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  1. #1
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    Second A/C on a 340rds

    Excuse my ignorance, am I overthinking this or am I missing a piece of the puzzle? It may be right in front of me, cause it has been a whirlwind purchasing the RV and getting my truck set up.

    I am looking around trying to find all the parts I need to add a second a/c in the bedroom area of a 340RDS. My understanding is the A/C, the underside grill, and the thermostat for the most part are sold separately. I can find the parts on the Grand Design part lookup page, but I can't find their equivalents like at etrailer or Amazon with any amount of certainty. Seems pretty simple to install so I want to take the savings. I just need the part numbers for the grill and thermostat, or if I have to, jump on the roof and get the model off the existing a/c.

    I may end up replacing the thermostat with the Bluetooth equivalent or Compass compatible similar to what I have now, but not 100% certain I am comparing apples to apples. I would like to be able to control my a/c remotely because I have to leave Fido behind sometimes and want to make sure a/c is running. I see a lot of posts where people are asking if it can be done and for part numbers, but I have only found 1 with the actual numbers and links, so its either really easy and I am missing the bus, or people are private messaging the information in the background instead of posting since the thread seem to die after a "yea its possible" or "the wiring is there" response. The single post I did find is not giving me the warm and fuzzy that its what I need.

    I like the Atwood heat pump, but that thermostat looks like straight out of the 70's. The Furrion looks space age and comes complete looks like, but I would like to see other options. I went down the rabbit hole of trying to get the compass system also to talk to the thermostat, but seems like a whole lot of money and may not even be possible.

    I would think this is a sticky out there with part numbers to get you to the factory setup, cause I bet (and have seen) a lot of people leave the lot with a single a/c and after one summer start looking for that second a/c. I did try to buy a unit with the second a/c but it was either get a really really good price or almost pay MSRP at another dealer for a unit with the second a/c. Thanks in advance.
    2015 F350 long bed SRW
    2021 Grand Design 340rds
    Central Florida

  2. #2
    Site Sponsor livinthelife's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trippin1 View Post
    Excuse my ignorance, am I overthinking this or am I missing a piece of the puzzle? It may be right in front of me, cause it has been a whirlwind purchasing the RV and getting my truck set up.

    I am looking around trying to find all the parts I need to add a second a/c in the bedroom area of a 340RDS. My understanding is the A/C, the underside grill, and the thermostat for the most part are sold separately. I can find the parts on the Grand Design part lookup page, but I can't find their equivalents like at etrailer or Amazon with any amount of certainty. Seems pretty simple to install so I want to take the savings. I just need the part numbers for the grill and thermostat, or if I have to, jump on the roof and get the model off the existing a/c.

    I may end up replacing the thermostat with the Bluetooth equivalent or Compass compatible similar to what I have now, but not 100% certain I am comparing apples to apples. I would like to be able to control my a/c remotely because I have to leave Fido behind sometimes and want to make sure a/c is running. I see a lot of posts where people are asking if it can be done and for part numbers, but I have only found 1 with the actual numbers and links, so its either really easy and I am missing the bus, or people are private messaging the information in the background instead of posting since the thread seem to die after a "yea its possible" or "the wiring is there" response. The single post I did find is not giving me the warm and fuzzy that its what I need.

    I like the Atwood heat pump, but that thermostat looks like straight out of the 70's. The Furrion looks space age and comes complete looks like, but I would like to see other options. I went down the rabbit hole of trying to get the compass system also to talk to the thermostat, but seems like a whole lot of money and may not even be possible.

    I would think this is a sticky out there with part numbers to get you to the factory setup, cause I bet (and have seen) a lot of people leave the lot with a single a/c and after one summer start looking for that second a/c. I did try to buy a unit with the second a/c but it was either get a really really good price or almost pay MSRP at another dealer for a unit with the second a/c. Thanks in advance.
    We purchased our second AC from PPL Motorhomes in Texas. They had the thermostat and the grill (separate purchases) also. We ordered a ducted unit so it would connect with the existing AC ducts.

    2017 Reflection 26RL "Mili"
    2016 Ford F250 Extended Cab Gas Engine "Buck" (the truck)

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    Quote Originally Posted by livinthelife View Post
    We purchased our second AC from PPL Motorhomes in Texas. They had the thermostat and the grill (separate purchases) also. We ordered a ducted unit so it would connect with the existing AC ducts.
    Thanks I'll take a look over there. Did you have the part numbers ahead of time, or did they do all the legwork for you? Also what did you end up buying? and how do you like it?
    2015 F350 long bed SRW
    2021 Grand Design 340rds
    Central Florida

  4. #4
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    If you are not planning on having it controlled by your existing thermostat and having dual zones, then it is much simpler and gives you way more options. If you decide to make this a stand alone unit (i.e has it's own independently controlled thermostat) and you want Bluetooth control, the Coleman Mach series AC units are compatible with a Bluetooth thermostat. Just pick the AC unit you want (i.e. 13.5K etc...) the correct inside ceiling assembly based on if your ducted or non-ducted and then the thermostat. They come in Black or white. Below is the model numbers for the thermostat options.

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    Jeff and Debbie
    2021 Imagine 2250RK
    2015 Ram2500 Laramie CC 6.7 Cummins Diesel w/air-ride auto leveling
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  5. #5
    Site Sponsor livinthelife's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trippin1 View Post
    Thanks I'll take a look over there. Did you have the part numbers ahead of time, or did they do all the legwork for you? Also what did you end up buying? and how do you like it?
    My husband had researched and had the part numbers, but he suggests just calling them and telling them what you want to do. They are very helpful. We ordered a 13.5 BTU unit and received a 15 BTU unit. We got a Dometic Penguin II because it's lower profile and we were installing it in the bedroom (front, taller end of rig). It works fine. We got our unit 4 years ago, so I'm not sure about giving you part numbers (besides we'd have to look up the order - wherever that may be).

    The hardest part was getting the unit on top of the fifth wheel, due to the weight, but with 3 of us we got it there.

    2017 Reflection 26RL "Mili"
    2016 Ford F250 Extended Cab Gas Engine "Buck" (the truck)

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    "If you are not planning on having it controlled by your existing thermostat and having dual zones, then it is much simpler and gives you way more options. If you decide to make this a stand alone unit (i.e has it's own independently controlled thermostat) and you want Bluetooth control, the Coleman Mach series AC units are compatible with a Bluetooth thermostat. Just pick the AC unit you want (i.e. 13.5K etc...) the correct inside ceiling assembly based on if your ducted or non-ducted and then the thermostat. They come in Black or white. Below is the model numbers for the thermostat options."

    Awesome thanks so much, you validated what I had found and I did not know I could just tie it to existing thermostat, that would be efficient and a cost saving. My initial search, the Bluetooth thermostat is about $124.

    I started walking through my mind the other day, and sorta came into what you mentioned. If I get ducted, I will be pumping a/c from the bedroom into the living room (there might be people in the living room who don't want it) and now save on the thermostat by tieing them together, flip side is unducted will isolate it, take the second unit out as a back up for the main unit failing plus have the additional cost of another thermostat. Will have to check with the wife and see what her opinion is. It's all falling in place now.
    Last edited by Trippin1; 03-16-2021 at 08:52 AM.
    2015 F350 long bed SRW
    2021 Grand Design 340rds
    Central Florida

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trippin1 View Post
    Awesome thanks so much, you validated what I had found and I did not know I could just tie it to existing thermostat, that would be efficient and a cost saving. My initial search, the Bluetooth thermostat is about $124.

    I started walking through my mind the other day, and sorta came into what you mentioned. If I get ducted, I will be pumping a/c from the bedroom into the living room (there might be people in the living room who don't want it) and now save on the thermostat by tieing them together, flip side is unducted will isolate it, take the second unit out as a back up for the main unit failing plus have the additional cost of another thermostat. Will have to check with the wife and see what her opinion is. It's all falling in place now.
    Also consider that your existing thermostat is likely not equipped for the second zone and would need to be replaced along with the control box in the existing AC. So your cost of adding a second AC just increased....If you do a stand lone unit, you can still tie it into the ducting if you wanted. A lot of folks like to run the AC in the living area at night so they don't have to listen to the one in the bedroom running while trying to sleep and vice versa, you may want to run the unit in the bedroom while your trying to watch TV in the living area....
    Jeff and Debbie
    2021 Imagine 2250RK
    2015 Ram2500 Laramie CC 6.7 Cummins Diesel w/air-ride auto leveling
    USMC Veteran

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Heavysledz View Post
    Also consider that your existing thermostat is likely not equipped for the second zone and would need to be replaced along with the control box in the existing AC. So your cost of adding a second AC just increased....If you do a stand lone unit, you can still tie it into the ducting if you wanted. A lot of folks like to run the AC in the living area at night so they don't have to listen to the one in the bedroom running while trying to sleep and vice versa, you may want to run the unit in the bedroom while your trying to watch TV in the living area....
    Wait.. what... Just to expand my knowledge on the control box. In my mind I would have 1 thermostat tied to both a/c by just laying similar colored connectors on top of each other in the thermostat. Temp is set, thermostat calls the a/c, temp is hit, a/c shuts off. Do I need a different control box to isolate the control wires of each a/c?

    Out of curiosity I just did see a multizone Furrion option at etrailer (F15ZA12SAZA-W) with 2 a/c's, and 2 of everything including 2 control box. I assume I would have to fish a wire to connect both sides judging by some other schematics for competitors product, although in my mind, a/c talking wireless to each other to keep in step would be more efficient considering how limited the roof access is for fishing a cable across. Oddly Furrion does not have downloadable instructions on their support page for the product to see how this all cables together. It does give the option for ducted or ductless, but I don't see the logic for ducted connection. I set my bedroom to 67 its dumping half its air into the living room via the duct. I set my living room to 72, it cuts out at 72, but the temperature should keep dropping as the bedroom fights to hit 67.

    I will probably go with the stand alone option, cause you are right, its hard to hear the tv with the a/c going. I wish they had a heat pump with variable speed fan option like my home a/c. When they were done installing it and left I thought it was broken. It has a variable speed fan, so its sits cranking ever so slowly and you don't hear a thing. You have to stand next to the return and sometimes look at the thermostat to make sure its running.
    2015 F350 long bed SRW
    2021 Grand Design 340rds
    Central Florida

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trippin1 View Post
    Wait.. what... Just to expand my knowledge on the control box. In my mind I would have 1 thermostat tied to both a/c by just laying similar colored connectors on top of each other in the thermostat. Temp is set, thermostat calls the a/c, temp is hit, a/c shuts off. Do I need a different control box to isolate the control wires of each a/c?

    Out of curiosity I just did see a multizone Furrion option at etrailer (F15ZA12SAZA-W) with 2 a/c's, and 2 of everything including 2 control box. I assume I would have to fish a wire to connect both sides judging by some other schematics for competitors product, although in my mind, a/c talking wireless to each other to keep in step would be more efficient considering how limited the roof access is for fishing a cable across. Oddly Furrion does not have downloadable instructions on their support page for the product to see how this all cables together. It does give the option for ducted or ductless, but I don't see the logic for ducted connection. I set my bedroom to 67 its dumping half its air into the living room via the duct. I set my living room to 72, it cuts out at 72, but the temperature should keep dropping as the bedroom fights to hit 67.

    I will probably go with the stand alone option, cause you are right, its hard to hear the tv with the a/c going. I wish they had a heat pump with variable speed fan option like my home a/c. When they were done installing it and left I thought it was broken. It has a variable speed fan, so its sits cranking ever so slowly and you don't hear a thing. You have to stand next to the return and sometimes look at the thermostat to make sure its running.
    I'm not quite sure it would work they way you described by putting both sets of control wires into a single thermostat. Plus it would not do a good job of keeping the 2 zones at the set temperature since it is only reading the room temperature in one location. The proper way to do a dual zone is to have a master and slave. The master AC control box will have extra controls for the second AC and will allow you to run one or both at a time from one thermostat but this requires wiring between the 2 AC units. If you don't care about any of that, you can just run 2 independent zones, each having their own thermostats and call it good. If your bedroom struggles to stay cool and the living room does not, you may want to consider closing some of the dampers in your main living area to force more air into the bedroom ductwork. However, if you have 2 AC units and your still struggling to get your bedroom cool, I would look under the return cover and see if they have everything sealed properly. With 2 AC's you should be able to hang meat in your bedroom (no pun intended).
    Jeff and Debbie
    2021 Imagine 2250RK
    2015 Ram2500 Laramie CC 6.7 Cummins Diesel w/air-ride auto leveling
    USMC Veteran

  10. #10
    Seasoned Camper J Maguire's Avatar
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    I opted to go with the Coleman Mach 15 (15k) which matches my current AC. I love desert camping in the heat so the AC being 15k not 13.5k is welcoming to me. I found the grill and thermostat as well, all from separate locations. Should save me around $500 overall with a dealer install while having a thermostat and a bigger AC unit.
    2021 GD Reflection (150) 5th Wheel 268BH
    2019 F250 Gas 6.2L V8 FX4 Crew Cab
    PullRite 2100 20K Hitch w/ LOCKED OUT Turning Point
    2x Honda EU2200i Generators & 1UP Bike Rack & Roll-N-Lock Bed Cover
    Previous Setup:
    2017 Outdoors RV 23BHS
    2017 F150 Sport 3.5L V6 EcoBoost

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