12 volt Air conditioner

I looked into doing this for a customer a while back. I was not able to find any real air conditioners that ran on 12V, There are some out there now that are electric for cars like the Prius however they run on higher voltage. I also looked into running a pully off of the front of the engine which we have done on other bikes but on the GL1800 if you pull the cover on the front of the engine you will find that the end of the crank shaft is only 10mm in diameter which is all that is needed to turn the crank angle sensor. So for the GL1800 we struck out on adding air. There are companies that sell what they call "air conditioning" but it is really just a swamp cooler with a block of ice in the trunk.
We use parts from "hot rod air" to add air condtioning and have a unit in stock that I would make you a deal on if you find a way to power the compressor.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
www.dmcsidecars.com
866-638-1793
jay@dmcsidecars.com

Thanks Jay, the man had it on a 1500 but not sure that made a difference. Swamp cooler don't work well in my area. BTW, the hitch your guys installed (you were on vacation) is working out good.

A 1500 is no problem to add air, you can run a compressor off of the front of the engine but like I said, this does not work on the 1800.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
866-638-1793
jay@dmcsidecars.com

Thanks, good to know. I'll stop looking.

Oldtimer - 3/14/2012 9:18 AM
... AC unit mounted in the nose of a sidecar ....

Hey, is Tripper getting too hot???????

No, it's my girlfriend but to tell you the truth, she was hot to start. 🙂

Bergstrom offers a No-Idle-AC unit for trucks. The unit sits under the bunk in the sleeper. The totally self contained unit has a 12V powered compressor, its own condenser, evaporator, and controls. The entire unit is much to large for a sidecar, but if you could fine a similar compressor, and if the current requirements were within the limitations of your bike's charging system, it could be done.

Oldtimer - 3/15/2012 8:36 AM
No, it's my girlfriend but to tell you the truth, she was hot to start. 🙂

A sheepskin seat cover really helps comfort in the sidecar in warm weather.

Lee
MB5+TW200+CRF250L+GTV300+INT650
XL883R w/Texas Ranger Sidecar
Zuma 50F + Burgman w/Texas Sidecar<Mrs. SwampFox

 

its funny I used a sheep skin in Turkey in deed you did not burn your four letters. it does help at least for the drivers bank.
I have no memory what happened later with it. I guess I gave it away together with the rocking chair when I emigrated.
That rocking chair made quite a few rides in the sidecar....from one flat to the other at the factory and at the University.
Funny to see a rocking chair on top of a sidecar... just the granny would be missing.

we found a gel seat pad at a truck stop. No complaints to this point but mentioned the sheep skin to the wife. She tells me that Mary told her about the sheep skin while we were in Dayton. Since this is the first time it was mentioned to me, I'm sure when she finds one I'll know about it real quick. The combination should prove to better than either one individually.

SwampFox/Lee, doesn't one of the LA guys have the swamp cooler rig on his setup? Seems I remember his wife saying that it worked really well for her and if it works well in LA, it ought to work well in TX. Without any kind of roof on my sidecar, it didn't make sense for me to think too much about it, but I'm sure I remember her talking about it working really well and just needing to add ice occasionally on a trip.

I'm thinking Butch & Nancy up in Tennessee have the air cooler in their blue/white BMW/Hannigan rig, which they had at the 2010 Caddo Lake rally.

We have a Hannigan Astro GT with the ice water a/c system. We replaced the small cooler that Hannigan normally uses with a five gallon ice bucket from Home Depot. On a hot Florida day the ice lasts about 2 to 2 and 1/2 hours. The system will keep the sidecar COLD until the ice runs out. You can turn the recirculating pump on and off to make the ice last longer.