A/C Mod

rcarlson1957

A/C Mod

Replaced the stock Danby unit with upgraded Emerson Quiet Cool unit. Has split vents, built in thermostat remote and flip down front for easy filter cleaning. Same BTUs and same dimensions. Had to drill dril in bottom like on Danby.. Lined inside and cabinet bottom with insulation, replace stock outside vent with tilting diamond plate cover. Also used layers of A/C window insulation to build out exhaust area on back of A/C to but up against the screen and help keep exhaust separate from side intakes. Used insulation to do same on outside of screen. Installed magnets on frame to attach removable vent covers to help keep exhaust and intake separate.  Everything works great. 😎

fstop32

Nice job @rcarlson1957!  What you've done there looks a lot like what I'm working on.  You definitely beat me to the posting!  I think I like the idea of the floor register 90 degree duct elbows, I may have to steal that one  
I went with 1" rigid blue foam board to build an interior duct to contain and direct the hot air being pushed out the back of the a/c.  The a/c pushes back against the foam and is secured in place.  I plan on stacking two 3" cooling fans on the right hand side to help pull outside air into the cabinet for better circulation.  I'll also add a 5" on the ceiling to help pull more air through that pitifully small roof vent.
I got to play with two of my favorite things, blue foam board and authentic silver duct tape! 
I'm still fabrication the exterior pieces so I don't have a pic of that yet.

Question for you, did yours have the louvers on the outside (like you can see in the pic below)?  Removing those would make the exterior design much simpler.  When raised the SS lid sheds rain and when closed it prevents rain from entering when towing so the louvers aren't really needed.

Mickerly

Where did you get that door. Fixing up the airflow is on my list for this winter. That looked great.

fstop32

@Mickerly, I stumbled across a 3 part video of a guy who installed a highly modified Maxx Fan housing on the roof of his 2015.  It was pretty involved and you have to have courage to chop into the roof of your T@b but if all goes well it looks like a pretty elegant solution.  If my current, less surgical approach doesn't yield success I may try his solution.  It was a fun watch even if I never decide to do it.   https://youtu.be/JpELdCS0KgQ

Mickerly

I think I'm going with a PWM for the installed Fantasitc Fan. It seems to be the better choice for me based on cost, effort and return.

I do like the door over the AC vent.

CrabTab

@Mickerly here is a link for a diamond plate AC vent door. 
T@B 320 A/C Vent Door – TeardropShop.com
There may be other vendors. I know this one is high quality and a drop in replacement for the vent opening, albeit expensive.

rcarlson1957

@fstop32, like the foam board and adding fans. Nice! I think I’ll add those fans too. Took outside louver off since diamond plate unit comes with screen. The register covers work great. I put chrome rectangular magnets with gorilla tape on back on the aluminum frame to give the register magnets something to stick to. They still allow you to close the door. Had to notch one register covers on the diamond plate support side.