Heat Pump (minisplit) alternatives to Air8 AC unit?

Before reinventing the wheel, inquiring whether others have replaced the noisy Air8 120v 6000 BTU system
with a 120v, 24v, or ideally 12v split-AC system.

Goal is to reduce noise and run overnight off battery and Inverter upgrade- not just generator. 
We want the noisy compressor on the roof/TAB 320 rear rack; and the blower inside on the sloped ceiling or above sink, so cool air can fall.  
There are (oversized) 10MBTU and 15MBTU 'cassette type units (split) designed for RV's; and (undersized?) smaller units for long haul truck cabs.

Reading that newer 400's are equipped with a CoolCat heat pump which appears to be a single through-the-wall or floor unit? How is that working- is it quiet?  Where in the cab is it installed? 


2021 T@B 320S Boondock/ 2012 Tacoma 4 cylinder truck / 2023 Tacoma 6 cyl. truck

Comments

  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    edited August 2022
    Interesting idea using an RV type mini split AC/Heat pump.  The CoolCat is a window type AC with an optional Heat Pump mode, but not the full on heater strip a mini-split heat pump would use.  It is quiet, but you can hear air being blown out, and hear the compressor running, but not loud.  The unit is mounted under the driver’s side dinette seat, and access is by removing the seat, which gives fairly good access to the unit.

    Air is distributed via flexible ducts running from driver’s side to passenger side of the dinette and to the rear bunk area on the driver’s side.  So cool air is blown in to both ends.  This works well, and can cool the TaB in 90F plus ambient temps, to a reasonable 70-75F inside the TaB.
     Cheers 
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
  • pthomas745pthomas745 Moderator Posts: 3,958
    There was a gentleman named Bob P on the FB pages who was working on a small mini-split AC mod.  Sadly he passed away while the project was still in progress.
    This was apparently the brand he was using in his install.  There are a couple of threads with a few hundred reponses.  I will wade through them and add some photos later if anyone wants to see them. 

    If you are a Tab Camping Trailer member over on FB, this is a link to one of his threads.


    2017 Outback
    Towed by 2014 Touareg TDi
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