Most efficient Air Conditioning for Vanlife. The only way to run A/C from Solar.

Hands down, a mini-split is the most efficient air conditioning setup, and it's very affordable.

[kellysplumbingify]

I installed senville 9000btu inverter mini split in my sprinter 144 . I removed the pump from the condenser . Mounted the pump under the bed to keep it upright . Mounted the condenser under the back where the spare tire was . 60, 000 miles later its still running great . Summer in Phoenix 110° it keeps the van a cool 74 all night on 200amp hr lithium battery to 3000watt inverter . Takes about 10 min to cool down the van at 800 +/- watts then bumps back an forth between 300 and 30 watts to maintain 74 °. Shopping at the store in hot weather the dog loves it or pulling over to just take a nap . No windows converted cargo van . Just looks like a work van . Park anywhere :-)

[jackiemiiers]

By far, the best I have seen in my search. You respected my time, my intelligence, not blah, blah, blah ! God Bless you man !

[ExclusiveLM]

This is a smart way to mount this system inside with the inside housing and still get proper ventilation. I applaud your brain!!!

[michaelwright]

More than a few truck drivers have installed these in their sleepers. They seem to be pretty beefy and handle the stress of the road quite well from what I have seen. The compressor goes behind the sleeper mounted to the frame rails, run the lines into the cab and set the evaporator on the wall towards the ceiling.

[ВикаКудрявцева-сж]

*Works great **Fastly.Cool** compact and Easy to install*

[maestrovso]

Japanese pint size RVs have been built with mini splits for some time now. Nearly all at the RV shows recently have them.

[scottytc]

Excellent setup. Watt readings were also very helpful. Thank you.

[FreeRangeNomad]

I installed my outside unit underneath shuttlebus. Protected it well. Works fine after a year in road.

[mileshardeem]

@1:10 I also thought the same until I found the 12V DC AC ceiling units. I've only seen two, but the Dometic 12V AC roof system seems to consume at peak less than the mini split system your using and avg to avg about half, and its an all in one unit (easier to install overall, and no need for an inverter if running off solar (so you save another 10% loss you would otherwise have from inverter). Because its such low voltage it does require this big-arse 4 AWG cable though, due to the higher amps. Pretty certain its total BTU is less than the unit you show here, but its power consumption is a healthy bit less as well, and total size/weight of the system I'm sure is less as well. To me the best spot to install that condenser is on the rear of the vehicle on some type of custom mount (in perhaps a similar position as a spare tire) and then use some type of tarp to cover it while traveling. Not ideal for stealth camping, but it gives it all the proper airflow to get the maximum cooling benefit from it. This mount solution also costs zero in-RV space loss. Biggest benefit of your system is price, noise level, and possibility for heating (most mini-splits also heat).

[wowmenso]

I’m an hvac technician and let me tell you that putting the condenser where you have it is gonna be it’s demise they have to be able to breath fresh air and efficiently expel the excess Heath from refrigerant
Get a mini split bracket and mount it outside the van or screw it to the roof

[kurtisfoley]

We need more info on your setup. I want this!

[Reubenbearsplaytime]

Thanks for sharing. I've seen super expensive van life kits that can be mounted below the van, like in a spare tire spot for the outside portion, but this seemed best for your setup. I would be super interested in more indepth of your solar setup, and ideas on where to mount if you had a windowless cargo van

[robertbouchardt]

2:36 I thought you said "the trans man only has a rear entry door" and I was like... *spittake**

[tdgdbs]

Dual inverter LG window air conditioners are also very efficient and have soft start feature; if you don't want to deal with the complication of mini split.

[duneme]

Can you please compare this to Dometics 12v system? Cost, Energy, Cooling, etc.
Thank You!

[youngb]

can you add the link to your mini split. thank you 😊

[lyndonthan]

Great Video ! The RV and vanlife community should be eating this up because the AC units they use are piss poor, as far as I can tell. Real mini splits have SEER ratings from like 18 on up to 33. but they require 240V. RV units generally are working with SEER ratings of like 10.

[prof.crastinator]

Inside mounting is very counter-productive

[stanw]

Sportsmobile has been installing these systems for years. The flaw in their system is that they mount them under the van where they are subject to dirt, grime and road debris.

[aalmuhandis]

In love with the setup, I been looking for a mini split that’s drew less than 500 w unfortunately I couldn’t find anything, any suggestions man ?