Advice on APU or Battery Powered system

Have never used the battery powered ones.
Have a friend that was pulling a tanker in FL and he was saying when batteries are new they do a pretty good job of keeping the sleeper cool. After a few months (do not know if truck had required alternator of 200amps plus installed) he was saying it was not doing so good of a job. After discharge of batteries, truck MUST run 8-9 hours to recharge them.
I use an APU by Pony Pac (is not CARB complient) which now has 14,000 hrs on it with very few problems every had with it. I would think that if you made them install the AGM (Absorbed Glass Matt) type batteries, such as OPTIMA, along with the required alternator, it would probably do the job well.
I started useing the OPTIMA (yellow top) batteries on my truck and have had the same batteries for 8 years now with no problems. I also run a 3,000 watt inverter and have microwave, refigerator, 21 inch wall mounted TV, coffee pot and desktop computer. Before switching to OPTIMA with a 135 amp alternator I would have to replace a battery every 18 months or so.
Yes, mysetup has been WELL worth it.

 

I have talked to people with the new Thermoking battery-powered A/C units. They said that they would run 6-8 hours at best, sometimes less in really hot weather when it has to run full time. One guy had a separate small diesel generator, since that system has no actual APU, just extra batteries.

Personally, I would want a (diesel) APU. Maybe I'm spoiled, but I like not having to worry about low batteries. And if you're going to have a diesel generator, anyway, might as well have it turning your A/C compressor, too.

 

Go with apu. The bat one works good but if u sit for more then 24 hours. U can't use it anymore into they get recharge..

 

Definitely get the APU I just moved into a truck with one, if you run the battery out on the truck for some weird reason the APU will get you going again. I love the thing it doesn't make much noise and it runs my microwave, laptop, etc. No way you will go wrong with it.

 

You may find out that who everr installs it may screw it up that was our experience, but after the tweeks I feel very lucky to have such a generous boss.

 

The first thing i thought of about the battery powered a/c units is what happens if younget laid over in Cali for a weekend? How do you legally recharge the batteries?

Id have to go with an APU, not only will you have constant a/c but you also have insurance against dead batteries.

Looking for an APU to me it would be mandatory for it to have its own cooling system and not rely on the trucks cooling system... what happens if you blow a hose and lose your coolant in extreme hot or cold weather?
If the cooling system for the APU is independant from the truck it will still run.

 

I not an o/o anymore so I don't know how much these cost but I have used the Opti-idle, Battery units, and the APUs.

Opti-idle work but in hotter or colder weather it did do anything but turn on for 5 minutes turn off for 30 seconds and turn back on again.

Battery unit was useless! All it did was run the A/C for about 5 hours then you would have run the truck 10 hours to recharge it.

APU is the best runs A/C, heat, AC/DC power, charges truck battery, and even keeps the fuel from jelling in cold weather. I love the one my truck.

 

I think the benefits of the APU out weigh the battery units. I have a tri-pac and I love it. Granted it is mechanical and more can potentially go wrong, but if you need to do a restart or sit for a load you will wish you had the apu! The apu uses very little fuel, even with the A/C on where the engine runs a lot it maybe uses close to a gallon for a 10hr. Break. But if Im not using A/C it barely uses 1/8 of a gallon maybe. Best investment Ive made in my truck.