Coleman style Air Conditioner

[bucko]

First off, I realize that a Coleman RV style air conditioner cannot be installed on the WESTY pop top due to the extreme angle of the pop top when it is in the "up" position. However, what about putting it in the stationary luggage rack up front above the driver/passenger seat cabin area? Couldn't it be installed there, and used when we want to go the full hookup camping route?

I have seen one of these installed in RV's and pull behind trailer style pop up camper, and it would seem that a hole could be cut into the front part of our Westy, in the luggage rack (I don't use it for hauling anything) and through the front cabin of the Vanagon.

Anyone have any information or links that might provide the dimensions of the hole, along with the required depth that is needed?

If it would work, I'd like it better than the "window" AC unit kits I've seen here on the PARTS forum.
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Current VW drives: 1984 Westfalia

Past VW drives: 1967 Beetle, 1973 Beetle, 1977 Bus, 1971 Military Type 181

[Dogpilot]

Bucko,

You just need to camp only during fall spring and winter in Florida. Essentially, your just a big mobil blood donor during the summer.
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Geology with a Syncro rocks!
86 Syncro Westy AKA "The Bughunter"
98 Disco I
08 Range Rover SC
08 VW Rabbit S
1951 O-1G

[[email protected]]

I think the coleman (or any style RV AC) would be too big to fit into the luggage rack so you would then have to modify the front area somehow to seal up when the poptop is closed. Dunno how wide one of those things are but you maybe could cutout the center of the rack and still would not look to off.
Now I don't see why you could not do this but time, money, and effort I feel would all be wasted not to metion the headroom you would probably loose as well.

Trust me, just a small window shaker works pretty dam good and pretty dam easy to setup at a campsite. On our recent FMBC campout at St. augustine, Tomasz set up his window shaker using one of those socks that goes in the poptop. It was like a meatllocker in there all weekend. Outside temps were in the 90's and humid during the day but it was cool sleeping weather at night (no a/c in mine just fans). That sock worked better than I thought it would.

You can buy a small window shaker for $80, and with little effort slip it in the front window of the vanagon/bay. I think they may fit in a 50/50 slider as well. A few of us have come up with a rough plan to make up some bracketry I SHOULD be working on this as three people have been pushing me to get cracking on them lately as we are set to have a campout in Ruskin, FL the first part of September and this place does have electricity. But I am Knee deep in '63 beetle right now!!
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Markus

[bucko]

[[email protected]]

[vwjedi]

Like Dogpilot put so eloquintly, open windows at night MUST have screens on them and unless passed out from a night dancing with Jose Cuervo I don't sleep so well at 90 degrees.

I am definatly doing the window A/C unit idea, Florida summer camping is miserable without it.


I don't know if I could support the idea of cutting a big hole in your roof for an RV style unit, seems like catastrophic damage for a big-ass box on your roof everywhere you go only to be utilized when camping.
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1987 Wolfsburg T25 still riding out. A bunch of other VW's passed on...

[Dogpilot]

The drinking and passing out is nearly deadly in Florida. A bunch of us from the Hurricane Center went out to Elliot Key once for a day and a night of windsurfing, water skiing, drinking and debauchery. Jeff M. got wasted early and retired to the tent. Jim L. (original mathematician of the global climate model), got really wasted and retired to Jeff's tent much later. He managed to get it unzipped, halfway in and passed out. The mosquitos ate poor sleeping Jeff alive, he was a mass of welts in the morning. Jim was virtually untouched, with a ring of drunk mosquitos surrounding him.
_________________
Geology with a Syncro rocks!
86 Syncro Westy AKA "The Bughunter"
98 Disco I
08 Range Rover SC
08 VW Rabbit S
1951 O-1G

[bmwloco]

I have an adapter "sock" that you use with a regular AC unit. Bought it off of the samba last year, but I can't find the link again.

It allows you to put your AC in the luggage area, put a cover over the front, and it attaches to the window in the pop top. Takes only moments. Water vents through the normal holes.

If I can find the link, I'll post it. It works like a charm. Sock cost $50, AC from Target.com for under $100. Even has a remote so you don't have to fiddle with it once it's set up.

Cheers,

Dean

[bucko]

[bmwloco]

Exactly!

Thanks for searching it out. I looked for an hour or two... Cheers

It works well, it's made well, and it's simple. Most of the best things I've seen in life are like that.

[Terry Kay]

A couple of problems with the luggage rack/ upper tube feed unit.
And I'm not bum rapping it-I'm just telling you guys a couple of facts.

First, the big angle that it's mounted is no good for any of the
new later model current AC units.
To be efficiant they all use the water off the condensor to splash up onto it using the fan as slinger.
The way the unit is angled the condensor won't get any of the water to work right--it'll all run out of it.

Second, your going to lose effciancy with the tube not being insulated from the AC unit to the window in the canvas 3 ft away.

I experimented with this set up prior to coming up with my luggage rack mounted window unit, and the difference was night and day.

Your getting a direct blast off the evaporator of the AC unit into the Van, rather than to cool down preheated air prior to getting into the area to be cooled.
It's fighting itself non stop.

Plus--the AC unit has a thermostat which allows it to maintains a regulated temperature in the area it's cooling.
This feature is totally lost with the luggage rack / AC feed tube set up.
It never will shut off, and you have no temperature control.

The high mounted AC unit is trying to work in reverse too.

It's cooling all the hot air up top, and seeing as the canvas & the tube aren't insulated, the effficancy of the unit is lost in trying to cool down the heat radiating off of the Canvas.

The best set up is to get the window unit as low as you can go, and allow the AC to blow into the passenger compartment directly as possible.

Plus--if it's real hot, and maybe raining you have the option of dropping the top down to really make the inside of the Van a meat locker--which can't even be considered with the luggage rack / sock mounted unit.
Your stuck with it operating with the canvas top open only.
Your stuck with a free hanging power cord outside of the van.
The window hung unit can be plugged into the outlet inside of the Westy.

I did years of R&D with the window unit, and all kinds of other possibilities,including the luggage rack / tube mount.

The luggage rack window mounted enviroment control device is the only way to go for an efficiant cool down of the Van.
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T.K.

[CF]

i was about to say ask terry kay

[jaxbeach88bus]

Hi Terry Kay,

You say that the "luggage rack window mounted environment control device" is the way to go. Would it be possible for you to post a picture of this setup? If not, could you explain that set up a bit more?

thanks.

[singlewc]

[[email protected]]

"window shaker" is a term for a window unit air conditioner. the 5-5500 btu? are small enough to fit into the the front window of a baywindow/vanagon, and not too terribly bulky to haul to a campsite. you just have to fashion something up to hold it into place. They are cheap and availble just about anywhere (at least here in FL all the time)
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Markus

[Terry Kay]

<<You say that the "luggage rack window mounted environment control device" is the way to go. Would it be possible for you to post a picture of this setup? If not, could you explain that set up a bit more?>>

Go over to thesamba.com Vanagon parts section.
You'll find exactly what you asked for listed there as well as at;

http://community.webtv.net/VanStuff/VanagonWestfalia

You'll find plenty of picture's of the unit mounted, as well as an elaborate description of operation in both locations.
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T.K.