Apu decision time

**papanuge** · 01.15.2011

OK Drivers I have been searching about APU's and have narrowed it down to four. Tri-Pak, Carrier, HP2000, and the Willie by Willis. At this time I am leaning toward the Willie because of the weight and the options. If any one has any pro's or cons please post and help and old man make a decision before I have to ask my wife for advice.

**chefbob2** · 01.15.2011

tri-pac = thermo king service is good but $$
carrier service is bad and expensive.
no experience with williee.
I say make your own apu.
Small generator and portable AC. much cheaper, lighter. easy to fix.
I've had a terrible experiece with the Carrier product and the service was nothing short of extortion.

**Trckdrvr** · 01.15.2011

i have had 4 Thermo-king tri-pac apu's on 4 diffrent trcks(company driver)in the last 6years...good units.only had trouble with them twice after 6years of use both day/night.
both were simple fixes..
1 belt
1 fuel filter

**Trckdrvr** · 01.15.2011

As far as im concerned the ONLY 1 to buy would be the TK.(period)

**twolane** · 01.15.2011

Originally Posted by chefbob2

I say make your own apu.
Small generator and portable AC. much cheaper, lighter. easy to fix.
I've had a terrible experiece with the Carrier product and the service was nothing short of extortion.

This is right-on IMO.
I have been running the same Kawasaki 2900 watt. gas fired genset on my last 2 trucks with great success! I quit counting hours at 4,000 and it's still going strong. Probably closer to 5k than 4 by now. It burns about 2 gal. in 12 hours running an r/v rooftop a/c (coleman mini-mach) or a simple 1500 watt electric heater w/fan in the winter. It charges truck batterys any time it's running & powers microwave, toasteroven etc. no problem. FMCSA says you can have 8 gallons of gas onboard so I have a seperate tank mounted on the frame-rails behind the cab.

Prices-$900.00~ generator
$100.00~ tank (northerntool.com)
$4-600.00 (depending on the a/c unit)
$30.00 ~ heater
+$200.00~ steel side-box to mount genset in. (northerntool)
$1,830.00 TOTAL

There are other a/c options that don't require a large hole in your trucks roof as the r/v unit does. Right now I'm using a stand-alone 12,000 btu room a/c that only requires venting the hot air outside the vehicle thru a 5" flex-hose. (Check www.compactappliances.com)

Yea,,,every 3-4 days your gonna have to drop the trailer and bobtail over to a gas pump to fill up, but to save about 5 grand? So what! Also the "idle-cops" cant cite you, & can't make ya shut it off if its CARB certified. (for sale in california)

DIY!!!

I know that wasn't your question but it's something to consider before ya spend 7 grand!

**MeatHead** · 01.15.2011

You want a real APU. One that monitors your batteries and starts up automatically and charges them when needed and also one that monitors the heat/AC and starts up automatically.

Or you can build your own and have a good chance of burning your truck to the ground!!! lol

**Trckdrvr** · 01.15.2011

Originally Posted by MeatHead

You want a real APU. One that monitors your batteries and starts up automatically and charges them when needed and also one that monitors the heat/AC and starts up automatically.

Or you can build your own and have a good chance of burning your truck to the ground!!! lol

or get a violation for hauling hazmat(5gal cans for the generator

**Roadmedic** · 01.15.2011

Originally Posted by Trckdrvr

or get a violation for hauling hazmat(5gal cans for the generator

Take alot more than a 5 gallon can to do that.

**flood** · 01.15.2011

this is the apu i would get
http://www.lifeforceapu.com/

**twolane** · 01.15.2011

Ok there Meathead & Trkdrvr,,,
Ya shouldn't say "what you want is"...when what ya really mean is
,,,this is what you think he oughta want. Opinions vary.

You guys need to take a moment and review 392.51 (a), (c) on page 447 in the little green book titled Federal Motor Carrier SAFETY Regulations.
(It's under Subpart F-Fueling Precautions 392.50 also on the same page.)

After ya get done with that,,,check out p.526 through 533.
This would be titled "Subpart E-Fuel Systems" Pay close attention to 393.67 (a), 1 thru 5, but actually reading the whole chapter wouldn't hurt. Maybe then you'd know what yer talking about?

Yuck-yuck? LOL?

Yea-right.