What Air Conditioner Can I Use to Replace My 2005 Coleman Air 5 on a Ducted RV?  

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Expert Reply:

Hi Gary,

Replacing your 2005 Coleman Air 5 will require an entire system replacement and modification to your camper to install. The older AC units had the control box installed inside of the rooftop AC unit, so they were able to be used with ducted systems like yours that didn't require an air distribution box (ADB). With newer ACs, the control box is now attached to the air distribution box instead of inside the unit. That means that an air distribution box is required to replace the air conditioner, so you'll need to cut a 14"x14" hole into the ceiling to install the air distribution box for the new AC to work (if you don't already have an ADB). The ducting connected to the current air conditioner would need to be sealed off.

There was also a law passed in 2024 that required a change in refrigerant for RV air conditioners to a new refrigerant called R32. Due to R32 being more susceptible to heat, manufacturers had to rewire the control boxes for safety reasons. Because of this, any air conditioner after 2024 is not compatible with previous years systems. The wiring in the control boxes as well as any plugs was changed, even if the plugs still look the same the wires are different and trying to plug or connect it to an older system can damage the AC and blow the motor. All that being said, it cannot wire directly into the Coleman thermostat that you have now and will require a new thermostat or a non-ducted unit that has manual controls on the air distribution box.

To replace your Coleman Air 5 with a unit that cools and has a heat pump, you can use the Furrion Chill Cube Variable Speed RV AC w/Heat Pump - White part # FR77TQ. This is a single zone, non-ducted unit rated for 18,000 Btus cooling and 17,000 Btus heating. The variable speed inverter compressor acts like a soft start by gradually increasing the compressor speed instead of drawing a ton of power at once. The unit itself only draws 15.8 amps when cooling and 11.9 amps when heating, so it can even be run off of a generator or inverter. The air distribution box has manual controls on it, but this unit also comes with a Follow Me remote that senses what temperature it is near the remote so the system can respond or you can adjust the temp as desired. I think this would be the easiest replacement without needing to cut into the wall to run wires to install another thermostat for this unit since you can adjust it manually or from a distance. If you prefer the unit to have a black shroud, the part # FR87TQ is the exact same system. If you have a ducted system that already has an ADB and won't require modification to the ceiling, you can use the ducted version of this same air conditioner part # FR67TQ instead.

What kind of temperatures do you usually camp in?

expert reply by: Claire H

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