Ask Dave: What do you think of RecPro as a second roof AC?

Dear Dave,
I previously wrote you about the two A/C units. My generator was a 5500 Onan. You responded with a great article with a lot of good information. Right now I am researching the best A/C unit to purchase for my second unit. I wanted a unit with a remote wireless thermostat since it would be hard to fish wire for a hardwired thermostat. I found an A/C unit called RV Quiet A/C by RecPro and it is supposed to be one of the quietest on the market. Sounds good to me from what I read. The problem is I want to run a soft start, but RecPro says they haven’t tested their unit with a soft start. My thinking is that a motor is a motor so why wouldn’t it work? Can you tell me anything about RecPro’s A/C unit? Thanks for your advice here. —Roger

Dear Roger,
I am not personally familiar with the RecPro roof air conditioner brand. However, my technical contact at Winnebago has installed more than a dozen of these in units at a local “watering hole” in Northern Iowa and has had great success.

I originally discussed the RecPro model about 6 months ago when several of our readers had issues with their original equipment (OEM) roof air conditioner and had trouble getting parts. I called my contact and he told me about RecPro. There is a campground they have just outside town where about 100 units are parked permanently around a couple of small lakes. When the OEM roof air units started “dropping like flies” (his words, not mine), instead of waiting for several months for parts or replacing them with a very expensive OEM model, he just installed a RecPro model for less than half the price. And he can get parts at owner pricing through Winnebago. He claimed it was an easy install and owners have been very happy.

Research on RecPro

I did some research, and RecPro has been in business for more than 14 years as an after-market company, starting with furniture and working into just about everything. The reviews on the air conditioners are very impressive, so I called the company and discussed the units and asked about adding a soft start. The technician indicated it already had a low amp start-up feature, so it does not need a capacitor, which is what a soft start product is.

It looks great for a second roof air conditioner since it has a remote, as you indicated. So there is no need to find a way to run 12-volt wiring from the unit to a thermostat. It also seems to have a very well-designed airflow system rather than just “dumping” air out the bottom. I also like the built-in temperature sensor so the unit does not run all night long.

You can purchase directly from RecPro here or from Amazon.

RecPro looks like a great option

In my opinion, it’s a great option for aftermarket replacement since it’s almost impossible to get OEM parts these days and you pay 2-3 times as much. Check out this article from Russ De Maris.

Plus, one of the predominant roof air conditioning companies has just recently been purchased by Thor Industries, so who knows what will happen next.

Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and author of the “RV Handbook” as well as the Managing Editor of the RV Repair Club.

Read more from Dave here. 

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