Removing a stud to install an air conditioner

[mnboatman]

After last summer's heat, I've decided it would be a good idea to add a through the wall air conditioner to my 16x20' bunkhouse. Most of the units I've looked at are 24+" wide and won't quite fit into my 22.5" space.  My eight foot wall has 2x6" studs that are 24" OC with a double top plate. Above that is a 16' scissors truss. I figure that each stud is supporting 18 sqft of roof [(8+1)x2]. 
Here is what I am thinking of doing.  Will this work? I am looking for feedback.
To open up the wall I would remove the top four feet of tongue and groove knotty pine paneling, peel back the vapor barrier and pull out the insulation.
1.   Cut the center stud at the five foot level and remove the upper portion.
2.   Place a 46.5" sill on top of my new cripple stud.
3.   Reinforce the edges of the sill by placing some 12" blocks on the side king studs.
4.   Add a 46.5 2x6" header just below the top plate.
5.   Support it with two trimmer studs.
6.   Frame in the dimensions of the air conditioner unit.
7.   Add to short top cripple stud in the center above the a/c frame.
8.   Cut out the exterior and install the a/c.
9.   Reinsulate and vapor barrier.
10.   Redo the top four feet of paneling.
11.   Plug in and enjoy some cool nights.
I would not have cripple studs all the way to the floor next to my king studs. But that would save me from removing the entire wall of T&G paneling.

[Don_P]

It sounds like you could put a double 2x4 header directly under the top plates, a couple of simpson header brackets, and frame the sill off another pair of brackets or the blocking, none of these loads are higher than well nailed blocking can handle really.... try to take out no more than wide trim around the hole.

[MountainDon]

How many BTU's do you figure you need?
How much is a window type unit that size?
How much would a suitable sized Mini Split cost?
How must is it worth to you to replace all that wall work with a couple small holes drilled through the wall?

OR  look into one of the A/C on wheels with two hoses. Those draw air from outside and also expell the hot air from the A/C system to outside when operating. Single hose models use inside air to process and then blows it outside. That means hot air from outside has to infiltrate inside someplace. I don't like that .

[BenB]

Hey MNBoatman - your proposed solution is similar to what we did on our Leech lake cabin - small cabin too.
Perfect world and budget and I think a mini-split would have been nice, easier and more efficient I am sure. But for under $400 and a couple days of on-off labor (mine-free) vs the $2400 or more for the mini____ well, we live in MN and even in these recent humid hot summers I've found the need for a/c to be at best 15-20 days. Hard to justify that $$$$.

Only beef I have is the noise - more with the wall unit. But the money saved sure buys a lot of petro for the boat!