Last Fall we were invited to participate in a test of a “secret” product Truma was developing. Having their Combi hot water heater for three years now, we have been impressed by Truma’s engineering and quality. We hoped they wanted us to test a new furnace, but signed up for the program without knowing what it might be. A new air conditioner was the secret device. After submitting measurements to insure the unit would fit, and agreeing to confidentiality, we were accepted into the program.
First thing the next morning, David Lehman was on the roof removing the Dometic A/C unit. We had met David several times as he provided informative seminars at Pleasure-Way Rallies.
Removing the old air conditioner revealed that Pleasure-Way used LOTS of silicone to seal the original Dometic unit to our roof.
For those that are curious, here’s the Spyder Controls interface that resides in the interior air handler. Even though the beta version of the Aventa doesn’t interface with the Spyder system, the control box is still needed for freeze sensing and to insure that the propane furnace will run.
Unboxing the new Air Conditioner proved exciting. David had it installed by noon and we were on our way.
Before Exterior
After Exterior
Before (Interior Air Handler)
After (Interior Air Handler)
Click through to read about our experience with the production model.
9 responses to “Truma Aventa Testing”
Was there room for the Spyder furnace control box in the ceiling with the Truma installation, or did it get relocated?
Yes, the Spyder control box fit into the ceiling with the Truma air handler. It was not relocated.
Very cool! Thanks for sharing the details and photos!
Glad it was of interest. Hope to be able to share more as Truma finalizes the product.
The blue light on the controls interface drives me crazy. Is it reachable without removing the air conditioner?
If I remember correctly you can get to it by removing the inside cover of the air conditioner. You don't have to mess with the unit from the outside.
Thanks! That worked!
Seeing the wonderful success you had with the Truma install, I had Truma install the Aventa on my PleasureWay Lexor last September at the Hershey RV show. This understandably broke the AGS feature (Automatic Generator Start) that would allow the generator to be started and thus allow the Air Conditioner to start up unattended, this was great for pet safety.
I was assured an update would be likely available in a year or two that would fix this.
I am now being told this is unlikely. Have you explored getting around this? Do you have any suggestions?
We did look into it briefly and it requires changes to the Spyder Controls software and possibly hardware. I can see it happening for future RV models if Pleasure-Way changes to Truma for their Air Conditioners.
The only person I know of that has tackled integrating new equipment into their PleasureWay Lexor is Bob Pogue. His web site is a valuable resource, especially for anyone looking at automation. We've succeeded in using his implementation of node red to control some of the PW systems from our phone, but don't have the expertise to add an interface to our air conditioner. Here's a link to his automation posting: https://jibout.com/automating-lexi/
– Mark (www.svIntuition.com)