When it comes to summertime and truck campers, the air conditioner is a must-have item for many. Yes, swimming and camping at elevation with shade can help, but not always. Hence, the need for a good lightweight, low-profile, low-amperage air conditioner. The trouble is there are few air conditioners that meet these criteria. You can often score on an air conditioner that checks one or two of these boxes, but not on all three. Fortunately, there is brand-new air conditioner called the Truma Aventa Eco 13.5 that not only checks all of these boxes, but more. This is a review of that product.
The Truma Aventa Eco 13.5 is made in Putzbrunn, Germany by the Truma Corp. The company was founded in 1949 by Philipp Kreis and is named after U.S. President Harry S. Truman. Kreis’ company started with a simple gas lamp, but today his company has grown into the leading caravan/RV component supplier in Europe. In 2013, Truma opened an office in Elkhart, Indiana in order to handle distribution and technical support here in the growing North American marketplace. Truma has been selling Aventa air conditioners in Europe and Australia for years, but the North American version of the Aventa was designed specifically for the warmer North American marketplace. As a matter of fact, Truck Camper Adventure was one of the few RVs on the continent fortunate enough to test the unit out in 2021.
The Truma Aventa Eco 13.5 is efficient and quiet. Unlike most rooftop air conditioners that offer only two speeds, this German import offers three efficient, low amp speeds: low 9.4 amps AC; medium 9.6 amps AC; and high 10.5 amps AC. Better yet, the Truma Aventa Eco is ultra-quiet. As a matter of fact, you can actually hold a conversation on the phone with one of these air conditioners running unlike most. How is the Aventa able to do accomplish this seemingly impossible feat? Though the use of several technological advances including thick, noise absorbing EPP foamcore and through the use of shock absorber compressor mounts, which reduce vibration and noise.
The Truma Aventa Eco is loaded with features. The air conditioner comes with several modes including a dehumidifier mode, a recirculation mode, and a night mode for slow speed fan operation, and a timer. It also features an easy-to-operate air distributor that allows the air flow to be directed downward and to the sides, and an easy-to-operate remote with a thermostat control to digitally set the temperature in the camper. A low-profile unit, the unit measures 26 x 44 inches and is only 10.4 inches high. Due to the large power surge generated at start-up, you’ll probably need a Honda EU2200i along with a Microair 364 soft starter to handle the surge. Still, the new Truma Aventa Eco 13.5 promises to be a big hit in the RV market due to its low noise, low amperage draw, and low profile. The Aventa weighs 95 pounds and lists for $2,049.
How Well it Works
For years the go-to model for many truck camper owners has been the Coleman Mach 8 Cub. What made and what continues to make this 9,200 BTU unit popular is its low amperage ratings (9.6 amps AC on low and 11.7 amps AC on high). This allows owners to operate Coleman Mach 8 using a standard Honda EU2200i or Yamaha 2500 generator. In spite of the company’s claims, however, the Coleman Mach 8 Cub is anything but quiet. It’s impossible to hold a conversation on the phone with the air conditioner running, the true mark of a “quiet” A/C. The unit’s bidirectional air distributor is also a bit stiff and difficult to operate with no real ability to point the distributor downward. It spite of its noise level, however, the price for the Coleman Mach 8 is only $1,000, half the price of the imported Aventa.
Compared to the Coleman Mach 8, the amperage ratings of the Truma Aventa compare favorably. On low, the consumption is only 9.4 amps AC with slight increases on medium and high. We rarely use the medium and high speeds, though, because you really don’t need them in a “small” truck camper. With the compressor in operation, we typically see a consumption of around 50 amps DC during daylight hours, which includes about 30 amps harvested by our solar power system. How often the compressor operates is the most important thing when calculating power consumption. Depending on the ambient temperature and the temperature inside the camper, the compressor usually operates no more than 30 minutes per hour, which cuts the consumption rate in half. In our camper, we have no issues operating the unit using a Xantrex Freedom X 3,000 watt pure sine wave inverter.
For us, the noise level is just as important and in this all-important category the Truma Aventa blows the competition away. There simply isn’t a quieter air conditioner in the RV marketplace than the Truma Aventa and we’ve owned and been around a lot. What are the decibel levels of the Truma Aventa? We don’t know because it’s not in the literature and because we haven’t measured it, but you can take our word for it that it’s very quiet. This brings up a good point. The noise level is a very important metric when comparing air conditioner makes and models. We wish manufacturers provided decibel information in specification literature, but we suspect it isn’t because the noise levels are typically very high.
Are there any negatives associated with the Truma Aventa? Just one—the remote. Yes, having a remote is nice, especially when lying in bed, but if you happen to misplace it, you’ll be unable to operate the air conditioner because there are no manual controls on the unit itself. Not a major issue, but it can be frustrating if you happen to misplace it—or even worse, lose it. A word to the wise. We strongly recommend having a dedicated location or mount where the remote can quickly be located when needed.
The Verdict
We’ve owned several air conditioners over the years, including the popular Coleman Mach 8 Cub, and the Truma Aventa is, without a doubt, the very best RV air conditioner we’ve ever owned. When Truma approached us about testing the Aventa out we reluctant to say yes since we already had our heart set on getting a DC air conditioner, but we’re glad that we did. It’s a terrific air conditioner. Yes, the Aventa is heavier at 95 pounds, compared to the 87 pounds of the Coleman Mach 8, but the difference is fairly small. Yet, the Aventa scores higher in efficiency, in quietness, and by offering additional modes of operation. The low amperage draw on the low setting also means you can operate it using a Honda EU2200i or on a standard 15 amp household AC outlet. Sure, the price is double what the Coleman Mach 8 Cub costs, but like we always say, you get what you pay for. There simply isn’t a better RV air conditioner in the market. What would we rate the Truma Aventa Eco Air Conditioner? With a rating between 1 to 5 stars with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest, we enthusiastically give this product 5 stars. It’s a winner.
Former A/C engineer…..
Regarding fans running continuously; Evaporator fans SHOULD run continuously to mix the air in the conditioned space and to bring accurate temperature data to the thermostat. Without air mixing/moving, temperatures near windows and south-facing walls will get hot and the thermostat is unable to detect it, defeating the equipment’s capacity to effectively condition the space. In the world of quality equipment, systems have variable speed fans reduce to the minimum speed when the compressor is off. Thats not where RV equipment operates. ALL RV A/C is the cheapest possible equipment of the oldest design sold to you with a lot of marketing hype.
I’m also a former RV plan engineer……The noise produced by the fan is the issue. RVs’ and their associated equipment are all a race to the bottom as much as far as cost and performance are concerned. Rooftop A/C units need high capacity because RV insulation is so poor and they have to work through a 14×14 roof hole. Doing so requires high air velocity which is noisy to start with. When cost-sensitive equipment collides with a difficult performance requirement, price wins and you get a cheap blower that is noisy.
Steve, I hear you about running the evaporator fan continuously to circulate the air however at moderate outside temperatures the fan running continuously throws a large amount of water back into the air to measurably increase the relative humidity which makes green stuff grow in my RV. Your reply please Dave 2024 road trek Chase
‘fan running continuously throws a large amount of water back into the air’…
Just how does that happen in a properly functioning evaporator? I understand that you have that impression and depending on the construction of the equipment, ‘re-humidification’ is part of the operation of an A/C system but varies with different equipment. TBL; the net dehumidification will be much larger than the re-humidification, in ALL CASES. Net dehumidification can be increased with advanced controls and equipment (which I won’t go into).
Trying to be educational and not condescending;
How is dehumidification happening: When refrigerant is flowing, evaporation in the coil causes cooling, resulting in cooling of the conditioned air flowing through the coil, and if the air has high humidity, the cooled air can reach the ‘dew point,’ causing condensation on the coil, dehumidifying the air. MOST of the condensate falls from the coil, into the condensate tray and drains away from the airstream. The net result is overall humidity level in the conditioned space is reduced. Only a very small amount of liquid water remains on the evaporator. Most evaporators in aaverage or better equipment are coated with hydrophobic materials that facilitate liquid water dripping off the coil. IF the humidity is not flowing out of the condensate tray, it WILL contribute to ‘re-humidification,’ but this is an equipment fault, not a functional expectation.
How can re-humidification happen: When the compressor shuts off, and airflow continues to circulate through the conditioned space and evaporator, bringing heat to the evaporator, and boiling the last vestiges of refrigerant in the evaporator, this takes several minutes per cycle (and is a necessary component of efficient operation of the equipment). Eventually the residual refrigerant is consumed and slowly, the temperature of the evaporator rises back to ambient. At this point, any liquid water clinging to the evaporator is available for re-humidification but assuming the circulating air is already at a high relative humidity, re-humidification is slow, usually slower than the duty cycle of the unit so its likely that not all liquid remaining on the evaporator is re-evaporated.
Why continuous/near continuous airflow is desirable: Heating in a conditioned space is not uniform. South-facing walls/windows, roofs, and cooking areas heat faster. Homogenizing air in the warmed areas with cooler areas, results in a more comfortable overall environment and reduces the frequency of compressor cycling. Without it, the temperature peaks higher in every cycle, taking more cooling to achieve a comfortable space. Most importantly, continuous airflow brings that homogenized air to the thermostat so that it can sense accurate temperature and react appropriately. Continuous airflow does not mean it needs to be high airflow. Usually, only about 1/3rd of the peak airflow is required to produce the needed mixing. Unfortunately, most low-cost equipment is not capable of modulating airflow. This capacity requires a fan that has the ability to change speed, a controller that has the ability to control it, and a sensing strategy to allow the controller to understand and react properly to the situation. Ideally, equipment runs on high when the compressor is running and for several minutes after it shuts off, then drops to a low ‘off-cycle’ rate.
The fact that many RV A/C units allow the user to raise or lower the fan speed manually is a terrible idea, (IMHO) driven by the fact the fans are so noisy that running on low speed results in even more inefficient operation and stress on the equipment. This ‘feature’ is sold as a convenience but creates numerous problems.
Dave,
I made a detailed response that would not post because of the length. This one will be in small(er) pieces. It may take a bit to get to your point so bear with me….
1) Understanding capacity control: A/C units ‘cycle’ on and off to vary their capacity. When a 12kBTU unit is running, it is removing heat at an instantaneous rate of 12kBTU/hr. The heat entering your conditioned space does most often does so at a lesser rate, so the A/C doesn’t need to run full time. The simplest way to manage this is for the unit to cycle on and off for different durations (controlled by ambient temperature), in an attempt to deliver heat removal capacity to match the heat load. For instance, a 12kBTU unit with the compressor operating 75% of the time, has a (long term) capacity of 9kBTU.
2) The A/C unit is controlled by the thermostat. It tells the unit when to turn on or off based on its ability to sense the temperature of the conditioned space. The temperature the user intends to maintain is the ‘setpoint,’ but the thermostat understands a larger temperature control zone. It will usually turn on a degree or two above the setpoint and turn off a degree or two below. If there is no airflow around the thermostat, it cannot sense that the temperature has risen above the setpoint across the room or around the corner. What happens is the temperature on the south-facing wall gets far above the setpoint, and by the time the heat finally reaches the thermostat through conduction (the slowest method of heat transfer); the actual temperature is higher and total quantity of heat in the room is larger. The lack of proper thermostat triggering requires that the circulation fan operate continuously or intermittently to mix all the air and bring it to the thermostat. Continuous circulation need not be at as high a rate as when the compressor is operating, but this requires a unit with more than minimal capabilities.
3) Humidity control: When the unit is in operation, the high relative humidity, warm air passes through the low temperature of the condenser coil, reducing the temperature of the air, and also reducing its ability to hold moisture. If the air temperature is reduced to the ‘dew point’, further reduction in air temperature results in, water condensing on the evaporator coil. Condensate runs down the fins (which are often coated with a ‘hydrophobic’ material that sheds water) into the condensate tray. Condensate in the tray empties into a drain. This removal of water, produces a lower total humidity in the conditioned space and is said to be ‘dehumidifying’. Once the water runs down the drain, it is not available for ‘re-humidifying,’ but the coil will always be slightly wet. The water remaining on the coil may be able to ‘re-humidify’ the room during the compressor’s off cycle if the fan remains running but there is far less of it than was precipitated.
There is no opportunity for the addition of water anywhere in the process, so there is no way to have an increase in humidity (because some of it ran down the drain). High air circulation during compressor operation minimizes dehumidification because the high-speed airflow cannot cool to as low a temperature. If you wish to increase dehumidification, using low air circulation results in the smaller airflow being reduced to a lower temperature, causing more condensation. CAUTION: Because unsophisticated A/C units do not control themselves well, it can also result in the water freezing on the coil which will become a bigger problem.
2024 zion roadtrek with truma a/c. Unit cools very well. Problem blower never stops running, hard to sleep at night. Is the unit running right? Is the blower suppose to run all the time, When it hit temp cool air stops but blower running?
You did not compare to the Coleman Mach 10 NDQ. It’s quite powerful and not too loud.
Pretty awesome power with this!! A bit heavy for our pop up campers and the fact that its on AC not DC might be a bummer for some too if they want to run regularly off grid. I have an inverter but its not always the most efficient way to use DC power. I just installed the Dometic rtx 2000 on my 4WC UTE. I doesn’t have anything close to the power of this one but is DC and fairly light weight on the roof.
Unless you are buying a new camper, it’s irrelevant. It appears that, like the Combi Heater, Trumba will not sell you an Aventa here in the US. They are only “available on select new RVs”. Apparently you can buy both units outside the US. WTF Trumba?
Sad too that at that price you need a 3000 watt generator to run it. I’m not impressed.
I’m sorry but who cares. Great it’s quiet but costs twice as much. How about reviewing so of the 12v options out there. There are several. OK Please????
I would love to see a comparison of the Truma to the Houghton (sold by Recpro). Looks like they are similar except for the price.
So the question for us pop up truck campers is “can the Truma be run on 15 amp service?”
Did you swap out the Coleman and is it a direct drop in, or was major or minor fabrication needed?
Would also like to know if e-z drop in, and direct connect wiring.