Home made APU

[Waterloo]

(03-12-2017 )Nilao Wrote:  If I went with a generator setup I'd go diesel and plumb the fuel line to the main tank. I have acquired a tripac from a friend of mine for $2000. He decided he wanted a new one due to the nickel and dime stuff irritated him. It has a new alternator and a/c compressor.

$2000? You stole that one! Is it mounted yet?

Personally, I would not own a truck without a Tri-Pac unit. I have had a few on various trucks from the first day they came on the market. Worth every penny in my book.

I haven't had to many issues with this Tri-Pac, considering...

When I first bought my used 2008 ProStar, manufactured in 2007, it came with a severely abused 2007 Tri-Pac mounted to the side... The case is rotted out, the belts were all chewed up, the alternator was shot, fuel pump bad, tensioner pulley bad, no charge in the AC, no heat out of the AirTronic, etc... Just totally neglected and had been sitting for more than likely a year up in Washington State, until "Stupid" came along with his check book... ME. Long story...

I ran that basket case up to my local Thermo King dealer in Redford MI near Detroit, and let them take a look to see if she was salvageable. I would not use this dealer in Redford MI, as their new labor rates are $165 an hour. They are good, but not $165 an hour good, and they will rape you on parts... They have a new owner since my visit three + years ago.

At this point, that unit had been on the truck for 7 years... They took a few hours, around 5, replaced a bunch of parts and fired her up, damn thing ran. They did some minor AC work, found a leak, fixed that and she blows colder than the truck AC. I am still running the original AC compressor and condenser on the back of the cab. Talk about resilient. They also upgraded the coolant system with the newer Arctic Kit and went through the software and settings on the unit, rebuilt the AirTronic unit, etc... That all cost me $1500... It was worth it, as I would have had no clue where to start, she was a real mess and it was winter... No way I was going to tackle that in my driveway here in Michigan.

Then, when the head on my Cummins was going, it over pressured the Tri-Pac coolant system and took out the heater/water hoses along with the little radiator. I fixed all of that myself in the driveway.

If you do need replacement parts, call these guys... http://www.thermobyproducts.com/TRI_PAC_s/101.htm

They have just about everything you would need to keep a Tri-Pac running. Their prices cannot be beat and they use the same parts manufacturers that Thermo King uses. That radiator I replaced in mine was nearly $600 at the Thermo King dealer. I bought the identical unit, right down to the stampings on the radiator for $155 and a new Denso cooling fan for $85, TK wanted around $350! It is a simple Denso brand fan, nothing fancy at all about it. And, both parts were identical to the old ones I pulled out. Hoses are like $6 at this outfit, TK charges around $60 ea.! So, if you need parts, check these guys out. They are fantastic to work with.

Right now, my Tri-Pac is 10 years old... I did have to replace the AirTronic heater after a number of rebuilds. I found a Thermo King dealer in Delphos Ohio, a mom and pop TK dealer. I was pricing the AirTronics and they were running around $800 at the time and then I would have to instal... The dealer in Delphos had the unit in stock and would instal for $850 out the door, with new Stainless Steel plumbing installed too. Again, it was winter, and I was literally right down the road and freezing my ass off... These guys are the BOMB! Very reasonable on labor and really good prices on parts compared to other TK dealers. And they do some of the cleanest damn installs. I have used them several times and would really recommend these guys if you are in the area. They are not far from Beaver Dam OH or Fort Wayne IN...

I also had to replace the TrippLite inverter, I grabbed an identical 1800 watt unit on Amazon for around $100 and installed myself.

All in, I have a few dollars in the unit, but it has been a solid performer if one keeps up on the maintenance. Do that, and the niggly little problems will go away. I service mine every other oil change and keep her oil topped off. The rear fuel filter, there are two, that needs to be replaced at least twice a year. I take mine to Speedco for servicing, they carry all of the parts and it is just easier to let them mess with it when I am having the truck serviced. I have been running synthetic, but have switched over to regular Rotella. I think she could use a valve adjustment, something I will tackle here when things warm up...

Good luck with that new used unit, if you have not installed her yet, do it. Just keep up on the maintenence and you should get many years of use out of her.