Fuel for Thought

RVMP/CVMP

By Greg Huggins
Posted Mar 25th 2025 4:57AM

What is an OTR truck driver? Someone that travels from place to place, sometimes for days, weeks or months at a time picking up and delivering freight along their trip and oftentimes living mostly in their trucks until returning home.
What is an RV’er? Someone that travels from place to place, sometimes for days, weeks or months at a time, stopping here and there along the way, usually living in their RV until returning home.
What’s the difference between an OTR driver and an Rv’er? The truck driver travels for work, getting paid for their trips, an RV’er usually travels for pleasure. However, both share similar living quarters while traveling. Of course the RV has more amenities than the standard OEM cab/sleeper of a truck, but both try to be as comfortable as possible while on the road.
While most trucks on the road use some sort of diesel burning generator or APU, it really is out of convenience. After all, you already have tanks of diesel fuel to pull from to run a diesel APU. The problem with diesel APUs or diesel generators is the extreme high cost. Not only for the purchase of the unit and the installation, but also the cost of using diesel fuel to run them, which could have gone into the truck engine to generate revenue.
For the last couple of years I (along with many other truck drivers) experimented with alternatives. Initially, I installed a mini split HVAC unit on a previous truck to eliminate the loud HVAC of a Carrier Comfort Pro APU. I then decided to add a portable gasoline generator to that truck, secured in a vented tool box and hard wired to the truck’s breaker box for my power needs in the sleeper. It worked very well. A 3800 watt portable gas generator powered my mini split HVAC as well as kept the truck batteries charged and powered the outlets for charging electronics and running appliances like a microwave.
It worked so well that when I bought my new truck, I opted for no APU from the factory/dealership. I did install a generator, but not a portable one. Onan diesel generators are very popular with truck drivers, especially big bunk truck owners, and for good reason. Big bunk trucks basically have an RV behind the cab and need a lot of power for everything. A 7500-10,000 watt Onan is very common on these types of trucks. For an OEM sleeper, the power needs are considerably less, but it is still important to have reliable power to run and charge appliances and electronics.
A 4000-5000 watt generator is generally sufficient for this purpose. While you can find portable generators of this size quite easily, for some drivers, it is the refueling that can become cumbersome.
For this new truck, I chose to add an installed gas generator. After researching several brands and sizes, I chose to go with the RVMP 4000i installed gas generator. It is bolted inside a 36X24X24 aluminum underbody tool box for security and protection from the elements. This unit is lighter, uses less fuel and is quieter than its Onan counterpart. This model is also an inverter generator, which means it only runs at high idle when under a heavy load. I also installed a 12.5 gallon aluminum gas tank to supply the fuel for the new generator. So far, I only need to refuel about every week or two, depending on usage.
Costwise, the RVMP unit also is less expensive than the comparable Onan gas generator and while I did not speak to anyone at Onan, I did speak to the people at RVMP. Their customer service was outstanding. They answered all of my questions about the unit, installation, servicing and warranty of their product.
Installation was fairly simple. Cut 3 holes in the bottom of the tool box (exhaust, oil drain plug access and fresh air vent). Run the battery cables (for starting the unit), route the power to the sleeper breaker box, route the remote start panel wires to the sleeper, connect the fuel line and bolt the unit to the floor of the tool box. An easy to follow template of the cutouts needed as well as where to drill the bolt holes made the install easy.
An Onan diesel generator can be had for $11,000 - $13,000 before adding any accessories like remote start, exhaust or an enclosure. An Onan gas generator will run you about $4300 - $5300 before adding remote start, enclosure, exhaust, etc.
The RVMP installed gas generator comes in at about $3700 - $5000, depending on model. Once you add in accessories (exhaust, remote wiring, remote start panel and template) the 4000i is right around $4000. Depending on the installation you choose to do (or have done), add in the cost of an auxiliary fuel tank, tank brackets, fuel line, battery cables, power cable, breaker box and a tool box.
The RVMP 4000i generator is extremely quiet, lighter weight, it sips fuel and provides plenty of clean power for an OEM sleeper and all of the sensitive electronics therein. Beyond the break-in period, I don’t think I have gone above 50% load for all my sleeper power needs (HVAC, refrigerator, microwave various electronics charging or running, battery charger).
There are always options to the norm. You don’t have to settle for an expensive diesel APU and the potential high cost of running and maintaining one. Look around and get creative.