I found that the condensate flows into the rear gutter of the van. The AC rests on the portion of the original roof that was not removed when the fiberglass top was installed. I poured some water behind the new AC to check.

[an av8r]

I had the same situation in my '01 Explorer 230xlw when I bought it. The previous owner had replaced the original heat pump setup with a Sears Kenmore window unit. To make it fit he had removed the catch tray it sat on. It apparently didn't rain much where he was but when I brought it here to Oregon the first rain caused the area to overflow and ruined the mattress. I had a good local RV shop fabricate an aluminum shelf that slants downward to the outside for it to sit on. I then fabricated some louvers that open and close with a car lock actuator to keep the rain out. I later added a fan to help extract the heat. NOTE: window air conditioners are designed to be cooled by the ambient air they receive from hanging outside the window. Putting it in an enclosed box causes the heat generated by the AC unit to get trapped, raising the temperature of the unit to an unacceptable level and it will eventually shut down if it has a thermal protection sensor.

[Jonathan Clement]

The older Dodge Roadtreks such as ours have grilles at the rear that allow the hot air out and cool air in and have two vanes at the back of the AC cavity that prevent mixing of the hot and cool air. The rear grilles may let some rain in but it drains back out into the van's gutter and does not enter the cabin. Overheating is not a problem with this setup. The ACs in the older Chevy Roadtreks are covered by a roof panel and can be leak prone if the seals and rubber well nuts dry out.

[an av8r]

I replied to this post yesterday but omitted one point. Our '01 230xlw does not have an 'external' bay for the AC unit. It is simply a rectangular cut out in the top of the back of the fiberglass shell. Hence, the long post about leaks and heat. If I can figure out how to post some photos I'll add some to clarify.

[Phoebe3]

Originally Posted by an av8r

I replied to this post yesterday but omitted one point. Our '01 230xlw does not have an 'external' bay for the AC unit. It is simply a rectangular cut out in the top of the back of the fiberglass shell. Hence, the long post about leaks and heat. If I can figure out how to post some photos I'll add some to clarify.

Here's the instructions for posting pics:

When you hit Reply or start a new thread, there's a box you type into. Below that, in the box titled "Additional Options," there's another box that's called "Manage Attachments." The picture you want to upload must be in one of the valid file extensions listed. I usually use jpeg.

Click on the box that says "Manage Attachments." That brings up a pop-up. In the pop-up, click on "Choose File." Browse to the image you want to upload and click (or double-click) on it. The name of your picture will appear beside the "Choose File" button. You can do that for up to five images - one for each "Choose File" button in the pop-up.

Once you have chosen your pictures, click the "Upload" button. Your computer might take some time doing this, but in a little box under the "Choose File" buttons, there's a box that says "Current Attachments." The name of your image should appear in there.

When you are done, you can click on "Close this Window" at the bottom of the pop-up window.

Then, under the box you've been typing your message into, you can click either Preview Post or Submit Reply and the image will appear at the bottom.

[an av8r]

Here are some photos that relate to my previous post regarding AC leaks & heat. There are some details of the final version not shown but you can get the idea of what was done. They show the original fixed vent, the fabricated shelf and new movable louvered system. The original fixed vent was ok up to the lower 90 degree mark but anything over 100 degrees would cause the AC unit to shut down due to lack of air flow. The movable louvers increased the open area by 50% and work very well, both for keeping the AC running cool and keeping out any rain. I later added a fan to help force out the hot air surrounding the unit and it now cools reliably when the outside temperature is well over 100.

Thanks to phoebe3 for photo posting help!

[Etzu]

That looks fantastic.

[VTPete]

Those photos of your new setup look great.
You know, I started this thread by somehow didn't get auto-notifications until now!

I've since installed a new air conditioner (a small 5,200 BTU unit.) I don't seem to have a drainage issue, but I definitely have an inefficient venting system. Although the space is open, my RV no longer had those separating vents and my exhaust is mixing with my intake and reducing my cooling capacity for sure.

In the spring (wait, it IS the spring), I'll consider adding a 12v venting fan in the back, etc. When the RV is parked in the sun on a hot day, the A/C as it is can't keep up with the heat build-up (although I've never had it shut down.)

[SteveJ]

Originally Posted by VTPete

Those photos of your new setup look great.
You know, I started this thread by somehow didn't get auto-notifications until now!

I've since installed a new air conditioner (a small 5,200 BTU unit.) I don't seem to have a drainage issue, but I definitely have an inefficient venting system. Although the space is open, my RV no longer had those separating vents and my exhaust is mixing with my intake and reducing my cooling capacity for sure.

In the spring (wait, it IS the spring), I'll consider adding a 12v venting fan in the back, etc. When the RV is parked in the sun on a hot day, the A/C as it is can't keep up with the heat build-up (although I've never had it shut down.)

Perhaps get some sheet plastic or similar and make your own vanes? A good size storage tote could be a source for the plastic sheeting. If you got lucky a cross section cut could work out, keeping the bottom for rigidity and simplifying install. If that were the case, I'd buy a lottery ticket.

[Bud]

"In the spring (wait, it IS the spring), I'll consider adding a 12v venting fan in the back.."

I don't think so, only from the pic's it is a 'must do', imo.

Nice work, just not quite finished. Thanks for sharing.

Bud