Interesting start. A/C anybody?

[adamdegraff]

So, here's my question:

Is the best part to buy a new driver's A/C Compressor, pulley/clutch assembly, and filter dryer from Prevost directly? Or is there an aftermarket or rebuild option?

Here's what happened. Decided to start our tour off by gong to Richmond, VA to see Johnny at AAP about our cruiseair units. He is, as many of you know, totally awesome. GREAT guy in every way I could tell. Fixed me right up. (Two of the units had too much R-122 in them. Two of the units had bad capicitors... which may have come from low voltage from my generator... which was fixed recently with a new new voltage regulator.) OK, back to my story.

10 miles from home, Dash A/C (Driver's AC) is running. I get an overheating warning. (thought I might have seen some sparks come out of the back of the bus as well.) Then the Pro Driver tells me my coolant is at 219 degrees. Then a red light comes on and says STOP NOW. I said, jeez, I'm looking for a place to pull over but I don't want to get run down. Finally, I limped off the road and found a safe spot. Go back to take a look at the engine and the 3 belts from the DD to the gear box are ... well, gone. Actually only one is gone. The other two are snapped and lying right there. Radiator belt and A-35 belt to the driver's A/C all fine. (Mind you, I turned off the driver's air once I got the overheat notice.)

So, I blead the air, put the three replacement belts I had on hand (Thanks POG!!) fired it back up and all was great. Radiator fan spun like a champ. Drove on down the road feeling like I had the all mighty looking over me and my family. (Didn't use driver's AC the rest of the night cuz it was cooled down.)

Met Johnny the next morning at 8AM, he set us up. On the road by 10:30, it was HOT. Flipped on the driver's AC and the other AC's I have (similar to over the road AC but smaller) and only the two back ones were working. Driver's AC wasn't working. Why? Well now there was no A-35 belt from the gear box to the AC. Verdict? The three new, strong drive belts to the gear box didn't have to break this time cuz the A-35 belt to the AC compressor was tired and weak from the night before. It snapped. Bus drove fine. Took us a while to figure out if it was the AC or the radiator fan clutch that was locking up. Did some tests with a buddy in Richmond, VA. Ran bus without AC belt on, was fine. Put AC belt on, and once that clutch kicked in, the locked up.

Called Dave Langlois, my area rep for Prevost and he said I should get a new compressor, new a/c pully/clutch, and a new filter dryer, since the system is getting disassembled anyway. Found a great guy in Charleston, WV, near our next show, to put it on. He wants a violin lesson while we are there. He'll pull the R122, vacuum test the system, install the new items, and fill 'er back up with R122.

Any flaws with this plan? You guys have saved me so much time, money, and agony already. So I dare not make a move without your collective blessing.

Thanks,

Adam

[ajducote]

I just had my dash air fixed in June at Excalibur Coach in Sanford Florida. After a leak check with nitrogen it was determined that the compressor had a seal leak. Doug the owner of Excalibur bought the compressor and dryer from a local truck parts house at about half the cost of Prevost parts. He also had to replace an electronics box under the dash, that part had to come from Prevost. All in all the cost was much lower then I expected. Dash air works great now. A lot of parts on our coaches are just standard parts used on a lot of other turcks or buses.

[truk4u]

Adam,

I replaced my Prevost Dash Air Compressor at Parliament earlier this year and the compressor was about 400.00 bucks. The pulley/clutch assembly is part of the compressor and the dryer also should be changed. My whole deal plus an over the road dryer and a leak fixed was under a grand.

If your near Clearwater, Parliament is the place to go...

[Petervs]

Adam,
The cruise airs use R-122. The dash air uses R22 or R134 depending on the year of your coach and whether or not it has been updated or not. Do not mix the refrigerants!

The compressor should be generic enough, I suspect you can find an aftermarket one.

Good luck, and stay cool!

[merle&louise]

How much does a new Cruise Air cost (the entire unit)?
Somebody posted the other day that one costs about $7,000 that seems a little high

[jack14r]

A friend of mine just bought a rebuilt cruise air for $1200 plus freight,his coach is a 1997.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I think the refrigerants are R12 or R134 in the bus engine driven AC systems depending on model year. Some R12 systems on older coaches have been switched to R134A.

To the best of my knowledge Cruise Airs (but not roof airs) are R22.

I do not know what roof airs use. I would guess they use 134 but that is strictly a guess.

Replacement Cruise Air condensing units are available from the manufacturer. They have rebuilt or remanufactured units available The last price I paid was about 4 years ago and it was around $700 apiece. Simple replacement. Two refrigerant lines, the electric connection and the screws holding it in place. It comes pre-charged, but it will require some adjustment to the charge because the varying length of the tubing run affects the amount required.

[adamdegraff]

I was actually looking for a rebuilt driver's air compressor, not curiseair. Though, if I wanted a rebuilt cruiseair I would just call Johnny at AAP as that IS what he does. And he is a great guy. So by all means, call him about any and all cruiseair questions. 804-633-9454 Just ask for Johnny and tell him the fiddle player told you to call:-) Actually, I told him he's a legend on this forum.

~Adam

[merle&louise]

Those prices on CruiseAirs sound more reasonable. I guess the $7,000 cost was a typo. It did seem a little over the top. That is why I asked, thanks for answering.

This brings up an interesting point; proof reading before hitting the "submit reply" button.