Roof vs Cruise air

[Coloradobus]

Bill1170, In our Marathon H3-45, our cruise airs were ducted thru the Prevost provided OTR ductwork, but we didn't have the OTR inner workings of condenser and evaporator, just the ductwork, which was something unusual. IN the early 2000 models H's Marathon did, the OTR ducting was retained and the cool or hot air whatever was needed eminated from the windowsills. It seemed to elininate the cold and hotspots. With the salon cruise air and the galley one on too, we were very cool at 105 degrees around Baker Ca, a few years ago.
Unlike Winchester's air flow issue freezing while the lovely Rae was roasting, ducting the cruise airs thru the OTR tunnels made for even temps, and even quieter operating white noise. This was our favorite set up between the 2 Marathons we owned and the current Beaver XL 40

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Bill, Cruise Airs and the amount of space they occupy (along with the space occupied by OTR) has often sparked debate. A salesman trying to sell a coach with roof airs and no OTR will make claims about how much more bay space is available due to the lack of OTR and Cruise Airs, but while there is a degree of truth the space both occupy is minimal.

My Cruise Airs are located behind the bumper and in the center behind the second bays ahead of the fuel tank. Neither space is prime real estate for storage although some converters use the bumper area for a large storage drawer. The key to determining if the space used is significant is to evaluate 2 coaches side by side and to determine if the converter does provide significantly more storage space that is useable. Like Jack I want minimal roof penetrations and if I absolutely had to have roof airs I would want no less than 4, and maybe five. I have 4 Cruise Airs now, but when combined with OTR I am unlikely to be uncomfortable. I gladly relinquish marginally useable bay space for that purpose. If we lived in the coach full time I might have a different opinion. Maybe.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Bill, final thought......Unless you are having a coach built to your specifications a discussion of roof airs versus Cruise Airs, OTR versus no OTR is nothing more than an academic exercise. Almost all buyers select coaches based on that eureka moment they have as they step into the coach for the first time. They like the feeling it gives them when they see it for the first time. The balance of the decision making process is mentally justifying the choice.

Unless you are so driven by a set of wants and needs you will buy a coach that "feels" right for you. We lucked out on our first coach because that is how we bought it. We had zero preconceived notions of how we wanted it equipped or what systems were important to us. But when we bought our second (current) coach emotion was not part of the equation. We both felt it was a little over the top with respect to colors and interior decor (we really have learned to enjoy it now however) but as seasoned owners it had some very important features. It had OTR, long range fuel, the Series 60, a private toilet, and some other features we wanted. Since everyone is different nobody on this forum is in a position to define your ideal coach. Nor is anyone in a position to rank the priorities. That is entirely up to you. Where you rank colors or decor on your wish list compared to AC systems is going to depend on your needs. And the only way any of us can determine how we prioritize our needs is to do the best we can at selecting a coach and then hope we got it mostly right.

[Gary Carmichael]

Jon, If the cruise air is ducted thru the OTR duct work would you not have to raise the shades to use it, It looks like on a hot day this would let sun in sort of defeating the purpose?

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Gary,

I don't know the answer to that. Maybe someone who has experience AC systems not ducted through OTR and Cruise Airs ducted through it can address that.

I think there are a number of factors that may make trying to come up with an answer difficult. If the glass is not thermopane I suspect not much heat is getting through so having the shades down, with or without air ducted through the sills would be a benefit. If the shades are down and the windows are not thermopane is the AC coming through the ducts carrying very warm air between the glass and shades into the coach? If the coach has slides on one side no air is ducted through the sills on that side of the coach.

Delivering air through the ducts from Cruise Airs sounds like a superb idea, right up until I try to figure out how the cruise airs in the front bumper area with evaporators located who knows where are going to get air into the bedroom, or even the kitchen area and then how did the converter deal with return air? I don't think our coaches were designed or developed without a lot of consideration to a lot of factors, most of which we canot yet comprehend because we haven't tried to design one.

[Bill1170]

Jerry, we too use our coach to attend football games and much time is spent outside by the coach. Did I understand that you liked the cruise airs better for this and they did not blow hot air beside the bus?

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Cruise Airs have the condensers mounted in the belly of the bus and the hot air exhausted from the condensers typically blows out beneath the bus. Depending on if or how the baffles are pointed you may or may not get the warm air blown on you.

Keep in mind the complaining about warm air blown on his ankles from JDUB is coming from a guy who keeps buying coaches whose generators are located in the front bays and the hot air coming from them is blowing a hurricane of warm air up his skirt. If he had just gone and bought a Liberty the complaining he is doing would not have happened. And as long as I am finding fault with his complaining, it must be a converter thing if his Cruise Airs blew cold air on him inside the coach. A well designed coach would evenly disperse the air flow so it did not create hot or cold spots. That's what you get when you shop for price and not quality.

[gmcbuffalo]

The exchange of air for cruise airs being under the bus can be a problem even when parked. I have been in las Vegas and could not cool the coach down with all three CA's running because the condensers were pulling hot air in to cool the system, this hot air will not cool the system, but causes a Hi Pressure shutdown. The venting and pulling of air from under the coach is a design flaw in my opinion for cruise airs.