I'm fixing another trailer. I've seen a few people with the portable AC units that just sit on the floor and vent to the outside. Just woundering if anyone has had experence with these. From reading the specs on some, some draw less power for the same amount of BTUs than some of the roof AC units. Also, where is a good deal on either roof air or the portable units?
Thanks,

I know that they sell some of the portable A/C units at the Costco's here in Indianapolis (http://www.costco.com/Common/Search.aspx?whse=BC&topnav=&search=air%20conditioner&N=0&Ntt=air%20conditioner&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US) . The provided link goes to the available A/C units on their website. The cheapest looks to be around $300. Hope that info helps.

Portable units that use a dryer type hose and are on wheels do not work very good in trailers when it is real hot outside!

Check out www.campingworld.com . They have the roof top mounted kind. I have the coleman mach III and it works great just make sure you have a 20 amp breaker if you are using a generator because they draw 14.5 amps.

It's been my experience that you really need a 5000 watt generator to run ita roof top and your trailer. I had a 3000 watt and it wasn't quit enough. The lights would dim when the A/C was running.

I agree

Trailer? Are you nuts? I take the 34' Motor Home! Seriously, though, you do need more than a 3k generator to run most A/C units. Roof-top units (which are by far the best for a trailer) draw well over 15amps on startup. The two atop my RV draw 22.5 startup and my 6.5 Onan generator can only run one of them if you want to use anything else inside the RV. You might even think about putting in some Deep-cycle (Marine/RV) batts and getting an inverter to help with the start cycle of the A/C, plus it will smooth out your load draw during peak periods, depending on what you are using...

Thanks for the information. If the portables do not keep it cool, then thats not an option. Just looking at the specs on some, they use less power on start up and to run. I have problems at some tracks with power and the generator is a pain to load, so I was hoping to avoid that if possible. Sounds like I'll look for the best deal I can find on a roof air unit and load the generator.
Thanks,

Mitch, you might want to look at a regular window unit and build either an easy slide in/out hole in part of the doors or mount it in the nose. Some window units will cool better than the roof units and use less amps. A new roof unit will run you around $550 with 13500 btu's, a window unit about that same size will run you $350's.

Daniel