Have you ever been on a relaxing road trip, when suddenly your AC breaks? Malfunctioning AC can be more than just a minor inconvenience; it can wreak havoc on your entire plan, or worse, your camper. Without working air conditioning, your camper could climb to unsafe temperatures. Overheating can lead to symptoms like rapid heart rate, nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps, and more. At about 105 degrees Fahrenheit, human proteins begin to denature, which can lead to cell death, disruption of intercellular interactions, and loss of functionality. What happens to your camper when it overheats is not too dissimilar to what happens to our cells. The most prominent threat is that the engine can overheat, which could become costly to repair. For purposes related to comfort, health, and RV preservation, RV air conditioning is essential. To keep everything copesetic, follow this AC maintenance checklist.
1. Use An AC Shroud
This is one of the easiest steps you can take to protect your AC system and prolong its lifespan. A quality AC shroud will keep out your worst enemies: dirt, dust, debris, and moisture. It will also protect your AC unit from any hanging branches or protruding rocks that might ding it up. A proper AC shroud can make all the difference, so that’s why it’s at the top of our AC maintenance checklist!
2. Examine the Exterior
For this step, you’ll want to put your inspector glasses on. Examining the exterior and looking for leaks is a crucial step to preserving your camper’s AC unit. Double-check the gasket between the shroud and the roof of the RV. The gasket should have the opening sealed, but if it’s loose, precipitation could permeate in and wreak a whole lot of havoc in the camper. Ensure that the gasket is fully sealed- use a reliable RV sealant if needed.
Part two of this step is to scope out the rest of the exterior for any cracks, holes, or openings where water could sneakily seep through. Even the slightest crack could lead to a full-on flash flood inside the camper, causing serious damage. There are a number of ways to patch these holes up. Depending on the severity, you may need to conduct more serious repairs, but RV sealant will often do the trick. If RV sealant is starting to sound useful to you, be sure to add it to your AC maintenance checklist!
3. Fortify The Fins
Now that we have the catastrophic AC maintenance mishaps out of the way, let’s zero in a bit more on RV AC systems themselves. One key component to make note of is the cooling fins. Ensure that they’re straight, as bent vanes will hinder airflow and cooling efficiency. In the case that your AC unit has bent fins, you can use a comb or another utensil to straighten them out. Do make sure to prod gently, so as not to dent or puncture any components. Also, definitely turn off and unplug the AC unit before poking around in it with a metal utensil. This might seem obvious, but sometimes it’s the simplest steps that cause our demise!
4. Check The Capacitor
It’s important to make sure that the electrical circuit you plan to run your air conditioning on is powerful enough. Anything below 30 amps will likely cause your unit to “brown out” or function sub-optimally on low voltage. Without enough amperage, the AC unit will overheat and eventually self-destruct. In addition to visually checking your capacitor and confirming the electrical circuit’s power, you can also test it. It’s best to test your capacitor about every six months. Just doing so twice a year can help keep the system in check, and then you can cross this item off your AC maintenance checklist!
5. Clean the Conditioner
Keeping your AC unit clean from the inside out can pay off in dividends. You wouldn’t believe how many years you could save on your unit’s lifespan just by keeping it maintained. The most obvious place to start cleaning is the exterior, as that is the most visible. In fact, it’s good practice to keep your whole RV exterior clean, preventing grime from making its way into components such as your AC system. Cleaning the exterior is made easy by the diverse shapes and sizes of RV cleaning brushes available. You can also use one of them to clean the outside of your AC shroud.
6. Make An Immaculate Interior
Next on the good ol’ AC maintenance checklist is to make sure the interior of the unit is spotless. Underneath the AC shroud is where you’ll likely find one or two foam pieces, which exist to filter out debris. You can easily wash these with warm, soapy water to keep them free of gunk and debris. While you’re inspecting the interior, it would be a good time to break out the vacuum and remove any dust or debris from the ducts. If there are any small, hard-to-reach crevices between components, you can quickly eradicate them from the system. The result is more purified air throughout the camper. Better air quality means better quality of life on your trips!
Cross It Off Your AC Maintenance Checklist
There’s nothing quite like checking off the last item on your list for a satisfying feeling of completion and a job well done. Even better is a functioning AC unit and an RV that doesn’t get hot enough to denature your body’s proteins. (That’s always a plus.) With the right steps and proper care, you can keep your RV’s AC system running smoothly. Prolong the life of your RV air conditioning unit, and don’t forget to stay cool.
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