Are you looking to venture out on your adventure escapade? No matter what destination you have in mind, a good backpack is more like a best friend that serves you better every step of the way.
Not only does it carry but it also provides all those crucial things you may need when you are outside home. That&#;s the reason why you need to be attentive enough when choosing the right backpack. You want to make the most of your adventure trip so there&#;s no way you are going to settle for a substandard bag.
Listed below are four important questions you need to ask when making your choice for an ideal backpack.
What Kind Of Backpack Should I Buy?
No matter what the purpose of your travelling, there is a backpack for everyone. You could get a backpack for hiking to help you carry all your stuff. Or, you may opt for a flexible rolling backpack. Also, you must ask yourself how often you will use the bag and for what purpose. If you are planning on hiking for a week, make sure you don&#;t settle for a stylish designer backpack. Different types of backpacks include hiking backpacks, rolling backpacks, office backpacks, canvas backpacks, etc.
Is Wearing a Backpack Comfortable for Me?
Of course, the backpack you are likely to buy should be comfortable enough for you. If you can, make sure you try the backpack. Even better, consider putting around 20 pounds worth of belongings in the bag to see how the weight is distributed. Many backpacks available can easily be adjusted to fit your body.
Does Capacity Play a Major Role?
Yes indeed! Capacity does a major role and is one of the crucial factors when buying a backpack. In fact, it&#;s important than the fit and weight of the bag. Weekend and week-long backpacks have a capacity of 40-75 litres, as they&#;re designed for short trips. Travel backpacks (75-100 litres) are an ideal option for long vacations and lengthy camping trips and daypacks (15-40 litres) can be considered for an overnight trip. They can also replace a school bag.
What Features Do I Want on My Backpack?
Backpacks available nowadays come equipped with plenty of features and customizable options. You can consider various features like the stitching, material used, number of zippers, the padding location, the types of adjustable straps, and more. Other add-ons can be a cell or water bottle holder, or a hole for charging your mobile .
With so many backpacks available, how can you be sure the one you are likely to purchase is sturdy and can carry all your belongings with ease? Of course, you want to place greater emphasis on your bag not dragging you down. Instead, it should help you with your load, whatever it may be.
RV life is much more comfortable when your RV air conditioner works efficiently. A functional air conditioner is also essential for keeping the temperature inside your RV safe for pets and humans, especially in hot and humid climates. Like all RV appliances, your air conditioner requires proper operation and maintenance. This guide will teach you the basics by answering the most commonly asked questions about RV air conditioners.
How To Use an RV Air Conditioner
Photo by Camping WorldThe basics of safe AC operation begin with ensuring you have ample power supply to run your air conditioner. Before moving on, let&#;s answer a few questions:
Can You Run an RV Air Conditioner on 30-amp Power?
If your RV requires 30-amp service, that will be enough to run its air conditioner. With multiple air conditioners, you&#;ll likely need 50-amp service to run both (or all) units. If your RV requires 50-amp service, you may be able to use a 30-amp adapter to run a single air conditioning unit, but not multiple.
Your best bet for safely running your RV&#;s air conditioner is connecting to the electrical service your RV is designed for.
Can You Run an RV Air Conditioner on 15-amp Power?
Theoretically, 15-amp power is enough to power an average air conditioner. The problem is figuring out whether your specific A/C is &#;average.&#; You&#;ll need to know the exact amperage required. Unfortunately, you won&#;t be able to run your A/C on 15-amp power if you have a larger model.
Even if your AC draws less than 15 amps, you may be unable to run any additional electrical appliances without overloading the circuit. For example, the combined draws of your A/C unit, RV refrigerator, and electric water heater may be enough to trip a breaker.
There&#;s also the question of surge watts versus running watts. Even an RV air conditioner that draws less than 15 amps when running may draw more when starting up, resulting in a tripped breaker.
To combat this issue, some have gotten away with installing an RV air conditioner soft start device or manually soft-start by turning on the fan for about 30 seconds before switching to the lowest A/C setting and working your way up from there.
However, installing soft start devices or manually attempting to operate an A/C with less than the designated power supply minimums may void your warranty, cause damage to the equipment, and possibly result in fire.
Bottom line: your best bet for safely running your RV&#;s air conditioner is connecting to the electrical service your RV is designed for.
Can I Run My RV Air Conditioner on 120?
Standard 120 electric power supplies about 15 amps. So, running your A/C while plugged into a standard 120 outlet is possible if it draws less than 15 amps and you&#;re not running too many additional RV appliances simultaneously.
The problems are the same as running on a 15-amp shore power connection. You&#;ll need to consider surge watts, you won&#;t be able to run many other appliances, and you&#;ll need to know exactly what else is drawing on that circuit. If someone plugs a box fan into an outlet on the same circuit, it could be enough to trip the breaker.
Safe Air Conditioner Usage Tips
Photo by Camping WorldNow that you&#;re familiar with these power considerations, here are a few tips for safe use:
RV air conditioners draw more when starting up (surge watts) than they do once they&#;re operating (running watts). Turning off appliances reduces the chances of overloading a circuit when the unit starts.
The shroud protects the A/C components mounted on your roof. Check it before and after each trip to ensure it isn&#;t cracked or missing. Cracks allow dust, moisture, and other debris to degrade sensitive A/C components.
Minimize the stress on your unit by trapping cool air in and keeping warm air out.
This also reduces how hard your air conditioner needs to work by limiting your RV&#;s exposure to direct sunlight.
How To Clean an RV Air Conditioner
Proper RV air conditioner maintenance begins with regularly inspecting and cleaning an RV air conditioner&#;s air filter. Here are some tips to help:
How To Clean an RV Air Conditioner Filter
Troubleshooting, repairing, or maintaining your RV? Subscribe to the Camping World Tutorials YouTube channel to learn about your RV and never miss a video.Inspecting and cleaning your air filter should be done every 3-4 months. To clean the filter, either rinse with water and allow it to dry completely or vacuum out loose debris before rinsing and drying.
The Top Questions About RV Air Conditioners
Are you still wondering, &#;How do RV air conditioners work?&#; We have some additional answers. Let&#;s explore these common questions to learn about AC units and how to cool your RV responsibly.
How Many Amps Does an RV Air Conditioner Use?
The average RV air conditioner draws between 11 and 16 amps, but there are units (smaller and larger) that fall outside that range. Energy efficiency also comes into play. You can have two A/C units of the same size, but the more efficient model will usually draw fewer running amps.
Here&#;s a quick breakdown of the average A/C amp draw relative to unit size in British thermal units (BTUs):
AC CapacityRunning AmpsTechnician Tip: Amp ratings are listed for 70&#;. Add 1 amp for every 10&#; outside temp above 70.
5,000 BTU
~4.35
6,000 BTU
~5.22
8,000 BTU
~6.96
10,000 BTU
~8.70
12,000 BTU
~10.43
You will get efficient and thoughtful service from Sino Air Conditioner.
13,500 BTU
~11.74
15,000 BTU
~13.04
20,000 BTU
~17.39
How Many Watts Does an RV Air Conditioner Use?
Photo by Camping WorldCalculating wattage requires multiplying amps by voltage. RV air conditioners run on a 120-volt circuit, which you can multiply by the A/C&#;s amperage to convert to wattage. You&#;ll notice that you can also divide an air conditioner&#;s BTU rating by 10 to get an approximate measure of running wattage.
This is helpful when determining whether you can safely run your air conditioner with a generator, which usually has a wattage rating rather than an amperage rating.
Here are some average wattage ratings by A/C size:
AC CapacityRunning Wattage5,000 BTU
500
6,000 BTU
600
8,000 BTU
800
10,000 BTU
1,000
12,000 BTU
1,200
13,500 BTU
1,350
15,000 BTU
1,500
20,000 BTU
2,000
Will a -watt Generator Run an RV Air Conditioner?
The short answer is yes, for most. But you&#;ll need to know your air conditioner&#;s surge and running watts. Larger units will draw more wattage and may hinder your ability to run other RV appliances, even with a -watt generator.
Here are some generator size recommendations based on your RV&#;s electrical demands:
Minimum 3,500-watt generator
6,000 to 8,000 watt generator for RVs with dual ACs; 10,000 to 12,500-watt generator for RVs with three ACs.
How Long Can You Run an RV Air Conditioner?
Most RV air conditioners last 6-8 years if maintained properly. The more diligent you are with service and maintenance, the longer you&#;ll be able to run your A/C.
When camping, you can run your A/C 24 hours a day. You&#;ll just want to use a modest thermostat setting that allows the compressor to cycle on and off periodically. For larger RVs with two or three units, you can cycle between them to give the units intermittent breaks. As a supplement, you can also use a camper dehumidifier to assist your air conditioner in removing moisture from the air inside your RV.
Having a consistent power source is the most important thing to keep your A/C running efficiently. This isn&#;t an issue when you&#;re plugged into 30 or 50-amp service, but you&#;ll be limited to your generator&#;s run time if you power your A/C using an appropriately sized RV generator.
How Do I Make My RV Air Conditioner Colder?
Troubleshooting, repairing, or maintaining your RV? Subscribe to the Camping World Tutorials YouTube channel to learn about your RV and never miss a video.If your air conditioner isn&#;t lowering the temperature inside your RV to a comfortable level, here are a few things to try:
It could be as simple as telling your air conditioner you want it to be colder inside your RV.
Reducing your RV&#;s exposure to direct sunlight will make your A/C more effective because it won&#;t have to work as hard.
This traps cool air inside instead of allowing it to escape.
Insufficient airflow reduces your air conditioner&#;s effectiveness.
Clogged condenser or evaporator coils will also reduce A/C efficiency and could cause your RV AC to drip water inside . These should be checked and cleaned every other year.
Insufficient power will cause your A/C to operate below its cooling capacity.
Our bodies give off heat. The more people you have inside, the harder your A/C works to cool things down.
.
Eliminates steam and condensation from hot water&#;unless you like cold showers.
Every appliance in your RV gives off heat when it&#;s on. Reducing appliance and electronic usage will make life easier for your RV air conditioning unit.
What Is the Smallest RV Air Conditioner?
Photo by Camping WorldRoof-mounted units are the most common type of air conditioner for RVs, but there are also small portable and window-mounted units. These are great options for RVs without AC or for supplementing an existing RV air conditioner. NewAir and EvaPolar are two top brands for small RV air conditioners.
Can You Add a Thermostat to an RV Air Conditioner?
Photo by Camping WorldMost A/C units have a built-in thermostat or are wired to a wall-mounted thermostat in your RV. Aftermarket residential thermostats rarely work with RV air conditioners, and while upgrade kits are available, they must be from the manufacturer and be designed specifically for your RV air conditioner.
These kits will likely require the installation of additional components that allow them to communicate properly with your AC. If your thermostat needs to be replaced, your best bet is to consult the owner&#;s manual and wiring diagrams for your model and contact your local service center.
Does RV Height Include the Air Conditioner?
Photo by Camping WorldMost RV manufacturers list heights measured from the ground to the highest point, typically your air conditioner. A potential exception would be if the base model doesn&#;t include an air conditioner, but one is available as an upgrade. In that case, the listed height may not include the air conditioner.
Can You Run an RV Air Conditioner While Driving?
You&#;ll only be able to run your RV&#;s air conditioner while driving if it&#;s equipped with a built-in generator and that generator is running. You should NEVER run a portable generator while driving in an attempt to power your air conditioner. If you&#;re riding in the cockpit, the dash AC should be enough to keep you and your navigator cool until you reach your destination.
Hopefully, you know a lot more about air conditioners for RV use, how to use them, and how to ensure they keep your RV cool and comfortable. If you feel like you need to upgrade your air conditioner, check out our full collection of RV air conditioners.
Do you have any additional questions about RV air conditioners? Let us know in the comments below.
For more Backpack Air Conditioner Manufacturerinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.