The air conditioner quit, or it’s blowing air that isn’t cold, and it’s hot. Before anything else you want to know whether this is a cleaning, a small part, or a new unit on the roof. Here’s the short version from techs’ own price lists. A yearly service runs one to three hundred dollars for the first unit. Small parts like a capacitor are a short visit. A compressor is the expensive repair. A new rooftop unit is two bills: about a thousand dollars and up for the unit, plus two to five hundred dollars to put it on the roof.
Every price below comes from a tech or shop that publishes it, with the date we read it. Your quote will move with your unit, your rig, and the trip fee to reach you.
What a yearly AC service costs
A service is the cleaning and checking that keeps a rooftop unit cooling: the coils, the filters, the fins, the electrical connections, and often an amperage test. It’s also the visit that catches a failing part before it fails in July.
On published rate cards the first unit usually runs between $129 and $300:
- Javi’s RV Service Center in California: $129 for an A/C performance and coil tune-up.
- Scott RV Repair in Michigan: $139 a unit. Double T RV Service in New Mexico: $139 a unit.
- RV Pro Service & Hitch in Florida: $139.99.
- Sun & Sand RV in Florida: $150 a unit plus parts and materials.
- Bud’s Total RV Care in Texas: starting at $125 a unit.
- 404 Mobile RV Repair in Atlanta: $175 a unit.
- Capt Pete’s Mobile RV Repair in Alabama: $250 a unit. Sundowner RV Service in Florida: $249.
- Airstream of Albany in New York: $285.95 a unit.
- Open Road RV Repair in Michigan: $300.
The second and third units almost always cost less, because the tech is already on the roof. Desert Monkey in Utah lists $160 for the first A/C and $100 for each additional one. Nerdy Nomad in Pennsylvania lists $125.00 for the first and $85.00 for each additional. Rob The RV Guy in Washington lists $125 and $75. RV Care Wizard in Georgia lists $100 and $75.
At the light end, WonderLuxe RV in Utah lists an intake vent and coil cleaning at $79. That’s a cleaning, not a full service, and it’s a good fit for a unit that cools but not as well as it used to.
What a diagnosis costs when it stopped cooling
If the unit runs but doesn’t cool, or won’t start at all, somebody has to find out why before anyone can price the fix. Adventure RV Rentals’ service shop in Michigan lists an AC diagnosis at $70. More Outdoor Mobile RV Repair in Texas lists RV AC repair and diagnostics at $150. Most mobile techs charge their trip fee and their hourly rate for this instead, which the mobile repair cost guide explains.
Before paying anyone, check the cheap things. The AC not cooling guide goes through them: the breaker, the thermostat setting, the filters, the voltage at the pedestal, and ice on the coil.
What small AC repairs cost
The failure that sends most rooftop units quiet is a start capacitor, the part that kicks the compressor or fan into motion. It’s an inexpensive part and a short job. Port St. Lucie RV Repair in Florida puts it in the same bracket as a water pump swap: common repairs in the $120-250 range.
If your unit hums, clicks or tries to start and gives up, that’s often where the tech starts looking. It’s also worth asking about a soft start while they’re up there.
What a soft start costs, and when it’s worth it
A soft start lowers the jolt of power the compressor pulls when it starts. That lets the AC run on a smaller generator or a tired campground pedestal, and it’s easier on the compressor. Florida Mobile RV Repairman lists a roof A/C soft-start installation at $400 a unit. Safe Travels RV Services in California lists $400, with a cleaning and safety check included.
It’s worth it if you boondock with a small generator or you keep tripping the pedestal breaker. It won’t fix a unit that isn’t cooling.
What a compressor costs, and why you should price a new unit too
The compressor is the heart of the unit and the expensive repair. Endless Summer Mobile RV Repairs in Florida lists an AC compressor replacement at $800-$1,200.
Set that next to the price of a whole new unit installed, below. They’re close enough that most techs will tell you to price both. A new unit comes with its own warranty and a new fan motor, new coils and new controls. A rebuilt compressor in a ten-year-old unit leaves everything else ten years old. On an older unit, the new one is usually the better spend.
What a new rooftop AC costs, installed
Two bills here.
The unit. A common 15,000 Btu rooftop unit, the Coleman-Mach Signature Mach 15, was listed at $1,155.59 at etrailer on the day we checked, unit only. Prices move with brand, size, heat pump or not, and whether it’s ducted. Family First RV Service in Oklahoma lists a new ac unit at $1000-$2000, and adding an AC where there wasn’t one, with new electrical, at $1300-$2000.
The labor to swap it. Techs list a roof-mount swap at a flat rate per unit, usually with parts extra:
- Massey Mobile RV & Handyman in North Carolina: $200 for a basic installation where no new wires or hole are needed.
- Nerdy Nomad RV Services in Pennsylvania: $300.00 a unit plus parts, replacement only.
- Lakefront Mobile RV Repair in Michigan: starting at $300.
- More Outdoor Mobile RV Repair in Texas: $350.
- Sandy Feet Mobile RV Repair in Florida: a flat $375 for a standard replacement, $475 for an upgrade.
- Sun & Sand RV and Open Road RV Repair: $400 a unit plus parts. Ken-Do’s RV Repair in Maryland: $400.
- Bud’s Total RV Care in Texas: starting at $450.
Some techs will install a unit you bought yourself, and some only install units they supply. Ask before you order one.
Do it yourself, or call a tech?
Cleaning the filters is an owner job, and so is checking the breaker and the thermostat. Cleaning the coils means getting on the roof and taking the shroud off, which plenty of owners do and plenty shouldn’t. Anything inside the unit’s electrical box, and anything involving the refrigerant, is a tech’s job. Swapping a whole unit means lifting a heavy box onto and off a roof, and most techs use two people for it.
What to ask before you book
- Is the price per unit, and what does the second unit cost?
- For a replacement, is the unit included, or is that labor only?
- Will you install a unit I supply?
- Is there a trip fee on top, and does the diagnosis count toward the repair?
The next step
Turn the AC on and check whether you’re getting cold air at the vents, warm air, or nothing. Then check the breaker and the filters. If it’s still not right, write down what it does and call a tech with that. To see what mobile techs in your state charge to come out, the mobile RV repair cost pages list every published trip fee and hourly rate by state.