Dear Dave,
We just bought a Grand Design Solitude 310GK fifth wheel. We have two small dogs. We’re sometimes going to be dry camping without access to an electric hookup, so we are debating how to remotely cool the RV when we are away and can’t take the dogs with us. The rig has a robust battery system that the previous owner installed. It will run everything but the air conditioner.
I know about temperature monitor systems like Waggle and Nimble, which may or may not work, given the cell coverage.
So, a couple of questions:
Is it better to get a portable generator? Mike, my husband, has bought a gas/propane generator. The problem is it’s not all contained, so doesn’t work well when we are away.
Is it better to install a generator inside the RV? Is there a way to hook up to the thermostat so that it automatically comes on when it gets too hot?
From what I’ve heard, there are air conditioners that don’t hog the power when they first come on. I think we might have one of those.
Cost, installation, noise, ease of use considerations for each?
Maybe you’ve already done an article about this for RVtravel.com, and you could point me to it? Can you offer any suggestions and resources? Thanks loads!! —Margaret, Grand Design Solitude 310GK
Dear Margaret,
I don’t think you will be able to install enough battery power to run your roof air conditioner for more than a couple of hours. Keystone rolled out a product they called SolarFlex a couple of years ago at the Hershey RV Show. It had 400-600 Ah of lithium batteries, Victron inverter and a battery monitor showing the State Of Charge (SOC) with the air conditioner running. They could only get about 2–3 hours at 75-degree temperatures with the 600 Ah display unit.
I just conducted seminars at the Chicago RV Show and had a similar request from one of the attendees of the Boondocking seminar that had a 5th wheel, as well. He is going to install an onboard Onan LP generator for other power needs and battery charging, as he has a residential refrigerator that will be an energy hog. This would most likely be the best scenario for you and add the Onan automatic start option.
Wireless system
The Cummins Onan EC-AGS+ Wireless system allows you to start and stop the generator from your smartphone or automatically. The system enables automatic, manual or voice-activated start and climate monitoring. This would allow you to set it to climate control and not have the generator run all the time. It would just start when needed, or start it from your cell phone when you see the temperature rise, if you are using the Waggle Pet Monitoring Device. According to the Cummins Owner’s Manual (copy and paste this link for the pdf file), the Cummins Onan EC-AGS+ is compatible with several LP generators as well. It costs about $500.
According to the manual, it has a Temperature Sensor Setting and states that temperature sensors need to be configured before Air Conditioner Sense can be enabled. The air conditioner sense temperature is the temperature at which the generator should start automatically. I have asked for more information from my Onan/Cummins contacts and will do a follow-up with more detail once we get that.
I have developed an RVing with Pets seminar, and discuss keeping the rig cool when power at the pedestal is disrupted or boondocking is a concern. If you leave the roof vents running and slightly open a window, it will help keep the unit cool. During the Winnebago Grand National Rally, many pet owners used the cool mat available on Amazon here.
This along with a 12-volt fan or one powered through an inverter will keep the unit cool without 120-volt power. It reminds me of sweltering hot summers on my grandparents’ farm. After baling hay or walking beans, we would eat supper and go out on the porch where Grandma put a hunk of dry ice in a galvanized bucket of water and blew the cool fog with a fan!
SoftStartRV
As you stated, there is a device that will slowly ramp up the amp draw at startup called SoftStartRV.
Typically, an air conditioner will draw about 45 amps at startup. With the SoftStartRV it slowly goes to only about 18 amps and back down to the normal operating amperage.
I had some attendees at the show suggest a portable generator that can be started with the Bluetooth function on Amazon here.
However, after doing some research, Bluetooth uses a radio frequency around the 2.4 GHz band to transmit data and is only good up to about 30 feet.
Looking forward to what others RVtravel.com readers are using.
You might also enjoy this from Dave
RV has 2 roof air conditioners, 1 battery. Is this enough power to boondock?
Dear Dave,
The camper that we just bought only has one battery, but it has two air conditioners. The person that had it before us was always on shore power. Does this sound correct? I feel they removed a battery. We will be boondocking. What are your thoughts? Thank you. —Elaine, 2014 32-ft. Sundance 5th wheel
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I would never leave a pet unattended in an RV in warm weather, too many things can go wrong. Systems can fail, and what a tragedy were that to happen! But aside from unattended pets, “some” of the cool beds work reasonably well, although not the type that your link shows. The pressure-activated ones from The Green Pet Shop work MUCH better. Our dogs have told us so. Amazon’s got them.
We have recently installed a SoftStartRV unit and can’t say enough about the product or the support received from SoftStartRV personnel! It is like a gift from heaven for our van,
This can be an issue even when connected to shore power. Our TT has a thermostat that controls both the furnace and the (ducted) roof A/C unit. But the thermostat had to be manually switched between the two units and in most cases the set temp changed. No automatic change-over thermostat to be found. I bought a second identical thermostat and mounted it immediately adjacent to the original. The wires used by both functions were put in parallel and the wires unique to each function separated. One heat, once cool with a 10 degree separation. We can now leave the cats unattended overnight.
Thank you, Dave! 🙂 When we lack shore power, we set the temperature for the dog and run the generator. I will begin also running the vent fans in the hope of the AC running a bit less frequently to maintain a cool temperature inside our RV. If we have shore power driving the AC and the power goes out, then the RV would begin drawing DC power, but the AC would quit. Our recourse would be to notice when the temperature inside our RV rose above an acceptable level and immediately return to the RV, activate the generator, and activate the AC. Thanks for the question and resulting thinking I did. Have a great day and safe travels! 🙂
“We just bought a Grand Design Solitude 310GK fifth wheel.” Why would anyone buy anything from these crooks who put out nothing but flimsy junk? You just can’t fix st****d anymore.
Sorry to hear that you bought a Grand Design fiver. I hope it isn’t one where the frame bends. A friend has one and hasn’t seen it in about 7 months.
So much for Arizona this season. they can’t even find out WHEN he might get it back.
Couple things.
RV’s have a lot more thermal mass that a car or truck. They will heat up but at a much slower rate than an auto. Assuming you leave when the inside temp is reasonable, unless you are in a super hot climate, you should be good for 5 – 6 hours, maybe more. Look into the smaller single phase mini split A/C’s. They are much more efficient that the old school roof top units, even with Soft Starts. Installing can be a bit of a challenge though. Install Reflectix on as many of the sunny side windows as you can to reflect the heat and close the blinds when you leave.
Leave the Mutts with a sitter….Please don’t leave them in the rig and driving the rest of us crazy with their quacking….
Barking kids and screaming dawgs drive the rest of us nutz!
It is just wacko how many of those ankle biters are left alone. They will end up biting you thinking you no longer love them.
Ear plugs don’t work, nor should the rest of us have to feel the pain.
Thank-you…….
1-18-2025: Margaret: may means “may or may not”!