Optional extras

Finalising our Kemerton build on Saturday and would welcome views on value and usefulness of Media Pack and air conditioning unit.

Thank you

The obvious comment on air conditioning is that it only works on electric hook up. If you wild camp or prefer off grid sites and ThSs then you won't use it. If you go abroad then you'll probably want it in warmer climates.

Cab air con is usefull habitation not so much in this country
Make sure you do have a good convector fire like the Fanmaster!!
or a gas blown air.
NOT a Eber. unless you have big battery.
frederic

We've not had aircon in any of our caravans or current motorhome.  The cab aircon is standard and, as in a car, is useful when driving in the summer sun although I find driving at lower speeds to be quite pleasant with the driver's cab window wound down.  We've never found a need for habitation aircon but then we have not been to S Europe.  In hot weather its worth having a pitch with shade.  There is a skill stopping a van getting really hot and it involves shutting the windows and blinds on the sunny side and opening them on the shaded side and changing as the sun moves around.  If the van is hot when the sun goes down open all the blinds and windows for a while. All the windows and doors have to be shut if using aircon.  In a PVC I would prefer to have the wide side door open.  Can't really comment on the media pack as I don't know what it includes but its not something I would normally pay extra for.

Consider the weight of the aircon unit on the roof: it will reduce your available payload correspondingly. (likely to be approx 30kg at least).

How often are you likely to use it?  

For you, what's the cost: benefit ratio?

For us, it was a non-starter (albeit it would have been a retro-fit).

Cymro

On our 2019 Kemerton XL A-S in my opinion didn't make an adequate plan where a TV would go. Where would you sit to watch the TV? Some owners I know mostly sit in the rotated front seats, the TV sitting by the kitchen sink. A Forum member's recent post shows the bulkhead clamp on TV mount again by the sink. OK if you sit to watch TV in the front seats, perhaps less so if both are sat on the bench seat.

Both Glynlock and myself routed a coax cable above the roof lining from offside to nearside, this enables a plastic TV mount plate to be screwed to the bulk head above the single seat, and no ducking the head under the cables as I'd been doing before.

So I suggest you consider asking A-S to fix a second TV socket and 12V supply on the long panel above the sliding door which we have both done. Glyne and I have posted some pictures on the Forum. I've yet to post a picture of the extension I made for the TV mount. Adding this extra coax yourself is a tough DIY job.

A-S fitted fancy speakers in the van but the Peugeot radio only stays on for 20 minutes before needing to be reactivated. To stop me repeatedly doing an impression of a Jack-in-a-Box, I bought a small Roberts DAB radio.

With improving 4G and 5G to come, I wouldn't consider having a satellite system fitted, you'll need the roof space in future to fit another 80W solar panel when you realise the limitations of the Sargent EC700 PSU, a personal gripe of mine.

All- thanks for the feedback, views and ideas, really useful

Sorry for going off-topic but out of interest, are you able to say how long you expect to wait for your van to be delivered?

Tim

You would be the coolest person on any camp site even teenagers would see you as one cool dude 

Kemerton-bath wrote:Sorry for going off-topic but out of interest, are you able to say how long you expect to wait for your van to be delivered?

Tim

Tim

They have given me an estimated delivery date between June and July , so not too bad.

RichB wrote:

Kemerton-bath wrote:Sorry for going off-topic but out of interest, are you able to say how long you expect to wait for your van to be delivered?

Tim

Tim

They have given me an estimated delivery date between June and July , so not too bad.

Rich,

That's sooner than I anticipated given demand and supply chain issues.  Hope it turns out well for you. 

The Kemerton is a great layout, we have the 6m version which is no longer produced. You'll find lots of help on here should you need it.

On the subject of your original post, we haven't got habitation a/c but did replace the kitchen area roof vent with a bi-directional Maxxfan roof vent as per the link below. Not that you'll want to perform any mods while under warranty, but maybe of interest in the future.

Tim

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I ordered a Telair E-Van 7400 habitation aircon unit at the NEC show. This unit is specially designed for campervans and van conversions and was significantly smaller than others we saw from Truma and Dometic. Also it was the only one I saw which was pumping out actual cold air. 

We haven't had our Kemerton for a summer yet but we had a rental in the late Summer heatwave and in my in opinion habitation Aircon will be the next must have accessory, especially if touring on the Continent. You also get the benefit of its humidity control. Downside in the Kemerton is that it will cut down the light a bit, but only in the kitchen area. 
Of course you do need EHU to use it although this can be dealt with by an upgraded battery system with inverter - at a price!

BTW we looked at hundreds of vans and layouts before going for a Kemerton. So far we are not disappointed - especially now I've fitted a Lagun table.

Andril1954, I'd not come across the Lagun table system. I also wasn't satisfied with the standard table supplied with our Kemerton XL.

My solution was to buy from A-S a matching table top and underneath attach a boss into which slots a metal tube support, the other end of the tube pushes into a Fiamma tripod. Inside we can position the table a little, as much as the furniture allows, more important is the ability to rotate the table if I want to go outside.When the table top is not in use it fastens against the inside front wall of the clothes cupboard.

Outside we now have the use of two tables, our Cadac BBQ sits on the standard A-S table, whilst we eat at our new table. I have the use of two metal table supports depending on what height we want the table.

A picture of your table would be appreciated.

RichB wrote:

Kemerton-bath wrote:Sorry for going off-topic but out of interest, are you able to say how long you expect to wait for your van to be delivered?

Tim

Tim

They have given me an estimated delivery date between June and July , so not too bad.

I guess that would be 2023 then?

For those of you not aware, the further south you go into hotter climes, the less the capacity of hook up systems on sites is; many only 5 amp so if you get somewhere that Aircon may be desirable you can't use it.

Very rarely use ours. Too noisy to have on at night when sleeping, Only real use is the ability to have it on timer so van is cool when we get back from a day out, or for getting rid of condensation when cooking. I think as previously said weight and profile reduce mpg quite a lot we rarely achieve better than 27mpg.

I don't know if later ones are repairable but I had an Electrolux on my 2010 sussex  which failed to cool and was sealed and could not be regassed.. Rather than spend £2k on replacement that I would rarely use, I had it removed and another rooflight installed instead which gave much needed extra light and ventilation when required.

RichB wrote:Finalising our Kemerton build on Saturday and would welcome views on value and usefulness of Media Pack and air conditioning unit.

Thank you

I admit to being one of those who really likes the habitation air-con. Although I didn’t use it that often, it was a blessing when I needed it (in the U.K.).

It’s now stopped working and can’t be repaired. So my options are:

1) replace it with another (Dometic) air con.  Cost c£2200.

2) replace it with a Maxxair Maxxfan. c£600 

3) replace it with a normal rooflight. c£300

4) do absolutely nothing. 

As I’m thinking of getting myself a dog, I’m veering towards number 2, the maxxfan, as this runs off the leisure battery and could be used if the dog is left in the van on hot days. Plus overnight for me on hot nights. Plus useful when not on hook up. 

All of which proves that aircon is a really personal choice.

Sally: we had a 2-way, 3-speed fan fitted in the rear rooflight of our Clubman. It was good at extracting cooking steam / smells, and at effecting rapid cross-draught cooling (with windows open) when returning to a very hot van, occasionally. But it was noisy. Power consumption was not an issue as we were normally on ECU.  

But we've managed without one on our Nuevo for the last 7 years: just open the rooflight and a window for draught. We don't miss it whatsoever.

So were I in your shoes, I'd remove the obsolete aircon unit (assuming it's roof-mounted) as it's an unecessary pendulum up there - will allow payload for other things. And then I'd replace with a normal rooflight only.

Cymro

Cymro wrote:Sally: we had a 2-way, 3-speed fan fitted in the rear rooflight of our Clubman. It was good at extracting cooking steam / smells, and at effecting rapid cross-draught cooling (with windows open) when returning to a very hot van, occasionally. But it was noisy. Power consumption was not an issue as we were normally on ECU.  

But we've managed without one on our Nuevo for the last 7 years: just open the rooflight and a window for draught. We don't miss it whatsoever.

So were I in your shoes, I'd remove the obsolete aircon unit (assuming it's roof-mounted) as it's an unecessary pendulum up there - will allow payload for other things. And then I'd replace with a normal rooflight only.

Cymro

Yes, that’s my second option. I’m torn between the two. I know that Paul did exactly that and has been very happy with it. 

Also, based on my extremely negative view of all workmen, including all campervan workshops and vehicle retailers, it’s the option that’s least likely to cause subsequent disappointment due to incompetence and poor workmanship (other than doing nothing).

Relaxez-Vous wrote:Andril1954, I'd not come across the Lagun table system. I also wasn't satisfied with the standard table supplied with our Kemerton XL.


A picture of your table would be appreciated.

Pictures not from Andril954 but from when we had one in our previous VW.
The tabletop attaches to the top plate but is not shown.
The biggest problem in our Symbol would have been where to fix it to. The lightweight board used by AS for the furniture/cupboard construction would not have been sturdy enough to support this as it is quite a heavy piece of kit.
Storage presented another challenge - quite an awkward thing, especially given restricted space![You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]