today i was searching ooida and they had an add for mantis 175.. anyone have any experence with this?

 

I guess one has to look at what conditions they are in most times as to whether a full blown APU is a cost effective solution. I only really have need for AC a few weeks at most during the year, but have need for heat several months a year, since I primarily run the upper Midwest. So an espar heater for both bunk and engine is a more practical solution. A fan and window screens takes care of all but the really hot, humid days. If I go with an AC unit, I will opt for a RV roof mount unit with a portable generator. I have a midroof truck and the AC unit would fit nicely under the air dam on top. A Honda EU3000 is pretty efficient on fuel. Overall cost much lower and less weight than a rail mounted APU. And any RV place in the country can service the AC unit if needed.

 

A question that's been gnawing at me is why stay in the truck all the time? With diesel prices rising like they are isn't the equation changing just a little? If you idle your engine for 10 hours at 1 gal an hour at $4 a gal you're blowing $40. You can frequently get a room for that much and get a shower, cable tv, a desk for your laptop for logging into their wifi. With an apu you'd have to spend a ton of money for the unit and then probably still spend 10 hrs * .2 gal/hr @ $4 gal = $8. Ok, over a long enough period of time the APU pays.

Of course the truck starts to sound good to me in the dead of winter when you've got to keep the engine warm one way or another. Idling or Apu, you might as well sleep in the truck (assuming there's no place to plug it in).

When I buy a truck I might just have 3 modes:
1. Cold, nasty winter night: idle the engine and sleep in the truck
2. Summer (or cold but not ridiculous winter night): turn the engine off and get a room somewhere
3. The weather's perfect: sleep in the truck for free

 

Good thinking. That is why I only really need something like Espar heater for bunk and one for engine. Those Espar or Webasto heaters consume far less fuel than any APU and will really do the job. The engine heater units can take a block from 0 to 150F in about an hour. Far faster than any block heater running off an APU. Cold is my biggest concern. And like you stated, at those real hot times, getting a room makes more sense than running a truck all night. And you get cable tv and shower thrown in. Try that with an APU.

APU's have their place, but they are not always cost effective. When you factor in the added weight and cost as well as the cost to maintain it, it can have a pretty long ROI. For those that spend a lot of time in California and the southern tier of the U.S. it makes a lot more sense.

 

I got my TRipac with the inverter, ignition, and arctic package for 8500 new out the door. I also called more than one TK rather than assuming there was a flat price across the board.

Engine burns 1-1.5 gal/hr idling (depending on make and load)

Tripac burns 1.2 gal/ 10 hrs under load, .8 without load.

Hope this helps.

 

I guess that begs the question: regarding the fuel rate not under load, if there is no load, why would anyone even run the tripac? Just to listen to it? Just playing with your head!

Was that $8500 with complete install or, as you state, out of the box? According to TK's literature, under load (AC), the rate of consumption is 2 gallons in 10 hrs (.2 gal per hr). The most I idle for AC per year has been around 200 hrs. At $4 a gallon, that is around $800. Now, buying the tripac, adding the fuel it uses, and the additional maintenance of the unit itself, it would take me over a decade to break even. That is why I stated earlier that it is not a real cost effective option. Even if you factor heating, just getting an Espar heater is more cost effective. The tripac uses a similar Webasto bunk heater. And the tripac doesn't have a block heater, though you could use the generator output to run a block heater, but it would have to run most of the shutdown time to keep the block warm, there goes 2 gallons of fuel along with what the Webasto is using. An Espar heater will use about .05 gallons of fuel and have the block to 150 degrees in one hour after being shutoff all night.

One has to look at all the variables to determine if it is a cost effective option to get an APU. Of course, if someone is primarily operating in the southern and southwest part of the country, ROI on an APU is sooner. If a person operates in the upper Midwest, like I do, there is no reasonable ROI on a full blown APU with all the bells and whistles.

 

As a side note in all this, even with the present heat wave in the midwest, at night I can run my truck for AC for about 1/2 hr after stopping to cool everything down, and not have to start again for a couple of hrs, and run it for 15 min to cool everything again for a couple of hrs. Now, that is at night. Of course, if the sun is beating down on you, that wouldn't work so well. So, again, an APU doesn't make sound financial sense in my situation. The only reason would be anti-idling laws, but even those 15 min cooling down periods I mentioned fit within most anti-idling statutes. And in places like Chicago, there are exceptions to the anti-idling laws like if you are trying to sleep at temps above 80F, you can idle to your heart's content.

 

8500 was for all I included, MINUS the heater. I already had an Espar, so it was wired into the Tripac's control module in cab.

The purpose of the "not under load" is for monitoring the batteries. I have a flatscreen, microwave, laptop, fridge, etc, so even on a cool night with the windows cracked, it can suck down some juice. Let me tell ya, that Espar WILL suck down juice, but not enough to drain your batteries if they're in good shape (ask me how I know )

Sounds to me, for your situation, you're on the bubble for deciding. You could also get a used Tripac for 3500.

Edit- That was the installed price, and at a TK not far from Iowa

 

i am local... for now but, my dog goes everywhere with me and i do have to be fair for her in the summer and the winter. in the mornings its not bad. but i have that damn window on the top of the sleeper that makes it like a greenhouse. yesterday i idled maybe 45 min. i can not believe the fuel savings. i'm betting my fuel milage will be about 6mpg. lately its been in the low to mid 5's. almost 700 miles on half a tank according to the guage, and i have dual 120's.

right now i'm tossed up between the blackrock and the tripac. on paper the blackrock is alot stronger. 23000btu's and i think a 402cfm fan. filling out my grant paperwork soon so something is happening real shortly.

 

Well, I really don't need APU for monitoring batteries either. My flat screen is an Apple laptop. Never have had a microwave or needed one, and my fridge won't draw down the batteries to where they are too weak even after sitting for two days at the house. I really don't have the shutdown time that many others do. When I stop for break, I have got to be rolling in 10. Never sit around waiting for loads like I have in days gone by and many others still do today. My power needs are modest and the time sitting is minimal. That is why heat, since I stay primarily in the upper Midwest is really the only concern. If power for batteries was ever an issue, a Honda portable generator would do the trick nicely and a darn site cheaper and lighter, with lower maintenance requirements.