CruiseAir?

[Just Plain Jeff]

While The Boss has been off doing family stuff, I have spent the last couple of weeks as a Bus Barn Junkie, walking around and putting my nose into where it doesn't belong at several converters down here in Florida.

One of the observations I have made is that there are a lot of condenser units being replaced on coaches which are more or less 10-years old.

The owner will find that when switching on the Cruise that the compressor goes on, you can see the amperage draw, but no cool or hot air (depending on the setting). I had previous thought that such units were more or less bulletproof, but apparently the condenser units are not.

There are likely some wizards around who may be able to enlighten us further.

So, here's just one part of the puzzle and it seems it may be a good idea for us to explore it more fully.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Cynic that I am it strikes me if the current draw indicates the compressor has kicked on, that rules out the only reason for changing a condenser unit apart from a corroded and leaking condenser coil.

If there is a current draw and then it drops to only a few amps it could be a Freon issue, a locked rotor on the compressor, or a locked condenser fan.

My point is that if I was spending my money I would verify the problem before throwing away a condensing unit. If on the other hand I was spending an uninformed customer's money, three wires, two copper lines and a handfull of screws is all it takes to replace the unit and it keeps me from actually having to replace something as simple as a start or run capacitor or to recharge the system.

But to be fair, if the Cruise Air has never had an maintenance, and the condenser coils are corroded and plugged with road salt and sand replacing the unit in the long run will eliminate the likely ongoing problems from years of neglect.

[Jim_Scoggins]

How much does it cost to replace a cruise air unit? I ask this as I will most likely be buying a 8-10 year old coach.

Jim Scoggins
newbewannabe

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Jim,

A Cruise Air unit consists of an evaporator unit, usually located in the living area of the coach, and a condensing unit, typically located behind the front bumper and in the center of the second bay. Sometimes the brain fails, but that is rare.

If the unit fails to function, it is almost always due to the condensing unit. A remanufactured condensing unit can be purchased from the company that makes Cruise Air units for about $700 to $800. Except for some second bay installations which may take longer the condensing unit can be replaced in about 2 hours, with another hour required to evacuate the lines and charge the system. Some second bay units may require the removal of the entertainment unit and depending on its configuration that removal could require a few hours.

If you are concerned about the Cruise Air units when you purchase the coach, try to put it in perspective. Usually the reason the units fail to work is that over the years Freon has escaped. A recharge is all that is necessary to correct that along with a fix on the leak, usually a valve. A few hundred dollars at most deals with all four units.

But if you want to start out new, change all the condensing units at once. Even if the total cost is $6000, as a percentage of the cost of a coach of the years you mention it is small change. If it were me, I would just insure that they worked when I bought the coach. No sense looking for trouble.

[Just Plain Jeff]

How much does it cost to replace a cruise air unit? I ask this as I will most likely be buying a 8-10 year old coach.

Jim Scoggins
newbewannabe

Good pick-up Jim.

For those of us who are not mechanically-gifted, we have to rely on repair shops and qualified technicians to keep our rigs going down the road. After your comment I checked around and the common problems with the CruseAirs are: Reversing valve failure, fan problems and coolant leaks. To keep costs down for customers, most repair shops change out the units. At $90-100/hour they figure that it is less expensive to swap out units than pull them apart and repair the individual components in the units.

But you bring up a much bigger issue: When buying a coach, it is essential that a complete and comprehensive PDI be done as a part of the buying process and have every single component and system checked out and fixed before taking possession of the rig.

There are few things worse than laying out some precious money for the coach of your dreams and then spending way too much time in repair facilities with the aggravation and dollars spent picking away at problems which could have been addressed prior to delivery of the unit.

Especially on a 10-year old coach, you 'll want to see the maintenance records, get a PDI done, and be comfortable that all this would be accomplished by a competent individual or organization.

It's pretty tough to beat the system and few are able to do so.

So, that's free advice, worth every penny you paid for it.

[truk4u]

Don't let the anti Cruisair guys scare you off, I think they work great and most mechanics would rather work on them compared to roof airs. They are easy to service and I haven't experienced any shut down due to ambient air temps. Or maybe it's better to find a ladder, get on the roof with all your tools and equipment, remove the whimpy plastic cover and hope you don't break any of the caulking sealing the unit, cause it won't be fun in the rain.

[Jerry Winchester]

And believe me, Crackboy Tom knows all about watching folks work in the rain, but doesn't have much relative experience doing it.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Are you looking for remarks with an avatar like that?

I'm surprised everybody isn't all over that one.

[Jerry Winchester]

Jon,

This is the real reason Tom bought a bus......

plane crack.jpg

[bill&jody]

if jerry really looks like that, no wonder he gets invited to do cross country trips.