It is hard to believe that my last post “between trips” was last summer, before our trip to Maine and back to Arizona. Even then, the post had lots of words about what I had been up to but no photos. In this post I will try to bring everyone up to date.

The latest updates are about my air conditioner cover/console that I wrote a lot of words about but did not provide any photos.

In the first 5 photos above you can see what I initially did to cover the after-market under-dash air conditioning unit while incorporating the Electro-Level switches, the air conditioner controls, and the console table that holds our laptop and drinks while we are traveling. Everything worked great except the air conditioner – there was just not enough air coming out, and what was coming out could not be directed where we wanted it – right at us. In the last photo above you might be able to tell that the round vents in the front panel of the cover are different than in the previous 5 photos. Below you will see another photo of what I hope is the final tweak – some external fans.

Our trip last summer began just after the console was finished and we found out pretty quickly about the lack of air and the lack of control of its direction. Our solution for that trip was to buy two clip-on fans at WalMart, clip them onto the arm that supports the laptop swivel table, and blow the cold air where we wanted it – right at us. This was effective but the hassle of the fan clips slipping and the cords getting tangled made it a less than ideal solution.

Between trips I found some RV air conditioning ceiling vents that allowed adjustment of output air in two directions where the original round vents only allowed one adjustment direction. These new vents were slightly larger than the first set and pure white so I had to enlarge the holes in the face plate and paint them an appropriate color. After this modification was complete we took a short trip to Sierra Vista (about 80 miles) and back in some very hot Arizona summer weather and found that the air delivery was still in bad shape.

My next iteration of the design incorporated the original two-way adjustable rectangular vents from the original air conditioner unit. I cut two rectangular holes in the top of the cover (lost a convenient storage shelf) and installed them there – you can see both changes in the next to last photo. I took a short drive in very hot weather and I believe we are getting closer to being comfortable but we are still not there. Re-enter those external fans. I made a saddle for the arm that holds the two external fans – the arms only articulate in one direction – I have them moving the fans perpendicular to the arm and I may not have that right. If I don’t I’ll update this later. The saddle and the fans are shown in the last photo.