Generators
- Thread starter terryhop
- Start date
The initial price seems high however you need to look at price versus cost. Let's say the price is $10,000 and you run it 200 hours per month. You will use probably around 40 gallons of fuel for a cost of $100. Idling the primary engine 200 hours would use 200 gallons for $500 of fuel. Savings in fuel alone is $400.
Running the primary engine just to drive the truck is going to be much better for it than idling. If your service interval has been 10,000 miles you can easily up that to 12,500 miles since you aren't going to be idling and contaminating the oil from idling. One less service every 50,000 miles saves another $150. If you run 100k miles a year that's another $300 annual savings. You will have to do services on the generator however those are very inexpensive services at around $30 each once per quarter.
What you end up with is around $5000 annual savings in fuel and maintenance on your primary engine for around $150 annual expenses for maintenance on the generator. Your primary engine will also go longer before needing a rebuild so that's more savings we haven't added in. We also haven't added in the tax savings for the depreciation of the generator so that's more savings too. The generator should last for many years and I hear of guys who eventually take them off one truck and put on a new truck.
A $10,000 investment is a big number to look at but between fuel, maintenance and tax savings it will pay for itself in about 18 months or less.
Leo Bricker, owner trucks 3034, 4958
OOIDA 677319
73's K5LDB
EO Forum Moderator 1+ Years of Service
Expediters Online.com - The Best is Getting Better!
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Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
Running the primary engine just to drive the truck is going to be much better for it than idling. If your service interval has been 10,000 miles you can easily up that to 12,500 miles since you aren't going to be idling and contaminating the oil from idling. One less service every 50,000 miles saves another $150. If you run 100k miles a year that's another $300 annual savings. You will have to do services on the generator however those are very inexpensive services at around $30 each once per quarter.
What you end up with is around $5000 annual savings in fuel and maintenance on your primary engine for around $150 annual expenses for maintenance on the generator. Your primary engine will also go longer before needing a rebuild so that's more savings we haven't added in. We also haven't added in the tax savings for the depreciation of the generator so that's more savings too. The generator should last for many years and I hear of guys who eventually take them off one truck and put on a new truck.
A $10,000 investment is a big number to look at but between fuel, maintenance and tax savings it will pay for itself in about 18 months or less.
Leo Bricker, owner trucks 3034, 4958
OOIDA 677319
73's K5LDB
EO Forum Moderator 1+ Years of Service
Expediters Online.com - The Best is Getting Better!
-----
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
give bill moore a call at tsi there on eo web site
also some states are offering tax rebates and other thing to put on generators
check with your state to see what they may offer
also on my first truck had a proheat, and saved 16,000 in fuel and 4,000 in maintance cost with a genset
most trucks idling burn 1.5 gals hour if you sit for the weekend that is alot of money up in smoke where a genset use's 3 gal's in 24 hours
one weekend in detriot a friend used 72 gal's of fuel for the weekend
and with genset use only 9 gal's
also one hour of idling is equal to 50 miles down the road
or every 250 hour's equal to 10.000 miles
and if you check the lastest landline will tell you how many states have anti idling laws
va is 25,000 and no more than 10 mins if you have a genset
help's out
also some states are offering tax rebates and other thing to put on generators
check with your state to see what they may offer
also on my first truck had a proheat, and saved 16,000 in fuel and 4,000 in maintance cost with a genset
most trucks idling burn 1.5 gals hour if you sit for the weekend that is alot of money up in smoke where a genset use's 3 gal's in 24 hours
one weekend in detriot a friend used 72 gal's of fuel for the weekend
and with genset use only 9 gal's
also one hour of idling is equal to 50 miles down the road
or every 250 hour's equal to 10.000 miles
and if you check the lastest landline will tell you how many states have anti idling laws
va is 25,000 and no more than 10 mins if you have a genset
help's out
SHARP327
Veteran Expediter
I've been back and forth on this subject because I want to be able to stay warm when it's cold out and cool when it's hot but I've heard alot or horror stories about these gensets that cost an arm and a leg.
So I've some what decided that I'm going to buy a low profile carrier roof top unit with both heat and A/C and mount it on top of my sleeper and I'll be able to be keep it at the same height as my box, next I've found that Onan has a generator which comes in a weather tite case that will mount real nice under the front of my 22' box with a little help from a bracket that I'll fab up.
There's still a couple of things I need to iron out such as how many amp generator I'll need and right now I'm leaning towards generators with 2800-3000 amp range.
Even if I had to pay retail this set up would only cost around $3100.00 with a 3 year warranty, and they advertise that the generator will power the heating/cooling unit with plenty of power to spare.
I'm thinking that if I need to charge the batteries or use the block heater I'll just plug them in or have them wired direct,my truck has a shore power hook up so I guess I could just use that to power up everything (not all at the same time)in the truck, the generator comes with a remote start.
So does anyone have any imput on my set up pro or con?
Thanks
So I've some what decided that I'm going to buy a low profile carrier roof top unit with both heat and A/C and mount it on top of my sleeper and I'll be able to be keep it at the same height as my box, next I've found that Onan has a generator which comes in a weather tite case that will mount real nice under the front of my 22' box with a little help from a bracket that I'll fab up.
There's still a couple of things I need to iron out such as how many amp generator I'll need and right now I'm leaning towards generators with 2800-3000 amp range.
Even if I had to pay retail this set up would only cost around $3100.00 with a 3 year warranty, and they advertise that the generator will power the heating/cooling unit with plenty of power to spare.
I'm thinking that if I need to charge the batteries or use the block heater I'll just plug them in or have them wired direct,my truck has a shore power hook up so I guess I could just use that to power up everything (not all at the same time)in the truck, the generator comes with a remote start.
So does anyone have any imput on my set up pro or con?
Thanks
Heart of Dixie
Expert Expediter
I was just quoted a Rigmaster by the dealer in Mississippi for 7,070.00, installed. The installation takes a whole day. The actual price was $300.00 higher, but by being a member of OODIA you get the discount, a no-brainer.
greg334
Veteran Expediter
I have to ask, do you want a generator or an APU type unit? (An APU as defined for trucking has an A/C compressor and 110 generator)
I know that many would disagree with this, but as I am planning an emergency communication truck for a non-profit, the use of a generator, not an APU made more sense. Most of the equipment is 12 volts, with three pieces at 24 volts, so it all runs off of a battery bank. The a/c is 110 (RV type) and the heat is from a Wallas diesel heater (ohh heat). The main issues are charging the battery bank and hold the load of the equipment at the same time, which it is estimated will require 200 to 300 amps because of the duty cycle of the system.
I looked at five different APU systems and really was not impressed. The one thing I find being on the road and maybe far away from any service center is the main consideration. If the failure of an APU component prevents something like a/c and you are 500 miles from a service center, what’s the use of having it?
So after further thinking about it, I have to make a choice, either to use a prepackaged (also direct drive) generator or ‘build’ one to fit the specs of the truck overall. The prepackaged would be an Onan simply because of servicing of the unit, any RV shop should be able to service it. A 5KW or even a 12KW generator are available in all types of different configurations and all are proven to be dependable and long lasting.
But the ‘built’ generator; I would use a three cylinder Kubota (maybe a two cylinder depending on the availability of the engine), one (maybe two) Leece-Neville alternator (200 amp) and a Generac 110 generator (7 to 10 KW) both belt driven. This all cost under $3K with controls.
Why Leece-Neville? Well because I have used them for heavy duty work before and they hold up a lot better than the Ford/GM alternator. And I can field repair them easier than any Ford/GM alternator. I personally would not use a Ford alternator, GM makes great alternator and even have single wire ones that work well.
I located air cooled diesel engines but my thought would be to use the water cooling system for hot water and heat, but that is something else for some other time.
$10K is way too much to pay. I have quotes between $4K and $6K installed for APUs.
I know that many would disagree with this, but as I am planning an emergency communication truck for a non-profit, the use of a generator, not an APU made more sense. Most of the equipment is 12 volts, with three pieces at 24 volts, so it all runs off of a battery bank. The a/c is 110 (RV type) and the heat is from a Wallas diesel heater (ohh heat). The main issues are charging the battery bank and hold the load of the equipment at the same time, which it is estimated will require 200 to 300 amps because of the duty cycle of the system.
I looked at five different APU systems and really was not impressed. The one thing I find being on the road and maybe far away from any service center is the main consideration. If the failure of an APU component prevents something like a/c and you are 500 miles from a service center, what’s the use of having it?
So after further thinking about it, I have to make a choice, either to use a prepackaged (also direct drive) generator or ‘build’ one to fit the specs of the truck overall. The prepackaged would be an Onan simply because of servicing of the unit, any RV shop should be able to service it. A 5KW or even a 12KW generator are available in all types of different configurations and all are proven to be dependable and long lasting.
But the ‘built’ generator; I would use a three cylinder Kubota (maybe a two cylinder depending on the availability of the engine), one (maybe two) Leece-Neville alternator (200 amp) and a Generac 110 generator (7 to 10 KW) both belt driven. This all cost under $3K with controls.
Why Leece-Neville? Well because I have used them for heavy duty work before and they hold up a lot better than the Ford/GM alternator. And I can field repair them easier than any Ford/GM alternator. I personally would not use a Ford alternator, GM makes great alternator and even have single wire ones that work well.
I located air cooled diesel engines but my thought would be to use the water cooling system for hot water and heat, but that is something else for some other time.
$10K is way too much to pay. I have quotes between $4K and $6K installed for APUs.
$3100 sounds just a little low. You will need 4 to 5K watt to run a Coleman or Carrier roof unit. That is assuming you are going to run deisel. By the time you add installation for both the generator and the roof top unit, you are somewhere between $8,000 to $10,000.
It will be tough to get it under that unless you are doing all of the install yourself.
We have a truckgen with a coleman on one of our trucks, and they do work well.
Any truck with a 96 or larger sleeper, a self contained unit can't keep up.
For 6K units, check out www.truckgen.com
For larger, I would go Onan, Caterpillar, or PowerTech.
That is for a straight generator.
Davekc
owner
21 years
PantherII
EO moderator
It will be tough to get it under that unless you are doing all of the install yourself.
We have a truckgen with a coleman on one of our trucks, and they do work well.
Any truck with a 96 or larger sleeper, a self contained unit can't keep up.
For 6K units, check out www.truckgen.com
For larger, I would go Onan, Caterpillar, or PowerTech.
That is for a straight generator.
Davekc
owner
21 years
PantherII
EO moderator
SHARP327
Veteran Expediter
You were right about the price being a bit low, I went back to the site where I found this info and added up the advertised prices and it came to $3,351.48 plus tax I guess, not to bad of a guess I'm thinking!
A family member works at a rv sales and service in La. and told me he'd hook me up at his cost and that he'd install it at his home.
I'm sure he'll figure out what will work best for my application when the time comes, it's just that I'm trying to gain all the knowledge I can before hand.
the reason I'm leaning towards the onan is because I'm always hearing about drivers with apu's that are always breaking down, and having a hard time to find someone near by that can service their unit and alot of time they get real crappy service.
A family member works at a rv sales and service in La. and told me he'd hook me up at his cost and that he'd install it at his home.
I'm sure he'll figure out what will work best for my application when the time comes, it's just that I'm trying to gain all the knowledge I can before hand.
the reason I'm leaning towards the onan is because I'm always hearing about drivers with apu's that are always breaking down, and having a hard time to find someone near by that can service their unit and alot of time they get real crappy service.
OK Guys, I need to pick your Brains for this one. I am in the middle of upgrading my Bare Bones sleeper. The only thing this sleeper had was a 12 volt plug in the wall and Heat and Air of course.
I have added a 1.5 fridge/ Microwave/ TV/DVD combo/ VHS, and plan on using a small coffee pot from time to time. All of these items run on 110. Can I run all of them on the same circuit? Do I need two circuits? How big of a Inverter will I need?
How about the Generater? I have looked at a lot of them. the best priced one was $5311.44 plus Install. Its called Executive Technologies System. They do have a web site. Problem with them is the only place you can get one is at there location in Marion, IL. Sure could use some help on this one...Thanks.. Butch
I have added a 1.5 fridge/ Microwave/ TV/DVD combo/ VHS, and plan on using a small coffee pot from time to time. All of these items run on 110. Can I run all of them on the same circuit? Do I need two circuits? How big of a Inverter will I need?
How about the Generater? I have looked at a lot of them. the best priced one was $5311.44 plus Install. Its called Executive Technologies System. They do have a web site. Problem with them is the only place you can get one is at there location in Marion, IL. Sure could use some help on this one...Thanks.. Butch
Your items ran individually would likely be ok. But if your fridge kicks on while you are nuking something, the surge will be too high.
I would run the fridge straight off the battery.
Not sure on your described generator as I have never heard of them. One of the biggest items ahead of cost is their network of dealers for service. Chances are that it will break when you are at your farthest point from Illnois. It has little value if it isn't running.
I checked their website and my concern would be no dealer network. If they go out of business....where are you buying parts?
You would want to be careful not to wind up with a $5,000 boat anchor. The Aux generators come to mind. Being at the mercy of one shop for repairs would be a concern as well. Others are alittle more expensive but there is a reason.
Make sure you shop your options carefully.
Davekc
owner
21 years
PantherII
EO moderator
I would run the fridge straight off the battery.
Not sure on your described generator as I have never heard of them. One of the biggest items ahead of cost is their network of dealers for service. Chances are that it will break when you are at your farthest point from Illnois. It has little value if it isn't running.
I checked their website and my concern would be no dealer network. If they go out of business....where are you buying parts?
You would want to be careful not to wind up with a $5,000 boat anchor. The Aux generators come to mind. Being at the mercy of one shop for repairs would be a concern as well. Others are alittle more expensive but there is a reason.
Make sure you shop your options carefully.
Davekc
owner
21 years
PantherII
EO moderator
For a unit that can be serviced anywhere,I would check out the new Tripac by Thermo-King.They have locations everywhere.
http://www.thermoking.com/tk/index.asp
http://www.thermoking.com/tk/index.asp
Their reps brought a unit to Panther's fleet meeting and it in appearance looked simular to a pro-heat. My concern was almost 9K for it.
They will sell some if they can get that price down to a acceptable level.
Davekc
owner
21 years
PantherII
EO moderator
They will sell some if they can get that price down to a acceptable level.
Davekc
owner
21 years
PantherII
EO moderator