Ray's Camper Stuff
Page 1
AC install & MaxAir Power Vent
First off I bought a 15000 btu Carrier low profile Airv w/heat. Cost of the unit was around $595 shipped to me. Height of the unit is just over 6 inches, compared to 9 to 15 of the other mfg's that are out there.
I'm sorry I did not take pictures of the process to install the units, so I'll try to explain the process.
The AC install was extremely straight forward. Fleetwood was kind enough to mark the roof for the location to cut the hole. I used a Makita 31/2 inch skill saw to make the cut .
I marked and removed the rear AC brace so the power could be ran thru it.
I took a router and plunged a 1/2 inch wide by 1/2 inch deep by 5 inch long grove from the opening that I cut to the rear reinforcement to hide the power cable. (the roof panel is 1 inch thick)
I laid the power cord in the groove i plowed with the router (12 ga so type power cord)
I reinstalled the rear AC brace and ran the power cord thru the brace to the side. Fleetwood was kind enough to provide an area in the side aluminum roof extrusion to run and hide the cable. I used this area to run the cable to the right rear corner. at this point the cable hangs with the curtain and plugs in to the 20 amp receptacle near the floor.
When installing the unit , I did not like the flex in the roof where the opening is, So I took some 1/2 oak flooring and made a reinforcement to span between the two braces. I then made two cleats to attach the oak to the braces. This was way over kill, but the roof is rock solid.
That's about it on the AC install. The whole process took 2 to 21/2 hours to complete.
The next part was installing the MaxAir power vent.
This was a bit more difficult. There were no guide holes to mark the placement. so this is the process i used.
I found the area I want to install the vent. I used a metal stud finder to mark the locations of the roof reinforcements that were imbedded in the roof panel.
After marking the location i used the same process to cut the 14 inch by 14 inch opening in the roof.
Before going any further, I took a 3/8 drill and made a pass thru hole in the polyurethane roof panel from the opening I cut to the roof light. (about 8 inches) Making sure i did not damage the outer skin of the roof or the inner roof covering. This will allow the power cord to pass thru the ceiling to the light power source and be hidden.
The next step was to install the vent inner shell using a good non hardening silicone base sealer.
When that was installed , next the power vent bolts into the mounting shell. Also at that time push the power wires thru the hole made to the light. After tightening up on the 4 screws and attaching the wires, you install the inner trim ring.
The whole process took less than a hour to install.