apu experience

[gandrew]

The moderator may edit this one, but I want to share with other Expediters our experience with Pony Pack. I had this new unit installed August of 05 by an outfit in Battle Creek MI that had put in over a hundred Pony Packs on their own truck fleet. I had problems and kept going back for warranty repairs until they finally told me "don't come back. Pony Pack is not reimbursing us for the time we spend on your unit and we need our machanic to work on our own rigs". I stopped back in Albuqurque NM at the factory where I bought it. I was told "we do not service our Pony Packs. You must seek service from the place that installed it or some other place." However a member of the staff came out on his own and discovered that the wiring in our Pony Pack was wrong for this truck and installed a new one at no charge. I lost A/C in my truck most of last summer and spent hundreds of $ at TAs and other places getting it recharged. My son and I spotted the leak on the evaporator can on the PP and requested a new one be sent, which the factory did. Then this past winter we had no heat from the PP and by trial and error found a Pony Pack exhaust manifold flipper valve had frozen in one position and would not move. PP sent me a new one which I installed. Two weeks ago we woke up to find a 3 ft by 5 ft puddle of oil below the Pony Pack. It appears the oil seal on the back of the Kubota engine has failed and the crankshaft may be damaged as well. The Pony Pack is 17 months old and has 2,800 hours on the clock. FYI the oil was changed every time the truck oil was changed regardless of hours of use. It is out of warranty. Now we idle the truck's big motor. Have I saved any money with this APU? It's doubtful. My next APU purchase will be based on two things: length of warranty and quantity of service centers. It sure won't be a Pony Pack.x(

 

[terryandrene]

No moderator edit is necessary because these are the well written factual comments that all of us can use. Good luck on your next APU; you're bound to get many comments here.

 

[davekc]

Sorry to hear about your situation. I will tell you up front that I know very little about Pony Packs other than the occassional ad I see.
As for your leaking oil seal, a Kabota dealer should be able to fix that. Did you just change a drive belt? Usually the Kabota engines are pretty reliable. On APU's most of the issues tend to be electrical in nature.








Davekc
owner
22 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[gandrew]

Odd that you ask about the belts. I have changed the belts. The big serpentine belt was changed when I repaired the heater manifold problem. The small water pump belt was replaced a week or two before the oil blowout. Are you thinking there is a connection? My plan of action is to take a week off when I go home and remove the Kubota motor and carry it in to a Kubota dealer, and reinstall it afterwards. So glad my sons and I are familiar with wrenches.

 

[davekc]

The water pump belt won't have anything to do with it. The main drive belt between the engine and the actual generator is the one I was talking about. If that drive belt is not installed correctly, it will damage the seal on the back of the engine.









Davekc
owner
22 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[gandrew]

It is possible to misinstall the serpentine belt, as you state. The Pony Pack manual is careful to guide us to put the belt in all the way on the alternator pulley and out all the way on the compressor pulley. That lines up the splines on the belt with those on the pulleys. Other than that, I am not sure how else it could be improperly installed.

 

[davekc]

Usually it is from a belt that is too loose or too tight. More likely the latter. Too much pressure on the shaft will mess up the seal.
Kabota should be able to tell when they work on it.







Davekc
owner
22 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[LDB]

When you look into replacements I'd be sure to check out one of the Onan Quiet-Diesel generators like they have in operation in who knows how many scores of thousands of motorhomes. Between Camping World and others along with most of the high end camper dealers there should be multiples of service locations compared to any APU available. Good luck.

Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA Life Member 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 5508, 5509, 5641
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

 

[Bugsy Siegel]

Thanks for the info!

I definitely want an APU and I'll take this into consideration when I get one.

 

[wallytrucker1]

Had the Rigmaster installed Jan 06, 3000 hrs, happy so far. Big Rig Products, O.K. city great people to deal with and had me in and out same day, about $7000.00 w/ooida discount. Not the first bad thing i 've heard on pony pak Thanx for the heads up u go LANDSTAR

 

[x06col]

3000 hrs in 400 days??? That's 7.5 hrs a day since install (every day) I can't imagine you needing it for that log a period, every day of the year. Must be a typo? Eh?

 

[greg334]

The first thing that comes to mind is that I will not buy this product. If I am sitting at the factory and they refuse any service, well this speaks for itself.

As for the actual unit, well I have yet seen any real comparison between the 20 plus APUs on the market. When I looked at some of these units, a few up close and personal with a wrench and screwdriver in hand, I find that they are almost all the same layout, the same components with exception of the heating system and the controlling unit.

Many use the Kubota, good engine and if treated well, will last a long time. I have seen a few with Cat motors in them which I liked a lot but could not afford.

The issue I am finding is that many of these APUs use the front end pulley of the engine is used to drive the generator, the A/C compressor and any other accessories. The problem is that the front end of the engine is not really made for this unbalance load on the shaft. The better way to do this is use the flywheel side with some sort of pillow block on the end of the shaft. Another system I have seen on a prototype generator uses a gear set (some cheap auto cam shaft gears) to transmit power to the different components, unloading the stress completely on the engine shaft.

The difference between the Kubota and the Cat engine is simply service. I understand from Cat that any Cat dealer will service the engines (seeing that they are sort of junior 3126s’) but with the Kubota, many Kubota tractor dealers (which is the leading dealership franchise here in the US) will not touch an APU or a reefer for that matter. They are not equipped to work on the APU and some don’t even have the proper parts in stock – which means that they will not order them.

Many of the APUs have a few problems I am concerned about;

The speed of the engine is well above the sweet spot of the engine. The issue for me is that the sweet spot is the speed that the engine is running at the most efficient speed. This in turn means less fuel used.

And

The use of a generator that needs to run above 3000 RPM to produce the proper voltage/line frequency for the truck What this translates into is the higher the speed needed, the more wear and tear on the generator head. Eventually the bearings wear out and if they fail the generator may have to be replaced. The really good generators cost almost as much as the APUs on the market.

As Leo mentioned, the Onan is about the best solution out there.

 

[ATeam]

Leo mentioned the Onan Quiet Diesel generator. We have one and are very pleased with it. Service and some parts are available at Camping World and other RV stores. Oil filters are at Wal-Mart. NAPA also sells the filters. The Onan dealer chain is where we would go for service if we needed it.

So far there has only been one stop like that (fuel pump replaced under warranty, excellent service at this Onan dealer in Utah). Otherwise we have had 1,700 hours of trouble free service. Camping World is also a possible service location. With our fuel pump problem, we found a technician at Camping World who knew all about Onan generators but did not have time to get us in. Onan in Utah was our next stop.

I have three gripes about the unit but would still buy another one if I had it to do again. Gripe One is the 150 hour oil change interval. That seems a bit short. Gripe Two is it is messy to do oil changes. The oil filter screws straight onto the side of the engine. When you unscrew it, oil drains out before you can get it totally off. I stuff paper towls under it to catch the mess but wish I did not have to do that. Gripe Three is we have to change the fuel filter more frequently than the 500 hours the manual says. Changing them every other oil change works well.

Otherwise, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. First of all, it works, it provides all the power we need. It is the quietest generator I have heard on any truck. In our truck, if the ceiling fan is running, I have to look at the indicator light to tell if the generator is running. The fan noise is louder.

Note that this generator produces electric power only. A electric-powered roof unit provides heat and AC when the main engine is not running.

 

[davekc]

To avoid the mess when changing the oil filter Phil, change the oil when the engine is cold. Only a few drops or so should come out. We use to use a small plastic tupperware bowl to catch any drips.









Davekc
owner
22 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[ATeam]

Engine cold or warm, it makes no difference on this generator. The filter retains oil, even if the generator sits unused for days. If there was room for a container, funnel, or even a cut away bottle fashioned for the space to catch oil (I have tried everything I can think of), I would use it, but there is not. Paper towels are the best solution found so far.

 

[greg334]

I don't remember the amount of space that you have (because I never paid attention to the oil filter) but have you thought of using a paint roller pan under the filter? They make them in all different sizes and heights which I think you can find one that fits.

Just wondering Phil, can you take a picture (and of course post it) of the area to give us an idea what the problem is for us potential Onan owners?

 

[ATeam]

Come on, guys. It's not a big deal. The filter screws into the side of the engine. Directly under that is a shield. Between the two there is just enough room to stick your fingers. Without paper towels stuffed between the filter and shield, oil drains out of the filter, onto the shield, over the shield's edges and all over the place from there. The solution is simple. stuff a couple paper towels beneath the filter before removing it. Unscrew the filter quickly to minimize the oil spill. Dispose of the towels after the filter is removed. End of story.

 

[x06col]

Me think Greg needs to use his expediting equipment more!

 

[greg334]

>Come on, guys. It's not a big deal. The filter screws into
>the side of the engine. Directly under that is a shield.
>Between the two there is just enough room to stick your
>fingers. Without paper towels stuffed between the filter and
>shield, oil drains out of the filter, onto the shield, over
>the shield's edges and all over the place from there. The
>solution is simple. stuff a couple paper towels beneath the
>filter before removing it. Unscrew the filter quickly to
>minimize the oil spill. Dispose of the towels after the
>filter is removed. End of story.

Phil,

I am not trying to hassle you and rather.. never mind.

 

[davekc]

When cold, I am surprised there is any oil in it, as it should all be in the pan.
The next option once you know for sure you have a replacement filter is to take a punch and put a hole in the filter to drain it that way.
That way you can control any place that the oil would go.
I have never seen this not work.










Davekc
owner
22 years
PantherII
EO moderator