Now that we have dealt with the ceiling thickness issue, and installed all the shore power connections, we are ready to install the FreshJet 3 AC unit in the van. Technically this wasn’t our first time installing one of these units, see a long time ago post Installing the AC Units on our MCI Bus Conversion from almost 25 years ago if you’re interested.

This unit actually comes in three separate components that you have to purchase individually. I always thought this type of product sales was somewhat disingenuous because one component will not work without the others. I understand that you may need to replace one of the pieces later on and therefore would want to purchase it separately, but the initial purchase is somewhat like buying a car without tires. Sigh. Okay, rant over.

On a side note, if you are trying to run this unit with a small generator like a Honda 2200, you can do that with the SmartStart kit, which says it pulls 2,000 watts. See Review on How to Install a Dometic SmartStart Accessory Kit to see the info on that accessory.

The first thing we needed to do was install the unit on the roof. This was tricky because we not only had to ensure the hole in the roof was in the right spot, but it was also raining off and on. We decided to center the unit on the roof and then move it as far back as possible without having it hang off the back end of the van. Measurements were made and double-checked since we only had one shot at cutting through the fiberglass in the correct spot.

The fiberglass was cleaned, and markings were made with a Sharpie and an Omnigrid ruler to ensure everything was squared up. Using the front end loader of the tractor on our property made this task much easier than standing on a ladder. We drilled pilot holes in the four corners of the square we settled on, then cut from hole to hole with a jigsaw.

Now it was time to lift the AC unit into position. The guys loaded it in the front end loader and it was lifted up (along with the guys) to enable them to position it over the cut hole.

The Air Distribution Box (ADB) is one of the three components of this AC unit that is sold separately. This box is the interior companion to the exterior unit and must be aligned with the square hole in the roof. Then, the two units are bolted together with long bolts from the inside. These bolts compress the foam seal around the hole on the top unit to form a watertight seal and prevent the unit from flying off while driving.

To do this, we aligned the ceiling spacer we built with the square hole and ensured it was properly supported with the leg frames we made. Then, we wired and positioned the ADB in place over the hole, screwing the entire assembly together.

The wiring was challenging because they provide just enough length to connect everything inside the unit before assembling it. It was a very tight, small working area. Additionally, the unit came with closed foam spacers that fit together in a stack. These spacers were needed to create the duct between the ADB and the exterior unit for airflow. You had to figure out which spacers to use and which ones were unnecessary based on the distance from the exterior unit through your ceiling thickness to get a snug fit with the ADB duct on the inside. It was essentially trial and error until you got the correct ones connected together, but we got it done.

Snapping on the cover and turning the knob were all that was left to do. However, we encountered some wiring issues at the breaker box, which made it quite anti-climactic to turn the knob. After three attempts, we finally had success. Within an hour or so, Loki’s temperature dropped from near 100° degrees to 68° and never missed a beat.

Now, we can not only travel in the heat of summer, but also enjoy air conditioning while finishing the interior of the van build.

Update on the Install

So everything was installed and working perfectly, and then it poured for days. And the roof leaked. A lot! So from what we can tell the bolts holding the AC and ADB together have to be tightened to a specification of 45-55 lbs of torque. We had to take the entire unit apart and remove the frame we made pictured above. In the end we decided to get smaller bolts and not use the frame, which made the opening between the AC and the ADB less than the 1.5″ minimum required (which is why we needed the smaller bolts). This way we only needed to make new frame supports for the inside and we could tighten the AC and ADB together more securely. Everything is back connected together again, but this time we are going to caulk around the unit on the roof.

Why is caulking not part of the installation? I’m guessing they think the foam around the unit creates a seal, but it didn’t on our roof. Maybe it would on a metal roof, but our is fiberglass and is slightly wavy in places, so we will caulk around the foam to seal it up from water leaks.