Help me, help you...poll on After market AC unit

[Retiredwarhorses]

Folks
i am trying to work with a few companies on mfg of an after market AC Unit to fit into where your exsisting heater core and blower resides.
The issue that keeps arising is the vendors asking, just how many are we talking about?
just what sort of interest is there?
there are companies that make universal kits, but I want to get one that will be plug and play and specific to the HMMWV real estate.
i would like to see the dash vents as in the M11xx trucks.
units will be 12v and can wire to the rear battery and get charged via the 200amp gen's 14v tap, I beleive it to be rated where it needs to be.
the units would be push pull cables or possibly electronic, they would retain heater option.
just looking for input...the costing I see on current unit for classic cars run about $1000.00

 

[jake-cutter]

I would be very interested as the current Red Dot systems seem to take up a lot of space in the vehicle, but seem to be very easy to install. I like the look of the one that usedh1 installed on the slantback they sold, it was small http://www.usedh1.com/hmmwv-slant-back-complete-restoration/.

But the option you are talking about seems even better if it fits in the blower space. What about the other parts like the compressor and parts?

 

[86humv]

24 v compressor with proper wide surp belt pully are available [ redot or factory ], and can have a 12v relay with 24v pass thru when activated to operate compressor.
Same thing with relay can be done with the R/H fender unit which is readily available cheap.

 

[sully199]

I would be interested in something like this, I have installed 9 red dot systems in customers trucks, especially if it would be in the passenger area. Like the H1's

 

[NDT]

RWH, super idea, but I seriously doubt a 36,000 btu unit can fit in that spot. Look how big the FMTV evap/heater is.

 

[Retiredwarhorses]

I just don't know at this point how cold it will blow compared to a red dot unit, but I'm willing to live with a less efficient unit so I don't have to loose a sh*t ton of real estate to the red dot gear.
they already make under dash units, the question will be, what if any unit that's already in production will fit, or do they need to mfg an entirely new unit to fit the HMMWV? That and the cross dash vents. The rest should be quite easy as the heater tube holes are already there, that is also the same area that the AC liquid lines feed through for the OEM factory air solution. It's all going to come down to risk vs return for whom ever might attempts to take this on in the mfgs portfolio
of solutions offered. I gotta think that this would be a win win, especially if they can keep the price down under 1250.00

 

[Royalpower]

I would be interested, just would look for it to be a 24V. I wouldn't want to have an unbalanced load on one battery.

 

[Retiredwarhorses]

I would be interested, just would look for it to be a 24V. I wouldn't want to have an unbalanced load on one battery.

It most likely will not be, so it would require an alternator upgrade as I stated in the OP. I will make all attempts on a 24v unit, I just don't hold out much hope, let alone the 12v version. But this is just in its infancy at this point.

 

[MaverickH1]

$1000 sounds reasonable. I won't get one immediately because my truck is overbudget already and I need NECESSARY items, but that sounds decent.

Will these units be capable of accidentally going underwater?

 

[kevin101]

I also would be interested.

 

[alpine44]

I would be interested in an evaporator unit and compressor. Planning to use the wheel housing condenser and do the plumbing myself.

When you talk to the vendor suggest that they use two (smaller) 12 Volt fans in the evaporator unit. Wiring them in series would make the unit easily compatible with a 24 Volt system.

 

[Retiredwarhorses]

So far, my research and phone calls have pretty much yielded COTS "commercial off the shelf" solutions.
I was told "and I pretty much already knew this" I would have to fund the R&D for the prototypes, I would need to have a market analysis of the target consumer. So in the end, it was using what the companies already have on the shelf.
This kind of boggled the mind, I say this because they have specific kits for a specific car, for example, a 1955 Austin Healy, so I say to myself....I can pretty much figure that there are more GP hmmwv's then 1955 Austin Healy's, so who or what created the this demand. This was not the only odd make and model they carried.
So the question begs, what is the catalyst to get a "subject vehicle" it's own install kit? Well, the answer to my inquiry was "Demand", not rocket science right? But that only came right back to "use our off the shelf solution"

i contacted 2 vintage air companies, one was just kind of a prick and never got past a sales guy who said send them an email. The 2nd started out the same, only for me to not to take no for answer, that netted me a call with the sales manager who was quite courteous and we talked for about 30mins.
At this point I'm going to need to purchase a unit, install it and pretty much through trial and error make it work, now I just need to find the time to start this project....stay tuned.

 

[Action]

doesnt the H1 unit fit the same mounting and pipe holes?

 

[Retiredwarhorses]

And have you seen the price of that unit?

 

[jake-cutter]

doesnt the H1 unit fit the same mounting and pipe holes?

Even though it's expensive, since it fits all the r&d is done so the aftermarket companies should be able to duplicate it cheaper.

 

[Retiredwarhorses]

One would think, but as I stated, they want me to pay for the R&D. I can give them the factory AC vents from an M1151 to reproduce for less then 750.00 OEM cost, but they tell me over and over to utiltize what they currently mfg....not ideal for what I'm trying to accomplish. One would think that a company would want to attempt to expand there product portfolio for a new market they are not in...it's all about risk/reward I suspect.

 

[TedG]

I may have a contact for you Steve. Text sent soon...

 

[jake-cutter]

Steve, did you ever make any progress on this? I would think with more and more being released someone would make one. Just like the ones for the older Jeeps.