would not have another roof top model at any price. When we looked for another van it was with a split system installation in mind - that is, a layout that lends itself to that installation if and when the roof top model died and sure enough, 12 mths after we changed vans we needed to put our pre-conceived plan into action. All up cost was $1600 and cools the van noiselessly. Ran in 24/7 in Darwin and it was wonderful.

Our Dometic roof model was noisy and inefficient. In our previous van we had an 'ibis' which was equally as noisy and after spending over $600 to fix it the problem (not cooling E4 error) was still there.

 We live in our van full time and not prepared to put up with sub-standard appliances.

-- Edited by villatranquilla on Tuesday 2nd of February 2016 04:04:06 PM

For a starter there is no comparison, it's like chalk and cheese.

We have had every rooftop rattler going in our previous caravans, now have a Fujitsu Inverter split, runs easily from a 1kva yamaha genny, try that with an Ibis !

Works quietly and efficiently and no crash bang like the old thumper kicks in with the dinosaur rooftops.

I would never consider another piece of rooftop rubbish ever ! from any manufacturer. Oh and ours now is nearly 4 years old, full time use sometimes 24/7 for weeks on end, try that with a rattler.

I'd rather have no AC than the old noisy technology foisted on us by some idiot caravan manufacturers

Her eis another vote for a split system, had a Fujitsu inverter system installed when the van was built, just brilliant, silent, and runs on very little power (important if you are running on inverter).

adventure before dementia wrote:

---

Ty so far for all your responses, look like a split domestic system will be the way to go . D and D, Banjo where is your outdoor unit mounted and how big are the units your both got . I guessing l am concerned about vibrations, loose connections over time and gas escaping out . Ty

---

 The inverter unit is located at the rear of the van (see pic) which was possible because it was always going to be there so the van was constructed with that in mind. The header unit is located above the bed at the front of the van. I've seen the inverter's mounted on the rear bumber although I'd think twice about that because of the weight and I'd make sure it didn't affect the van's balance. The header can really go anywhere provided you can get the pipework to and from it.

 

Capacity is: Cool - input 0.65 kW, Output 2.65 kW; Heat - Input 0.75 kW, Output 2.90 kW., That's what it says on the sticker and I have no idea what that means. If I was getting it done again I'd probably go for a slightly larger capacity.

 

Regards

 

Dave

-- Edited by D and D on Wednesday 3rd of February 2016 06:04:07 PM

Our unit is a 1.5kw cooling, and from memory 1kw heating, the outside unit is on the back bumper, and the head unit is above the mirror in the ensuite, it blows straight up the middle of the van, and cools it quickly and quietly.

Our van was built to be totally independent, 1,200watts of solar, a big lithium battery, feeding a 3,000w inverter.

It was important to us that our air con was efficient, and that it was not on the roof, as we needed the space for the solar. We can run the air con for many hours after the sun goes down, to date we have run it for 5 hours, and still had loads of battery in the morning.

If we were building again there are a few things we would change, but we would seek out exactly the same air con unit again. 

Good luck with your decision.