A friend of ours had a rooftop A/C fitted to his poptop van. He couldn't lift the roof (because of the extra weight) and when he did, the roof kept coming down (again because of the weight). He got stiffer gas struts for the roof, but from memory he still had to lay on the bed and push the roof up with his feet and a broomstick. I think he had to get the roof structure braced up as well to compensate for the weight of the unit.

Another issue with aircons in vans is noise. They are typically noisy. You need to notify the Dept of Civil Aviation when you turn them on because they will think there is an unidentified aricraft flying in their area (well nearly so anyway). They are noisy. A few people are looking to use domestic split system A/C units in their vans. They are quieter and a lot cheaper for the small size used for a caravan. Our A/C unit has a capacity of 2.2 kW, which really is not enough in very hot weather. It is OK if you sit in the blast from the outlet, but otherwise it barely copes. Better than nothing, but I think there are better options around these days.

Hi guys and happy Friday! The van has four hydraulic Rams 1 in each corner so no manual lifting required, the roofs rated to carry around the 40Kg mark for a AC unit, I'm looking at a Aircommand Truma its output is slightly higher for the 2+kv mark. I just don't have any experience with vans with canvas and AC's, will it keep us cool in 30-35 deg days (worse case)? I won't be relying on genset power often. Oh Ps... C'mmon the CATS!!! Appreciate all your feedback and assistance.