We thought we were being smart. Proactive, even. The rear unit worked well enough, but it rattled the entire back end of the coach like a freight train every time it kicked on. The front unit, meanwhile, was pulling over 16 amps just to run. A ticking time bomb. Better to replace both before we got stranded in a heatwave, right?
The plan was simple: swap them out with new direct-replacement models from the same brand. According to the manufacturer, it was a plug-and-play job. No rewiring, no drama. We ordered one 13.5k BTU unit for the bedroom and one 15k BTU with a heat pump for the front.
Delivery time: 3–5 days. Perfect, we had just enough of a window before heading to St. Augustine.
The installers came, put in the new units, and we were good to go. For one whole day. By the next evening, the front compressor froze solid and the rear unit was dumping water on the bed instead of draining. Fantastic.
Back the techs came on a Friday night. That’s when we learned the kicker: both units were 13.5k BTU. Not the 15k we ordered for the front. The tech looked stunned, called the manufacturer, and sure enough, somebody had screwed up big time. Their solution? Order the correct unit and “make it right.”
Great, except Labor Day weekend was right on top of us. The order didn’t go in until Tuesday. Best case, the replacement arrives Friday, they install Saturday, and we roll out Sunday. Worst case, it shows up Monday or Tuesday, which means pushing our entire schedule back and possibly screwing up our run to Greenville, SC for my niece’s wedding. The thought of a nine-hour sprint in this beast just to make it in time? Not appealing.
Meanwhile, the front unit froze up again. Inside the coach, it was 84 degrees. Outside, 85, at nine at night. The rear unit still wasn’t draining properly either; the tube was bone dry, meaning water was running somewhere it shouldn’t. Onto the roof? Into the ceiling? Who knows.
So our big preventative plan, the one designed to avoid chaos, backfired into, well, chaos. A frozen front unit, a leaking rear unit, shipping delays, and a travel timeline hanging by a thread. Honestly, it would be funny if it wasn’t so damn stupid.
I probably should have just done the install myself. At least then, when it all went sideways, I’d only have myself to blame.