Which type of heating is best, Truma, Truma E, Truma Diesel, Webasco?

[ludo]

Which type of heating is best, Truma, Truma E, Truma Diesel, Webasco?

I would appreciate any advice with regard to the above. I have had personal experience of Truma E and Propex, but have not had any experience of the other options. My experience of Truma E makes me wonder if the "E" is worth the extra money. I suspect a small fan heater might be better, much cheaper and more efficient.

I would like to know about the efficency of the diesel options and the comparative costs of running, if anyone out there could help.

Thank you.

 

[Ber090]

Hi Ludo, If possible I always have Alde heating. 12 years in 3 units and always brilliant. So good we made our current m/home selection list only Alde equipped vans!
Cheers
Bernie.

 

[vwalan]

i like the alde wet system . if staying in a cold climate regularly thats the one i would use.
as it is i use a catalytic heater by thermex . hardly use that.
i do use gas lighting and find in spain etc in winter they take the chill away most of the time .
having had eberspachers and webasco diesel systems in trucks i wouldnt bother with them . too much trouble and costly for bits .

 

[canopus]

Alde for us to keeps the van at a nice constant temperature on the coldest of nights.

 

[howiswork]

Used Webasto for 4 years, very unreliable and expensive to repair, currently have Truman (since May) and very impressed, not yet experienced winter but optimistic although gas usage will be pretty high.

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[ericroy]

I chose to go with Truma E and have not regretted it. Adding the E provides two benefits: extra power when used with gas to get up to temperature more quickly and an alternative for when the gas runs out. We find that for overnight background warmth, using it in electric-only mode is very quiet.

A separate electric heater instead of the E variant would take up more space but provide a backup if the Truma failed.

 

[jonandshell]

We have a Webasto Dualtop which performs brilliantly at extreme low temperatures.
However you need to count on a replacement burner every 2 years if you are a heavy user. They can be cleaned but a replacement gives longer service.
This can be expensive if you cant do the job yourself.

I will agree that a Truma is a better low maintenance proposition if you have easy gas availability or use EHU.

One advantage of the Dualtop though is that it is mounted under the van and it frees up valuable locker space.

 

[Nirvanauk]

Eberspacher does it for me.

 

[Teddyj]

3 years ago brought a new van with webasto,nothing but trouble. Went back and forward to dealer and then to webasto specialist, still problems, had that van less than 1 year. So for me it's truma every time.

 

[Forestboy]

As much as I like the idea of diesel heating I can't quite get my head around burning expensive white diesel when there are better alternatives.
Alde would be top of my list every time although my 12 year old Truma works perfect even in ski resorts at minus 20 van is always toasty.

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[stcyr]

Our 23 year old (dual-circuit blown air) Truma still works faultlessly.

 

[appydaze]

the wifes back..(tried the front once but that was pretty damn cold)

 

[grasscutter]

I like our Truma for the fact that I can use it on the convection only setting and there is no running down of battery power using the fan.

 

[CWH]

Which type of heating is best, Truma, Truma E, Truma Diesel, Webasco?

I would appreciate any advice with regard to the above. I have had personal experience of Truma E and Propex, but have not had any experience of the other options. My experience of Truma E makes me wonder if the "E" is worth the extra money. I suspect a small fan heater might be better, much cheaper and more efficient.

I would like to know about the efficency of the diesel options and the comparative costs of running, if anyone out there could help.

Thank you.

Tabasco?

 

[Judge Mental]

While trauma far from reliable in my experience... Far easier to run and maintain than diesel heating apparently. One dealer said avoid due to maintaining it and warranty claim issues (diesel)..I would not touch it if I had a choice. ALDE in a different league..

Have yet to see alde in a panel van but swedes fit it in small campers

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[Spidey]

This makes me worried as we have diesel in the chausson and before everyone was saying it was good:-(

 

[stcyr]

Several million trucks use Eberspachers ... out of a couple of dozen over the years I only had 2 pack up (temporarily) - one due to the air-intake grille becoming choked with fluff & dust, the other due to a defunct lift-pump.

 

[jonandshell]

This makes me worried as we have diesel in the chausson and before everyone was saying it was good:-(

I had an interesting email exchange with Webasto UK technical today.
Our heater has needed a new burner every two years. To be fair though, it does say in the manual that the Dualtop should be serviced every two years!
Anyway, what I have learned is that Webasto have improved their products quite considerably following their first steps into the leisure market a few years back.
Whilst our unit had a few issues, those problems have been engineered out through the use of improved components.
Following the conversation, I would have no hesitation in having another Dualtop. The burner service every two years is a price worth paying for the extra independance diesel gives us.

 

[Judge Mental]

But aren't campers lower to the ground than trucks. What I heard was that warrenty claims were refused because underneath external stuff had not been maintained... No such problems with truma. Stay away from their valves though!

 

[Snowbird]

The van am running now has the Alde wet system with the option to run it from the engine heat. It seems to work well, but to be honest I have not tried it in extremes. I also have the Eberspacher airtop as back up and that is a great bit of kit. Once the temperature here in Spain drops below 20 deg, I will let you know if the Alde is ant good. My Dometic airco is working perfectly at the moment, which is of far more importance .

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[phil1946]

Don't know about diesel heaters except that trucks use Eberspacher so should be reliable.

We do not wild camp and so I opt for using the electricity that I have paid for with my site fee.

Tube heaters to keep the windscreen warm, oil filled radiators for background warmth and one or two halogen heaters for instant additional heat work well for us.

Just keep an eye on the current and don't put the kettle on when all the heat is on!

 

[jonandshell]

Further to my last post, the reason I emailed Webasto was to enquire how long an extension could be ftted to my heater combustion intake.
Our Dualtop lies in the firing line of water spray and dust from the left front wheel. I have developed a theory that spray and dust was being sucked into the burner, accelerating burner clogging and carbon build up.
Well, tonight when I got home, I removed the intake silencer and short intake hose. It was full of dirt!!!!!

This explains our high burner servicing frequency! I have ordered 2 metres (the maximum allowable length) of 22mm silicon hose and I will relocate the intake out of harms way.

This should extend servicing intervals! The Dualtops are all mounted externally in differing positions. If you suspect dirt is being drawn in whilst on the road, this is a very cheap and effective modification.

I will update you in two years time!!!!

 

[tonyidle]

I think part of the answer to the OPs question depends on whether he intends to use mainly sites with EHU or mainly sites/locations without. Truma, Alde and Diesel heaters use a small amount of power for the blown air or the (Alde) water pump. However Diesel heaters use a fair amount extra each time they fire up (ie when the thermostat calls for heat) - enough to be a consideration if running on batteries.

 

[Judge Mental]

Have been up on Sweden in -25 and can assure you ALDE works great. Had the alde underfloor heating as well. Really nice when showering on a cold morning.. Its disent dry out the air like blown air heating either. More like domestic central heating.....but they don't tend to fit it to panel vans....

 

[jonandshell]

I think part of the answer to the OPs question depends on whether he intends to use mainly sites with EHU or mainly sites/locations without. Truma, Alde and Diesel heaters use a small amount of power for the blown air or the (Alde) water pump. However Diesel heaters use a fair amount extra each time they fire up (ie when the thermostat calls for heat) - enough to be a consideration if running on batteries.

They USED to!

The latest generation are better controlled and simply tick over at a low heat output rather than stopping and starting.
If you check the technical specifications you will find there is little difference between a Webasto Dualtop and Truma Combi in respect of their 12v useage.
We are quite happy with the performance of our Dualtop in the Alpine winter without EHU.
We certainly don't have to recharge our batteries any more frequently than anyone else on the aire.
Since most motorhomes carry crap leisure batteries anyway, its easy to blame the heater. Those who complain about their diesel heater would probably say the same about a Truma Combi if they had one!

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[laneside]

This is the one we have found most succesful

 

[Deleted member 29692]

Another vote for Alde wet

 

[JockandRita]

Hi Rex,

We are the same as Rory (Forestboy) in that our Trumatic C 6002 keeps us toasty in winter. Unfortunately, it is gas only. We also have the Truma E cab heater, (gas only) which I sometimes use when up early in the mornings, rather than warming the complete MH. Both have been problem free over the many years of ownership, and use very little battery power, especially when the fans are on low mode.

For your PVC MH, if on refillable gas, I'd possibly opt for the Truma E. Autogas is between 57p and 69p per litre, whereas diesel is around £1.30 per litre.

HTH,

Jock.

 

[jonandshell]

Hi Rex,

We are the same as Rory (Forestboy) in that our Trumatic C 6002 keeps us toasty in winter. Unfortunately, it is gas only. We also have the Truma E cab heater, (gas only) which I sometimes use when up early in the mornings, rather than warming the complete MH. Both have been problem free over the many years of ownership, and use very little battery power, especially when the fans are on low mode.

For your PVC MH, if on refillable gas, I'd possibly opt for the Truma E. Autogas is between 57p and 69p per litre, whereas diesel is around £1.30 per litre.

HTH,

Jock.

Ahhh! But you are comparing bananas with apples Jock!

The calorific value of diesel is 38MJ per litre or 29MJ of heat per £1!

The calorific value of LPG is 24.5MJ per litre or 36MJ of heat per £1!

LPG is marginally cheaper but not as cheap as you suggest mate!

Factor in the cost of refillable bottles or fixed tank over an already-present diesel tank and the gap narrows considerably!

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

Webasto.
It was on ours when we bought it. We'd never had it before. Didn't realise how good it was.
Once we'd swapped the useless normal leisure batteries to Trojan ones we've never looked back.
We don't have the dual top.
It's never been a bit of bother.
Never had to replace bits every 2 years?
It's quiet, even outside , not like some other diesel models.
The only time you really notice it / hear it , is on start up. And when it's self servicing itself.
Keeps us toasty warm in -temps. Works every time. Keeps the whole of the Motorhome warm , even when driving.
No hook up required gives us so much more freedom.
We love it so much , we are spending a small fortune fitting it to the new R&B self build PVC.

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