APU: Tripac or Carrier?

I absolutely love my carrier unit- I’ve had 3 tripacs and there’s no comparison- the carrier unit is a full on generator that runs a electric climate unit- it’s a sealed ac compressor for cold and a heat grid for heat- the unit outside is a kubota engine driving a 6k generator- with the tripacs I was eating chassis batteries by running hotel loads off the inverter- with the carrier I run hotel loads off the 120 outlet tied directly to the generator- only pain is when you have unit set to high heat it shuts off the 120 outlet because of the high draw of the heat grid- I usually run high till the sleeper is up to temp- then set it to low heat and it maintains temp all night

 

Only draw back to that generater is that when it fails it isn't cheap , mine was 1200.00 but it also had 15500 hours on it .
Also when I had it replaced I got rid of that stupid link belt and upgraded it to a serpentine belt .

 

Carrier all the way. Mine on my truck will be transferred to my new truck in Dec this will be the 3rd truck it will be installed on. Somewhere around 19k hours on it.
I change my oil on it when truck gets serviced. Some times 300 hours some times 500 hours. Never more than 700 hours. Yes I know I am wasting money but $13.00 in filters and a gallon of 15/40 delvac. I change belts and tensioner every 3000 hours. Both belts. I have done 4 valve adjustments, 1 injector, 2 coolant pumps both glow plugs 3 times. 1 alternator and Generator. Do the work myself. Not a hard unit to work on unless it’s on a truck and mounted behind fairings or some such thing. Easier to get at just peer top snd bottom covers off.
whole cabinet comes off really easy and most everything is accessible.

 

If I were to ever be In the truck enough to need one, I would just go roof top or mini split with a Honda generator, you can buy 5 of them for the cost of an apu that will be junk by the time you break even

 

Well not sure I think 19000 hours and little maintenance is cheap compared to idling and wear on main engine. But we all have differing opinions for sure. Problem with roof mount air conditioning is the fiberglass roofs are not designed for the pounding and vibration. They do crack and leak overtime if not reinforced.

main problem with APU no one wants to maintain them. Not sure why but they are cheap and easy to maintain. But then again some of these idiots out here can be bothered to bathe regularly or throw trash away properly

 

Same idiots have $80 or $90,000 pickup trucks to haul their toys around but won't spend $20 On preventative maintenance on something that makes them money and get pissed off when something quits.

 

I'm like you...I maintain the hell out of mine and and run full synthetic oil in it that always comes out before 700 hours and it returns the love by being a very reliable unit .

 

This ^^^^ I have a Tripac which has been completely trouble free for thousands of hours but next I will get a carrier. The generator is separate on a Carrier and if the AC unit goes out (or you just spec it without one) you can get a mini split and they you are talking nice AC that is efficient and easy to replace if it ever dies. You can get a mini split sized for a truck for about $700. Of course the Carrier unit isn't cheap.

My next new truck spec (if it ever happens) will be Espar heat, Carrier generator, mini split AC from day one.

 

I like with the carrier I get the option of running it start stop or continues.