Using Generator
Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by bignick, Feb 17, 2014.
Page 6 of 17
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Cetane+ Thanks this.
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Death has been caused by EX. from gas gen. put in behind cab that was used to power heater at flying J at temple,ga. wood board was put over A/C hole in rear cab, not sealed an fumes got in cab causing death of driver RIP
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Death has been the result of a lot of stupid people doing stupid things. Not the gas generator's fault that the nincompoop didn't know what he was doing and didn't set things up properly.
insertnamehere, spyder7723, leftlanetruckin and 3 others Thank this. -
why not just get a normal apu? you dont have to worry about dying from a gas generator and there are all sorts out there. OOIDA always has discounts going on.
http://www.ooida.com/BenefitsServices/Discounts/APUs/
tk and dynasys have stuff going on right now. i cant argue with it being cheaper though, that's for sure! -
Matter of how much one needs an apu. With no generator or apu, I probably need to idle about 2 weeks out of the year when you add up the hours. Just dumped ECM data, and have about 11% idle time for the life of the truck with no APU. Now, figure how long it would take to break even on an apu, irregardless of discounts that might be available. That is why I use a generator for the few times I need auxiliary power. LOL, not going to die from it any more than with an APU.
Cetane+ Thanks this. -
The cheap way you run it from your catwalk and hope no one steals it while you are sleeping. The proper way is to mount the same as an APU (In a protective, vented case/housing) and wire up the sleeper yourself or professionally.
Normal APU can cost upwards of $7000 - $10,000 for proper installation.
3000 watt generator with electric start, AC unit, oil bath radiator for heat, plus custom made aluminum box and mounting frame,.. I just spent $2400 for my set up. Uses just over 2 gal for 10 hours of use. Tested it on my back porch running the AC on full. Thats less than $6 a night compared to $50 - $65 night idling. Its a no brainer for an O/O operator on a budget.
I can post pics as soon as I get the box mounted to my truck. My truck is currently still in the shop for something else. The only thing left for my redneck APU set up is to mount the generator and box to the truck and wire it up. AC outlet and wiring cost me $24 at Lowes.
Nothing against APU's. That was my original goal until I saw first hand a nice home made setup that made better sense for me. I just think APU's are a bit over priced for my needs. My setup is very simple, nothing complicated. For what it would cost to service/repair an APU,.. I can just replace the generator if it came down to that.
Hurst -
And the other great benefit is the ability to have 110 / 220 power for anything else you need to run on the road. Also the heating /cooling is separate from the truck systems, in case you have problems.
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Ezrider_48501, scottied67, blanco and 2 others Thank this. -
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