Roof AC removal

[acenjason]

So, the seal between my AC and roof is leaking. I of course can't get to it. I am a fulltimer. And, live high in the mountains and camp even higher when I take her out. I only turned the AC on once last year. I would like to remove the leaking AC unit and put in a simple roof vent. I currently have a tarp covering my roof. My question is how hard and time consuming is it to remove these AC units? Because once the tarp is off i need to get the AC off and get the vent in while the weather is good. I am also planning on sealing the whole roof as well at the same time just to make sure I plug any leaks so I guess part 2 of my question is does anybody know a product I could use that would go on well over old paint and flex seal? I have read some of the roof seal threads and have been left confused. I guess that summes it up. Thanks in advance for any info:)

[legomybago]

You may get lucky and just tighten down the AC mounting bolts from inside the rig, remove the plastic vent/cover and you'll see them. As the seal squishes down over time, the AC unit gets a little loose. Take a look at that first.

AC removal is straight forward, the three or four bolts from the inside of the rig to remove, unplug the wiring from the inside, then heav ho!

If I were you, I would just replace the AC seal? Cheaper and a lot less work than adding the vent and etc....

[Froggy1936]

Hardest part of removal (unless you don't want to save the AC )Is the lifting And lowering of it ! As described above 4 bolts and the wires . A little scrapeing and cleaning will leave you with the correct shape and size hole for a vent with or without a fan . Resealing can be done with a couple coats of Koolseal ! Frank

[LJ-TJ]

Yep! Piece of cake. Shouldn't take you any more than 30 minutes to an hour to remove your AC. Just like Legomybago and Froggy1936 say. Depending on the size of the air conditioner it all about the weight. Just stop and pick up your roof vent and you'll be ready to go. Really. Been there done that.

[BrianB]

Last fall I removed the roof-mounted Coleman AC unit in order to get my rig into the garage (it was 6" too tall with the AC, sigh).


I found that the hardest thing (besides lifting it down to the ground) was getting the seal broken. I eventually used a 6" drywall taping knife (basically a large putty knife) to work my way around the bottom of the AC and break the seal.


As pointed out, you may just want to get some new sealant and try putting it back in that way. Not sure how easy it will be to find a vent that matches the large hole the AC unit makes in the roof. Also, the 110V wiring comes up through the panel and you'd have to safely cap that off as well.

[MotorPro]

Air conditioners and roof vents both use the same 14" hole

[acenjason]

Thanks for all the info:) I am just going to take it off. We have long wet winters here and I don't want to risk having to lift it off again if I try to reseal it. I don't use it. I would actually get more use out of a vent that lets light in. So, off it will come. So, you folks mentioned weight. So, this is more than a one person job? Also, I read the koolseal website and it warns about pooling and how you should use their primer first in areas where pooling might happen. I have seen pooling happen on Winny's roof from slightly low spots. Has anyone had pooling leak problems. Also, they were vague about prep work. I have lots of patches of old spray flex seal. Also, some old sticky tape over a seam. Can I just roll koolseal on over all that? I was looking at some progaurd liquid roof that says it is better cause it is a binary compound that cures chemically when mixed up and it goes on thick. It say's you can put it over anything one might find on an RV roof. It is also like 200 bucks more than koolseal for my 21 by 8 roof. So, has anyone had trouble with Koolseal? Does it need a lot of prep? Lol. I am having spinal surgery in a few weeks so no prep sounds really good. Thanks for all the help!:)

[BrianB]

Just to add one more additional piece of information, if someone later comes along and is interested in resealing instead of removing:


Replacement gasket: http://www.campersparadise.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=23748&zenid=460a631a8ef82eefe518be03b1b6b2a8

[Froggy1936]

I use Koolseal on my 1977 aluminum roof It cured all the pinhole leaks And has never been a problem , I just today swept and scrubbed the dirt from winter off , Noticed 1 spot with a little flakeing, But due to lazy winter prep I did not raise the frt up nor put on the cover and there was some pooling in that area along side the AC unit . I will remove any loose stuff and double coat that area I usually recoat every other year  I bought a 5 gallon can on special a couple yrs ago for $75.00 So I have a lot ! Frank