Easy, Breezy… Beautiful? AC in a van.

Do I need AC in my van?

The short answer is no, absolutely not! We have lived in a van for four years now and have traveled to 46 states in the U.S. without an AC unit. One of the amazing things about living this way is the ability to travel with the weather, which has been our strategy on the road in the past. Even in our DIY build with what I consider to be a huge battleborn battery system (810 AH of lithium storage at 12 volts), we can only run our AC unit for about 14–16 hours continuously before it drains our battery bank. The truth is, the AC unit we installed is great for stopping for a night after a day of driving when it's 95 degrees out, but it does not allow us to continuously run the AC for a week or even multiple days if we find ourselves in a warmer climate. This creates a bit of a dilemma. Is it worth it? Does it actually work? The answer is up to you, but hopefully the information below will help you determine which direction is right for you in your own build!

Why should I think about installing AC in my van?

There are some scenarios where installing an AC unit in your van can be useful or even necessary. One of our main reasons for going the route of a large electrical system and installing an AC unit was for our cats, Lula and Sasha.

If you have a pet, having AC in your van may be very useful, even for short grocery shopping trips, to keep your van cooled down. Running our unit for 2-3 hours while we run errands in bigger cities doesn’t draw too much power, and we have so much more peace of mind knowing that the ladies (our cats) are safe! Additionally, AC is great for that one hot night in the middle of a 14-hour driving day. Our unit has already saved us several times from having to make longer drives. Instead of pushing through the whole drive in one sitting, we are now able to stop halfway, even if it’s 100 degrees outside, and relax for the night in a comfortable environment with our AC unit running.

I want to install AC in my van. What unit do I choose?

There are several variations of AC units that are common in van builds. One is a low-voltage mini-split unit like the one we put in our van from Cruise N Comfort. Another common type of unit would be a rooftop unit like the Dometic RTX 2000, which is typically much easier to install and about 1/3–1/2 the price of the Cruise N Comfort.

We went with the Cruise N Comfort AC Unit. We actually scoured eBay for a used model of this unit for about 8 months before finding a Cruise N Comfort HD 12L for sale that we purchased for $1,700 USD in 2021. We didn’t end up installing it until 2023, and honestly, we had no idea if it was going to work, but we were willing to take a risk since it came with the dual fan condenser and thermostat. Both of which are worth the upgrade! Since purchasing this unit, they have also come out with a more modular system called the VES Icebox, which is probably easier to install since it has smaller pieces that can be configured in different ways. This is useful for a low-clearance installation. At around $7,000 USD, this unit is a little bit of a harder sell for the DIYer. Especially considering the install process is not simple and will require having it professionally charged or charging it yourself. Chris, the owner of Cruise N Comfort, was super helpful with the install and offered me a lot of advice on charging the unit even though we hadn’t purchased ours directly from them! They also have a great warranty policy if you purchase directly from Cruise N Comfort or one of their authorized suppliers.

Another great option that is a little more affordable than the Cruise n Comfort but still packs a punch is the Dometic RTX 2000. This is a rooftop-mounted unit that requires no Freon charging for installation. Being on the roof rather than under the van, the installation is also more straightforward and simpler. The one drawback is the added height of this unit on top of the van. On our black Promaster, we chose not to install this unit because we really wanted to go for more of a stealthy look. Having a white AC unit up on the roof didn’t really feel right, and we wanted to install skylights, a fan, and 600 watts of walkable solar. Since the roof was pretty much packed once we planned for all of that, we decided it was worth it to have a split unit with the condenser mounted underneath the van. At $3,099 USD with the install kit, this is probably the best bang for the buck of anything listed here. You get a true 6,884 BTU unit with an ideal mounting position and an easier install process than the others, and you don’t completely break the bank! If you use the code ss-airconditioner at checkout for this unit, you can also save 3% on your purchase!

I don’t need AC. What else can I do to keep the van cool?

There are plenty of phenomenal cooling options aside from AC; however, I’ll start off by saying nothing I recommend here will keep you as comfortable as an AC unit would while it's on. However, for the price, ease of installation, and battery bank needed, these are all much more budget-friendly options.

First up is the Maxxair fan. This is a staple for any van build and can create amazing ventilation, which is crucial for keeping the space cool on warmer days. For optimal results, you could install two fans and create a nice wind tunnel by setting one to pull air in and the other to push it out. These are easy to install, draw very little power, and even work in the rain. Pair this fan with our favorite vented windows, and you’ve got a match made in heaven. At $309 USD, these fans are worth installing in any van build.

Next is a cooling unit like the Fresair S8 12-Volt Air Cooling Unit. This unit is 12 volts and highly efficient, using only 8 amps of power when it is running. For context, we could probably run this for around 90+ hours with our battery system without any solar or alternator charging. This unit is essentially a swamp cooler of sorts and uses regular tap water to create a cooling effect rather than running freon. The downside is that it is almost half the price of the Dometic RTX 2000 AC unit at $1455 USD.

Another option is a portable space cooler like the EcoFlow Wave 2. This is a small portable AC and heater unit that can be independently powered by batteries. This means you can essentially charge it up when you have the power to do so and use it when you may not have access to power. At $1699 USD (with a battery), this unit gives you 8 hours of run time with a full charge and could be a great option for cooling down a bed space on a hot night or keeping a pet cool if you needed to leave the van. However, having used units like this in the past, I can tell you confidently that they will not cool down an entire van. Instead, think of them more as a space cooler that can keep you comfortable if you are sitting in front of the vent.

Our overall thoughts…

For the price point we purchased our unit at ($1,700 USD), we are very happy that we installed it and really love having the ability to use it when we need to. However, at the $7,000 USD range where the unit we have lands after upgrades and shipping from Cruise N Comfort, I’m not sure we would have gone with the same unit. Because this is our van, we felt okay taking a risk on a used unit, and that really worked out in our favor. However, with the difficulty of installation and charging factored in, our recommendation for an AC unit in a van is the Dometic RTX 2000. I think this unit serves the same purpose and is much easier to install and more affordable for the average DIYer. The only time the Cruise N Comfort would outshine this unit is with its extremely minimal footprint on the outside of the van. However, while the outside may have a slightly lower profile, you will need to install the larger components inside the vehicle, which can be even more challenging. With our specific AC unit, they also recommend bolting it into the chassis, so it can be extremely difficult to find the proper location to install the unit. While the Dometic RTX 2000 does stick up above the roof a little bit, it is still a very low-profile rooftop unit when compared to other similar models. If you are planning to install a roof rack on your van, you likely won’t even be able to tell it's there! I also think that because the condenser fans are in the air, it is much quieter than the Cruise N Comfort from both inside and outside the vehicle.

Personally, we don’t regret our decision to use a Cruise N Comfort unit because it was the only way to set up the roof system and maintain the stealth factor that we wanted. However, eliminating the back skylight that we installed and putting the Dometic RTX 2000 in would have been a more cost-effective route for AC in our van. The truth is, with a $2,000 USD custom skylight (a boat hatch from Mann Ship) and a severely discounted $1,700 USD used Cruise N Comfort AC unit, we actually would have saved a lot of time and money by putting in the Dometic unit and foregoing the skylight. Our skylight install took some fabrication work, where I welded a support frame to the vehicle chassis since we planned to walk around on the roof a lot.

All things considered, if you feel like you absolutely need AC permanently mounted in a van and are installing it yourself, there is no better or more affordable unit than the Dometic RTX 2000. If you are using your van for weekend trips or are able to more easily control the climates you travel to, we would recommend putting the extra money towards some epic trips and installing two Maxxair fans or a Maxxair fan with an easier-to-install skylight instead of AC!