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RV air conditioners used to be the kind of thing you installed once and forgot about for a decade. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. Between planned obsolescence and higher loads, I’m finding that RV rooftop units are starting to feel a lot more like disposable kitchen appliances.

I’ve now been through a factory Coleman, a Houghton replacement, and I’m currently debating whether to repair the Houghton or move on to a new Furrion unit I already have in the shed. This post is just a timeline of what’s happened and what I’m weighing next.

The original Coleman: short life, no real stress

Our Navion came with a Coleman Mach (Airxcel) rooftop unit. It wasn’t heavily used, but after about seven months it failed: the compressor would start, but there was no cooling at all. This was possibly the first time we really pushed it in 90‑degree weather.

At that point, replacement units were several months out, and I wasn’t interested in waiting out supply-chain delays. That pushed me to look for an alternative instead of another Coleman.

Swapping to a Houghton: simple install, good performance

I decided to replace the Coleman with a Houghton air conditioner sourced through RecPro. The installation was straightforward compared to many traditional RV units:

• The Houghton uses a wireless thermostat, so I didn’t have to run new low‑voltage control wiring.
• The original thermostat stayed in place to run the propane furnace, even after being disconnected from the rooftop AC.

The padded roof in our Navion did require a small tweak: I added about 1/4 inch of foam to the plenum mount so the interior plenum could snap on correctly and sit snugly against the ceiling.

Once installed, the Houghton performed well. For several years it cooled the coach reliably and was generally quieter and nicer to live with than the Coleman it replaced.

Running the Houghton on batteries

One of the appealing aspects of the Houghton is that it can be run from an inverter and the coach batteries under the right conditions. In my setup:

• It runs off a 2,000 W Xantrex inverter.
• On high power, it draws around 1,200 W.

In practice, it works, but you have to be careful. A few times a year, I’ve gotten an Error Code 3 (exceeds current limits), usually when we forget to turn off other 120 V loads while the air conditioner is running. It’s usable, but it’s not “set and forget” if you’re trying to cool the coach and run other AC devices off the same inverter.

Four years in: the Houghton stops cooling

Fast-forward to September 2025, and the Houghton finally joined the failed-appliance club. The fan still works normally, but the compressor won’t kick on, so there’s no cooling.

Given how short-lived modern kitchen appliances have become, I’m starting to wonder if four years is now “normal” for an RV rooftop air conditioner, even when it hasn’t been abused.

My first hope was that this was a simple fix. The two usual suspects in this situation are:

• A failed compressor temperature sensor, or
• A bad compressor capacitor.

I checked both, and they appear to be fine. That pushes the likely culprit toward the control board, which is more expensive and less fun to deal with.

Repair the Houghton, or move on?

At this point, I’m sitting on two possible paths:

• Replace the control board in the Houghton and put it back into service.
• Give up on the Houghton and install a new Furrion 18k “Chill Cube” that’s already waiting in the shed.

I did reach out to RecPro, more as a long shot than anything else, pointing out how many times Houghton units have been recommended in various RV groups. The warranty is long expired, so I don’t expect any special treatment, but it seemed worth asking before spending more money on parts.

Considering the Furrion 18k Chill Cube

On paper, the Furrion 18,000 BTU unit is a logical next step:

• It offers more capacity than the Houghton.
• It uses a variable-speed compressor, which should help with efficiency and comfort.

The downside is physical space. The Furrion is wider than the Houghton, and in my particular roof layout that likely means I’ll need to remove one of my solar panels to make room. That’s not ideal, and it’s the main reason I haven’t already swapped it in.

The Furrion also requires a separate air distribution box inside the RV. That box comes in ducted and non‑ducted versions:

• For a View/Navion with factory ducting, the ducted box is the right choice if you want to keep using the ceiling vents.
• If you’re willing to abandon the ducts and just blow air straight down from the unit, the non‑ducted version is an option.

The cost of indecision (and a canceled trip)

While I’ve been debating whether to repair the Houghton or install the Furrion, the practical consequence has been no working air conditioner. That forced us to cancel plans to attend the West Coast Rally in Oregon—exactly the kind of trip where you want a reliable rooftop AC.

It’s a good reminder that at some point, indecision has a cost. A working, slightly-compromised system is usually better than a “perfect” plan that stays on paper.

Open questions and what I’m looking for

Right now, my main questions are:

• Is four years of service from an RV rooftop AC the new normal?
• Are there other 18,000 BTU units with variable-speed compressors worth considering for a View/Navion?

I don’t have definitive answers yet, just real-world experience from one coach. If you’ve been down this road with Houghton, Furrion, or any other higher-capacity, variable-speed RV air conditioner, I’m very interested in what worked, what failed, and how long your units have lasted.

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