Two Years Later - Still the BEST off-grid AC UNIT (Cruise n Comfort)? Review & How To Upgrade

[@TheDogsBox]

I have an ambulance. I considered spending $7000 on a Cruisn Comfort AC. I changed my mind and spent that $7000 in Solar, Growatt all in one, and 3 48v server rack batteries. My 8,000 BTU window unit keeps the box nice and cool. On 100+ degree days it keeps it about 20-25 degrees below ambient. But I have 2 inch thick walls, and no windows.

[@mikefranks4528]

My Dog! Smart investment, indeed! Big applause on going to a higher voltage battery bank (48v vs 12v). I can't understand for the life of me why van lifers TODAY are still stuck on 12 volt systems. Higher voltage = better efficiency when it comes to heat pump technology. Good for you. Though you are on A/C vs DC, yours is still more efficient in watts per hour.

[@surfdogvacationrentals5207]

I just bought an Ambo and am doing my homework. Thanks for sharing.

[@Michael-Masi-911]

A friend is trying to talk me out of this plan. May I ask the spec of your batteries? How many hours can you run without any charge input?

[@jeffsteinmetz7188]

I have a tint on my cab windows that is specifically designed to deflect the sun’s energy. Today, I drove my brother’s truck just after driving my van and the difference in energy coming through was very noticeable. I am going to look into getting the same tint for my rear doors and slider door windows when I return from Baja. I have also noticed I need to do a butter job of insulating my rear doors. Even with the Strawfoot window covers I can really feel the heat radiating through. Long story short more and better insulation will really help your AC unit and your comfort level.

[@CruiseNComfortUSA]

We believe in the American way of healthy competition. We feel there is room for everyone's products. We don't usually jump in and respond to comments, but we feel we need to in this case. We typically spend our time assisting our customers with any questions they call or email us about. We don't have time to peruse forums and You Tube comments looking for ways to spread inaccurate information on competitors. Our focus is customer service. But we need to take a moment to address the number of inaccuracies in some of the comments. Our compressor is a rotary brushless DC compressor that's manufactured for us here in the United States. It is not a reciprocating piston compressor, like inaccurately stated by a competitor in the comments. Because our rotary compressor uses the return superheat to cool the motor windings, it makes it acceptable to have it mounted inside the interior area. This also allows the compressor to maintain its efficiency on hot days when outside temperatures are high. Also, Testo equipment is exceptional equipment when used properly. Every aspect can be accurately tested, or some numbers can be input...which can skew all the other numbers and give false ratings. The good news is, it is easy to spot when numbers have been skewed, as the serial number will be shown above every reading that was tested. If no serial number is above the reading, that number was input and not actually tested. We use Testo equipment also to test our units, but we go a step further and push our units. We test our units for long periods in hot Arizona summers. As far as our pricing, we have units that start as low as $3,195, utilizing the same type of compressor, but different features. We have many different voltages, compressor displacement sizes, BTU's, current consumptions, and configurations to meet the needs of not only our individual clients and their unique applications, but also our marine, commercial, and military clients. Please feel free to reach out to us directly by phone or email (since we don't check You Tube often) with any questions you may have about our products. We love helping customers choose the best solution for their needs!

[@bonnierodger7719]

Once again, you nailed it! Thank you for teaching us so much. Be safe and stay happy.

[@kylereed3577]

Nice looking vent , great design on the vent they would be “cool” just to have them as the other vents without the extendo too. Once again awesome job.

[@seven_o_savage]

Hmm not a bad idea! Thank you!

[@TheOsborns-v5x]

@@seven_o_savage look at the airstream vents called airkrafters erPods

[@FWDXPL]

Nice set up!

[@gilbertocisneros85]

Good job brother

[@guygamer732]

What if you combined the AC with a swamp cooler as well, make the swamp cooler do the bulk of the work and then cool it down to the right temp with the AC? Idk if that could work

[@seven_o_savage]

Idk either but I bet Chris from CnC would!!

[@gator701]

Questions: I just ordered my habitat with the Dometic RTX 2000 12v A/C unit. It is about the same amp draw your setup and the same BTU output. We want to go extended to Baha and it is hot. Our habitat is bigger than your van, and has composite walls, so insulated and not metal. Are you saying we will not have enough cooling?

[@seven_o_savage]

It will be cooler, but if it’s 90-100 outside I’d expect 80-90 inside the van. One strategy though, is to cool the whole van down with both cabin + camper AC, and then the camper AC can keep the camper in mid 70s for a while

[@gator701]

@@seven_o_savage We do not have a metal van. So you are saying, 10-12 degrees cooler. We ordered less windows. So this helps. Our walls are 3 inch thick insulation with the sandwich composite construction of modern habitats. We have enough solar, and battery bank capacity. So maybe we look at these individual boat cabin A/C 12v units that puts out 5000 btu's as a supplement system to our current 10,000 btu system. What area would you suggest the supplement cooling? sleeping or dinette?

[@seven_o_savage]

@@gator701 @gator701 Ah if it's not metal, I think you'll see better results. I'd probably wait and try it out and see how it goes. If you need more cooling, honestly the easiest thing to do is what I mentioned here in the video here (upgrading with an extendo vent to cool one area). If that still isn't working, then you may have to consider an additional unit such as an ecoflow.

[@gator701]

@@seven_o_savage The ecoflow requires these two ducts. How would you set that up? Yes it could be used to add another 5000 btu's

[@injectionAI]

Nah. I could furnish my entire van for that cost and the needed power. Love the EcoFlow wave 2 as long as you’re well insulated

[@thebenson1983]

Save your money buy nomadic AC unit. Takes up less space, cost less, easy install and it cools great..

[@michaelscarfi3196]

I’m sorry but getting a discount for hawking a product doesn’t make it the best one available. I’m sorry to say you probably haven’t done any real research comparing any other units to yours. You haven’t even compared BTUs per dollar which in your case would most likely make the cruise n comfort the most expensive unit on the market. The only unit available in the same undermount configuration I know is the UNDERMOUNT AC brand which is almost half the price while TWICE the btu s. I really like your channel and think you did a great job with your vent and was always impressed how you re did all your mistakes at great expense to get them right but pushing this unit with nothing to back it up makes no sense to me.

[@seven_o_savage]

I paid full price for my unit :). If you look further into it, you’ll see the compressor that all of the competitors use is the same exact Chinese model and the BTU output is falsely measured / advertised.

[@michaelscarfi3196]

I’ll start with my apology for my comment about your discount and the BTU comparison. I see both companies offer a 24v system with similar capacities. However cruise is 50 percent more money. I’m also hung up on running the hot compressor inside the living space giving off btus of heat.

[@seven_o_savage]

Yea it would be an improvement if the whole thing could be under mounted!

[@undermountac]

@@seven_o_savage This is definitely inaccurate. As far as we know we are the only undermount company that uses a scroll compressor, it's only manufactured by one company that is indeed CN. All others use reciprocating compressors (single piston), this includes the company you chose. If you take a look at our learn more page of our website you will see proper BTU/h output tests using professional Testo measuring tools. No BS, full transparency. I guarantee our system would cool your van effectively on the hottest of days out in the sun.

[@seven_o_savage]

@@undermountac ah interesting, well I appreciate the clarification! It would be fun to test them out side-by-side.