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shagginwagon83
Samba Member
Joined: February 07, 2016
Posts: 3803
Location: VA/TN
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 Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2022 4:20 pm Post subject: 12V Dometic Rooftop A/C install in a Westy |
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Cross posted from Facebook -
NOTE: This install is not Brandon's work. He is simply sharing information he saw elsewhere.
This is the inside with the rtx1000. It is running off a Crooked Finger Designs battery box with 120ah of lithium. It protrudes about 4.5-5 inches but could be adjusted if you wanted it sticking off the roof higher instead, I wanted it to be more streamline. It operates at 18amps in eco mode which is great while driving in 85-95° weather. Will also run in standard mode at ~30amps which is great for 100+. Also boost mode is great at the very beginning if your van has been in the sun, if pulls 50amps in that mode. thanks for all the interest!
... "if I did it again I might do the 2000, but I think I want to build an even bigger electrical system first"
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Brandon
"Jo Ann" - '83.5 Westfalia EJ22e w/Peloquin
Instagram @joannthevan |
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fxr
Samba Member
Joined: December 07, 2014
Posts: 2325
Location: Bay area CA
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| Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2022 4:35 pm Post subject: Re: 12V Dometic Rooftop A/C install in a Westy |
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Thanks for the heads-up Brandon. Looks like I've found next winter's project! 
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Jim Crowther
1984 1.9l EJ22 Westy Wolfsburg Edition
Vespa GTS 300 |
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djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32632
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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panzer
Samba Member
Joined: November 12, 2008
Posts: 45
Location: San Antonio, TX.
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| Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2022 5:05 pm Post subject: Re: 12V Dometic Rooftop A/C install in a Westy |
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| Man, You beat me to it. Dimensionally I knew it would it would work. Where/how did you run your wiring from the top and where did you mount your battery? I know I sound like Mr. Question, but how does it work in an overnight camping situation and why would you consider the RTX 2000? More pics please! I love it! |
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Jan Steinman
Samba Member
Joined: July 03, 2022
Posts: 175
Location: Bellingham, WA, USA
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| Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2022 11:40 pm Post subject: Re: 12V Dometic Rooftop A/C install in a Westy |
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Nice!
Why would you consider the RTX-2000? Did the 1000 not keep you cool enough?
Why did you cut away so much of the luggage carrier? The instructions say you only need a 390mm x 480mm opening (15.3" x 18.9").
Where did you buy it? Dometic is sorta cagey about these… no dealers listed, and a "Contact Us" button that doesn't seem to do anything.
Thanks for any more info you can offer! |
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TheMonk
Samba Member
Joined: June 03, 2013
Posts: 85
Location: Sydney Australia
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| Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2022 2:09 am Post subject: Re: 12V Dometic Rooftop A/C install in a Westy |
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| That's great, well done, exactly what i need in my '82 aircooled. Any pics of the thru-roof process? |
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shagginwagon83
Samba Member
Joined: February 07, 2016
Posts: 3803
Location: VA/TN
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| Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2022 4:02 am Post subject: Re: 12V Dometic Rooftop A/C install in a Westy |
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Sorry I should have mentioned further - this it not my install. I saw it on a Facebook group and thought it deserved it's own Samba thread. Great work by Crooked Finger Designs for a clean install.
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Brandon
"Jo Ann" - '83.5 Westfalia EJ22e w/Peloquin
Instagram @joannthevan |
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elizer 
Samba Member
Joined: May 02, 2016
Posts: 1466
Location: Northern Virginia
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| Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2022 4:38 am Post subject: Re: 12V Dometic Rooftop A/C install in a Westy |
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| That looks so slick. I don't have what it takes to cut into the roof like that. I will just have to live with an ecoflow if it comes down to it. |
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TheMonk
Samba Member
Joined: June 03, 2013
Posts: 85
Location: Sydney Australia
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| Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2022 4:09 am Post subject: Re: 12V Dometic Rooftop A/C install in a Westy |
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| Any chance of a link to the original facebook site this came from, I'm interested go learn about this set-up. |
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thatbaldwinlife
Samba Member
Joined: August 01, 2011
Posts: 777
Location: Out exploring
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| Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2022 6:47 am Post subject: Re: 12V Dometic Rooftop A/C install in a Westy |
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We are looking at putting one of these in the back part of our Reimo hightop install. Our van has no AC so this is a win/win for us. Crooked Fingers does great work and I believe this van will be at Descend so we are eager to check it out.
nate
_________________
1987 Westy
Insta: @Thatbaldwinlife
Vanagon Adventure and DIY videos:
That Baldwin Life YouTube Channel |
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steve244
Samba Member
Joined: March 18, 2022
Posts: 1668
Location: GA
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Pchill2
Samba Member
Joined: November 19, 2021
Posts: 406
Location: Georgia
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| Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2022 9:39 am Post subject: Re: 12V Dometic Rooftop A/C install in a Westy |
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| thatbaldwinlife wrote: |
We are looking at putting one of these in the back part of our Reimo hightop install. Our van has no AC so this is a win/win for us. Crooked Fingers does great work and I believe this van will be at Descend so we are eager to check it out.
nate |
Excited to see some videos of that.
_________________
87 Syncro Westy
Honda K24 swap |
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thatbaldwinlife
Samba Member
Joined: August 01, 2011
Posts: 777
Location: Out exploring
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| Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2022 9:48 am Post subject: Re: 12V Dometic Rooftop A/C install in a Westy |
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How did you determine you would need 34k BTU? A simple online calculator shows me around 6.5K BTU given 80 squre feet and a 7' ceiling height. That is only twice what it puts out and with parking in the shade and window covers, this should be plenty.
Generators are not for us and if we can plug in we are in the wrong campsite.
Our hightop isn't going on anytime soon and we will see if they come down in price or if there are other competitors in the space then.
nate
_________________
1987 Westy
Insta: @Thatbaldwinlife
Vanagon Adventure and DIY videos:
That Baldwin Life YouTube Channel
Last edited by thatbaldwinlife on Thu Aug 11, 2022 9:50 am; edited 1 time in total |
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thatbaldwinlife
Samba Member
Joined: August 01, 2011
Posts: 777
Location: Out exploring
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| Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2022 9:48 am Post subject: Re: 12V Dometic Rooftop A/C install in a Westy |
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| Pchill2 wrote: |
| thatbaldwinlife wrote: |
We are looking at putting one of these in the back part of our Reimo hightop install. Our van has no AC so this is a win/win for us. Crooked Fingers does great work and I believe this van will be at Descend so we are eager to check it out.
nate |
Excited to see some videos of that. |
You may have to wait a bit but thanks!! 
_________________
1987 Westy
Insta: @Thatbaldwinlife
Vanagon Adventure and DIY videos:
That Baldwin Life YouTube Channel |
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steve244
Samba Member
Joined: March 18, 2022
Posts: 1668
Location: GA
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| Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2022 9:56 am Post subject: Re: 12V Dometic Rooftop A/C install in a Westy |
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| thatbaldwinlife wrote: |
How did you determine you would need 34k BTU? A simple online calculator shows me around 6.5K BTU given 80 squre feet and a 7' ceiling height. That is only twice what it puts out and with parking in the shade and window covers, this should be plenty.
Generators are not for us and if we can plug in we are in the wrong campsite.
Our hightop isn't going on anytime soon and we will see if they come down in price or if there are other competitors in the space then.
nate |
So the idea is to spend 3 grand on a 12V A/C for comfort at night? I missed that part.
Carry on.
_________________
82 AC vanagon approx 200K miles (3K are mine).
DD is a 2015 Leaf 
Road Trip to Hell (FL 2023)
The Vanagon's drivetrain and chassis restomod thread. Best sung to the tune of I Did It My Way... |
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crazyvwvanman
Samba Member
Joined: January 28, 2008
Posts: 9937
Location: Orbiting San Diego
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| Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2022 10:29 am Post subject: Re: 12V Dometic Rooftop A/C install in a Westy |
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For driving use comparison a small in-dash Unit from Nostalgic Air is 11,000 BTU and they go up from there.
Their under-dash models are like 14,000 15,000 16,000....
So 3-4 times higher rating than the truck sleeper A/C from Dometic.
The manufacturer says it isn't meant as the primary A/C.
They say to pre-cool the interior with the vehicles primary A/C.
They say to park the vehicle in the shade.
This is then meant to help keep it cooler during the driver rest periods.
I'm sure it is a fine product for the application it is meant for.
I await reports of how well it works for different Vanagon uses.
Mark |
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thatbaldwinlife
Samba Member
Joined: August 01, 2011
Posts: 777
Location: Out exploring
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| Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2022 11:34 am Post subject: Re: 12V Dometic Rooftop A/C install in a Westy |
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| steve244 wrote: |
| thatbaldwinlife wrote: |
How did you determine you would need 34k BTU? A simple online calculator shows me around 6.5K BTU given 80 squre feet and a 7' ceiling height. That is only twice what it puts out and with parking in the shade and window covers, this should be plenty.
Generators are not for us and if we can plug in we are in the wrong campsite.
Our hightop isn't going on anytime soon and we will see if they come down in price or if there are other competitors in the space then.
nate |
So the idea is to spend 3 grand on a 12V A/C for comfort at night? I missed that part.
Carry on. |
Maybe. But more than likely there will be other options in the future. We would also use it while driving if needed. I would rather spend $3K on this then have to find a campground with a 120v outlet!
We have some time before we put on the top so we aren't clicking the buy button today, no need to get worked up. Hopefully gonna check it out at DOB and see how it does there in the 90 degree heat!
nate
_________________
1987 Westy
Insta: @Thatbaldwinlife
Vanagon Adventure and DIY videos:
That Baldwin Life YouTube Channel |
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steve244
Samba Member
Joined: March 18, 2022
Posts: 1668
Location: GA
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| Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2022 11:46 am Post subject: Re: 12V Dometic Rooftop A/C install in a Westy |
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BTUs are BTUs.
3,400 won't cool it if any sun is hitting the van.
Night or complete shade it might be comfortable inside with just this, I wouldn't bet 3 grand on it.
| Quote: |
| How powerful are automotive air conditioners? Most sedans have air conditioning systems that can approach 40,000 BTU (3.3 Tons) in capacity. A typical 3,000 square foot house can easily be cooled by a 36,000 BTU (3 Ton) system. Cars need massive cooling capacity in order to quickly bring down the interior temperatures on hot days (easily 130 degrees F) to comfortable levels (70-75 degrees F) in a few minutes. Houses, on the other hand, only need to handle temperature variations of about 15 degrees. |
source
http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/258.cfm
This did give me pause to reconsider A/C for an 82 AC Westy.
If I can convince she who hates camping and the outdoors to come with me on a trip, I might need this if ambient temps are above the 70s.
https://coldmasterinc.com/product/a-c-kit-universa...s-campers/
Gilmore Enterprises was recommended for air-cooled A/C. I have asked if they do compressor mounts for type 4 engines...
I might consider the horror of a portable A/C I can throw between the seats and run off a small honda (quiet) inverter generator for use at night, but I think I can get her to suck it up with just fans after the sun goes down.
As for me, I sweat reeeeeal good.
_________________
82 AC vanagon approx 200K miles (3K are mine).
DD is a 2015 Leaf
Road Trip to Hell (FL 2023)
The Vanagon's drivetrain and chassis restomod thread. Best sung to the tune of I Did It My Way... |
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thatbaldwinlife
Samba Member
Joined: August 01, 2011
Posts: 777
Location: Out exploring
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| Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2022 12:44 pm Post subject: Re: 12V Dometic Rooftop A/C install in a Westy |
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Good info but I'm gonna ask the guy who has one in his Westy how it works and hopefully sit in it when its hot and and see. We have lived without AC for all these years and when we live full time in our van soon, we will be fine either way!! I don't need my van cooled from 130f to 70f in a few minutes. An hour in the shade to knock it down to high 70's would be like heaven on a hot day.
Maybe there will be a Chinese knock off here in a few years we can test out
_________________
1987 Westy
Insta: @Thatbaldwinlife
Vanagon Adventure and DIY videos:
That Baldwin Life YouTube Channel |
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MarkWard
Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2005
Posts: 17155
Location: Retired South Florida
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| Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2022 3:00 pm Post subject: Re: 12V Dometic Rooftop A/C install in a Westy |
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I’m no expert, but even in econo mode, it would be a pretty substantial battery array to run this from sundown to sun up. You’d then need to calculate how much alternator and panel you’d need to fully recharge for the following evening. Every year it seems we get closer to a fully off grid AC system for our vanagons. I fully support this direction. Our last cross country trip required camping in state parks to have power for our 5000 btu window shaker. It would be nice to have the ability to have AC all night without the cord. Thanks for showing this. The required hole is way beyond what I’d be willing to cut in. A fiberglass high top, would be a better solution that could easily be undone.
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