I just went through a recent experience replacing the original a/c on my '66 Overlander I wanted to share with you. I had the original a/c with the shaft through the center of the roof of the coach with the condenser mounted on the inside ceiling. Anyway, it went, so I first went to my a/s dealer who said it couldn't be fixed; their service techs all looked at it as an antique. So I went to Camping World for one of their $610 Dometic Penguin's. Not to be, to their credit they wouldn't cut a hole in the skin to create the 14" x 14" mounting square. So off I went back to the local Airstream dealer who quoted me a price of $1200 plus for the same, certified install. Turns out the dealer wouldn't cut a hole either after checking with a/s, so we settled on replacing the center 14" hatch over the galley with the new a/c. My Overlander has two 14" hatches plus one double, so loosing one wasn't a problem. Next came the wiring problem. The dealer asked if I wanted the interior panels removed to rewire the a/c to the new location. I didn't want them messing with the interior since it is like new, so I suggested a surface mount wire race to the a/c location. To make the long story short, this is what I learned, especially for those who have never had a/c installed. 1. If a 14" square hatch exists, it will probably work for the a/c, since there are struts on either side. Check with a/s to verify. 2. Go to Camping World or any other quality RV a/c installer and have the a/c unit installed in the 14" hatch. I wound up rewiring the new a/c after it over heated and had my electrician recheck all my wiring at home/in the a/s. The wiring job done by the dealer was amateur at best. I pulled a new 12/2 wire directly from the box at the rear, behind the overhead storage lockers to the a/c. Only a small section of wire along the galley bulk head is visable which I plan to cover. 3. In retrospect this job shouldn't have cost $1500, but about $800-900. I did upgrade to the remote thermostat model for $770 which accounts for some of the added cost. The unit now works great, better than the original, and I can have this unit serviced anywhere. Also, I now have plenty of room for solar panels where the original a/c existed. That's my consolation. Randy Unter '66 Overlander Denver
