Trauma vs Alde (1 Viewer)

[wp1234]

I will soon be looking for a new van and will have an option to pick one heating system or the other . The Alde system comes with a extra price tag of circa £2k so I'm wondering if it's worth it or not .
As I'm retiring soon I'm looking to keep the next van for a number of years and will be using it for months per year rather than the odd 2 week holiday and weekends. Having only used Truma to date I feel this system is a quick but usually a noisy way of heating your van but is the Alde any different.
Really I suppose it comes down to which system provides the best heating option for the £ any alive would be great.

 

[Bluemooner]

We have a Truma system now last 2 vans had Alde which is the best and worth the extra cost

 

[funflair]

Alde is not quick but its not noisy either, all round it just "heating" it doesn't dry the air, it doesn't go hot/cold, it doesn't warm your feet but not your body, and if you combine it with a heat exchanger you have heat when driving as well

£2k go for it.

Martin

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[DavidG58]

ours Alde is noisy, but we think ours is not built like any other ever pup is under our bed, quiet enough during the day but overnight when it cuts in it will wake us up , but like the overall package

 

[icantremember]

ours Alde is noisy, but we think ours is not built like any other ever pup is under our bed, quiet enough during the day but overnight when it cuts in it will wake us up , but like the overall package

It's not the heating that is noisy David .... it's that dog under your bed!

Alde everytime for us ... ok it's not instant but doesn't take long

 

[Camdoon]

Alde allday long. It is the equivalent of having central heating with no cold or hot spots as opposed to fan heaters. We only bought our van in May so have only used the heating two or three times. Cannot wait to try the heat exchanger. The only downside is their App to run the system remotely is over £700 but as there is a comprehensive timer it is difficult to know how anyone could justify it.

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[EuroTrotters]

The only reason I would choose ALDE is for the option to heat via engine.

Otherwise, not enough benefits over Truma and has downsides.

 

[icantremember]

has downsides.

Please elaborate

 

[EuroTrotters]

*Slow to heat up a large Van
*Most Installations are not designed so you can close off certain areas (no heat)
*High Gas Consumption on large or poorly insulated vehicles
*One way valves can give trouble and block slow, resulting in no heat.
*Need More Maintenance than Truma (Fluid needs changing)
*Can suffer from airlocks
*Pump failure

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[Derbyshire wanderer]

Alde every time IMV.
Set the thermostat and relax, no hassle and doesn't spoil the air.
It probably uses a bit more gas but then again it is heating the whole MH evenly

 

[icantremember]

*Slow to heat up a large Van
*Most Installations are not designed so you can close off certain areas (no heat)
*High Gas Consumption on large or poorly insulated vehicles
*One way valves can give trouble and block slow, resulting in no heat.
*Need More Maintenance than Truma (Fluid needs changing)
*Can suffer from airlocks
*Pump failure

Oh well, looks like I have some problems ahead ... had the last moho for 7 years and no problems with the Alde system!

 

[funflair]

*Slow to heat up a large Van
*Most Installations are not designed so you can close off certain areas (no heat)
*High Gas Consumption on large or poorly insulated vehicles
*One way valves can give trouble and block slow, resulting in no heat.
*Need More Maintenance than Truma (Fluid needs changing)
*Can suffer from airlocks
*Pump failure

*Slow to heat up a large Van
Yes it is quite slow to warm up, but a lot quicker on gas and electric.
*Most Installations are not designed so you can close off certain areas (no heat)
Thats a failing of the van designer not the Alde system, ours closes off the bedroom if you so wish, more modern installations have underfloor zones as well.
*High Gas Consumption on large or poorly insulated vehicles
I would imagine any large and poorly insulated vehicle would us a lot of gas keeping warm.
*One way valves can give trouble and block slow, resulting in no heat.
Have not heard of people having these problems
*Need More Maintenance than Truma (Fluid needs changing)
I believe they say 2 years but in reality with modern antifreeze once in a blue moon is OK I believe.
*Can suffer from airlocks
That would be poor system design.
*Pump failure
The original pump in the header tank has a finite life but is less than £100 and easy to change (ours is 6 years old and the original lasted 6 years), I think the newer inline ones are more reliable.

Martin

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[EuroTrotters]

Ours suffered all of the above (frankia).

 

[Theonlysue]

Alde needs to be switched on and let the thermostat do the work.once the temp is set it just ticks over.
As for using a lot of gas, I camped in minus 15 in January used 36 litres in 3 days but was lovely and warm in the van with no cold spots. And warm feet as well lol

 

[Cairngorm]

I will soon be looking for a new van and will have an option to pick one heating system or the other . The Alde system comes with a extra price tag of circa £2k so I'm wondering if it's worth it or not .
As I'm retiring soon I'm looking to keep the next van for a number of years and will be using it for months per year rather than the odd 2 week holiday and weekends. Having only used Truma to date I feel this system is a quick but usually a noisy way of heating your van but is the Alde any different.
Really I suppose it comes down to which system provides the best heating option for the £ any alive would be great.

Our first van was an Alde system 10 years ago and yes it felt slow to get up to temperature. I don't remember noise being an issue, when on gas you could hear the igniter getting the system going and we sometimes felt that the pipework ran out of heat when it got to the end of the line. I remember it being a brute to set, but I believe that was an add on box available to simplify the process.
The Truma system, we have seems to work very well with the same ignition noise when lighting on gas. Not really aware of the fan blowing on the system, but the one I do like about the Truma is that there is a vent in the shower room and it seems to be the hottest vent in the mh. For me £2000 could be spent on other fripperies although it would be good to have the van heated from the engine.

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[Robert Clark]

We've chosen ALDE for our new van for 2 main reasons;

The engine heat exchange will heat the van and the hot water for free when you're driving along.
The heat exchanger in the engine area will demist the windscreen

 

[jongood]

We've chosen ALDE for our new van for 2 main reasons;

The engine heat exchange will heat the van and the hot water for free when you're driving along.
The heat exchanger in the engine area will demist the windscreen

The ability to heat the whole system when your travelling is IMO one of the best features. I have previously had truma and have hired a mh with blown air heating recently. I think it comes down to your budget and what kind of use its going to have.

If you re buying a cheaper mh then alde will not be as easy to spec and without the better insulation/less draughts would probably not be efficient. you would probably be better off spending your 2k on a better mh. If you buy a high end mh then alde will be a standard fit, will work well because the mh is designed around it and not having it could affect residuals.

If you are only using it in the summer then the truma will be perfectly adequate and better in some situations, but if you're after winter use the Alde is superb.

 

[peterc10]

Had Truma in the last van and Alde in the present one. Much prefer the Alde. It heats the whole van evenly, not just bits of it. It takes no longer to reach the set temperature, but with the Truma you could put your hands or feet in front of a vent to warm them up quickly. We also found the Truma dried the air up.

Whichever one you choose it is more important to make sure you have a well insulated vsn as thst makes more difference IMHO. Double floors sre a must if you are using it in the winter snd slso A classes have better insulated cab areas.

Our Alde has radiators under the floor which helps with the even spread of heat. Even has one under the shower tray so lovely warm feet in the shower.

Having had to spend over £600 on repairs to our last Truma, with a leaking tank and then a broken pcb, I am not convinced by the suggestion that the Truma is cheaper to maintain.

I did not choose the Alde ss it was dealer specced. If I was given the choice at the time I probably not have spent the extra. But now I have tried it I would always want it in any future vsn I have.

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[CazPaul]

Truma for us every time, muck quicker to heat up, less maintenance.

But that's because of our usage, weekends away and 2 or 3 weeks away a year, like quick heat, no faffing around.
The OP is retiring and planning on spending plenty of time in the van so Alde could be better option now.

 

[icantremember]

less maintenance

The only maintenance with Alde is to change the fluid occasionally which keeps the system quiet and free of corrosion.

 

[Deleted member 29692]

The Alde system comes with a extra price tag of circa £2k so I'm wondering if it's worth it or not .

Yes, no question.

We'd never even consider a van that didn't have it.

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[CazPaul]

The only maintenance with Alde is to change the fluid occasionally which keeps the system quiet and free of corrosion.

Depending on how its been fitted, heard people having trouble with air locks, leaks etc, but that's the way it has been fitted, not the system.

 

[Christoph]

Truma works ok for us but we do have the 6E version so it also works on diesel. A tip from the forum to use the fuel/elec mix gives very good heat throuought the van.

 

[The Dudess]

Have had 2 vans with Truma blown air and 2 vans with Alde - just taken delivery of our new van and we insisted on Alde heating, albeit as an added extra. Alde every time for us.

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[wp1234]

Taking all the opinions into account sounds like Alde has the vote - thanks all

 

[icantremember]

Taking all the opinions into account sounds like Alde has the vote - thanks all

You wont regret it.

 

[Jands]

Looking to spec my future van.
Reading up I can see the advantages of an Aldi system but as a motorhome is a compromise I think I will end up getting a truma system.
The main reasons are cost and weight.
We will hopefully mainly travelling to Europe but will do some tours that require heating.
A few questions.
Can the truma system blow out air, not heated air, in warm countries to cool the van down?
Is the truma system adequate for keeping the MH warm overnight, or does it dry the air too much for sleeping?
We hired a MH but the weather was too warm to use the heating.
Any other advantages/disadvantages that we have not thought of which would sway our decision.
Please comment on my thoughts.

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[Hagstrom]

Had both. Truma blown air created a dry atmosphere that made our eyes prickle.

Alde is slow to warm up (allow half a hour) but much, much better. No trouble from the Alde system over 4 years and it runs quietly in our Frankia. No contest for us.

Most of our touring is in Europe in winter.

 

[peterc10]

AFAIK the Truma does not blow out cold air, it only works when the thermostat calls for warm air. The one we had in our previous van certainly didn't.

Like all warm air systems the Truma does tend to dry up the air. We keep the heating on at night, although at a lower temperature, and the Truma did not really prevent us sleeping. But whether it does with you will depend upon how sensitive you are to dry air.

Most Pros and Cons are set out in this thread. And you could search for other threads as this topic regularly occurs. From all the threads I have read it appears that most people who have used both, including us, end up preferring the Alde system.

 

[two]

As you approach 70 and may need to drop below 3.5t, you’ll need to have Truma to keep the weight down. Truma is perfectly OK as a heating system and has a few benefits over Alde (like you can heat up the bathroom more before taking a shower). If payload and cost was not an issue, I’d prefer Alde. Depending on the van you choose, I doubt that there’ll be much choice over the heating system that’s installed, so I’d be looking at layout and engine first.

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