Here I am at a Hotel

[Broompilot]

on a Saturday, why? Because once again my Pro-Heat is not working its 95F here in Madison. $3.00 an hour to idle a truck at 10 hours until 10:30 tonight before it gets into the mid 70s. Miserable conditions and time to burn cannot unload until tommorow PM so this seems like a better value and more comfortable to spend $60.00 on a room. Add a shower in and now I am only about $25.00 in the red.

I do not mind so much the problems that this equipment throws at me its the service dealers that are so hard to deal with. That not my problem attitude with your costs or problem. I called in advance to check the hours of service was told were open till midnight OK thats plenty of time if I get there at 3PM I will be able to wait.

NO NO NO, our staff that works on Pro-Heats leave at 5 so you Mr. Allen are SCREWED and have a nice weekend 700 miles from home. I hate this piece of equipment or beginning to hate it. If you have one please let me know, if your considering one mine is for sale. I hope you guys with other brands are having better luck. I have not spoken to one person who owns one with the A/C that has not had problem after problem. The generator works great, the rest of it needs alot of re-engineering. I am confident I invested in this to save $ and its costing me in downtime and travel time plus fuel costs to dealers and waiting plus the now idle I need to run the truck or get a hotel. Last night never idled the truck, two fans alot of alot of sweat. Thank goodness I was beat, but I woke up feeling the same way very tired thats why I decided on a Hotel.

 

[Broompilot]

>Broom hi my brother In law as one and he has had problems
>with his but he has always gotten the promblems fixed at the
>Kenworth dealer In Ft.Wayne,In.He says that they are the
>best that he's found so far.He's had his fixed in Calif,Tx
>and a couple other places.Hope this helps.Most of his
>problems have been in the circuit breaker,It keeps blowing
>fuses or something out every few weeks...
>
> Tec1959....

Thanks, that is who refered me to the Cummins Dealer next door who just shrugged me off yeah open till midnight just no one works on Pro-Heat after 5PM. Just my luck that Bentz took all day to remove the hot water heater.

 

[greg334]

Because I have a cargo van, I don’t know much about some of these APUs so I have a few dumb questions,

What usually goes wrong with them? I mean is there something that common, like the controller board (or what ever they call it)?

I assume (I know assumptions are dangerous) that a number of these units are out of warranty, so I am wondering how much service cost for these units.

Are there a lot of dealers around that are actual authorized service centers?

 

[merkurfan]

Heres what can go wrong with them. They have to many parts in to small of an area. In the box you have a diesel engine (2 cylinders in most) a a/c compressor, a a/c condenser, radiator, fan and a generator. All driven by a belt. In the sleeper of the truck you have the controls, the a/c and heat unit.

Seems most units are having big trouble with the electronics and freeze ups. In short, they are very complex, new to the market and don't have a lot of support when they fail.

Now.. my awnser to the problem.

Onan 5500 watt diesel generator. No belts just a engine with direct drive generator. wire this in to the sleeper, it comes with 2 30 amp fused outputs. Run one to a roof air unit, I use the Duo-therm low profile 13,000 BTU a/c unit with heat pump. This is a self contained a/c and heat unit that is run by a t-stat. Run the other to a few outlets in the sleeper and one near the block heater plug so you can power that in the winter.

It's that simple. Both units come with a 3 year warranty and can be serviced by any RV shop.

 

[mcbride]

Merk-

Does the RV shop you work in install the RV generator units? If so, how much? We need to replace the infamous aux unit.

mcbride-
O/O-D unit-Team-6yrs
--What goes around comes around--
LEGAL NOTICE: The views and opinions expressed in this post are those held by the posting author and do not represent the views or opinions of Expediters Online.com, On Time Media, LLC, it's agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, advertisers or sponsors.

 

[merkurfan]

They will.. but it'll cost ya 15,000 bucks, of that the mechanic might see 85 dollars

I'm working on my own now. if I did it, it's roughly half that, or around 8,500.

 

[mcbride]

Merk-

We have the roof top air already...is the $8,500 with it or without it?

mcbride-
O/O-D unit-Team-6yrs
--What goes around comes around--
LEGAL NOTICE: The views and opinions expressed in this post are those held by the posting author and do not represent the views or opinions of Expediters Online.com, On Time Media, LLC, it's agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, advertisers or sponsors.

 

[davekc]

McBrides
A 5500 watt truckgen will run your roof top. Depending on the install, $6,000 will get you there. If wanting more power, Powertech has them at a much higher wattage. They are more expensive.
Onan makes a good unit, but you should enclose it as it is very suspect to corrosion problems in the winter.
We have had pretty good luck with them. Out of four years, we have had one relay replaced, and one starter (rocker switch) which I broke myself.
Not really a repair, but I had the main wire harness moved under the bunk. Short of the starter and fuel selenoid, all the wires are inside the truck.

Davekc

 

[merkurfan]

That was the whole works McBride. I can run other numbers for ya and see what we come up with, you pay a bit more for a Onan, and I can get others. but the Onan is very comon in the RV field and thus, much easier to get fixed. I know of some RV shops that will work on nothing but Onan.

5500 watts will run two roof air units

Or a 1500 watt space heater, and your block heater with at least 2500 to space. In all honesty, 5500 watt generators are more than you need, however it is the smallest diesel one they make. And using a gas or propane generator is more of a pita than it is worth.

 

[truckerbse2]

Hey Broompilot, sorry to hear your having trouble with your proheat. I might know someone interested. What generation is it, how many hours on it and how much would you want for it? I'm going to send this link to him.

If you want to give it another try, call Teleflex in Canada 604 270-6899 and tell them you are having trouble with service. This seems to be a common complaint with these units and they need to fix it. Additionally, I have a relative with a new one who has had trouble with his, finally threw a fit in Memphis at Crow and called Teleflex. They told them to do whatever it took to get this unit fixed properly so he didn't have the problems with it. We have had our unit now for 4 years, but it is a Gen 2. Other than the belt is a pain in the neck to change, ours has been relatively hassle free. Our installer is very open to calls and helps us find a place to get fixed as well as offers suggestions as to what might be wrong and how much it should cost to fix it. Recently we had the real main seal give out. We were afraid we were gonna have to have the engine rebuilt. Talked to the installer and from happened he didn't think so. When we called back to tell him what happened he was surprised because he said that didn't happen often. Yes it cost us a day and 1/2 of down time because they didn't have the part. Wester Star in Jackson OH worked on it and did a good job and were fair. We have always thought they were a little high, but after shopping a bit, no higher than any other. The AC problems seem to be witht he newer units. I would also ask Teleflex if they have figured out what this problem is. My cousin said his was a high pressure valve and now it's cooling like no tomorrow. Some of these problems are due to a bad install, while others are just bugs in the unit.

I've heard of problems with older Rig Masters overheating, but I understand that Rig Master has fixed this problem. We do have a friend with one of these units and he really likes it. I understand also that ThermoKing now has a unit out. From what I have heard though these units do not have AC.

Best of luck to ya.

 

[Broompilot]

No its not really for sale but I was not to happy with it back in early August. Thanks anyway. I have spoken with the PR person yeah that did miracles.

The short end of it.

Its a great unit it has saved me thousands I do no that.

Many problems with about 3000 units manufactured and mine and Leos came off that same batch. QC was asleep, about four suppliers screwed up and sent parts (new) that were not gona hold up and we are having to deal with that about 3000 of us. These were units up the 3000 have held up very well. The following 3000 trouble free so speaking.

Electronics not the wiring but the little computers ( I have not suffered from this)

Compressors poor alum causing it to leak (my latest problem)

Napa's oil filters poor fit so you should buy Kabota's oil filter or another brand.

Some dealers bend over backwards such was the case in Mnspl. They had me back out in three hours no problems and it blows 42 kept the whole truck including the cab cool sleeper cold cab cool. I was in AZ 117. Other dealers well.

I am more pleased with the unit than unpleased. I wish I were estatic but this is reality. Many items on the truck causes me grief and frustration but this one you learn to depend on and it gets emotional especially with this summer we are having. I am glad I have it but I will shop around for more options next time, since I know this unit so well now I feel I can do alot of the trouble shooting and repairs myself down the line. And gentlemen my Dad always told me your not much a mechanic, like father like son was my thought. Knew when not to get punched so kept that comment to myself.

 

[legal_guard_dog]

If you or any one you know, have a Proheat Gen 4 comfort system that is causing you problems, please contact me with the details.
Include your name, address, phone numbers, serial number, dealer name and date purchased.
Data is being collected in the possible pursuit of a class action law suit.

[email protected]

 

[garman351]

Are you talking about the Airtronic D2/D4 Heater?

Does anybody know about these units?

If you do not have to run the truck, what keeps the engine oil warm so you can start it up in the morning.

I keep hearing what a miracle these units are?

Service is a big deal on anything does anybody know about these units?

Thanks,

Garman351