idling, fuel, & heating,cooling

I wouldnt suggest using a space heater thats a big fire hazard especially in a small bunk. An what is a swamp cooler?? never heard of that. My rule is if its above 75 and humid i will idle to keep cool, and if its below 40 ill idle to keep warm. Dont really have to worry about that much more got a apu that keeps it at set temp in the sleeper and barely burns any fuel.

 

I think .25 gph on heat and .33gph on AC is a little more realistic. By space heater I hope you mean a ceramic type and not a Kerosene type burner or you may not wake up....ever! I have a 40 below down sleeping bag but I'm not sure if they make them anymore. The last down vest I bought was half feathers. Remember you're batteries are going to be weak in cold and running an electric heater could lead to dead batteries in a hurry and cause premature battery replacement.

 

my rule of thumb when I had to idle was if it was below 28 then I was gonna idle the truck all night otherwise it might not start in the morning. Some of the apus like I have on the truck I got now have it set up to run coolant through the engine while the generators running to keep the motor warm. It got down to 20 below zero in minnesota two weeks ago the the apu kept up and the truck started right up like it had only been shut off for 20 minutes. But to help in the summer park with the rear facing the sun keep the curtains closed get screens for the windows, I never like that though just for a safety factor, also get a fan and keep the back sleeper window open. Other than that thought if its a 100 degrees out there isnt much your gonna do to keep cool besides idling.

 

My dumb question was why not get a 2kw generator from honda? Granted you need to buy mix fuel to run it, yet they are very quiet. Standard feature is a 12v trickle charger. As to needing heat a simple AC box heater would suffice in that tiny area of the sleeper. The 2kw would amply keep up with a 1500 watt demand.

As to the cooling aspect, yes the need for water would be the downfall. Especially if you tried to run it here on the east coast where you already have humidity. The flip side is to consider a cooler from a camper. Most camper/motorhome dealers will sell you some form of 12v dc unit, yet if you have a 13'6" truck this would pose a prob as most of these units would increase your roof height. I dont know if they could be mounted vertically on the backside of the cab.

I would post a link to the generator, yet as you can see the red zit next to my status. I am no longer inclined to be so helpful anymore.

 

you don't need to use mixed gas for a honda gen. i have one of those 2k generators and been using it for years. just add a gal of regular gas and go. will last about 10-12 hrs depending on how much juice you are drawing.