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 Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 09-13-2010, 01:32 PM   #1
greg veverka
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Phoenix
Posts: 18
Southwest Heat Fulltimming

I may have missed this topic but need some real expert advice from those of you who spend time in the desert South West part of the USA and live with the extreme heat day after day during the summer months. We all know DRV builds the best insulated 5th wheels on the market today. ( I have looked and cannot find another who does the same or better ) Many manufactures including DRV offer two air conditioners as an option so that being said my question is what is it like living in the sun for months in 100+ temps even with low humidity?
My wife, myself and two dogs will need to stay in the Phoenix area since we are still working, I work out of the house and soon to be coach. Our English bulldog must be in air 24/7 with a generator backup just in case!!
All comments would be appreciated...........
Thank you...
__________________

greg veverka is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2010, 03:01 PM   #2
berghild
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: EVERYWHERE
Posts: 291
Send a message via AIM to berghild
fulltiming southwest

I don't care where you are....2 ACs is always a good idea. we have 2 ACs/heatpumps and would not be without them.....even in the northeast.
a couple of days of a heat wave even is too much for me!
and if you have just traveled through a warm stretch....shen you stop, the coach can be pretty warm and two airs cool it down fast!
if you are ordering...make sure they insulated the front and rear caps just as well as the rest of the coach. hot or cold i cannot leave my closet doors open.
we love our coach but wish we had the one piece fiberglass coach and not the one that has several pieces.
hope that helps. be sure you have a big enough generator to run both if you need to.
cyndy
__________________

__________________
CYNDY AND HOWARD
2004 SIVERADO DURAMAX 3500
4X4 DRW
EDGE CHIP,exhaust brake,ATS tranny, ATS turbo, AFE sir filter
ETC
2008 36TK3 ES3917/no granite
berghild is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2010, 03:21 PM   #3
chevman
Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Wenatchee. wash
Posts: 83
Knowing people in high end fifthwheels that have stayed the summer in Casa Grande az makes me think you will be unhappy.
chevman
__________________
chevman
chevman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2010, 04:40 PM   #4
berghild
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: EVERYWHERE
Posts: 291
Send a message via AIM to berghild
i meant to say one piece fiberglass roof.
__________________
CYNDY AND HOWARD
2004 SIVERADO DURAMAX 3500
4X4 DRW
EDGE CHIP,exhaust brake,ATS tranny, ATS turbo, AFE sir filter
ETC
2008 36TK3 ES3917/no granite
berghild is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2010, 04:51 PM   #5
greg veverka
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Phoenix
Posts: 18
Heat

The people who stayed in Casa Grande Az, was the problem the DRV or was it they were unhappy with the SW weather?

I have lived in warm climates 32 years out of my 52 and you just run the air all the time when it is hot.

I guess I was interested in the performance aspect of the rig, can you run those air conditioners 24/7 for months when it is like a furnance outside?

I have driven by several RV parks here in Phoenix and see rigs all summer so I know those air conditioners must be working on double time!

I thank you for the information concerning the insulation on the caps, I do know DRV could insulate much better if they wanted to but they are selling rigs so the buying public must be happy and they have a bottom line.

We had already figured in the cost of double pane windows as a must, the Elite has the one piece fiberglass top which must be worth it in the heat also?

Today we are only at 100 degrees...ahhh fall.
greg veverka is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2010, 05:29 PM   #6
berghild
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: EVERYWHERE
Posts: 291
Send a message via AIM to berghild
southwest heat

i have run my airs non stop but not for months at a time. i guess the main thing would be to follow maintenance faithfully.
unfortunately the started with the one piece roof after we ordered our rig. you are right about the dual panes...check out the warranties on those....they are a must for sure.
we love our rig ,except of course the problems that we have had.
it is a source of pride and comfort.
i would buy another if we could afford it.... i wanted the tk3 kitchen and the sb3 bedroom but they said it couldn't be done. they started building those right after that...and the 4th slide in the bewdroom that would have been nice, especially with that huge king size bed! I guess it is like building a house always something else that you wish you had done!
__________________
CYNDY AND HOWARD
2004 SIVERADO DURAMAX 3500
4X4 DRW
EDGE CHIP,exhaust brake,ATS tranny, ATS turbo, AFE sir filter
ETC
2008 36TK3 ES3917/no granite
berghild is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2010, 05:31 PM   #7
chevman
Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Wenatchee. wash
Posts: 83
The problem was it was just hot. One couple rode their bikes at midnight. One guy said it was over 90 degrees with 2 ac's running but you could try the area above Phoenix because it is cooler. Just telling you what I was told by the ones that stayed the summer. Once time deal for them.
chevman
__________________
chevman
chevman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2010, 05:50 PM   #8
greg veverka
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Phoenix
Posts: 18
What would be great out here in Arizona, if the nicer parks built a cover for each slip so you could just back your rig under the cover for your stay. Usually you get a token Saguaro!

No matter what DRV floorplan you look at you always think of something better.
Spending time on the internet looking at manufactures floor plans can be dizzing until you understand they are all basically the same, it all boils down to the quality.
I think it is Keystone who builds the front living room, it is the only one I have seen like it.
DRV should offer a custom shop, if you do not want carpet you can choose several flooring options, so on and so forth.

In travel trailers Airstream is the top rated trailer in the world, or most people will agree. The outside has not changed in decades for all the best reasons but either has the inside....time for Airstream to step up to the plate and offer some floor plans and furniture to match the price of those silver twinkies.

Anyway, I had hoped several Arizona valley fulltimers would chime in on the reality of living in a DRV during the summer.
greg veverka is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2010, 05:54 PM   #9
greg veverka
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Phoenix
Posts: 18
Yes, it cools off to a nice 90-95 at night in July!!!!!
I applaud the couple who rode their bikes at midnight....to hot for me.
But keep in mind we call it "dry" heat...LOLOLOLOL...hot is hot.
greg veverka is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2010, 06:20 PM   #10
GlennWest
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 321
I've read that "swamp coolers" work as good as ac's due to the low humidity. They will operate with solar panels also.
__________________
2006 Mobile Suites 32TK3 SOLD 2003 Teton Grand Freedom, 2006 Freightliner Centry 515 hp Detroit 60 Traveling USA welding pipe
GlennWest is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-14-2010, 07:56 AM   #11
berghild
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: EVERYWHERE
Posts: 291
Send a message via AIM to berghild
sputhwest heat

i wonder what kind of rv the guy who couldn't get his rig below 90 degrees was in? there is a man here in new york...that has only one ac and his rig never cooled off....and it doesn't get above 90 in this particular spot....and that is a heat wave.
and what size were his ACs. those are two big factors.
swamp coolers are the best in the desert...but watch the humidity inside. I see lots of people with those.
my friends that are stuck in las vegas only had one air so they put in a window ac and it made all the difference for them.
__________________
CYNDY AND HOWARD
2004 SIVERADO DURAMAX 3500
4X4 DRW
EDGE CHIP,exhaust brake,ATS tranny, ATS turbo, AFE sir filter
ETC
2008 36TK3 ES3917/no granite
berghild is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-14-2010, 09:06 AM   #12
Jim Keefer
Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Pahrump, Nevada
Posts: 53
We have been in the SW for most of the 6 years that we have owned our MS. We keep the thermostat set at 76 for both the bedroom and living room. We have never had a problem keeping cool. A 13.5 in bedroom and 15k in living room, we wish we had the 15k in the bedroom, as it seems to run a lot more than the 15k.. The summers have mostly been in Pahrump, NV, and wintering in Yuma.. A couple summers in Idaho.. We truly like the SW, as yes it gets hot, but the dry air works great for my asthma..

The only problem I have had was the back side of rv got oxidized from the sun, but Meguires solved that problem.. The fridge seems to stay between 30-32 degrees.. We have been blessed to not have had any of the problems that some of the folks have had with the newer units..

So in short, we truly believe that the SW has the best weather in the US. Maybe because we were born and raised in upstate NY had something to do with this thinking.. JIM
__________________
Jim & Jean Keefer
2005 CK3 #1631
2004.5 Dodge Cummins
Quad, Laramie Pkg.
BD Exhaust Brake
S.O.I.T.C. Western Division
Jim Keefer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-14-2010, 09:15 AM   #13
rdunk
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 482
We had our DRV Suite for five years, and spent the summers in Texas - not desert, but hot hot. We never had a cooling problem!!! When we bought , we upgraded to two 15K A/C's with heat pumps. Even on the hottest days, our A/C's would cycle on and off normally, and easily keep the inside temps per our comfort settings.

We did have most of the options, including the thermo-pane tinted windows, and the propane generator. The gen-set had no problem running the two A/C's! One thing our RE3 didn't have was the huge rear window, which was a significant help in maintaining inside comfort temps.

FWIW, I do recall once being parked in the summer, near Houston, next to someone who had a smaller 5th wheel with only one A/C. They had their windows foiled over, and ran inside fans, but were still hot. At the end of the month, we compared electric bills, and ours was about the same as theirs, except we stayed cool, and they did not. Their one A/C pretty much ran 24/7, while ours cycled on and off normally.

Robert
rdunk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-14-2010, 09:17 AM   #14
2blackdogs
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 105
I think it's my turn to chime in.
You will not be happy in Phoenix in the hot summer in ANY RV unless it's a covered RV site. We were in similar heat in Needles Ca for one night and with both 15K A/C's running it made it almost comfortable but not enough.
__________________
2006 Elite Suites 36TK3
2001 F-550 Starhauler
Kelderman Air ride
Trailer Saver hitch
www.mytripjournal.com/elitesuitestravels
IN GOD WE TRUST
2blackdogs is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-14-2010, 09:39 AM   #15
Motor31
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 2,130
I grew up worked and lived in Tucson for over 50 years. I also had the misfortune to stay 2 summers in Tucson in our MS due to medical issues in the last 5 years.

If you think the insulation is all that great in a MS, enjoy the fantasy and I hope it keeps you cooler by believing that. DRV depends on roll fiberglass insulation. That style of insulation always drops due to gravity when in a vertical installation. Shake the unit by traveling down the road and it will settle faster and farther than in a fixed location.

Every window in the unit cuts the insulation factor of the wall dramatically. Dual pane windows are better than single pane but that is like saying a half of cup of water to drink in the desert each day is better than a quarter cup. It is better but it is in no way good enough. The dual pane windows do nothing to stop radiant heat from the sun. It shines through and heats the interior. Shade is the only way to stop that radiant heat. If the sun shines on the window the heat will transfer. If you have a window shade over each window not covered by an awning that will help a lot. Putting the trailer in shade will be a great help in staying cool. Keeping the sun off of it keeps the unit from heating up a lot. That will help the AC units quite a bit.

The big awnings help keep the walls shaded and you should have 2, not just the one that is the normal installation. Watch out for storms though as they will remove the awnings from the trailer very violently. Never ever count on the automatic wind sensor to work properly and safeguard the awning. In a thunderstorm the winds will gust up to over 50 miles per hour faster than the sensor, if it works at all, can respond. My sensor failed and would wind the awning up in a no wind condition just because the temperature got to 90 degrees.

Two AC's are absolutely mandatory for any degree of comfort in the desert. When one of ours failed, the coolest the trailer would get during the afternoon would be 90 degrees in July. When both were working the trailer would cool down to 30 degrees lower than outside temperature. That means 80 inside when it was 110 outside. In Phoenix it is actually about 5 to 8 degrees HOTTER than Tucson. When the temperature in Phoenix gets to 120 degrees, and it does several times, it will be a nice cool 90 inside your rig.

Swamp coolers are great but you MUST have flow through ventilation for them to work. They do not recirculate air like an AC unit. They take outside air, run it through water saturated pads to cool it by evaporation and shove it through the structure. You have to have enough outflow to match the inflow or the air sits. They use a tremendous amount of water, as much as 60+ gallons a day for a small one. They do not work when it is humid outside like during the monsoon season or in Phoenix itself due to the canals all around the place. That's why those in phoenix converted to AC when the cost got low enough to do so in their stick houses. Very few folks in that city would consider a swamp cooler for a stick house they were building or buying today. Even in Tucson where it's drier they are losing popularity, I know as I have had both in two of my houses and after a couple years didn't bother with the swamp cooler. My last house only had AC when I had it built.

Keep in mind that the trailer runs on 50 amps. If everyone in the park is using a lot of electricity, and they are in the summer, voltage may become an issue if it is an older park. The power situation can also be an issue for the grid there and there have been some brown outs in the past. Since a bunch of folks bailed out of Phoenix after the economy tanked that may have gotten better but in Tucson they still call for folks to conserve power during peak times (afternoon) in the summertime. Trying to run the 2 AC's and a window unit will trip the breaker very quickly. Breakers also lose some ability to maintain full power in hot conditions as they trip from heat build up. Trying to keep breakers cool when the sun is heating the breaker box to over 130 degrees is difficult.
__________________
Mike Nancy and the fuzzies
Fulltiming since June 2004
Volvo 660 MH tow vehicle
2005 MS 38RL
2007 Saturn Ion "toad"
2010 Gold Wing "piggyback"
Motor31 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-14-2010, 09:57 AM   #16
berghild
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: EVERYWHERE
Posts: 291
Send a message via AIM to berghild
southwest summers

WOW that was a ton of information! thank you.
__________________
CYNDY AND HOWARD
2004 SIVERADO DURAMAX 3500
4X4 DRW
EDGE CHIP,exhaust brake,ATS tranny, ATS turbo, AFE sir filter
ETC
2008 36TK3 ES3917/no granite
berghild is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-14-2010, 01:03 PM   #17
chevman
Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Wenatchee. wash
Posts: 83
My story is a londonaire newmar. if the name isn't correct it was the high end newmar with all the tires and a big landmark with a covered deck.


What about going north from Phoenix toward Prescott. this would be much better for heat.
chevman
Attached Images
File Type: jpg small_alpenlite_775.jpg (93.7 KB, 179 views)
__________________
chevman
chevman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-14-2010, 05:25 PM   #18
BillA
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Houston, Tx
Posts: 47
[DRV should offer a custom shop, if you do not want carpet you can choose several flooring options, so on and so forth.]

Greg,

DRV is one of a very few manufacturerers that will cusomize your rig when you order. Not all dealers will work with you on a custom order but several will. If interested call the factory and visit with one of the district sales reps.
__________________
Bill & Ann Anderson
2010 Elite 38RS4 (On order)
2007 Freightliner M2-106 Chariot Conversion
BillA is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-14-2010, 05:53 PM   #19
greg veverka
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Phoenix
Posts: 18
First, I want to thank everyone for their posts, you people are extremely generious with your knowledge.

Before, we place our order for a new DRV and since I am working out of our home that is for sale here in Fountain Hills Arizona I have taken the time each day to read everything I can about 5th wheels.

DRV is a quality company when you compare the entire group of manufactures. I think since we are going to be full timmers, time must be spent up front asking questions so we do not end up with a $100,000.00 rig we do not enjoy.

I am also impressed with New Horizons, they use Polystyrene foam in each side wall, floor and slides. In conversations with them this product is used to prevent dropping insulation over time. They use 2 Carrier 15k BTU air units in every rig. Their R values are close to DRV's and cutting down on so many extra windows may be a good idea depending on the floor plan. I actually have a floor plan in mind on a 36' rig that has 3 15k air units...I will talk to the factory about that application if possible.

Based on most of the information I have read we may need to park the rig further north toward Payson and keep a small rental unit in Phoenix so my wife can commute to work!!

I really feel these high end 5th wheel manufactures should offer some well thought out packages for those who are buying to live in the rig full time.
Sure it would drive up the prices but they seem to have no problem inflating the prices on eye candy. I would like to see appliance, flooring, insulation, wiring,mechanical ( especially the slides ) packages and back them up with a 5 year full replacement warrenty...LOL.
greg veverka is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-14-2010, 06:43 PM   #20
GlennWest
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 321
There once was. They went out of business to lost sales for cheap built units.
__________________

__________________
2006 Mobile Suites 32TK3 SOLD 2003 Teton Grand Freedom, 2006 Freightliner Centry 515 hp Detroit 60 Traveling USA welding pipe
GlennWest is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
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

Forum Jump

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:05 PM.


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