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Thread: Roof vs Cruise air

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    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.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
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    SW Virginia ( GOD's country ! )
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    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?

  3. #13
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    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.

  4. #14
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Foley
    Posts
    94

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    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?

  5. #15
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    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.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Wilsonville, OR 97070
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    852

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    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.

  7. #17
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    I'm not going to defend the design of the Cruise Airs. But if they are properly charged with R-22 they will function quite well when parked because the bus is shading the ground and if the baffles are correct and in place the hot discharge air is carried away from the cooling intake air. Anyone that has serviced Cruise Airs however will attest as little as an ounce of R-22, one way or another has a disproportionate impact on performance. But when they are working right they are very good.

    If you are experiencing problems Greg, the first step should be to make sure the hot air discharge is directed away from the intake otherwise the exhaust air is redirected back through the condenser where it gains more heat and this circular air flow causes shutdown.

  8. #18

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    To echo Jerry's comments, if you want to sit outside of your coach at football games with the cruiseairs running it can be a blistering hot experience. Loc and I sat between our buses down at Aggieland one weekend with the cruiseairs blowing out towards us like a furnace. One does not require a furnace in Aggieland in September or any other place in the south for that matter. I think Jon is correct in that the days are numbered for cruiseairs and coaches. Frankly, other than being ugly, I think I would prefer the roofairs.
    Tony and Jenny Conder
    Abilene, Texas
    - - - - - - - - - - -
    2008 Marathon D/S XLII
    2017 RAM 1500 4x4

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    lake havasu city, az
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    74

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    Cruise airs are very sensitive to proper charging. My first coach (40' 3 CA) had issues in the Southwest over 95F. My current coach (45' 4 CA) will not cool in dry air over about 100F. The only reason I accepted CA's in my current coach is because I was "sold" and the coach has OTR, which lessens the impact.

    Don't really know about roof airs; I was at Mira Loma one day when an owner complained his Marathon with 4 roof airs would not cool???

    Incidentally, my first coach cooled well in OK City @105F with high humidity. I've heard of people rigging up misters to blow water on the CA condensers in extreme conditions.

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
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    thomasville,nc
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    I dry camp on asphalt in Louisville Kentucky for a week every year and I have found that on the hot days 90-95 degrees I can keep the coach 68-70 but I must raise the coach as high as possible to assist in airflow under the coach.As more slides become more common I wonder when the converters will make 5 AC units as the standard.My coach when I took delivery would not cool very well on a hot day,the cruise airs freon charge MUST be tweaked for max performance.

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