Don's Sportsmobile build

[dynaco1]

Depending on the light, your color resembles non-metallic graphite grey.

[tonyvoudy]

Originally Posted by mlts22

How well does the Danhard A/C work for you guys? I like the fact that having it gives a lower clearance than a normal roof mounted A/C, but I wonder how well it will work in the Texas heat come June-August.

As an example, we used ours towards the end of June in Pensacola, FL where the daytime temps were 90+ with 100% humidity. We camped at a state park and only had shade late afternoon. We were able to get the temp down to 68 (from 99) without any issues.It took 30 minutes or so to really start moving the temperature down.

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[DonMc]

Last June when we took a trip the temperatures here in Texas were in the 103 degree range in the evening when we stopped for the night, it took the Danhard quite a while to cool the interior, really it was after dark before it was able to pull the temperatures down to a reasonable temperature. Once outside temps dropped into the low 80's and upper 70's, it did a good job of cooling down to 68 degrees.

A note on the Danhard, the positive is that I like the low profile, but I have to wonder how much better a roof unit would work cooling the van? A real negative is that if a component like the compressor fails, you are out of luck getting it repaired out and about and will likely need to take it back to a Sportsmobile location for repairs. How do I know? Ours failed our first night out when heading up to the northeast in October, 700 miles from home. Air would blow inside as well as the outside unit, but no cooling. Called SMB TX, after a short time troubleshooting the equipment it was determined the compressor had failed. SMB gave me the number for the OEM thinking there may be some other issue, after going through the same troubleshooting steps we came to the same conclusion. I was near Nashville and asked if they had any distributors that could provide another compressor, here's where it was disappointing, they primarily only sell to SMB, so the trip had to be cancelled.

To SMB's credit, they replaced the compressor under warranty, no issues. With the new 'no idle" rules for large trucks, hopefully for folks buying SMB's that want a low profile have other options now where there are larger options for repair centers.

Thanks, Don

[mlts22]

Hopefully the Danhard isn't too loud. A lot of overhead A/C units are quite loud, sometimes too loud to sleep under.

Do you know what Danhard model came with your van?

[DonMc]

Installed Ride Rite air bags with on board air compressor and auto pressure control unit as well as an electronic brake controller for the factory installed hitch. I had an event that I needed to tow my 41 Ford truck to, from Houston, TX to Franklin, TN. Loaded, the trailer came in at nearly 6000 pounds. The trip was approximately 1500 miles round trip, with both side and interstate roads along the route. Overall mileage was a little better than 12 mpg, about 3 mpg better than my 2010 Ford F150 will do pulling the same trailer and truck. I usually ran about 5 mph below the posted speed limit just to make for a comfortable drive with the trailer not having to move in and out of traffic as much. I was really impressed with the Mercedes ability to pull the trailer. Certainly not able to set any 0-60 times, but once up to speed (65 mph) the transmission stayed in OD gear, only downshifting on grades to the next lower gear, still maintaining a respectable speed, many times passing 18 wheelers on those grades. The air adjustable air bags maintained ride height and ride quality, they worked really well. We stayed at Walmarts and truck stops along the way at night, using the Honda 2000i to power the Danhard A/C. The inside blower does have a higher noise level, but being used to sleeping with an air purifier fan at home, the sound level compares favorably. This really drowned out any outside noises, and with the Honda being so quite, it was not audible inside the van. Overall a really sweet combination!

[tonyvoudy]

Awesome trip report Don! Did you have have to have the inverter on when using the generator to power the AC or was it not necessary?

[DonMc]

Tony,
I did have the inverter on, it picks up the initial start of the compressor on the Danhard A/C and then turns that load over to the Honda generator, usually within 10-15 seconds after the start. The Honda speed ramps up to what sounds like about half load. Depending on the outside temperature, I have been able to get anywhere from 4 to 6 hours on a full tank of gas in the Honda, I'm going to look at an extended run fuel system so that a refueling is not needed in the wee hours of the morning!

I did learn that if your batteries are discharged somewhat that the inverter/charger will attempt to charge them when on generator, along with running the A/C. This will trip the 2000i generator and it has to be shutdown and restarted to reset. I've not figured out how to not allow the charger to pull current in this situation, even when turning the charger "off" on the inverter control panel, perhaps others have a recommendation on what to do in this case. I ended up running the engine with the dash air on for about an hour until the bulk charging was completed.

The Danhard unit is a combination of different parts offered by Danhard, I suppose Sportsmobile and Danhard worked together to come up with what works best.

[k9sprinter]

Originally Posted by DonMc

I had an event that I needed to tow my 41 Ford truck to, from Houston, TX to Franklin, TN. Loaded, the trailer came in at nearly 6000 pounds.

Hope you realize that your sprinter and the hitch , is only rated to tow 5000lbs( even if you got a aftermarket hitch rated for 10,000lbs), the 2500 is only rated to tow 5000 lbs
on the 3500 thats rated for to tow 7500lbs, there is a FACTORY reinforced frame to stop the frame/body from warping

[DonMc]

Thanks K9, your correct, I'm more than stretching the 5k limit. Hopefully with the limited towing the van will see it won't be detrimental to it.

[tonyvoudy]

Thanks Don for the info. I guess I will just need to get outside and give the generator / danhard a try one day before I decide to camp somewhere super hot and end up tripping breakers.