Hi All,? ?Thank you for all these comments.? I'm in Dallas, Tx. and bought a 2024 LXE last November.? I believe that I have a similar set up with the air conditioner and heat pump.? I'm planning to leave on a summer trip to Upper Michigan on July 4th.? I have been testing my air conditioner for the last couple of days.? It's 97 to 100 degrees here today.? Yesterday it took one hour for it to cool down from 95 degrees inside to 82 degrees.? I have reflectix on all the windows and parked in the shade.? I thought that the air conditioner would do a better job and cool a lot faster.? There are three vents; one under the queen bed, one going throught a lower cabinet to the entry way and one going through another cabinet next to the refrigerator coming out over the converter.? I also put a fan on the floor next to the vent under the bed.? This helped a little.? Right now I don't have time to do any major rerouting of ducts under the bed.? I will bring another fan to put on top of the refrigerator counter.? I'm so disappointed with this situation.??

I traded in my 2014 Aliner Ranger 10 to get this LXE.? The Ranger 10 had a window unit air conditioner on the door side and it would cool down the inside to 77 degrees in about 15 minutes.? I hope that it will start to get cooler as I travel north.?

Steve, please let us know how your modifications go.? I would like to know how I can do this myself.
Thank you,
Pat

Hi Joe.? First, let me clear up that the mods I listed in these messages were NOT mine.? Other, creative owners, have done these and I was just interested in them.? My apologies if I led anyone to think I created these.

Thanks for showing what you have done to try to improve the airflow.? I had not thought to use PVC schedule 40 pipe.? It certainly would not have the condensation issues that metal would.? I don't have lots of experience with A-frames as I have only had one for the last 3+ years.? I was led to look into how to make the heat pump work better.? Certainly, a 9000 btu A/C should keep a small unit like mine more comfortable.? Last year we were near Big Bend National Park and the temps were in the low 100s.? Our Expedition was not very comfortable.? I have read in these messages about why this can be.? It appears to be a combination of poor insulation, lots of air leakage around the seams, and maybe poor design of the heat pump installation.? I have been able to improve the cooling by inserting 1" backer rod into the roof seam and dormer seams and using several medium size fans to try to get the cool air off the floor and up into the RV.? With the main bed pulled out, it is very difficult to do this.? We have gone not pulling out the main queen bed in hot weather.? One of us sleeps on this bed as a twin size, and the other sleeps on the dinette converted into a bed.

My next step in improving the A/C is to make some mods to the HB9000 air distribution.? With your input, I have now looked at 3 different ways to do this.? I am still working on what I may do.?

The Expedition's installation of the HB9000 provides 3 output ducts through the panel under the main bed, near the floor.? From reading other posts, other models have the same or a similar heat pump, but with only 2 output ducts.? If the heat pumps are the same, it should be possible to add a 3rd duct for the output air.

I am thinking of routing my 3 output ducts so that 2 are along the back of the bed, under the outside dormer wall - and the other at one end of the bed (either at the feet or head). I just need to decide how I will do this, and I appreciate those who have provided some valuable input to the solution.?

Steve,
Your modifications look great and EASY! ?I rerouted the cooling hoses to give us more usable room under the bed. Yes, I probably reduced the efficiency by restricting the flow in and out but not noticeably, so I intend to make it a little cleaner and permanent. ?I used some 2” schedule 40 PVC that I had laying around. I’m very interested in adding a third vent on the back side of the bed. Any suggestions as to where to place it? At our heads, feet or middle?
JoeS

--
Don DeRyke
Sunrise, Florida

2009 Classic, 2020 Ford Escape, 2.0 liter EcoBoost, AWD.?
Previous TV 2015 Ford Escape 1.6 ltr EcoBoost engine.

I installed a DoHonest v25 wireless backup camera ~$80 a year ago. I mounted it high on the back of the camper and ran a wire to a fused water resistant switch on the outside of the camper battery box. The 5” monitor has a bracket to attach to the windshield and a cigarette lighter plug. The view is very wide so that when a speck on the horizon is identifiable as a vehicle it needs to be considered before changing lanes. It does help a lot for backing up. The picture is good with no delay (the camera is mounted line of sight with the monitor). ?The display has on occasion gone black but switching the monitor off and on brings it right back. I broke the bracket and DoHonest quickly replaced for free (the suction cup has a thin plastic cover that interferes with suction to the glass and the plastic covers a VERY strong adhesive).?

JoS

Hi again Roy.? I apologize that I did not include some other info with the pics I sent.? The product used was called StealthFlow Amerimax.? I found it on Amazon ( ? ) as well as an extension kit ( ).? These items are also available at Home Depot ( ) as well as other places.? From the pics it looks like the originator used the existing cardboard tubes and just extended them with black tubing like you found on Amazon.

Ah, thanks for those photos, Steve! Although I have done some fiberglass work before, the construction definitively would have taken me quite some time ? So I'm definitively interested in easier options.

I tried to find a part similar to the one in the 3 photos you posted, but so far I've only found flat dryer vent "hoses", like e.g. this one:
However, I don't think something of metal would work well, due to condensation. I've put insulation outside the ducting hoses in my current mod, and I've seen that even the metal hose clamps have started to rust.

Correction:? our 2021 Expedition Offroad has three(3) vents, rather then the two(2) in the mods I have reviewed.

Thanks for the information and links, Roy.? I plan to make some mods to my HB9000, but am considering options.? The mod explained in my first post, above, involves fabricating ducts out of thin plywood and then strengthening with fiberglass.? I have also reviewed another creative person's mod that involves much less fabrication.? Attached are 3 pics of this modification.? I am not sure which of these I will try, or if I will try to come up with another option.? My 2021 Expedition Offroad has 3 vents, rather then the three in both of the mentioned modifications.? So I will have to make minor changes to support 3 vents.? I might put 2 vents below the dormer and one to the left (as pictured above) to go over the head/foot of the sleepers.

I any others have suggestions for heat pump mods, please chime in!

I am continually amazed at the ingenuity and creativity of Aliner owners.? I wonder if the manufacturer spends any time reading these posts to find future improvements?

Thanks to everyone for sharing your vast knowledge of camping in an A-frame as well as making improvements.

I opted for the easiest solution I could find, so I went with this rechargeable wireless camera, with a magnetic base:

I only use it while backing up, and I use my phone or tablet as the screen.

I did a different AC mod 2 years ago, and I also had a hard time finding the correct size air duct parts back then. I ended up buying this hose from Amazon:
However, that one is currently unavailable, but I now see several 2.5" hoses on Amazon. Some examples:

Mounting flange:

I'm planning on doing the same mod myself (it seems far superior), so I would be interested in hearing about your experience with it. Both building it, and how well the mod works.

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The term “waterlogged” implies that water is saturating something in the roof panel. IIRC the roof panels on most A-frames are made of styrofoam sandwiched between 3 mm sheets of plywood with a thin fiberglass skrim on the outside. A small amount of water might get trapped in the plywood, but that would quickly be apparent because it’s so thin. Other than that I don’t see how any significant amount of water could accumulate in the roof panels.

This is a common problem.? Some have had the interior roof skin fall off while towing and splat down on the bed.??

The most likely way the water gets into the roof is the seal between the metal roof edge and the panel leaks, and then water gets inside, and flows along the bare roof panel edge for up to 12 feet.? Then it exits through the lower corner, and at least in Chalets, flows outside the trailer so the owner is probably not aware of the leak.

The best way to fix a waterlogged roof is to replace the roof panels.? You may as well replace the skylights and vents at the same time since those only last about 10 years before they get cloudy and/or crack. Plus removing skylights on some trailers breaks them. But you can reuse the aluminum roof edges.

That's expensive, though, so some have patched roofs in places that are rotted.? Its hard to get the new pieces of roof skin under the roof edges when you do that, however, so the repaired roof may not be as strong as the original.

I'm very surprised that a dealer was able to dry out a roof after drilling some holes.? There's a sheet of something on the inside of my roof that looks like it's waterproof.? I think it would take years for a saturated roof like mine to dry through some holes in the panel, if it ever dried at all.

Does anyone have experience with the above within our a-frame camper universe? If ‘yes’ - was it resolved, panels replaced or was the entire trailer was written-off?

There’s a plethora of ‘roof leakage’ issues reported but none (that I was able to find) on whole roof panel waterlogging.?

A bud’s Jayco a-frame trailer has definitely experienced waterlogged roof panels. Roof panels were getting increasingly heavier. Friend was NOT getting any weaker! Replaced all 4 torsion rod corner lift assists. No change. An RV repair shop cited ‘waterlogged roof panels’ and corrected another customer’s identical issue by leaving panels upright for two weeks, drilling strategic drain holes and running ventilation fans to dry out the moisture. Problem resolved apparently.?

Got me wondering if:

1.) This forum’s frequent reports of ‘inability to lift roof panels’ could be caused (at least in part) by roof panel waterlogging (in addition to elderly weakening bodies?); and ?if ……

2.) Waterlogged roof panels are endemic to ALL fixed flat roofed trailers without owners’ knowledge unless owners are regularly weighing their rigs with identical content weight each time (very unlikely!).?

Jeff G.?

Whose 2002 Chalet Arrowhead trailer is (fortunately) garage stored.?

You didn't mention filling the hot water tank before turning the flame on.? That takes 3 to 5 minutes.? You did do that before turning on the flame, right?? If you didn't, it apparently won't do anymore damage given what you got away with so far, but that's still not a good idea.

If you switched the bypass to the hot tank before you pushed water into the system, you pushed antifreeze into the hot tank, and that requires that you drain and flush the hot tank several times.? Plus the dealer may have inadvertently put antifreeze in the hot tank, you just don't know, so flushing the hot tank is a good idea anyway.

Your trailer may or may not have an aux port for putting antifreeze into the plumbing.? If you have one, there's a 3 way valve between the water tank and pump.? You set the valve to pull from the aux port, screw a short piece of hose onto the aux port of the valve, and stick the other end of the hose in the jug of antifreeze.? ?Then you can pull from the jug.? But if you don't have an aux port, you have to put the antifreeze into the fresh tank, and that complicates de-winterization.

So check your plumbing for an aux port, and if you don't have one, you'll need to fill and drain the fresh tank too, and given the tank size and drain speed, that takes a long time.?

Install an aux fill port if you don't have one.? Basically when you go to winterize, you don't want to put antifreeze into either the hot tank or fresh tank.??

Using the hose connected to the city water input will not push water through the pump. ?You need to put water in the fresh tank, and use the pump to pump it out to get the antifreeze out of the pump.

I've never had a burning smell come from my hot water heater exhaust.? It's possible that you have mud dauber wasp nests inside the combustion compartment, or a nest from some other critter.? If you run the water heater, then shut it off, and see wisps of smoke coming out the exhaust, I'd say thats a pretty good sign you have something in there.??

I'd also check the styrofoam around the hot tank to see if its melted anywhere.? Check the electrical wires for melting too.? Also heat and pressurize the tank and open the door on the outside, and check for leaks.? One guy that ran his heater empty reported leaks at the over pressure valve.

If you have any doubts about the integrity of your hot water heater, I'd take it in and have an rv guy look it over.? ?Or just call the tech support line for the heater and ask them what they think.? There's a large number of people that have run hot tanks while empty, so the tech folks should know what happens and what to do.

Since you're new to RVs, here are some other biggies you should be aware of:

1. Always connect a water pressure regulator to the faucet when connecting a hose to the city water inlet.? Some campgrounds have high water pressure for firefighting, and it will burst your plumbing.

2. Never run the fridge when the trailer is not level.? That will destroy it.

3. Do not run your trailer tires until the tread wears out.? Replace at 5 years even if the tread is fine.? Failure to follow this rule can lead to a blowout, which can tear out the floor of the trailer and cost thousands of dollars to repair.? There is a 4 digit date code on each tire of the format XXYY, where xx is the week (1 to 52) of the year and yy is the year.

Well, we tested it out. We turned the bypass valves, hooked up the hose to our external house spigot and, after pressing both the reset buttons, we got it to ignite. We ran the hot water and quickly noticed that the pink antifreeze solution was coming out of the faucet. We filled and emptied our 5 gallon bucket about 5 or 6 times before it started looking clear. The water did heat as expected, but we also noticed the exhaust from the heater had a bit of a burnt smell to it. Kind of like when you don't use your furnace for a long time and the first time you turn it on, it smells like singed dust. Is that normal, or is that a sign that it's damaged??

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If you left the water heater energized for more that a few seconds, you may have damaged or destroyed it. There is no safety mechanism to prevent heating an empty tank, only an over-pressure valve that guards against overheating.?

They have 2 manuals for all the Qube units here (scroll down a bit)



But it doesn't look like they make the 5000 anymore, and I can't tell if the listed manuals are relevant.