Anyone use the APU Center in Missouri?

TaylorMade407 · Sep 18, 2015

RedForeman said: ↑

I've posted this before, but here you go from another fan of the TK. Mine was heavily used when I got it and required a good bit of restoration to become reliable again. The fact it has about 27,000 hours, and runs as well as it does now, has sold me on it. I would buy another TK before I'd go with anything else. Looks like others with rigmasters and other less pricey apus have had better experience by being religious with maintenance and repairs. My TK had definitely not gotten much love in it's life and still a good unit LOL. Nearly everything I've had to do has been a result of neglect, with a few minor things just due to age.

I bought my truck in Feb '13 and it had one on it, apparently installed when the truck was new. a/c wasn't working, but it ran ok. The truck had been run up north before I got it, and the apu seemed to take to the salt the hardest. I had to go thru it and change out the a/c fittings/hoses that are outside in the elements. Also had to replace the expansion valve under the bunk. As with any proper a/c repair, I also installed a new dryer while I had the system open. A few months later the muffler fell off (rust). After a year, it developed a no-start problem. That turned out to be a ground cable terminal crimped with a hammer, with nothing to protect from corrosion. So the installer's fault, not TK. I fixed that and cleaned up all the rest of the wiring underneath.

Upon purchase, for the Espar heater, the only thing I had to do was replace the intake and exhaust tubes under the cab. They were in bad shape and I didn't want to die from CO poisoning. It smoked on start, but otherwise ran ok. First time it got cold, it got real cold. Of course that's when I woke up from the head freeze to no heat and -5º outside. That was just lack of maintenance on the Espar heater. Who knew? LOL. Turns out the smoke on startup is a warning sign for that. Replaced the glow pin screen and cleaned out the air passage in the cavity it fits in. Worked great after that. A few months later, it's little electric fuel pump failed. It too was a ball of rust. Surprisingly expensive for original parts, but it sure looked a lot like the $15 one sold at auto parts stores. It was cold, I was going somewhere colder, and did not have time to shop around. So I bought the gold plated one at TK for about $200 and put it on at the truck stop. Next time I opened it up, I installed a new glow pin just to be safe. So far so good.

I service it every 1,000 hrs. Works out to about once a year. Engine service is two fuel filters, oil and air filter, and a gallon of Delvac. There is a dust filter in the evap box under the bunk too. I take the Espar out of the truck and disassemble and clean it on my pickup tailgate. From TK, the filter service kit is around $150 and the glow pin screen and a few gaskets are about $30, once a year. There are two issues remaining I will attend to one of these days.

On the first service I observed a crack in the alternator case. It has not gotten any worse in 2.5 yrs and still works. Maybe it got dropped, or possibly overtightened. Doesn't seem to be related to vibration or assembly. I'll probably do one of the Delco conversions I've seen here and there when it finally fails.

The bottom case half is just about to dissolve into rust. The bottom service cover almost fell off last year and I fixed it, probably for it's last time. One of these days maybe I'll call one of these used apu dealers on a trip thru Springfield MO and see if they have a bottom cover in the spare parts pile. Or maybe just make one. It hasn't fallen off yet and isn't loose, so no big hurry LOL.
Click to expand...

The bottom case on the one I had on the company truck actually fell off. Shop ordered a brand new one from TK. I wish I knew the price but I'm guessing it's like the fuel pump gold plated

Night_driver · Sep 19, 2015

Skate-Board said: ↑

I have 14,668 hours on it. I'm at my truck right now......AND....running the Rigmaster AC. It's 60 degrees here but 95% humidity. It's a Perkins motor. The same motor that they install on large sail boats to both propel the boat, charge the batteries and 6,000 watts of power. It's pretty much a Rigmaster but laid out different.
Click to expand...

I looked at some trucks with Rigmasters. They all seem to have orange motors (I'm guessing Perkins), but one had a CAT. Are they both good? Which one would be more quiet? The truck I'm considering has an orange APU with just over 2,000 hours.

Skate-Board · Sep 20, 2015

Night_driver said: ↑

I looked at some trucks with Rigmasters. They all seem to have orange motors (I'm guessing Perkins), but one had a CAT. Are they both good? Which one would be more quiet? The truck I'm considering has an orange APU with just over 2,000 hours.
Click to expand...

I couldn't tell you which on is better. I know the Perkins has always been the motor of choice in sail boats

haycarter · Sep 20, 2015

Caterpillar Own Perkins.
I think you'll find that they're both the same Motor with Different paint & badges... BISTBC

Confused · Sep 20, 2015

RedForeman said: ↑

I've posted this before, but here you go from another fan of the TK. Mine was heavily used when I got it and required a good bit of restoration to become reliable again. The fact it has about 27,000 hours, and runs as well as it does now, has sold me on it. I would buy another TK before I'd go with anything else. Looks like others with rigmasters and other less pricey apus have had better experience by being religious with maintenance and repairs. My TK had definitely not gotten much love in it's life and still a good unit LOL. Nearly everything I've had to do has been a result of neglect, with a few minor things just due to age.

I bought my truck in Feb '13 and it had one on it, apparently installed when the truck was new. a/c wasn't working, but it ran ok. The truck had been run up north before I got it, and the apu seemed to take to the salt the hardest. I had to go thru it and change out the a/c fittings/hoses that are outside in the elements. Also had to replace the expansion valve under the bunk. As with any proper a/c repair, I also installed a new dryer while I had the system open. A few months later the muffler fell off (rust). After a year, it developed a no-start problem. That turned out to be a ground cable terminal crimped with a hammer, with nothing to protect from corrosion. So the installer's fault, not TK. I fixed that and cleaned up all the rest of the wiring underneath.

Upon purchase, for the Espar heater, the only thing I had to do was replace the intake and exhaust tubes under the cab. They were in bad shape and I didn't want to die from CO poisoning. It smoked on start, but otherwise ran ok. First time it got cold, it got real cold. Of course that's when I woke up from the head freeze to no heat and -5º outside. That was just lack of maintenance on the Espar heater. Who knew? LOL. Turns out the smoke on startup is a warning sign for that. Replaced the glow pin screen and cleaned out the air passage in the cavity it fits in. Worked great after that. A few months later, it's little electric fuel pump failed. It too was a ball of rust. Surprisingly expensive for original parts, but it sure looked a lot like the $15 one sold at auto parts stores. It was cold, I was going somewhere colder, and did not have time to shop around. So I bought the gold plated one at TK for about $200 and put it on at the truck stop. Next time I opened it up, I installed a new glow pin just to be safe. So far so good.

I service it every 1,000 hrs. Works out to about once a year. Engine service is two fuel filters, oil and air filter, and a gallon of Delvac. There is a dust filter in the evap box under the bunk too. I take the Espar out of the truck and disassemble and clean it on my pickup tailgate. From TK, the filter service kit is around $150 and the glow pin screen and a few gaskets are about $30, once a year. There are two issues remaining I will attend to one of these days.

On the first service I observed a crack in the alternator case. It has not gotten any worse in 2.5 yrs and still works. Maybe it got dropped, or possibly overtightened. Doesn't seem to be related to vibration or assembly. I'll probably do one of the Delco conversions I've seen here and there when it finally fails.

The bottom case half is just about to dissolve into rust. The bottom service cover almost fell off last year and I fixed it, probably for it's last time. One of these days maybe I'll call one of these used apu dealers on a trip thru Springfield MO and see if they have a bottom cover in the spare parts pile. Or maybe just make one. It hasn't fallen off yet and isn't loose, so no big hurry LOL.
Click to expand...

Confused · Sep 20, 2015

RedForeman said: ↑

I've posted this before, but here you go from another fan of the TK. Mine was heavily used when I got it and required a good bit of restoration to become reliable again. The fact it has about 27,000 hours, and runs as well as it does now, has sold me on it. I would buy another TK before I'd go with anything else. Looks like others with rigmasters and other less pricey apus have had better experience by being religious with maintenance and repairs. My TK had definitely not gotten much love in it's life and still a good unit LOL. Nearly everything I've had to do has been a result of neglect, with a few minor things just due to age.

I bought my truck in Feb '13 and it had one on it, apparently installed when the truck was new. a/c wasn't working, but it ran ok. The truck had been run up north before I got it, and the apu seemed to take to the salt the hardest. I had to go thru it and change out the a/c fittings/hoses that are outside in the elements. Also had to replace the expansion valve under the bunk. As with any proper a/c repair, I also installed a new dryer while I had the system open. A few months later the muffler fell off (rust). After a year, it developed a no-start problem. That turned out to be a ground cable terminal crimped with a hammer, with nothing to protect from corrosion. So the installer's fault, not TK. I fixed that and cleaned up all the rest of the wiring underneath.

Upon purchase, for the Espar heater, the only thing I had to do was replace the intake and exhaust tubes under the cab. They were in bad shape and I didn't want to die from CO poisoning. It smoked on start, but otherwise ran ok. First time it got cold, it got real cold. Of course that's when I woke up from the head freeze to no heat and -5º outside. That was just lack of maintenance on the Espar heater. Who knew? LOL. Turns out the smoke on startup is a warning sign for that. Replaced the glow pin screen and cleaned out the air passage in the cavity it fits in. Worked great after that. A few months later, it's little electric fuel pump failed. It too was a ball of rust. Surprisingly expensive for original parts, but it sure looked a lot like the $15 one sold at auto parts stores. It was cold, I was going somewhere colder, and did not have time to shop around. So I bought the gold plated one at TK for about $200 and put it on at the truck stop. Next time I opened it up, I installed a new glow pin just to be safe. So far so good.

I service it every 1,000 hrs. Works out to about once a year. Engine service is two fuel filters, oil and air filter, and a gallon of Delvac. There is a dust filter in the evap box under the bunk too. I take the Espar out of the truck and disassemble and clean it on my pickup tailgate. From TK, the filter service kit is around $150 and the glow pin screen and a few gaskets are about $30, once a year. There are two issues remaining I will attend to one of these days.

On the first service I observed a crack in the alternator case. It has not gotten any worse in 2.5 yrs and still works. Maybe it got dropped, or possibly overtightened. Doesn't seem to be related to vibration or assembly. I'll probably do one of the Delco conversions I've seen here and there when it finally fails.

The bottom case half is just about to dissolve into rust. The bottom service cover almost fell off last year and I fixed it, probably for it's last time. One of these days maybe I'll call one of these used apu dealers on a trip thru Springfield MO and see if they have a bottom cover in the spare parts pile. Or maybe just make one. It hasn't fallen off yet and isn't loose, so no big hurry LOL.
Click to expand...

RedForeman
How easy or difficult was it to change or your expansion valve ?

RedForeman · Sep 20, 2015

Confused said: ↑

RedForeman
How easy or difficult was it to change or your expansion valve ?
Click to expand...

Easy, if you don't count the hassle of removing the sheet of steel the mattress sits on (t-600). A Freightliner with a lift up bunk much easier. Once you can get at the evaporator case, open it up and change the expansion valve.

Confused · Sep 20, 2015

RedForeman said: ↑

Easy, if you don't count the hassle of removing the sheet of steel the mattress sits on (t-600). A Freightliner with a lift up bunk much easier. Once you can get at the evaporator case, open it up and change the expansion valve.
Click to expand...

Thank you

TAfool · Sep 20, 2015

TaylorMade407 said: ↑

The bottom case on the one I had on the company truck actually fell off. Shop ordered a brand new one from TK. I wish I knew the price but I'm guessing it's like the fuel pump gold plated
Click to expand...

$85

http://www.thermobyproducts.com/mobile/Product.aspx?ProductCode=TB-TK-98-7501

skateboardman · Sep 20, 2015

RedForeman said: ↑

Easy, if you don't count the hassle of removing the sheet of steel the mattress sits on (t-600). A Freightliner with a lift up bunk much easier. Once you can get at the evaporator case, open it up and change the expansion valve.
Click to expand...

Mine is in 3 pieces , I just removed the one piece

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