Furrion Chill Replacement RV AC Installation using the Conversion Kit for Coleman Mach/Dometic/Avent

[@LoveYourRV]

*Related Links* Watch the second *Review Video* www.loveyourrv.com/furrion-chill-14-5k-btu-ac-installation-replacing-old-coleman-mach-3/ Roof Recoating - www.loveyourrv.com/rv-roof-reseal-and-refresh-alpha-systems-top-coat-lap-sealant-and-roofing-tape/ AC Maintenance - www.loveyourrv.com/?s=air+conditioner Thermostat Mod - www.loveyourrv.com/rv-digital-thermostat-upgrade-mod-explained/ *Product links* Lippert Website - store.lci1.com/furrion-chill-replacement-rv-air-conditioner-and-conversion-kit-furrion-chill-with-conv-kit Amazon - amzn.to/3c7elK0

[@JoelWelter]

You make these installs looks so easy. I'd spend half the day looking for the correct socket adapter.

[@andyjones611]

Yep! after 11 years of loyal service its time for the ac upgrade. I changed mine 2 years ago , a 15000 BTU Dometic. It did pretty good but we just traded it our 2011 Cruiser 28 Rl for a 2022

[@kenc2257]

Pretty straightforward install. It certainly cools, and it's quiet--seems to be a good choice.

[@hoppingrv]

Nice job hope it works good for you. I've been trying to get one since March haven't had any luck on back order.

[@doppler3237]

,Seeing this is 5 months old you may not see this ray but my 2007 cougar AC recently went out and I went the Mini Split rout. I installed a Dakuizi 9,000 BTU heat pump and I am over joyed. I put it right over the living room slide out ran the line set down the corner and out to the basement, I installed it in the step down but I doubled up the bottom and really reinforced it. When it is in heat mode it sheds water from outside unit I but shower pan down and a drain tube I can open basement doors or if overnight I put grates on each side for air flow. for first 10 minuts it pulls 800 watts then settles down to 300-400 watts so it is no proplem running off solar but sence i bought the new f 150 hybred with 7.2 KW generater who cares. And yes I tow fifth wheel with it. That 9,000 BTU is more cooling and heat than I need but best part is you cant hear it running. It is almost silent.

[@LoveYourRV]

Sounds like a good mod if you need to have AC lot when camping.

[@doppler3237]

@@LoveYourRV well I am in Fl.

[@LoveYourRV]

@@doppler3237 Makes sense, then. :) Migrating from the BC coast in the summers to the southwest desert in the winter, I run AC maybe 6-8 weeks a year and never need it at night, so the traditional rooftop system is a good way to go. Tidy and out of the way the rest of the time.

[@shaw9881]

Nicely done. With your ducted system it appears to be tolerable. My Coleman is not ducted and you cannot hold a normal conversation sitting under it. Looking forward to your full evaluation.

[@cjmenagh882]

Would have liked to see how you got that unit up on the roof and the old one down. Great video as usual.

[@LoveYourRV]

To get it up, I left it in the shipping box for protection of the new AC. A friend and I used my Werner folding step ladder and placed it up on the slide-out roof. From the slide roof, I push the box up from the slide roof onto one of my solar panels on the main roof next to where I was installing on the main roof. Then I cut open the shipping box around it and lifted the new AC in place. It weighs about 85 lbs. about 100 with the shipping box. For the old AC, I took the shroud and some metal covers off to get some good grab holds and reduce the weight to about 75 lbs. and lifted it over onto the slide roof onto a piece of cardboard to protect the slide rubber roof. I then grabbed it and lower it to two waiting helpers on the ground below. We all wore work gloves as the AC uncovered has some sharp metal edges. Cheers, Ray

[@tomrobinson2919]

I look forward to your review. I replace my old (29 yr old) Dometic with this unit. Install pretty straight forward and added SOFTStart. But the design blows cool air from the rear of the unit resulting in less air flow to the forward in our 23’ Aero Cruiser. We find the performance is less than acceptable when the exterior temp is 80* F. Additionally, the unit is very tall. We are planning to give this unit to my brother for his 12’ travel trailer, and replace it.

[@LoveYourRV]

Thanks for the feedback. So far it has performed much better that the OEM Coleman Mach 3 13.5K BTU, we've had several 90+ degree days since installing and it had no problem keeping the RV at a setting of 76 and could have went cooler since it was cycling off quite often having finished cooling to set temp. My Coleman Mach blew air out the back as well so maybe its a good match for my OEM ducting system. Height is similar to the old Coleman Mach maybe slightly shorter. Anyway, not an issue for our fifth wheel trailer since its mounted at the back end and the roof line slopes quite a bit front to back. www.loveyourrv.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Our-Cougar-fifth-wheel-trailer.jpg Cheers, Ray

[@coreymerritt7742]

Nice job ray I’m glad lippert is coming out with conversations so you don’t have to mess around with changing your thermostat you can look into the rv airflow kit now it’s supposed to give 50% more air flow

[@LoveYourRV]

Thanks! Air flow has never been an issue in our RV, with 4 vents in our relatively small 1 slide trailer, air flow is great we never have the fan on high, low is plenty. Any more and it would be annoying. :) I guess people with large RVs or poor ducting layout need that. Cheers, Ray

[@Adam_Newman]

Mine was a total piece of junk ! Room temperature sensor is in the return air ! Grand design would not approve to have the temperature sensor relocated so I got rid of the whole camper and got one with a Coleman Mach

[@LoveYourRV]

There is a temp sensor for freeze-ups, usually, it is tucked into the evaporator coil fins but sometimes falls out. Maybe that is what you saw in the return air duct. thecampingadvisor.com/dometic-rv-ac-freeze-sensor-location/

[@Adam_Newman]

@@LoveYourRV i know what you’re talking about but my Furrion also had a room temperature sensor in the return air not in the thermostat where it should be which caused it to short cycle & multiple other problems

[@LoveYourRV]

ahh, I see, mine was the conversion kit model so I guess it reused the Coleman stuff working off a thermostat on the wall. Works well. cools much better than my old Coleman but it is 14.5K vs 13.5K so expected to cool a little better.

[@rmstark1966]

Arw you abke to use the existing T stat that came with the rv. Mine is a dometic though and starting to struggle a bit to keep things cool. Ours is a 15k one so inwoikdnt think a 14500 would be noticable. Was everything wiyh the concersion lot pretty bolt in took maybe what couple hours

[@LoveYourRV]

I upgraded the Coleman Mach Analog OEM to a Honeywell digital with auto heat to cool change over kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKurZKmKj8pmh8U It was an easy conversion, still working well. Here was my review - kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYrOoXxujq-BoLs Cheers, Ray

[@bodine46]

I haver a motorcoach would replacing the ac be about the same as yours. Thanks

[@LoveYourRV]

Should work if its using the same AC unit

[@jeffslater3708]

Thanks Ray. Always good to see your reviews. Really good info. Do you really think it that much quieter?

[@LoveYourRV]

I'd say in the neighborhood of 15-20% quieter, but the Coleman was 11 years old so hard to remember how it was when it was brand new.

[@wornwater3537]

I'm really not a fan of our Furrion, I find it very loud and when the compressor engages it vibrates through the entire trailer. I'm wondering if our unit is defective in some way but there are a ton of challenges to try and have a RV shop look at it for a warranty repair. Thanks for the video and I look forward to seeing the next review.

[@LoveYourRV]

Maybe the fan motor has an issue. They are large motors and spin fast so if off balance could vibrate things a lot. Or, it could be a loose roof mounting or even the overall design of your roof. Some RV roofs are thicker built than others. For example, some are built to be able to walk on,, and some have thinner deck boarding and not walk-on type. Also seems like the AC needs some thick wood framing around it. So a lot of variables could lead to excessive vibration. Guess you could try and find a fellow camper with a similar trailer and have a listen to their AC. Cheers, Ray

[@MikeAndNary]

Hey Ray..... did you ever look into those under $1000 mini splits? My wife is bugging me to get one for our Az RV.

[@LoveYourRV]

Yes, thought about it but not something I'd want to add to our trailer, though. You have to have that fan box outside somewhere. I guess people put it on the back bumper for fifth wheels. But then it needs to be covered for travel, or it will get filled with dust and road grime I imagine. Then it all has to be plumbed and wired. Too much of a hassle since we don't need AC all the much, usually just in the summer months. We generally spend winters in the southwest desert and summers in the Pacific Northwest, usually on hookups in July and August. We like to chase 70-75 degree weather. I'm not much of a fan of hot weather. :) Cheers, Ray

[@22howards]

Ray, yet another great mod and test. I’m with Commando602, in a warm climate and would like to do the same (Mini split) with 2 IDU’s (indoor units) since we have 2 units. We enjoy the warmth, normally our thermostat is set at 80. So yea, I have to make a location for an ODU.

[@pterrydactyl]

Just curious about weight comparison between the Coleman and the Furrion. Furrion lighter, about the same or heavier?

[@LoveYourRV]

Pretty close in weight. Furrion is listed as 85 lbs. and the Coleman Mach 3 at 80 lbs.

[@DrToddFisher]

I upgraded to a mini split in my Cougar. So much quieter and efficient.

[@LoveYourRV]

Cool, I looked at them but seemed like too much of a hassle to install and find good locations for the two units since we don't use the AC that much. Mainly just for hot days in July and August. Cheers, Ray

[@DrToddFisher]

@@LoveYourRV I’m in Texas so AC is mandatory.

[@smoothoperator1663]

I would’ve like to c the temps of the original ac unit in comparison for a true test

[@LoveYourRV]

Was hard to do a meaningful comparison since the ambient temps were different on the days I uninstalled and installed due to the fact I coated the roof and left it to dry for a day in-between. But found this old test I did with the Coleman Mach a few years back with about the same 75 degree inside ambient temp - kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKeYfHWemaqphMk

[@rickbeyer6633]

Hi Ray, About how long was the process of removal and install for you?

[@LoveYourRV]

Just a couple hours, most of the time was cleaning the roof and re-taping the ducts, but also had to wait a day for the roof coating to dry between taking the old one off and installing the new AC

[@hgoff5617]

We have the same Coleman Mach you had - we installed a WackO RV Air Conditioner Noise Reduction grill - it made it a less noise inside. You should do a video on that upgrade.

[@LoveYourRV]

Thanks, I looked at the video they have, and it seems to me that I would lose my use of the vents on the air box plate. That would be a negative for me as I sort of like them on hot days to blow air right down on me.

[@hgoff5617]

@@LoveYourRV You are right - with it installed all the cold air goes to the ducts.

[@cdix3227]

We used our Coleman unit as little as possible due to the noise. My wife couldn’t hear my snoring for it it’s so bad. Turn it on before we go to bed and then turn it off. Sounds like you maybe able to use it overnight. Is it seriously that much quieter or just a bit quieter?

[@LoveYourRV]

I'd say about 20% quieter, don't need to turn the TV volume up as much as we used to.

[@coreybabcock2025]

I removed the dometic unit from my roof on the van and put a window unit in uses alot less power and can now park in parking garages

[@LoveYourRV]

Makes sense not much area to cool in a van and non ducted. A window unit is likely plenty of cooling power.

[@coreybabcock2025]

@@LoveYourRV that dometic though would keep the van ok cool in direct sunlight though the window ac I have to park under shade to make it work good

[@tmorton922]

Is this a conventional a/c or a mini split variable speed style? I wish they made a mini split variable speed unit. So much more efficient and quiet. Nice install!

[@LoveYourRV]

Conventional

[@jkidd2007]

I may have missed it but what about the condensation drain? Does it drain out onto the roof or down a tube?

[@LoveYourRV]

It has drain holes in the bottom pan so condensation drains onto the RV roof

[@ldcooper1]

What about using an AC diverted to get more air flow to the bedroom area?

[@LoveYourRV]

Air flow in the bedroom is plenty for us. When in bed I'm only about 4 feet away from the closest vent and the little bedroom has 2 vents, wouldn't want more blowing air. If I did I would just put the fan on high. :)

[@dilligafmofoker]

Thx Ray!

[@kevink8765]

Does it come with a soft start built in?

[@LoveYourRV]

I don't think so, at least I don't see any reference to it in the manual. I'll do a test of the start up surge amperage and pull the covers and have a look inside at the inner workings for my review. Cheers, Ray

[@pigybak]

You got skills!

[@joeboxter3635]

I think you'd be better off with a split-air that can run as low as 300W @ 9000Btu or 30 SEER. The larger units only slightly less efficient, but not by much. And they work reasonably well for heat reducing the need for propane. The cats meow would be to use a 230V unit with a up voltage from 115v to 230v inverter output with a ceiling mount blower.

[@LoveYourRV]

I think if a trailer was designed from the ground up with a mini-split system, that would be great but to DIY add one to my current fifth wheel seems to have too many drawbacks in my mind. I'd have to find places to mount both the outside and inside units and plumb and wire things. The only suitable location I can think of for the outside fan unit is on the back of the trailer, where it would be exposed to all kinds of road grim, water spray, and dust. A 30-foot fifth wheel with high ceilings has a fairly large interior volume, so around 13.5K BTU is the minimum cooling power on a hot day. Maybe if I was often camping in the heat, it might be worth the hassles of a DIY mini split install, but our AC use is mainly only needed for a couple months a year and not every day. One final thing I'd be worried about is installing a system meant for stationary use into a moving vehicle. A trailer really vibrates going down the road and especially when on off-gird dirt roads. Cheers, Ray

[@radfordcameron]

I replaced mine with a Furrion 14.5k The first one came smashed to pieces, which a lot of reviewers had warned about. The second one would constantly freeze up. It never would run more than 10 minutes, their cover / air handler is an absolute terrible design. It forces the air 90 degrees through a tiny passage way. Their support was awful as well.

[@LoveYourRV]

Interesting, you would think using their own design would work better than a conversion. Was the support you contacted Furrion or Lippert? So far, we have run it often for hours at a time and have had no problems. Yesterday outside humidity got to 90% as well, and no freeze-up. So seems to work OK with the Coleman air box and ducts in our trailer.

[@radfordcameron]

@@LoveYourRV It was a few years ago say they may have fixed the issue. I always wondered if mine was low on refrigerant as well as the air handler not allowing air to flow well. I contacted Furrion because I installed it myself they wouldn't do any warranty on it unless I took it to a dealer.

[@LoveYourRV]

Thanks for the reply. Lippert bought Furrion last fall by the looks of things so maybe the support will improve. I know that Lippert has been getting into the end user consumer sales game the last few years. They also acquired Curt hitches. Cheers, Ray

[@radfordcameron]

@@LoveYourRV That's good to know! I love the channel thank you for all the awesome and informative videos.

[@phoenixaz8431]

As a Canadian, what happens if you spend more than the allowed time in the US? I know we're allowed to spend one year in the US every 7 years, on top of the 181 day rule, but apart from losing free healthcare for the rest of the year once you're back in Canada, what are the consequences of spending, say 18 consecutive months in the US ?

[@LoveYourRV]

I believe you may be barred from reentering the USA for a number of years. Not sure how many maybe 5. Likely will depend on how long you overstay. Where did you hear about this one year every 7 year rule? I've never heard about that. As far as I know the max length a Canadian can be present in the USA without some sort of special visa is 6 months in any 365 day period. To stay longer you have file this form www.uscis.gov/i-539 and extend the stay. There is a non-refundable filing fee. We did it back in 2012 and at the time it was $300 US and were granted an extension to our trip. We ended up staying for 9 1/2 months total. How long you can be out of province and maintain health care coverage varies between provinces. BC for example allows 7 months out and must be in province for 5. Every 5 years a person can also apply for a 2 year travel exemption. There are also tax implications to being in the USA for extended periods. Check out the 8840 form that needs to be filed to keep the IRS from taxing you www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8840.pdf Cheers, Ray

[@phoenixaz8431]

@@LoveYourRV Thank you so much for your in-depth answer, Ray. My bad about the one year every 7 years provision, it doesn't have to do with what the US Govt allows but with the allowed time for a Quebec resident to be in the US and not lose their healthcare coverage, otherwise the 182 days and less per year rule applies. Sorry if I mistakenly got your hopes up!

[@projet2907]

I have never heard of that 7-year rule for USA either. In Quebec, we can leave for one Year every 7 years without losing health insurance. This does not give permission to spend that time in the USA. @@LoveYourRV I have

[@SpykersB]

I’m betting the furrion AC won’t last a year. Let’s give it a few months before you have to replace some part. 🍻

[@LoveYourRV]

Guess we'll see how it goes. This is the first Furrion product I have tried out.

[@DrDGr2]

Is it just me but the EER efficiency is Abysmal at 2.19….

[@LoveYourRV]

Yeah, seems weirdly low. These specs say EER 2.13 cdn.accentuate.io/4619525324896/5237057388633/MS-FACR14SA-BL-PS-AM_V1.0-v1622791787689.pdf But not sure how they came up with that because when I search how to calculate EER I see this page learnmetrics.com/eer-rating/ and it uses a formula EER rating = Capacity (in BTU) / Power (in W), so for the Furrion AC you would use the values 14500/1620=8.95

[@DrDGr2]

@@LoveYourRV There’s precise variables to include in the evaluation manufacturer have to do… (Humidity, temp inside, temp outside etc…). I’d not be surprised if Lippert confirms that low EER value but deep down , I hope it’s a printing mistake

[@LoveYourRV]

The Furrion website has an equally low 2.19 EER rating but at the same time boasts "up to 40% more efficiency (EER) over leading competitive single-fan models" furrion.com/products/14-5k-electric-kit-for-furrion-chill%E2%84%A2-single-zone-air-conditioner-system It's definitely more efficient than the old Coleman Mach 3 I replaced. Even when new, it didn't cool as fast at close to the same power draw.

[@DrDGr2]

@@LoveYourRV Coleman, Dometic Penguin…. All garbage imo…. Furion is still interesting because of it’s lower noise…. If it’s a bit more efficient, that’s a bonus… We are still so far away from mini split… Those are the real game changer…. (Almost all RV sold in Japan come with minis….) Thank you

[@st6795]

Sounds quiet.

[@garyag45]

🦅🇺🇸😎👍🍺