krh

Hey guys, looking to stick an espar on the truck. Got a quote from cummins, just thought id ask around here if anyone has a line to a better price or one they want to get rid of. Looking for the H5 espar kit for 2005 dodge. I dont think id have much issue making the generic kit work either though. Let me know what you think. Thanks dudes.

ironbrew

interested in this info and prices as well...

other brands etc. are welcome info...

thanks

dvst8r

Tough year to get an Espar, last year supply was good, and there was a decent price war. This year they are having issues with waterpump manufacturing, and as such supply is low and price is high. I would wait until late season if you can.

(I used to sell them and parts for them for a living)

Gmanndodgeguy

Had mine installed at polar mobility just off the Sherwood Park Freeway. Not sure what city you're in tho.

Price was around $1200 plus install.

Be sure you double clamp every connections. I had nothing but leaks till I doubled everything up.

Cheers

Lucas1

can look at webasto..............i hate proheat.

if you cant find the dodge kit just use a generic 12v kit and do your own mounting solutions.



dvstater............did espar ever come out with the controller that allows you to call it from your phone to start the unit.

the 7 day timer sucks.



iam a trained eapar tech and i can barely remember how to operate them.lol

dvst8r

Yes, it is pricey though.

I typically recommend people just have it wired into an aux output on an aftermarket remote car starter (compustar, nustart, viper, ect...)

dodgediesel

Brett, I have an Wabasto waiting to go in. Can I also controll it from my Compustar or is that just a Espar feature?

Lucas1

have to pull out a wiring diagram
its been a while .


oh ya you should have warned me you were leaving polar................you could have been the "hook up" for a great last day sale

ccmckee

Apparently the governent is giving out rebates for installing these heaters to the tune of $400.00 a pop as part of the reduce idling iniative for rigs, so i'm not sure if it would apply to our trucks. I know Paul was looking into replacing his ESPARS that crapped out on his Freightliners with WABASTOS and this is what he was told. IT would definately be worthwhile checking into.
He says he'll never buy another espar again as they want $400 alone for the "special tool" to repair them.

dvst8r

Nobody uses the special tool, not even Espar themselves. In the shop of the company I used to work for we would just use the $10 ones off the snap on or mac truck, and just do a touch on the bench grinder to make them fit a little better.

The advantage Espar's have over Wabasto's is that you can replace almost every part individually, the Wabsto's are a lot more modular (IE need one screw, you have to buy the whole cover it is attached too). The other big advantage is diagnostics and size. The diagnostics on board the Espar are years ahead of anyone else, the problem being most people don't know what they are looking at IF they even bother to look at the data logging.

Reliability between them is almost indistinguishable, they share a huge number of vendors (with only slight variations in parts), and the factories for both are only a few miles apart.

Proper installation is far more important then what brand you buy, this alone will typically be the difference in if you are a heater believer or not, and I have seen a TON of poor installs on all brands.

dvst8r

As far as the government initiative I believe it is only for hiway tractors. The gov't website is www.trucksoftomorrow.com

Iirc it has to be a company owned vehicle with a GVW of 16000lbs + Also for coolant heaters, the cab blowers must be wired to work in order to be eligible.

dvst8r

Short answer is yes, long answer is it maybe complicated.

They use similar controls, what did you get for a controller with it? 7 day timer or?

dodgediesel

It has a 7 day controller with it. Fancy little electronic gizmo

dvst8r

Then it should be a fairly straight forward addition to the compustar. As all it will need is to trigger a relay to tell the timer to go. I don't have any wabasto wiring diagrams, but I am sure it is straight forward.

Lil Dog

I have Espar and my biz partner has Webasto and used to have Espar on his other truck. FWIW the heat isn't as good from the Webasto and timer sucks compared to the older Espar I have. I like the diagnostics on my Espar. I know Dr. Evil put in the wireless remote for his. I've had it about 4 years now without a problem.

Question, should they be disassembled and cleaned?