Carrier APU on 86" Studio Sleeper rigs

I've had both and have friends with both .
Both units have theyre strong and weak points .
I have a carrier and like that I can run it on start stop or continuos , has its own generater that doesent pull my batteries down ....super reliable kabota engine.
Heat is a little weak under 10 degrees.
Ac rocks .
Very dependable and easy to maintain if you take care of it .
Negatives ...its loud compared to a tk and that generater is about a 1000 bucks when it goes ...parts are pricey.

Tk ...very quite !
Super good heat !
Negatives ..
The evolution units seem to be plagued with cooling system issues .
Fuel pump issues and alternater problems .
Neither unit is perfect but I prefer my carrier.

 

The Evolution’s cooling isn’t as good as the original Tripac.

 

Wonder why the new tri paks are such junk ? ....got a buddy with an evolution that is non stop problems.

 

I should have asked the mechanics before I left last company about the specific issues.

 

Had non stop electrical issues with my carrier for the first 7500 hours so they arnt perfect either .

 

Same with me

 

I think you should talk to another Carrier dealer about installing on a Studio. I've owned one but never had an APU on it. That being said I recently acquired a Western Star 5700XE with a Comfortpro. I like it. I just adjusted the belt today as I could not get it to run a convection oven but it works now. With low heat on too. And I agree, the heat is a little light but I find it will keep up no matter how cold and doesn't dry out the air inside as bad as some.

That being said, I just bought a brand new open box Carrier Transicold Shore Power kit for it on ebay for $400. I had a dealer quote me over $1200 just for the parts.

ComfortPro has been around fur 20 years and maybe longer. Although I believe Carrier did it and then bought it back - could be wrong here - but for me it's the ready availability of parts and service. So that wood makes them the predecessor to TK but that's certainly a viable option. Personally I don't like the TK cause it's an inverter for 120AC.

They're used to be an APU called the Mechron CCS and it was a Kubota Z482 coupled directly on the shaft to a 6.5KW stator. It ran at 3500rpm as opposed to 2800 and that made it almost hum from inside the cab. They gave trucks a good shot and like many APU 's that come and go they found it wasn't profitable amongst the competition. Too bad as it was one of the best configurations I'd ever seen. They went back to serving 7 different militias around the world as they'd been doing since 1940. I still have an old Z482 and stator in my garage. It started over speeding at 10,000h and u don't have any of the components anymore. I should rebuild it and just get a 110V load center and a Chinese genset controller. Maybe when my ComfortPro quits.

 

TK only has great heat because it uses a diesel fired heater. Tripacs aren’t generators. They provide AC only. You then add an inverter and you add a heater if you want it. If you don’t have a espar I highly recommend one. They are amazing!

So the TK monitors your batteries, runs them down and then fires up to charge. To me that’s a big negative. You have an APU that’s running an inverter. It’s not a generator. With a Carrier you have 6k watts of pure generator. Power goes out and you’re home? You’re running your fridge, lights, etc until you run out of diesel in the tanks. I lived 2 weeks this last ice storm on a 2200 watt gen so 6k would have been amazing.

Some say carriers are louder but all you have to do is scrape off that cheap foam carrier uses and install some dynaliner inside the box and hoodliner on the access panels (don’t touch the foam on the access covers it seals the covers.). Problem solved. Plus 2000 hour maintenance interval and 2 year warranty? Not bad.

I used to be anti APU until I got tired of putting a stupid window AC in my truck window and going to get gas all the time plus worrying about theft. APUs are insured. APUs are easier. Park. Fire it up. Relax. I’m sold now. For $350 a month? A business expense anyway? Plus no idling which was fine on the older trucks, not so much the newer ones.

Should have done it years ago!

 

My 6k generator, which is five years old, actually wired through its bearings and quite. It's dust cover had lost its screws and likely granular substance got in and seized them. Carrier has a 7.5k upgrade with a tensioner instead of their linked belt. I've opted to take my 6k unit out and have it rebuilt. I took it to a little place in Chicago. When I got it back in we found that the resistance was greater than before and the unit just presents HVAC error 'press reset'. We've concluded that the shims are either in the wrong order or wrong size and in taking it neck to Chicago to have them look it over. I'll keep you posted. They charged $800 for the rebuild. They painted it too. It looks great and I'm dreadfully sorry it didn't work first time but I'm sure they'll figure it out. They had a new unit for $1500. In the meantime I'm using my 3000watt inverter and the Carrier to charge the batteries. Oh, and a 400watt Walmart personal heater.