APU with all the bells, or roof air with portable genset?

usafk9 · Jun 25, 2009

I have been toiling with this idea, and need some advice.

Our truck has no APU, and no a/c while idling. The fella that sold us the truck had a portable generator for electricity while sitting. Idling while it is roasting outside is killing us in fuel costs.

I thought of this: Roof air with heat strip (and a portable ceramic heater for really cold nights), diesel generator that I can get a nice-looking box fabbed for, with a key start (or remote start), that has an electric tank heater, block heater, and battery charger built onto (or plugged into). I can get this whole setup done for about $1600-1700, whereas a new APU is going to run somewhere in the $7000-10000 range. Seems a no-brainer to me.

What say you?

sweetbillebob · Jun 25, 2009

I do not think you are going to find a generator in that price range that will hold up. Most in that price range are not meant to be run as long or as often as trucker's us them. And, they are generally a lot louder. You also have to take into account the CARB laws that are coming into effect. Only some brands are approved. I do not remember the exact dates, but having an approved APU, makes you legal for a couple of more years before requiring additional modifications to your truck to keep it legal.

Check out this site for a state by state guide to financing. Going thru the numbers, your payment will likely be less than your savings. And then you get what you will really be happy with while being compliant.

http://www.everytime.cummins.com/assets/pdf/4971121.pdf

Andrew0580 · Jun 25, 2009

Make some phone calls to some equipment finance companies, at a time like this they have a LOOOOOOONG list of repo's I am checking into a couple of them for myself.

guido4475 · Jun 25, 2009

I used a gas generator from pep-boys.It lasted 14,000 hours, no problems.6.5hp, 3,000 watt. pretty quiet,used 12 gallons in 72 hours.I still have it in the garage.It saved me a ton of money.

usafk9 · Jun 25, 2009

Okay, more questions:

Guido: Please tell what you were running.....van, sprinter, straight truck, T/T....what? Also, what were you running off the generator? A/C? computers? Heat?

My thoughts are to run roof air/heat (or supplement heat when real cold), 2 laptops, a few fluorescent lights, tv/dvd player combo, a satellite receiver and a microwave. I would turn off the roof air when I would use the microwave, coffee pot, or the Puerto Rican's hairdryer.

Also considered: a battery charger, an engine heater, and a fuel heater. Battery charger is to maintain charge in starting batteries, and the small refrigerator is 12v.

I'm trying to find a way to do this on the cheap, but keep from looking like Fred Sanford works for the Fed.

Thanks to everyone so far. Please keep 'em coming.

guido4475 · Jun 25, 2009

It was on a s/t, in a 24x24x36 aluminum tool box.I just left the door open when it was running, no problems there.I had a battery charger/maintainer hard wired into the battery posts to keep them charged that ran off of the generator. heat was a small 12" space heater from wally world.I did put a 12,000 btu window a/c unit under the bunk, vented out through the floor.the front of it was seen on the flat wall below the bed. it worked great,and would freeze me out in laredo at 120 degrees outside, but the generator wasnt big enough. i would use a 5,000 watt generator instead.i had 2-8 outlet power strips, one on each sleeper wall for inside amenities.everything worked great.i had a 48"x18x18 fridge/freezer from lowes that ran off the inverter when the generator wasnt running. it lasts 3.5 years on average, about 280..00 per fridge.i took the gas tank off of the generator and had a 12 gal aluminum gas tank that mounted under the cargo box. it was vented, gravity feed, which i know is not legal on trucks,but no dot officer has ever questioned it.i would just pull up to a gas island and gas up.the best generators i have found to use are the ones from pepboys.they are wenpower brand, and use honda clone engines. they are made in chicago, and parts are cheap. frank in parts dept is real helpful.i would recommend having a few sets of brushes and carberator springs as well as a couple of voltage regualators on hand, these are real easy to change.they willl take you in on short notice, the same day, to fix it, if you are in chicago.nice parking lot to stay overnight even.i would use mobil delvac oil with a little bit of lucas added to the oil. i changed it every 72 hours. it only took 5 mins to change, about 3/4 of a quart oil capacity.hope this helps.trying to figure out how to do all of this on a cargo van now.

moose · Jun 25, 2009

Well,
Here is my 2 C's...
you are running Team , and into California.
in my book you will be better off buying the best , and get it fully financed .
a full blown generator base APU , Carb approved.
and you need to do it yesterday ,
your payment will be less then the saving.

Here is a link for 100% EZ financed , grants backed program.:

https://secure.cascadesierrasolutions.org/

Cascade Sierra Solutions (CSS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving fuel and reducing emissions from heavy-duty diesel engines...

Just call them .

guido4475 · Jun 25, 2009

Yes, that is true, but the best would cost over 9k. At $300.00 a generator, you could buy one a year and still come out ahead.And I dont think there is any laws in cali govening gas generators or lawnmowers just yet.I know several people that have rigmaster and proheat and a few others that have nothing but problems and lose their savings by having a generator by being in the repair shop.What good is that?

usafk9 · Jun 25, 2009

That is one excellent link, Moose. I appreciate it very much, and have already left a message there.

Thanks again.

moose · Jun 25, 2009

U R welcome .
They are probably in The Las-Vegas show right now ...

I stooped by their Office/show room a few weeks ago , and was amassed of the diversified of the equipment they finance : wide tires & rimes , by-pass oil filters , tons of APU's ,side skirts , wind deflectors,Centrematic's,EXT...
and they do not backed by a bank , so all they need is 601 Credit score , regardless of anything else (like equity or income vs debts...) - just EZ financing. and great rates.
they say that they will upgrade the credit score by 5 points,for all 3 .once enrolled.
they explained to me that their job is to distribute the grants money.
they are also very knowledgeable about the different APU options , and will help you choose the one for your need.
my advice : get a one that is a generator base, (not the inverter kind),with a shore power and CARB.

let us know...

greg334 · Jun 25, 2009

Actually the head of Carb made recommendations that the truck can stop worrying about any emissions issues with Gas powered generators.

piper1 · Jun 26, 2009

Honda has Carb approved gas generators. have a little "c" at the end of the model number.....if ya go that route.

bluejaybee · Jun 28, 2009

I have bought a diesel powered 6KW generator off Ebay. It has an oil filter with oil changes recommended every 100 hours. I also bought a Carrier rooftop AC. My thoughts are, I can replace generator several times for what I would have to pay for a new APU. Plus, my truck is a 2000 year model, so, it is worthless anyway. Why spend for an APU on a truck that age? I have stated in numerous post that we are all different in our thinking. No matter if they will finance you a new APU, you still have to pay for it. All I want to do is stay comfortable while sitting. I can do it for around $1800 with generator and rooftop. The generator is enclosed already and should be no trouble to hang on my truck. 6KW will run all I have on board. I have already wired me 2 plugs inside and run a wire for the rooftop, so, when it gets here, I will be a little ahead of the game. I made sure the generator (made in China , of course) had spare parts readily avavaible. And it does, with overnight service if I want. So I am going this route. CARB means absolutely nothing to me. Could care less about it. But sitting in a hot truck does mean something. And this is my plan to cut out the idling. I hope to get it on this week and try to report back.

greg334 · Jun 28, 2009

bluejaybee how long does it run on a full tank of gas, assuming that it is the tank that comes with the generator.

DannyD · Jun 28, 2009

ok, I'm a little lost here. I def. like the idea of $300 vs $9000. I have a few Q's though & yea, they've got newbie written all over em. Anyway, where would ya put a gas powered generator on the truck? Would it be mounted or portable?

Also I'm wondering about the fumes & the exhaust. The one my dad has is loud & I couldn't see running that in a truck stop. People would be all over ya to shut it down because of the noise. Also, the fumes are something to think about too.

I do like the idea of a generator though.

bluejaybee · Jun 28, 2009

greg334 said:
bluejaybee how long does it run on a full tank of gas, assuming that it is the tank that comes with the generator.

I have not received it yet, but description states that fuel consumption is .35 US Gal per hour at half load.

It is a silent model which is 72 db. The noise of one of these running, couldn't be as loud as a dang ole reefer unit, ya think?

I am supposed to get it Monday and plan to mount them (gen and rooftop) this week. Will post back after I use them.

bluejaybee · Jul 5, 2009

Got my rooftop unit installed, generator mounted also. Have not been on road with it yet. Will use it this week and repport back. One thing I hadn't counted on was the generator had a gravity fed fuel tank with a return line. So, I had to buy and install an universal electric fuel pump and run a return line back to my tank. Not much trouble.

Unit says it is 72 db's of noise. While it is a little noisy, I am pretty sure it is quiter than a reefer unit. I mounted my unit under the box about 4 feet behind the sleeper on the drivers side. Why? Passenger side has two fuel tanks on it. Plus, the 4 foot back puts it further away form me in my sleeper and since most drivers sleep with their heads on the driver side, it puts it back away from them also. It works great sitting here in yard. 13.5 BTU of air might be overkill, but, I can always cut it down.

I will try to come up with some numbers on fuel consumption this week. Whatever they are, they will be better than idling. My objective is not to just save fuel, but more so the wear on my engine.

2czykats · Jul 6, 2009

Recently saw a new hightop Sprinter with a generator and seperate AC unit enclosed on top of roof. Was done very nice. This was at Pilot in Waddy, KY.

bluejaybee · Jul 11, 2009

usafk9 said:
I have been toiling with this idea, and need some advice.

Our truck has no APU, and no a/c while idling. The fella that sold us the truck had a portable generator for electricity while sitting. Idling while it is roasting outside is killing us in fuel costs.

I thought of this: Roof air with heat strip (and a portable ceramic heater for really cold nights), diesel generator that I can get a nice-looking box fabbed for, with a key start (or remote start), that has an electric tank heater, block heater, and battery charger built onto (or plugged into). I can get this whole setup done for about $1600-1700, whereas a new APU is going to run somewhere in the $7000-10000 range. Seems a no-brainer to me.

What say you?

I say, I did it! It cost me right at $1800 to do exactly what you want. And yes it is China made generator, but the rooftop is a Carrier AirV. Now it has only been used one time so far (cause I been in Wisconsin and it was not hot there) but for the first 9 hours of use, I ran it 9 hours on 2.46 gallons of diesel. Mine is a 6.5KW and the load was not heavy for it, but, that is my initial run. I am proud of it. And it worked great.

I did do all the install myself, which I am sure made all the difference in costs. Rooftop has to have a 14X14 opening in the roof. Guess what? My Peterbilt already had one framed up in the roof. I dropped my headliner inside my sleeper to see what I was getting into before I started. So with that already there, all I had to do was cut it out on top and in the headliner.

My sleeper is a 60 inch and the fit was perfect. Had it been anything less, I feel you will have a problem with space inside and out for the rooftop. You can go to Carrier, Duo-Therm, Dometic website and get there spec's for the units if you would like to know how much clearance you need.

I am looking forward to enjoying mine more once I hit some hot weather. At this point, based on what I have seen from it, I believe I did the right thing. 6.5KW Gen and 13500BTU Air is definitely overkill for a 60 inch sleeper, but to get all the features I wanted, these were the sizes I had to get.

Only thing I really didn't think about though. I added 490 pounds to my empty weight. If push comes to shove, I can make this up by less fuel while loaded, but I hated to make that a factor. And yes, I do haul lots of heavy loads. So for me, the weight loss is an issue.