How To Install A Window AC Unit In A Travel Trailer, so it can still travel.

Sharron our neighbor asked me to install a window AC unit into her Wilderness Travel Trailer that doesn't travel much. Her roof mounted AC died about a year ago, and it gets hot in Lake Elsinore. She couldn't afford to repair the roof unit let alone replace it. However a friend gave her this LG unit and it would fit into this window with some modifications.

Now there are many ways to install a window AC unit into a RV. Most of the methods will prevent the RV from being moved unless you remove all of the modifications and seal up the hole that was made. Now putting the unit on the front or the back of the trailer or inside a compartment will solve some of these issues. But the front or back were not options, and there wasn't a compartment available either

In putting the window AC unit into the drivers side window of our class a Alfa See Ya, I saw there is a way to use an existing window with small modifications to install a window AC unit and be able to remove it for travel in just minutes without damaging the window. So I used the same principles on her AC unit to make it removable without leaving gaping holes in the side of the trailer.

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This only requires that the window be larger than the smallest size of the AC unit. The specifications of most window AC units will give the opening that they expect when installing on a house or apartment. These measurements are always larger than the smallest size of the AC unit. There is a need to take real measurements of the box that passes through the window not including the part that stays in the room.

In this case the AC smallest measurements were 17.5 inches wide and 12 inches tall. The window has a maximum clear opening of 21 inches wide and 19.625 tall, this is a good size. Since the windows have round corners you can't just set it on the window sill, it won't fit properly and you have to fill the gaps. It's better to build an adapter that raises the window sill and makes a square corner that the AC unit can fit to. I made these adapters from ¼ inch plywood and 1 x 2 firing strips, the firing strips have an actual size of ¾ x 1.5 inches average, you need to measure the wood to see what the actual size is that you are working with.

The adapters are made to fit into the window and fit against the window frame on the inside and outside. This means there is no need to put any holes into the side of the trailer of the window frame. One adapter for the bottom and one for the top. The one on the top is the one that keeps the AC unit from falling out the window. The one on the bottom not only holds the AC unit up but also keeps the bottom from tilting into the trailer then falling out the window.

The only thing that I should have added would be a handle on the top adapter so I could hold it in place while I slid the AC unit into the window. But it does work and to remove it only take a couple of minutes and just close the window for travel or for winter. This is not as convenient as the roof AC that doesn't have to be removed for travel, or a front or rear mounted window unit. But these units are less than $150 on sale and work using very little electricity, and the adapter method of install keeps the trailer mobile and that part I made from leftover parts from other projects.

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