TriPack or Carrier APU?

Gears.....seems like you would know who what and where on price?

 

Bought mine used and the seller installed it. About 1/3 the price of new installed. It is a bit noisier than the tripak, but it does have a 3 cylinder Isuzu rather than the 1 or 2 cylinder the other models use. This baby really blows the cold air. The 1st night I had to get up and raise the thermostat as I was getting froze out of the sleeper. This outfit where I got mine may have a few more. If you're interested, let me know back channel. I'll try and post some pictures later.

READ MY UPDATE ON PAGE 7 OF THIS THREAD

 

Hey Gears did you get yours in Springfield MO?

 

Several years ago I paid cash for the Proheat APU. Proheat was made by Teleflex in Canada. Teleflex still makes this APU but it has been re-branded under the Carrier name. Currently the Carrier APU is an updated Proheat but it really is the same unit with improvement to its A/C performance.

I have had many years of use from this APU. It is now worn out. It was fairly good for generating electricity and the Kubota motor never wore out or needed anything but oil and filters. This apu has a downside. The A/C system is severely flawed. Mine never really worked well and mostly didn't work at all. The A/C and heat comes from an electrically powered unit that takes up 1/2 the under-bunk area. Cold air theoretically is supposed to come from under the bunk via added ducts. Proheat used R22 refrigerant that was not self servicable. The carrier unit is upgraded now to R134 and a bigger system that seems to work.

The Carrier unit is loud. My Proheat was similarly loud. Pity the poor trucker you are parked next to. The Carrier unit is easy to self service and its belts and filters can be had from NAPA etc. I found it best not to run 15-40 oil in the apu as it's too heavy in winter when it's really cold and it won't run due to lack of oil pressure.

So, now I need a new APU. I am switching to a TriPak unit for the following reasons:

1. tripaks are very quiet and inoffensive to others nearby.
2. tripak uses the esbar diesel fired heaters. The apu doesn't need to be on to give heat.
3. tripak uses a mechanical a/c compressor and existing a/c ducting in the truck. Apparently the A/C system is more effective than Carrier's.
4. A bit less under bunk space is taken away (I don't know how much).
5. Carrier increased their price so the pricing is about the same and the TriPak is a better performing unit.

The only thing I can say about the Carrier unit that is better than the TriPak is the electrical capacity. Carrier gives 4000 watts of 120 volt power that can be used to run electrical space heaters, microwaves, a roof mounted R/V A/C unit etc. The Tripak has no generator. It uses an alternator tapped to an inverter for 1800 watts of inverter power.

My conclusion is that the Tripak will handle my needs overall better and it's quieteness, superior a/c system and use of the Esbar heater are my largest deciding factors. I need less than 300 watts of electrical power.

 

how about a honda generator with seperate a/c unit much cheaper, carry 1 gal. gas container with ya, i believe the generator only weights around 60 lbs

 

What kinda $$$$ are you guys paying for your TriPac units? Local company quoted me $8500 installed. I think it will be much closer to $10K by the time I get the other goodies added on to it; extreme cold weather package, inverter etc...

 

tri-pac ,no doubt! I tried the pony-pac and they are supper loud! plus I was plagued with problems because it intagrates with truck controls,ie: fan blowers, etc, also ties into water and a/c lines. so if something breaks ,your out of luck. benn running tri-pac for 2 years with no problems at all. using it on a w900 studio and it does a great job! lots of tri-pacs used for sale.

 

another thing about tripac is you can drive down the road while your wife or girlfriend heats up something in the microwave, or make a pot of coffee. With the carrier you can't do this, as you need to be parked with the apu running. Carrier is louder. I have had both carrier and tripac, and I prefer the tripac.

 

remeber OOIDA has a for sale section, I've seen a couple of APU's for sale there. Kenny, in Springfield,mo has some used units also. Good shop, just watch the Mech. they love to waste time on your dollar. good luck!

 

That's what I did. honda generator, ac unit (from home depot), external gas can (3 gal) and heavy duty ext cord.....total cost less then $1500. Paid for itself many many times over.