Mobile air conditioning issues can be frustrating. To stop those issues from causing a blinding headache, try scanning through this FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) list. The first question is influenced by the repair person’s skill level, so don’t be the incautious but hardy individual who breaks into this sealed system. Let an expert get his hands on the ailing AC equipment and see whether he can perform this all-important system-revitalizing procedure.

Will A Repair Engineer Advise A Recharge?

It depends on the model and make of the RV or camper. Some repair techs will advise a unit replacement, especially if the vehicle is new and still under warranty. For a simple answer, yes, it is possible to recharge the air conditioner in an RV. However, that’s a conditional yes. Read on to see what factors could affect a recharge operation.

Is This A Job For An Amateur?

As mentioned above, this is a sealed system. There are no valves or recharge-facilitating controllers in evidence here, just the hermetically sealed box of cooling equipment. Calling in an RV expert, this professional brings the required fittings. Sure, the valves can probably be ordered online, but who knows how well they’ll work? Let the pros do the job.

Could The Environment Suffer?

Taking the plunge, an amateur camper owner orders the fittings and purchases the refrigerant. More likely, it’s a Freon-like substitute. Whatever the case, motorhome owners know they have a responsibility to protect the wildernesses they explore. Even with all the right gear, a poorly fitted valve could loosen while a camper bumps along an off-road pathway. As this happens, the refrigerant escapes and the environment suffers. Again, a recharge is possible, but this is a job best left to a trained professional.

Where’s The Service Port?

Unfortunately, many newer RVs and campers don’t incorporate a service port. The equipment is completely sealed. The best, perhaps the only way forward at this point is to replace the appliance. In this instance, the air conditioner cannot be recharged.

Boiling the FAQ down, there’s a bottom line answer. Yes, AC recharges can be made on older equipment and on campers/RVs that incorporate a service port. Even so, only a trained technician should be allowed access here, as a series of valve fittings will be required to complete the operation. For newer motorhomes, closed systems are the norm. A repair tech may be able to help, perhaps by soldering a makeshift service port onto the closed system, but this is not an advisable action. If there’s no service port installed, the AC system is not rechargeable.