Climateright - Buyer Beware

jgatliff

Father, Husband, Outdoorsman, & Adventurer.
Hello Everyone,
In May of 2017 I took delivery of a trailer from Hiker Trailer in Indiana. One of the options I selected for the trailer was the Climateright CR5000ACH air conditioner. From June of 2017 until September of 2018 it worked well. Earlier this month I took my trailer camping in Southern Indiana for 6 days and on day 1 I noticed that my A/C wasn't cooling the trailer. I later noticed that the readout on the unit was displaying an error code "E4" instead of the temperature like normal. I looked up the error code which stated:

E4 - The Compressor is overheating; continuously running or refrigerant has leaked. - Check for refrigerant leakage (oil or liquid visible). Contact ClimateRight. These are closed systems - no refrigerant can or should ever be added.

As per the instructions I contacted Climateright with the following email: "In May of 2017 I purchased a trailer from Hiker Trailer in Noblesville, Indiana and it came with a CR5000ACH. I have thoroughly enjoyed the unit and it has worked very well, until this past weekend. It would not cool down and was displaying the code E4. I could not find any evidence of a leak and the outside temperature never got above 85 degrees. The unit has always been stored inside except for when it was in use (maybe 30 days in total in just over 2 years). What do we need to do so that I can get the unit fixed and working again."

Thinking back to our camping days, the unit has actually only been used a total of 27 days over 25 months of ownership. When not in use, it was stored inside of my garage.

Climateright replied: "We're sorry to hear you're having trouble with your unit. We would recommend reaching out to a HVAC technician to see if it is possible to recharge the unit or refill the freon. Thanks, ClimateRight Support"

To which I replied: "That’s weird. When I look up error code E4 on your website ( https://climateright.com/climate-right-air-troubleshooting ) it states: E4 - The Compressor is overheating; continuously running or refrigerant has leaked. - Check for refrigerant leakage (oil or liquid visible). Contact ClimateRight. These are closed systems - no refrigerant can or should ever be added.
So, what you’re telling me to do is contradictory to what your troubleshooting is telling me to do. I am confused here."

I received another reply from them: "Jason, Those instructions are for the common man with a warranty still in place. A customer should not add to the system. However once the warranty has expired, thre may be some things an HVAC professional can do that can keep the unit running without worry of voiding the warranty. Thanks!"

After this I contacted a couple of local HVAC professionals with no luck, but was told it would likely cost a minimum of $250 to recharge the refrigerant system and I would likely be better off just buying a new A/C. I sent Climateright a 3rd email asking for any suggestions for HVAC people in the Nashville area, and have yet to receive any response. Fortunately a good friend of mine is an HVAC professional and he agreed to look at it, but he lives over 2 hours away in Kentucky. Per his request I sent am email to Climateright asking what sort of refrigerant is used in the CR5000ACH and have yet to receive a response from them.

Since we will be camping from the 3rd to the 7th I had hoped to take the A/C with us, so I reached out to Wes at Hiker Trailer for some advice and he replied that my best option would be to order a new unit from Climateright. I am absolutely unwilling to do that as, I think that spending $500 +/- for an A/C which only lasts two years is unacceptable and ridiculous.

So buyer beware. Based on my experience with Climateright (sample size of 1) and their utter lackluster customer support, I would not recommend them or their products to anyone else.
JG
 

OverlandNA

Well-known member
@jgatliff If the unit was transported any way but on it's feet, the refrigerant may have drained from the compressor and can take 24hrs or more of "rest" time on it's feet for it to move back.
For anyone using a home A/C unit in a trailer not secured in a wall (and sometimes even in a wall), they were not designed to be bounced around and they will have a limited lifespan.
 

another_mike

Adventurer
I had my $5000 home ac break after a year, a module in the variable speed condenser fan stopped working. Although the fan was under warranty, the labor wasn’t... sorry to say your story sounds typical of just about any ac unit in existence. Mobile or stationary...
 

GkraneTX

Active member
If you do a web search on the climateright A/C units this is a very common problem. It is one of the main reasons I have delayed my trailer purchase and taken some very nice trailers out of consideration. The thought of putting a $500 A/C unit that is basically a toy for a doghouse or other extremely limited application into a 25-30k trailer is ridiculous. For those of us down South or in the Southwest who absolutely need an A/C that is dependable and able to function is paramount.
 

jgatliff

Father, Husband, Outdoorsman, & Adventurer.
@jgatliff If the unit was transported any way but on it's feet, the refrigerant may have drained from the compressor and can take 24hrs or more of "rest" time on it's feet for it to move back.
For anyone using a home A/C unit in a trailer not secured in a wall (and sometimes even in a wall), they were not designed to be bounced around and they will have a limited lifespan.

The unit has never been stored anywhere but on its feet. The only time it has even been on an angle was when I was carrying it, no more than a minute at a time.
 

jgatliff

Father, Husband, Outdoorsman, & Adventurer.
If you do a web search on the climateright A/C units this is a very common problem. It is one of the main reasons I have delayed my trailer purchase and taken some very nice trailers out of consideration. The thought of putting a $500 A/C unit that is basically a toy for a doghouse or other extremely limited application into a 25-30k trailer is ridiculous. For those of us down South or in the Southwest who absolutely need an A/C that is dependable and able to function is paramount.

Being in Nashville, I agree completely. We have been looking into self contained 4wd “motorhome” options and I have excluded several based on the lack of a good A/C.

That being said, I can’t wait until we receive our new Teton X Hybrid trailer, it’s going to have a 12 volt split unit A/C built in. So I won’t have to deal with the POS Climateright anymore.
 

GkraneTX

Active member
Being in Nashville, I agree completely. We have been looking into self contained 4wd “motorhome” options and I have excluded several based on the lack of a good A/C.

That being said, I can’t wait until we receive our new Teton X Hybrid trailer, it’s going to have a 12 volt split unit A/C built in. So I won’t have to deal with the POS Climateright anymore.
It's funny you mention the Teton X Hybrid as I am waiting on the details of the new A/C unit before I get in the building queue.
 

jgatliff

Father, Husband, Outdoorsman, & Adventurer.
It's funny you mention the Teton X Hybrid as I am waiting on the details of the new A/C unit before I get in the building queue.

I should be getting my trailer in the next couple of weeks. Mine will be the first with this new A/C system.
 

Airmapper

Inactive Member
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jgatliff

Father, Husband, Outdoorsman, & Adventurer.
I wanted to post an update about the A/C. Right after this post I took the AC to a good friend of mine who lives in a couple of hours away in Kentucky and is an HVAC professional. He fixed it for me, there was a leak that he repaired and also added a port so that the unit could be recharged again in the future. About 3 weeks after I made the post, Climateright did contact me with the type of refrigerant but thanks to @Hillbilly Heaven and @another_mike that info was posted here and I was able to replay that to my friend.

We used the A/C the night of July 6th and it worked great!
 

Bullseye240

Adventurer
@jgatliff If the unit was transported any way but on it's feet, the refrigerant may have drained from the compressor and can take 24hrs or more of "rest" time on it's feet for it to move back.
And this is an old wives tale and if you understood how these systems work you would know this.. No refrigeration system, to include the AC in your car which moves and bounces around, works this way.
 

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