Use of AC on RT SSRT...boondocking

[O'Town Road]

I bought a used 2019 Simplicity SRT. I am preparing to for some boon docking adventures and today I went to use the RV AC and it would not kick on. The thermostat lights up, I have the battery engaged and the inverter on, and vehicle running but the AC doesn't work. I was under the impression the onboard system would run all of these components without having to plug in. How do I know if my model has the underwood generator or duel alternator? Is there something I'm missing and what are my options to get the AC up and running without having to use shore power? If I am carrying three additional passengers in the rear, it's burning up back there as we cruise down the highway and that seems a bit silly.

Thank you.

O'Town Road

[GallenH]

Are you talking about using the rooftop AC while driving? Didn't know people did that. Thought AC required too much power for batteries.

But if these are occasional/temporary passengers in the back, you might try some 12v clip on fans to move air from the front area to the rear. Easy and you'd only use them if you had those additional passengers.

[RossWilliams]

Apparently, the under-hood generator was an optional feature on the Simplicity. You should be able look under the hood (or under the engine) and see whether you have it or not. You only have 100 amp/hours of battery at 12 volts, so realistically you aren't going to be able to run the AC on the batteries. If you don't have the under hood generator, you can't use AC while driving.

If you do have the generator and the inverter is turned on, the AC should work when driving. Someone else here might know for sure, but its possible the generator doesn't kick in until the engine hits some level of RPM's. I think that is the way it works on my sprinter.

Have you checked to see if the AC works with shore power? That would at least tell you it is plugged in and working.

[mumkin]

If you look under the front passenger side tire, the UHG will be there if you have one. It hangs under the engine... and you must take care not to hit it on curbs when you park. As the others said, if you don't have it, you can't run the rear AC while driving ... only when plugged in.

Did you buy from an individual or a dealer? Did you run the AC on your walk through?

If you plan much boondocking with this rig, you will want to add a second battery and solar.