Caravan air conditioners

Thanks David.

If its only going to be used in the UK I would question how often you would need to use it. OK we do sometimes have short periods of very hot weather in the UK but is that enough to justify an Air Conditioning system? 

An alternative might be to have a thermostatically controlled fan installed, something like a Maxx Air We have one fitted to our motorhome and whilst we have yet to use it in very hot conditions we do find it effective for cooling the van whilst using the cooker. Also a lot lighter and cheaper that full air con. If you follow the link there is a video on the operation of the Maxx Air.

David

We had a Dometic roof mounted unit fitted when we bought our large twin axle van back in 2008 as we used to spend 3-4 months abroad each year.  

It is not noisy on the low fan setting outside the van, even standing right next to the van you cannot hear it, it is however much louder inside the van.

We have rarely needed to use it overnight, we generally leave it running on low when we are out, that way the van never gets that hot inside, so is cool overnight.

We do sometimes use it in UK, in the same manner, as a metal box sitting in full sun all day can get unbearably hot after a while.   However, newer vans have better insulation, so if only travelling in UK, I would see how it goes first.

I believe all the fitted units have a thermostat, certainly ours does, there is a remote to operate it,  and the unit switches on and off automatically to maintain the set temperature.  It can also be used for heating, but we have never had the need to use it for that.

Our model weighs about 30kg, but we had an 85kg upgrade on our MTPLM, which is more than enough to cover the mover and the aircon, and a few other improvements.