That's unrealistic. Properly sized and running non stop, mid 70s is more like it. Industry standard is to size cooling to 75 inside on the hottest typical day.

I live in Atlanta. When my home was built the builders documents stated that the cooling system is designed to maintain 78 degrees. It also said that when the temp goes above 95 degress it would only guarentee a 15 degree between in and out. We've had days when it was over 102 but I never noticed a problem, however I don't keep it set for 71. Daytime it goes to 82 at night we keep it at 76.

Ken06

The best thing you can do, first, is to make sure your filter is clean. Then, I would go to Auto Zone or a similar place and get a thermometer which looks like a pencil with a round indicator on the other end. Stick the thermometer then in your return air (where the air sucks in) and write the number down (after letting it sit there for several minutes). Then take that same thermometer and put it in a supply vent (where the air blows out) fairly close by. Leave it there for several minutes. (Those thermometers can be hard to read so make sure you are looking at them closely from straight out).

Subtract the supply air from the return air measurement. This difference should be 14-20 degrees.

The other thing you can do is make sure your blower wheel and blower compartment are fairly clean. Also make sure your indoor coils are clean. Too, you can check your outdoor condensing unit and make sure the coils are clean. There is a nice video on youtube.com that shows how to do these things. You MUST kill the power to the respective units before doing any of this. If you are unsure of how to proceed, call a technician.

If all of this checks out, you can conclude that your unit is not sized for these extreme conditions.

As far as maintaining 71 degrees, it is impossible to determine if this is realistic. There are too many factors to consider. These factors mostly involve whether your unit was sized for design conditions in the first place. The unit should be running continuously with an outdoor temperature of 95 degrees plus.

You can reduce the heat load on your unit by shading your home, shading your unit (nothing within 18 inches from the sides and nothing affecting the airflow), pulling heavy drapes or blinds on your windows on the hottest part of the day. (Your south and west exposure are going to HOT!) Adding insulation is another thing you can do that may help. In a manufactured home, this can be pretty difficult.

These factors aside, there is nothing you can do other than to reduce the heat load or having a technician check the refrigerant charge. Checking the air-flow temperatures is an indirect approximation of checking your charge.

Good luck!

I have a friend who lived in a manufactured home in Texas and was hot even with the AC going full blast. He took aluminum foil and covered every window. It was dark as a cave and cold! A bit extreme, but it worked. Shows the power of eliminating heat gain and loss.

Ditto here in Dallas. My upstairs unit is on all day till about 8PM or so. Very typical of builders under sizing units and using subpar coils-which mine are leaking apparently. The last AC guy charged me $85 to show me.WOW! Anyhow, my unit can only produce 80 degrees when 100. I typically set at 79. Maybe I should set at 80 so it may cycle.
I am more concerned now with reducing the heat in my attic. It reaches 133 degrees when 100 outside. Guess I could use more insulation, but not completely sold on spray radiant barrier. Must be lucrative b/c a company advertises on every AM radio staion in the metroplex!!!

A manufactured home has heat coming at it from ALL SIX surfaces. If you have a tall ceiling in the living area, as most double wides do, there's not alot of insulation up there. 71 is a tall order.