My air conditioner arrived today and it’s a good fit, ergonomically speaking.

I just need to route its power cord to the same dedicated outlet the refrigerator is plugged into, using another 120V power strip up front at the dashboard area. That’ll come in handy for other things too.

And then I need to figure out the proper venting, so it can pump warmer air outside instead of recirculating it. The unit came with 6-inch flex hose, so I’ll need to figure out whether I can connect it to the cab’s existing right front air vent somehow. If not, I’ll cut a new 4-inch hole in the hull and use my cool new stainless steel vent cap. 

It’s only 71° out right now so I’ll give it a good workout later in the day. I love that it has a large-capacity dehumidifier, too. That’ll prevent mold and mildew better than my small Ivation unit, and also prevent condensation dripping in the RETROvan’s ceiling cavities. Those are real concerns for RV owners in the Pacific Northwest.

UPDATE: After a number of trial fits, there is really only one way to vent this unit where it sits. The 6-inch flex hose terminates in a fitting shaped like a scoop. That scoop snaps into a 3-3/8″ oval cutout. So, I ordered a 3-3/8″ hole saw and plan to cut into the interior of the hull just above the front-right corner of the dashboard platform. From there, if the hull cavity is hollow, I can drill  a few ventilation holes under the chassis. If that works, you’ll never know there’s a vent. If that cavity is not hollow, then I will need to cut a hole on the exterior of the hull, below the front of that side window.And because those two holes don’t need to connect, the exterior vent can be any shape, including this 4″ stainless steel vent cover. We’ll see…