Is A 13,500 BTU Air Conditioner Enough To Cool A 16' x 7' Enclosed Trailer With No Insulation

Updated 05/12/2023 | Published 05/11/2023

Question:

Will this 13,500 btu unit be sufficient to cool a 16x7 enclosed trailer that isnt insulated? I was running a 13000 btu room a/c in it and it couldnt even begin to keep up. Best it could do was 80 on a 90 degree day. Was looking at the 15000 btu unit by my buddy thought that would be too much. Also in the questions asked there are 2 answers as to starting current. One says 20 amps and 2400 watts the other says 29.5 amps and 3500 watts. Which one is correct. I have a westinghouse igen4500 generator running everything.

asked by: Jeremy W

Expert Reply:

If the trailer was insulated then the Furrion Chill HE RV Air Conditioner System # FR52PR would be more than enough to cool it. Since the walls of an enclosed trailer are so thin and typically just a sheet of metal it's not going to maintain the temperature and cause the unit to overwork trying to keep up on a hot day. If you're not going to insulate I'd go a bit higher capacity unit, like the # FR92PR, to help prevent the unit from running constantly and wearing out prematurely.

The starting wattage for the 13,500btu and 15,000btu units is a range of 3000 - 3500 watts so your 4500 watt generator will be more than enough to handle the increased demand in power. The 13.5K units have a running wattage requirement of 1450 watts and the 15K units have a running wattage requirement of 1730 watts.

If you're camping in the trailer I really recommend getting it insulated to reduce power consumption, wear and tear on the unit, and and overall better experience.

expert reply by: Kevin C