I'm Thinking Rig Master...Any Comments?

dhalltoyo · Mar 13, 2006

I have been looking at several Auxillary Power Units and it seems that a Rig Master offers some great options.

Specifically, I like the fact the Rig Master operates independently from the truck's cooling system. You can still utilize an engine block heater by simply pulling into the AC power generated by the Rig Master Power Unit.

Price wise it looks as thought the Rig Master Master and the Pro Heat units are fairly equal in cost.

To date, I have seen more posts regarding mechanical issues with the Pro Heat units, but possibly this could be due to the total number of units sold overall.

I would appreciate some feedback from those of you who have some experience with the Rig Master units.

As always, I will thank you in advance for your assistance.

wallytrucker1 · Mar 13, 2006

Bought my Rigm in jan 06. So far so good except for an installation problem(loose fuel fitting) which was corrected' Big Rig Products, OK City $6800.00 with autostate and ooida discount. Takes one day to install. Good luck

wallytrucker1 · Mar 13, 2006

P S One of the failings of rigm was a overheating problem..The new units have a large second fan which the co says takes care of the problem.

davekc · Mar 13, 2006

So far, the new version has been holding up well. We have the new(orange engine) on a 05 M2, and it seems to be holding up well. Only issue so far is a broken alternator bolt. We have had them in the past on numerous trucks and they held up well except the A/C. New version with the autostart is a great improvement.
If going to a roof mount, Powertech or Truckgen would be my choice.

Davekc
owner
21 years
PantherII
EO moderator

greg334 · Mar 13, 2006

>I have been looking at several Auxillary Power Units and it
>seems that a Rig Master offers some great options.
>
>Specifically, I like the fact the Rig Master operates
>independently from the truck's cooling system. You can still
>utilize an engine block heater by simply pulling into the AC
>power generated by the Rig Master Power Unit.
>
>Price wise it looks as thought the Rig Master Master and the
>Pro Heat units are fairly equal in cost.
>
>To date, I have seen more posts regarding mechanical issues
>with the Pro Heat units, but possibly this could be due to
>the total number of units sold overall.
>
>I would appreciate some feedback from those of you who have
>some experience with the Rig Master units.
>
>As always, I will thank you in advance for your assistance.

I am a little confused, don't you own a van? I am trying to figure out where you would mount it?

dhalltoyo · Mar 14, 2006

Good call Greg!

You are correct, but I am already looking at the purchase of a straight truck. The organization to which I lease has so much business they are willing to make concessions to get me into a straight truck.

I appreciate all of the information you have provided to me and thank you for having a great memory.

greg334 · Mar 14, 2006

>Good call Greg!
>
>You are correct, but I am already looking at the purchase of
>a straight truck. The organization to which I lease has so
>much business they are willing to make concessions to get me
>into a straight truck.
>
>I appreciate all of the information you have provided to me
>and thank you for having a great memory.

well if that is the case, look at Willis apu. Leo has one and I saw one a few weeks ago, looks like a good system.

LDB · Mar 14, 2006

I've got the Willis APU and am very happy with it. When I want a/c or heat it runs both the sleeper and the truck dashboard units at the same time. I had to leave it on overnite in Rockford to keep the fuel circulating because it got down to -2 overnite. The next morning when I got back to the truck it was 9 degrees. I left both heaters set to the hottest thermostat setting and fans on the highest setting and it was 91 degrees inside the truck. I think it would keep you warm on a polar expedition.

It also monitors the truck air pressure and if needed the compressor kicks in to top off the air tanks. They will have an option to circulate the main engine oil later on as well so that you'll never have a dry start of the main engine.

I like that it has low and high settings. You get 85amps of chargine on low and 135amps on high. It has to run on high for the a/c or air compressor but can run on low for heating or battery charging. It uses only a pint an hour on low so you could heat for an entire calendar day for only 3 gallons and uses a quart an hour on high. Most others only run on high rpm at a quart an hour. I would definitely look at another one if I were putting another truck together.

Leo Bricker, owner trucks 3034, 4958
OOIDA 677319
73's K5LDB
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator 1+ Years of Service
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greg334 · Mar 14, 2006

Hey Leo,
I am Wondering - how is the alternator, air compressor and the oil pump driven on the Willis, is it a belt or gear drive?

davekc · Mar 14, 2006

What is the price of a Willis unit? They look interesting but I am less than thrilled with anything that ties into the OEM system. Anything goes wrong and a whole host of problems arise. Even more so if it is under warranty.
The other issue is extremely few service locations. 11 locations and 3 of those in CAN. would have me concerned as well.
It would seem like enormous deadhead if you need service and aren't close to their locations.
Just an observation from looking at their site.
If the prices are reasonable, it could be a option. The other consideration we have looked at is Wabasto heat and air systems. They are used heavily in Europe and have few moving parts. Article in the recent Landline peaked my interest. I am going to look at these at MATS.

Davekc
owner
21 years
PantherII
EO moderator

LDB · Mar 14, 2006

There is a belt on the system. The limited service facilities hopefully won't be a problem. I'm less concerned because Houston has an excellent facility and that's home so worst case scenario is I go home a little sooner than planned. They start out around $9k I think. They aren't the least expensive but they seem to be among the best.

Leo Bricker, owner trucks 3034, 4958
OOIDA 677319
73's K5LDB
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator 1+ Years of Service
-----
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.