Coleman-Mach 15 Plus HP2 15,000 BTU RV Heat Pump AC, Black

The Coleman-Mach 15 Plus is the air conditioner you put on a rig when you actually camp in the heat. It's a 15,000 BTU rooftop unit, and in the Mach world that's about as much cooling as a single 120-volt air conditioner will give you. This is the HP2 heat pump version in textured black, so it doesn't just cool. It runs the compressor in reverse to pull heat into the coach on cool mornings, which saves your propane furnace for the really cold nights.

Fifteen thousand BTUs is a lot of air for one unit. On a mid-size travel trailer or a fifth wheel up into the mid-30-foot range, this is usually the single AC that keeps the whole coach comfortable through an Arizona or Florida summer. Bigger rigs run two of them, one over the bedroom and one over the living area. It moves 320 CFM of air, so it doesn't just cool the register right under it. It actually pushes cold air down the length of the coach.

The heat pump is the part people underrate. As long as it's not too cold outside, the compressor makes heat far cheaper than burning propane, and there's a backup electric heat strip built in for the mornings when the heat pump can't keep up. You get about 12,700 BTU of available heat. It's not a replacement for your furnace when it's below freezing, but for shoulder-season camping in spring and fall it takes a real bite out of your propane bill.

Fitment is the standard Coleman story. It drops into a 14 inch by 14 inch roof opening, the same hole almost every RV vent and older rooftop AC uses, so on a lot of coaches this is a straight bolt-in replacement. You can run it ducted, feeding the ceiling ducts your rig already has, or non-ducted with a ceiling assembly that blows straight down. Two things to order alongside it, because they don't come in the box. First, the ceiling assembly, ducted or non-ducted, your choice. Second, if your install needs it, a condensate pump. This unit doesn't include one, so on a flat or low-slope roof plan your drain path before you seal it down.

On the power side, budget a 15 amp compressor draw and a real 30 amp shore connection. The startup surge is high like any RV air conditioner, so if you camp off a small generator or a 20 amp household outlet, a soft-start module is worth the money to keep from tripping breakers. It's wired for standard 120 volt and comes factory charged and sealed with R-410A refrigerant.

At 85 pounds it's a two-person lift onto the roof, and you want your roof structure rated for a rooftop air conditioner before you cut or reuse an opening. If you're replacing an old Mach or a dead unit of another size, double-check that your opening is the 14 by 14 standard and that your thermostat and ceiling assembly match the ducted or non-ducted setup you pick. Coleman backs it with a 2-year factory warranty. One note on the part number: 48004-069 is the current number and it supersedes the older 38004-069. Same unit. So if your paperwork shows the old number, you're in the right place.

Why step up to the Mach 15 over a smaller unit? Cooling capacity. When it's 105 out and the sun's been beating on a dark roof all afternoon, a 13,500 BTU unit can run wide open and still lose ground. The extra capacity and the higher airflow are what let this one catch up and hold a set temperature instead of just running nonstop. If you boondock in the desert or park in full sun a lot, that headroom is what you're paying for.

One honest note on the finish. The textured black shell looks sharp and hides dust better than white, but any dark plastic shroud takes more UV punishment up on the roof. Give it a coat of UV protectant once a season and it'll hold up fine. Inside the shroud it's the same Coleman-Mach hardware that shops have been rebuilding and reselling for decades, which is a big part of why these are the default replacement AC for so many RVers. Parts are everywhere, and any RV tech knows them cold.