2009 Tripac 25k Hours

I had 30,000 hours on my tri pak when I sold the truck.
I paid 5k for it when it had 9000 hours on it and that was installed price.

 

If your not running one now and can wait a few weeks to rebuild it, 2k isn't a bad price. Even if you ran it for a year then rebuilt it; you would be money ahead!
See want an overhaul kit would cost...if you can do that kind of work.
Take a look at Vanderhaggs site and compare pricing.

 

If you have a working apu that you are familiar with and know the history of why in the hell would take the risk of buying a used one that you don't know.
Let your best friend find his own!!

 

Charge AC, and wear ear plugs, or get a new muffler. Different story now I know more about your deal.

2K sounds like your getting shafted if your swapping with a buddy and paying more.

One truck I run has a tripac; the other has a Perkins-shop built. Controller is a thermoking on Perkins; works just as well as a tripac.
My own truck I have a generac 2000; works well in winter, little tough on hot days.

 

I have a used TK evolution apu that came off of a 16 peterbilt that was wrecked. Looking to get $2700 for it located in Idah.

 

The Tripac on my truck is coming up on 30k hours. The build date is Apr '06 and was likely installed when the truck was new. I bought the truck in Feb '13. The Tripac was inop when I got it, hours were in the low 20k range. A couple of refrigerant hose repairs, expansion valve, and cable terminal repairs and it's going again. This is not uncommon. Since the apu isn't required to run the truck, they are often neglected until they fail, then rarely repaired well if at all.

In the past 5 yrs I've had to do a few repairs. Only one that was very difficult to figure out turned out to be a faulty solder joint on the control board. I bought a newer version board off eBay and replaced it.

I've owned 3 trucks with Tripacs, still have 2. The other one I still have was also inop when I bought the truck. Similar issues as mine was 5 yrs ago. Another was a used one that I bought and had installed. It ran fine for the 3 years I had the truck.

In my opinion, the weak link on any apu is the quality of the install, then regular maintenance. The engine itself is pretty bulletproof, and has safety cutoff switches for low oil and overheating. About the only way they can fail is to defeat the safeties and run it hot or out of oil.

The way I run, the 1,000 hour interval works out to a little over a year. So once a year I get a filter kit, a gallon of oil, and the glow pin screen and gaskets for the bunk heater and do the PM. Adjust or replace the belt while the bottom cover is off. Look over the wiring and clean/repair terminals that look sketchy. Close it up and run it another year.

To answer the question about lifespan, I'd say the one on my truck is probably on borrowed time. Mainly due to overall system age and rust. I've already replaced the muffler and exhaust flex pipes, also the lower case half. The upper half is dissolving away, as are the pre-cooler and condenser fan shrouds. It's reaching the point where it will be a more sensible solution to go back to my Thermo King dealer and just replace the whole thing with either a new one or one of their 3-4 yr old take off units. That's a more expensive option, but in the long run won't be breaking down as much. Their used ones will have new motor mounts installed, all new refrigerant hoses, and at least a 30 day warranty if I recall.

The 20k hr unit you're looking at is maybe priced a little high, in my opinion. That many hours I'd offer $1,000 at most, knowing I'll be spending another $1,000 on the install and a few other repairs to make it right. If you take a chance on re-using all that installation hardware, expect to be chasing random breakdowns for the first year you run it.