Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 01-26-2018, 11:48 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Fitz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Vacaville, just east of the San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 1,062
Mike,

You have seen and been in Flint so you know how it is set up. PH, no rear AC, and we have crossed the central CA Valley many times in the 100+ degree heat with no complaints. Dry CA is much different than areas with humidity, our design took that into account.

Ditto to the comments above regarding the Endless Breeze 12 volt fan, fewer windows and the lighter colors. We are on totally board with these observations. When we flew to Austin to pick up the van in September I carried an Endless Breeze fan with me. Glad we had it with us for those humid Texas evenings when parked!

We travel with two people and the front of the van is always comfortable. I have ridden in the back on some of our really hot drives just to see what it was like and it was ok sitting on the bench seat, plenty comfortable for me. I do not know how it would be if the van was full of people, but I think it would be fine for us. Like you, we are not "AC junkies" as you put it, but the flip side is that having kids in the back complaining about being hot on a long drive is never fun.

The other aspect of this that you need to take into consideration is what the Danfoss unit looks like mounted under a Sprinter. Here is a shot (not my van) of what you will find, you need to be the judge to determine if you want this under there or not. Mostly pavement use, no big deal. Lots of bouncing around off-road use, you may want to give this careful consideration. I suggest you find a van so equipped so you can see and determine for yourself. It's not that far to Fresno, its worth the drive to know.


__________________
“Flint” - 2016 SMB Sprinter 4x4 144" RB 150S w/ PH
KN6BJX
Fitz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-27-2018, 05:39 AM   #12
JWA
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Posts: 3,765
Send a message via Yahoo to JWA
Quote:
Originally Posted by BroncoHauler View Post
IMO, the biggest contributor to unwanted interior heat is the amount of glass in the van. More glass, more heat. A quality heat rejecting window tint can help offset this however.

Paint color of the van also has some contribution, but I think its a lessor contributor than quantity of glass.


Herb
Adding to Herb's spot-on observation...........I'm currently refitting a 2005 E350 extended body Club Wagon with raised roof, temps here hovering in the upper 20's as a high for a few days. With the original van interior removed and no insulation with the sun beaming directly inside there was a definite temperature increase. I didn't meausure but guessing about 15* above ambient.

Extrapolate that to an 80*+ day ("hot" here in Ohio ) and you'd easily have over 110* inside. Keep in mind it's downright dangerous to leave anything living inside a closed vehicle in warmer months so significant solar gain is a real concern, can/does greatly affect creature comfort.

I'll be replacing all rear body side glass except for the side and rear doors with metal panels but they'll be heavily insulated on the back side mostly from side wall paneling where insulation will be added. I'll also be completely diabling the factory rear A/C evaporator (blocked off from the main system but retain the heat for my materials and parts.
JWA is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-27-2018, 09:14 AM   #13
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 84
I have a dark color (dart metallic grey) and lots of dark tinted glass...a 144 Passenger. Granted it is not a Sportsmobile build, but it gets really hot in the back and very little air flow to the rear of the van. With my color/window combo, I can't see traveling in moderately warm/hot climates without A/C. I have a dog and a kid (and at some point a 2nd kid)...so not having A/C is not an option...
VtSoundman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-27-2018, 10:02 AM   #14
Senior Member
 
Fitz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Vacaville, just east of the San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 1,062
I agree with VtSoundman’s comments above. If we had kids confined to car seats or a great (big) dog like Rusty, a rear AC would have been part of the design basis. The grandsons will get to come along with us when they are out of car seats and we leave the cats at home when we travel.
__________________
“Flint” - 2016 SMB Sprinter 4x4 144" RB 150S w/ PH
KN6BJX
Fitz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2018, 08:22 PM   #15
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Western Colorado
Posts: 87
All -
Many thanks for these thoughts. I've been noodling on this for a couple days and clarity has yet to emerge.
Van will be blue grey color, with lots of windows (rear doors, sliding door, galley, and behind sliding door).
Can't see a reason to drive to hot or humid climates, ever, but can see crossing hot areas to get to the mountains in summer.
Other direct experiences w kids in the back without supplemental AC would be most welcome.
Mike
mikemikemike is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2018, 08:44 PM   #16
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: SF Bay Area (NorCal)
Posts: 14
We chose a 12v ProAir rear AC and heat system. For AC it puts a belt driven condenser pump on the engine and a condenser fan similar to Fitz's photo. For heat, it takes engine coolant and routes new hoses to the heat exchanger. 3 fan settings and only 1 temperature setting.

We shopped around during the summer and we test drove Road Treks at the RV dealer in Gilroy. One sales person could not get the rear AC to work on a RT Chevy and our 2 kids were sweating to death in the rear.

We plan to cross the central valley to get to destinations like the Sierras, Yosemite, and Sequoia. We needed the rear AC. It was confirmed by the sales person at SMB.
MtShasta is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-02-2018, 01:14 AM   #17
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Western Colorado
Posts: 87
That is convincing. Thank you.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MtShasta View Post
We chose a 12v ProAir rear AC and heat system. For AC it puts a belt driven condenser pump on the engine and a condenser fan similar to Fitz's photo. For heat, it takes engine coolant and routes new hoses to the heat exchanger. 3 fan settings and only 1 temperature setting.

We shopped around during the summer and we test drove Road Treks at the RV dealer in Gilroy. One sales person could not get the rear AC to work on a RT Chevy and our 2 kids were sweating to death in the rear.

We plan to cross the central valley to get to destinations like the Sierras, Yosemite, and Sequoia. We needed the rear AC. It was confirmed by the sales person at SMB.
mikemikemike is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-02-2018, 10:15 AM   #18
Senior Member
 
arctictraveller's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 4,234
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikemikemike View Post
All - Can't see a reason to drive to hot or humid climates, ever,
Since you seem to be in the Bay area, one trip to Concord in summer should qualify as driving to a hot climate. In my book, there is no such thing as too much A/C, and summer heat seems to get worse every year.
__________________
Arctic Traveller
KC6TNI
2001 GTRV
Advanced 4wd
Agile Ride improvement package
arctictraveller is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-02-2018, 03:12 PM   #19
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Western Colorado
Posts: 87
Ha, touche. OK, OK, I'll get the AC. Esp since SMB seems to have come up with an interesting ski solution...
mikemikemike is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sportsmobile SIP or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:10 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.