Home-buit APU?

only trouble with propane is that you are limited in the odd place,cant take the tunnels and such--but really would just be the same as hauling haz

 

do everyone a favor, if you use a genny go get a good quiet one.

beautiful night in phoenix last weekend. trk off, windows open... some ### cranks up a cheap pos genny right next to me. i swear if i had a bat i woulda smashed it. thought about shooting it but didnt have bail money

 

That’s a good point, maybe more hassle then its worth using propane. I know some tunnels allow propane tanks used on RV’s but not sure about all.

 

Tell you what, I would have been on board with you a couple of years ago. Best friend ran with Honda strapped to his rig for years. Alwasy being hassled by the DOT. Went so far as to have regs printed and ready to hand over when was questioned. Fell on his but slipping on ice more than a couple times carrying gas can to fill up tank. Laughing as I watched him getting out of cab in winter to fill tank because it ran out of fuel and still had 5 hours before he started to run.

No thank you. My APU will have paid for itself in a little over 1-year and likely less with the fuel prices. I have NEVER had to get up, dressed and go out in the cold to start, stop or fuel it. Never had to figure out best stop so that I can get gas as easy as possible. I can stop for best fuel rate or I like the parking or the waitresses.

Was it expensive? You bet, I choked when I had to write that check. Would I do it again? Without a doubt and be happy to hand over the check this time. One of the best business decissions I ever made.

 

I may have missed it - what type did you go with, and how often do you have to do preventative maintenance on it? Have you had any problems with it?

 

I bought a Carrier. For the warranty I have to perform PM every 1,000 hours. I do it with my PM and that is about twice what I need. Likely skip on the next PM as milder weather and it has been running much less lately.

Plus the PM on the Kubota is cheap. Petro charged me $39.99 and that included using synthetic (1/gal) but I think they missed that on the invoice.

Some on this forum have said the TK is $150-$200 with same intervals.

I bought it with 10k hour/5 year no deductable warranty that is transferrable. Paid $9300 out the door.

 

Woo-Wee!!!

That's a whole lotta beans...I'm a part-time trucker, so that is not in my price range. If I did it full time and a lot of OTR, I would consider it.

I'm trying to find a used Tri-Pac - trick is going to be finding a place to mount the sucker. I have NO frame rail to speak of. Was considering custom crossmembers on top of the frame rails and over the top of the trans under the doghouse...will have to see if space will allow for it. Otherwise, I may just go without.

 

You are starting to see more and more rebuilt units on the market. And all that I have seen advertised are by people that can install them.

But finding the correct location to mount sounds like may be more of your issue.

If you are part-time then it may not be justified. May want to look at putting in a good sized inverter with good batteries and run heater and A/C unit off that.

 

I have a love/hate relationship with my APU because it is... a RigMaster. Hey, it was on the truck when I bought it (and that's the story I'm sticking to).

Having said that, some kind of secondary HVAC/power/comfort device not only makes sense, but is almost essential in the current trucking climate. In most cases.

What type of system depends on the type of trucking you're doing, what lanes you run, single or team, etc. A unit like the TriPac or the ComfortPro gives you the most flexibility in a neat, proven package. They are going to give you heat, A/C and power, there are service locations all over the country, they have some valuable features (like the battery tender), and so on. Most importantly, they will give you their full features infinitely, so long as you supply fuel (of which, they use very little). For this reason, they are probably the best solution for solo drivers that spend a long time out on the road (several weeks before any kind of home time), drivers that often have very long periods waiting for loads, drivers that often take a 34 out on the road, drivers that run almost exclusively in the south, older trucks or drivers whose truck is their defacto home.

The next best alternative are the current breed of non-engine APUs. I do not have any personal experience with these... yet. (I am considering this for GWNT v2.0 ). These systems are comprised of a heavy-duty alternator, second battery bank, electric A/C and diesel-fired sleeper heat (and possibly diesel-fired engine heat as well). These types of systems are now being factory installed by Pete, KW, FL and possibly others, but they are also available in the aftermarket. Their advantages are; no secondary engine, lower weight, lower cost (both initial and operating), quiet, much less frame space (if any) required (very important for us Canadian interlopers ), etc. Their primary disadvantage is that they provide no long-term auxiliary power (beyond 8-10 hrs depending on useage) and I don't know how well they cool in very hot and humid conditions. This type of system is probably best for drivers that run set lanes going out-and-back (like produce) and teams that should see very little downtime. The produce angle is good because there are systems to draw secondary power from the reefer, thus allowing the APU to be re-charged without running the truck engine if there is a period of longer downtime.

As for the rest, the ad-hoc or Mickey Mouse systems, that's not how I run. If it works for you, then great. That doesn't mean that I don't think a guy should build his own, it just means if you're going to do it, make it right. In fact, I may very well build my own for v2.0; items like switches to prevent overcharging the batteries if you plug into shore power, etc., are readily available (RV supply) and you can get some very competent electronics for system control built by students from your local college or technical school for not much more than pizza and beer.

As always, IMHO and YMMV.

 

Pro-Max is having a special. $7,500 installed at their Indianapolis factory. I know 4 people who run this unit and swear it is amazing. With the shore-power option you can run electric tools too, plus if the engine altenator goes, the truck can run off the APU altenator!

Now just to come up with the $7,500 LOL