[Mike Culpepper]

I don't have the time to do a blow by blow account of how to install the VA system, ddsmith put ALOT of time in his excellent discription. I will try to give ya'll some things learned, and any shortcommings of the VA install.
I agree with ddsmith, that I would take everything out of the inside of the truck that you can, before the unit comes. If the truck is not driven daily, gut all the a/c stuff, if you can. I didn't do ALL of it coz I drive my truck daily. Next, if you're thinking about replacing the dash pad, or stock speaker, or anything else behind the dash, NOW is a GOOD time to do that coz even though these units are compact, it's still tight behind the dash, especially after the ducts are in. I remove the A/C controller too and made sure it was in good shape(VA will sell you a new one for $130 if needed). In order to remove the old evaporator and blower you'll need to unbolt the passenger side hood hinge and raise it up a few inches(support the hood with a 1x3 or simialr), and will need to drop the pass. side inner fender in the back a little so you can get to the mounting bolt down there and for the blower housing to clear. I ended up removing my hood, I think it was easer to get to the firewall area, didn't have to worry about knocking the support out and getting knocked on the head by the hood and there is alot of stuff you'll need to do at the firewall later on.
If you have a non A/C truck, I THINK you'll probably need to remove the front bumper and grill coz you'll have to drill a big hole in the rad support for the hard lines from the drier/condenser. I had to tilt the grill out as far as I could and was able to get the hard lines to pass through. I had to drill two of the holes for the lower condenser mounting bolts and I hod to use a 90 degree drill chuck, even with the grill tilted(I bought a cheap one at Harbor Freight).
The compressor mounting brackets are very well machined and fit prefectly( I should have painted them before I installed).
The only modification I had to make to the firewall was drilling another hole for the rear mounting bracket for the inside unit. Using the existing hole, the hard line and suction line at the firewall didn't line up right , so I just drilled a hole a little lower and to one side,pretty easy. The unit is designed to use existing firewall holes but like the dealer said, if it don't fit, you make it fit(duh).
THe instructions tell you to "bench test" the unit before you install it, and I almost skipped it, but I would do it coz even though it's unlikely there will be a problem, it's better to make sure BEFORE you put the evaporator unit in. It was easy to do.
The VA instructions call for removing the pass. side kick panel door and they provide an oval panel that you silicone and screw in place to block off any air from entering the cab. In retrospect, I'm not sure that is a good idea coz it is gona be hard to access this area t clean out the 2 pounds of leaves and cr#p that accumulates in the fender here. Oh well, I'll probably take this panel off periodically anyway to clean this area.
Also, if you need to replace the insulation either on the inside firewall or the floorboards, I'd do it before the install.
The wiring harness is pretty straight foreward and replaces all of the original harness.
In general I feel the install was pretty easy with few significant modifications. The unit is well designed and appears to be very good quality. Even the plastic pieces are very sturdy and beefy.
Finally just a few suggestions. Shop around! Most of the dealers I talked to in Houston were asking $1000-1200, but found Steves AUto custom Air and paid $950 (total-either no tax or that included tax)plus $50 for the purge and freon fill. I think a dealer that installs the units can be a big help if you have questions. One or two of the dealers that didn't install the units semmed to not know as much about the units. You can order the hoses pre cut and crimped but if you use a dealer (or know someone that has the crimping tools), you can order them un cut-you get longer hoses and this will give you more leeway on how the hoses are routed-I'm glad I did the latter.
Performance: It blows cold and hard! I still have a couple of small holes in the firewall and I can't see that it makes alot of difference. Most of the time here in Houston 90 deg. plus with 90% humidity most of the time I rarely run the blower on high except for the first 10 minutes or so. Alot of people say the blower is noisy on high. I guess it is but not as noisy as it is with my windows down, wind blowing, windows rattling going over bumps etc......You dont hav much glovebox space(I haven't put mine in yet---I'm a procrastinator).

If you purge and fill the system yourself, or have someone do it for you make SURE they put TWO cans of 134a in and that's it!!!!! My dealer said that if you treat the VA system like a OEM A/C and use pressure gauges to guide how much freon you put in it you'll end up putting too much in and will screw things up!!!!
I spent alot of time talking to this guy and trusted what he said.

I'm sure I've left out something important, and I'll be happy to answer any questions anyone has.
I think you'll be thrilled with either the VA or OA systems, as they both seem to be quality systems.
Oh yea I forgot, the VA comes with a 3 year warranty and option to buy 1 or 2 yeay extended warranty.
Mike