RV AC on Suburban??????

[Crownliner]

I live in Arizona, its currently 110-120 degrees durring the day, and much hotter then that inside the vehicle. My suburban has no AC and I have considered units from Classic Air and Vintage Air, but they offer no Rear AC Option. I know people have installed later model rear AC units, but having the tubes and wires exposed, running down the back pilar seems odd.

So I had a crazy idea last night that I wanted to run by you guys. Let me preface this by saying I am NOT the person that cares about the "stock look".

What about a low profile roof mounted painted to match RV AC Unit? It would freeeeeeez the inside of the burb like no other and only take seconds to do so. Most low profile units I've looked at rise only 6-9 inches above the roof. I will be installing a roof rack for spare tire, why not throw a low profile
AC Unit up there as well?

Let me know what you guys think. OH, my Suburban is lifted 8 inches so most people wouldnt even see it.

[johnnye23]

The a/c units on my rv are 110v a.c. and use quite a bit of amps . I think it would be pretty easy to look in a wrecking yard for a rear a/c unit out of a van or later Suburban.Have you contacted Vintage air ? They may have a solution to offer.

[mosesburb]

The RV unit would keep it cool, but even with the 8" lift it is still going to be visible and I really don't think it is going to look very nice. Not to mention the holes you would have to cut in the roof to install it--then keep them sealed for water/dust etc.

You mentioned using a later model rear ac unit and not liking the rear hose setup. The later model units use a very large fitting that directs the hoses to the passenger side of the vehicle. These trucks (67-72) with rear ac had the hoses running down the driver side rear pillar. You can remove the late model fittings/hoses and cut a small hole at the top of the pillar (like GM did), use regular fittings to the evaporator and run the hoses down the pillar, out of sight. While this may not cool as well as the roof mounted reefer unit, I think it will be much more aesthetically pleasing. Mine works very well and it, coupled with the front unit, can cool that thing down quite well. The rear ac can be used with any of the aftermarket front units, you just have to tee into the high side and low side hoses to supply it.

The MOST IMPORTANT part of designing a system is the condenser. Put the absolute largest condenser that you can possibly fit in it. The larger the condenser, the better the performance. If you use a stock condenser, the system will work fine until it gets warm out--not hot--warm.

[Crownliner]

Ok, Mosesburb, that sounds cool. I'm going to need a shop to install a rear unit, you guys know anyone in the Phoenix Area?

[PanelDeland]

I agree with MB.I think the quickest/best way to find who you want to install is to call Vintage air or whoever and ask who is their most local distributor.That distributor should be able to point you to someone who does install if they don't do them themselves.