How's your stealth with an A/C hanging out the back of your van?

[Bster13]

Maybe you have a house A/C unit mounted in the rear:

Or maybe one on top:

If your van looked like these, since I'm actively researching living in a vehicle, if I were to walk by I think I'd key in on your rig and suspect something was up.  But for those of you on the road with an A/C mounted and stealthing in a city, do you think the general public has that much attention to detail?  Maybe most vandwellers don't have an A/C because they don't have that many opportunities to hook to 110V?

 

[highdesertranger]

if you are trying to do stealth in the city, how are you going to run one of those? highdesertranger

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Off the top of my head, the room type air conditioner sticking out the back would seem to be a dead give away.

However, I could see how the roof-top ac could be confused with the kind of refrigeration units that might be used for a meat delivery van, or the cooler on a flower van.

 

[Hippiechk]

In my case you are right, no opportunity to hook up so why.

I am not currently in a van but used to be. I have slept in all manner of cities & towns over the years & stealth is really a misconception. Folks know who & what belongs where. If you are just passing through & have your act together staying on any city street is not generally an issue for a night or a few days.

 

[DannyB1954]

To run either type of A/C, you would need to run a generator if you did not have a plug in space. You might try Solar, but that many panels is not stealth either.

Anybody with ears will think what's up with that.

 

[jimindenver]

Even being able to run a A/C like that on solar and batteries isn't all that stealthy. Sans any other noises even a quieter A/C can be heard from quite the distance.

 

[Bster13]

I guess it's the concept of having a vehicle that can "do it all." Some of my posts relate to being tied down by the weather, and this is similar....thus the installed A/C so I could driveway surf at a friend's place or get a campground with 110V if it's hot out and I ~want~ to be a hot & humid area for some reason. So perhaps having an A/C installed in the van would help. But... if part of me wants to be able to stealth in a big city to frequent their museums or shows w/ free accomodations, then having an A/C unit sticking out the back may give me up. I agree, having the roof top would be less conspicuous for sure and from what Hippiechk says, yeah perhaps it's not a big deal... A/C or not, if you keep your nose clean and move around or move on. A Prius meets all my needs for heating/cooling/stealth but living space is a bit tight and ground clearance is lacking for more remote boondocking.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

I think it's a lot easier to get used to living with out AC than it is to figure out a way to always have AC vehicle living. I stopped using AC about 3 years ago, mostly because I hate high electric bills. The first summer it was unbearable, the 2nd Summer it wasn't that bad except on the hottest days and this Summer is the hottest one i've been through in years and as long as a fan is blowing, i'm quite comfortable.

Plus if you travel with the weather, heat for the most part is avoidable.

 

[Bster13]

Plus if you travel with the weather, heat for the most part is avoidable.

I guess as a sheltered guy from the NE (with humidity!), after watching this video:  I was under the impression that either a) the heat is unavoidable or b) it's avoidable, but you're going to be pretty restricted at the end of July trying to stay in the 70s.  Haha.

 

[DannyB1954]

The more you avoid the heat the less you can tolerate it. Where I am, mid 90's feels pretty good after 115. Last night was in the 80's. I woke up and had to pull a cover over me.

 

[NeedAnEscape]

As for the AC through the lower part of the rear doors, you could make something that looks like a spare tire carrier to cover it up when not in use.

 

[Bster13]

The more you avoid the heat the less you can tolerate it. Where I am, mid 90's feels pretty good after 115. Last night was in the 80's. I woke up and had to pull a cover over me.

I assume you're in an area with low humidity?  I was in the Badlands for vacation this summer, and I have to admit 100F was tolerable vs. 85F in the East.  (100F with no humidity is still not optimal! )

 

[ArtW]

No, he means ADAPTATION,the pretty neato cool thing all critters, even humans, are capable of
When I worked in a plant where the temp was always at least 20 degrees hotter than outside, I found 78 to be a temp at which I needed covers, and when I have lived, by necessity, in un air conditioned, uninsulated shacks, I tolerated heat pretty well, too, and that was Austin and Houtin areas of Texas, not noted for low humidity but now that I live and work in AC, I'm a mess if the power goes out on a hot, humid night
if you turn the fool AC off this coming spring, as soon as nighttime temps hit, say, 70, and LEAVE it off, you will adapt as temps rise, but i would do this only in a place with lots of windows, or no insulation, or preferably both, as well as shade over your dwelling, whether house or RV
if you work outside, it helps
THEN when the power goes out, and all the folks are sweltering in their lack of AC and laying wakeful, you will sleep through it

 

[Diesel4Life]

Bster13,

Adaptation yes and well before your plan to live full time would be best, as Bob has spoken about and several others in the forums have said as well. To learn to use elevation and ventilation as your partner for comfortable living conditions all year round. One of the very effective methods is to use floor ventilation cool falls heat rises principal, that you can close and make water tight whenever you wish or need to for travel etc,. And a couple of quality reversible roof vented fans, drawing cool air from under your vehicle ideally and exhausting the hot air out through the roof vents. Or roof vents only one intake and the other exhaust. You can also purchase  a portable a/c dual vent version they are the most efficient and keep for when "Stealth or noise management is not necessary and use the floor vents as intake and exhaust points for the a/c ducts. Paired with the legendary super quiet and efficient Honda EU2000 generator should be able to last years with reasonable care and maintenance. 

Many of the newer portable ac models also have dehumidifiers as a option as well, which could keep the interior much more comfortable and less humid. For your reference;https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003MQBYY...tiveASIN=B003MQBYYU&adid=0F4VQER1HX2VVS0XX6MM

I wish only happy trails and memories lay ahead of you as you embark on your new great adventure.

 

[BradKW]

For stealth purposes I will be mounting a 5k btu window unit inside, and then ducting the exhaust away and out. This will eliminate any visible evidence, and should go some ways to mitigating sound volume. I got the idea a good while back from this video: Sprinter stealth a/c  ...he makes some very drawn-out vids, but has some good ideas. 

I've been playing around with ways to improve and streamline the concept, and am at the point where I need to start experimenting. The three main challenges are:

1) the more you enclose the unit, the more you need to understand it's airflow and ventilation requirements, both to provide optimal operation, but also to avoid over-pressure in the head. Although the over-pressure thing might be bullshit from a couple commercial AC guys I know wanting to sound like they know sumthin'  
My plan is to first experiment with a large garbage bag on unit to get an idea for intake and exhaust, and volume over time.

2) How to deal with condensate and possibly humidity, successfully in an enclosed space that won't require constantly opening it up for inspection.

3) Creating an intake and exhaust pathway that maintains stealth and meets the units needs.

Fair to say, if efficiency isn't a top priority (i.e. you only plan to run it when plugged into the grid), the portable ducted units would be the way to go...

 

[eDJ_]

When I was a kid a neighbor had this house that had an odd gray box outside a couple feet away from the house.   It was an ammonia absorption gas fired A/C unit that worked with the gas furnace. 

I've wondered many times why something like that couldn't be built smaller to A/C the inside of a Van or Box Truck.  It could run on Propane and 12 vdc. 

So where would it mount ?   I like the idea of building it round like a rear door mounted spare tire.

Like so:

Anyone seeing this would automatically suspect that there is a tire inside
the enclosure.   I'm not sure of the size of propane tank it would have to have
to have enough fuel to  run the A/C for a 2 or 3 day period. 

Lines could pass through the door to the inside where the evaporator would be located with a 12 vdc fan and
thermostat to signal the burner and condenser assembly mounted on the back door.   I would imagine a small tank could be installed under the Van to hold condensate until the driver was underway and it could be emptied at an appropriate place like a car wash. 

But it's just a thought for those who like to tinker with such ideas.

 

[GotSmart]

There is a small reason Ammonia is not used any more in 99.9% of cooling situations.  Especially one where someone can easily crush it and release highly toxic fumes.  :s  Too many cell phones in the hands of distracted drivers.  

This summer I finished removing my AC unit.  Now my motor can breath!
  
I open the roof vent, a couple windows, and the unit is cooled by a 55 mph breeze!

 

[eDJ_]

It's a good point.   I'm wondering how long it's going to be before people start painting their vehicles to resemble
amusement park "Dodgem Cars".   I'm amazed when I go buy  Best Buy's at all the Dash Cam's and the features.  Especially the "bump" feature that triggers it to wake up and record if there is some impact to the car when it is parked. 

I had originally thought of the STEALTH camping in having such a unit in what would look like a spare tire.   And I just wondered how little it would require of ammonia plumbing to cool a Van.  Then again a tablespoon of Ammonia lose in a Van could be a reason to get out of there immediately.

 

[BradKW]

I remember reading a book called Mosquito Coast, where a crazy scientist moves his family into the Amazon...anyway, he builds an ammonia based chiller that makes the first ice the natives ever saw. What I took from the ending was that ammonia refrigeration can be a bit explosive...but maybe that was just drama.

 

[GotSmart]

I remember reading a book called Mosquito Coast, where a crazy scientist moves his family into the Amazon...anyway, he builds an ammonia based chiller that makes the first ice the natives ever saw. What I took from the ending was that ammonia refrigeration can be a bit explosive...but maybe that was just drama.

The movie was also great.  Harrison Ford, River Phoenix  1986.



Not exactly drama.  One of my first AC teachers was an old guy who told the class about spectacular ice house fires~~~