APU's VS. Do It Yourself

Good idea but i dont think many guys would cut a hole in their sleeper lol

 

theres already a useful thread about this topic. http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/trucks-eighteen-wheelers/82129-increased-milage-apu-idea.html

 

i really don't understand how anyone can think that $8000.00 is a lot to spend when you spend $125,000.00 on a new truck. the saftey factor alone should be reason enough to put something on your truck that was made for it. wash your truck by hand once a mo instead of using a truck wash and you will have made the apu payment. what about all of the grant money that is around. if you do it right you can get 90% backi in grants. allso might want to ck with your ins. com to make sure that they will cover damages w/a home made unit like you are talking about. not sure just a thought

 

don't need to cut a hole in the wall you can get a portable AC unit that's n wheel and has a 5 inch hose. all you need is a 5 inch hole in the floor to run it out.

or you can cut a window unit in underneath the bunk, there is lots of room. cut a hole in the floor underneath it and build a sheetmetal hood to mount on the back of the unit that directs the air down under the truck


these aren't new ideas and there is other threads hear about them

 

I can idle alot of fuel though my truck for $8k, even more when you factor in the money you spend maintianing them pieces of shayat

 

I didnt do the full generator/ac/heat unit but did do the Espar bunk heater because most of our stuff was north of I70. $1200 per unit and it paid for itself the first month in fuel and wear and tear on the engine alone.

 

That would be true in a lot of cases, but it depends on your operation. I wouldn't have used an APU for AC but only a handful of hours all this summer so far. Only idled the truck for that purpose for a total of 6 hours all summer. Heat is a bigger problem, and an Espar heater will cook me right on out of cab it I let it. I am out during the week and home on the weekend, just running the Upper Midwest. The return on investment of putting on an APU would be way too long to justify. For those that run the southern tier a lot, then it would be a no brainer to put on an APU. Even if I wanted the benefits of AC, I could get a roof top AC RV style unit (I have midroof with air dam) and use a Honda EU2000 generator (CARB legal) to power it. Even Thermoking is selling a rooftop ac unit for trucks now. I can get a rooftop ac unit for around a grand, mounted. The Honda generator is around a grand. And Interstate Diesel near me installs a complete Espar unit for around $1200 total cost. The generator would be able to power my oil pan heater (250 watt) and fuel tank heaters (250 watt each) during the winter. Having all that would be just over $3000. A lot better return on investment than a full blown APU. At least for my operation. Lighter weight, quieter, and easier maintenance as well. And that Honda EU2000 will use no more, and usually less, fuel per hour than an APU and only weighs 50 lb. Stores nice and neat in a cargo box. Sure, would have to store a small amount of gas, but can always get it at any truck stop when I need more.

It's all a matter of what you want and need and how much you sit. And if you could get a grant, would make a big difference as well.

 

SNIPPED

Perhaps if I had spent $125,000 instead of $4000 on my truck then by all means $8k would be an easy pill to swallow. Can't see paying more for an APU than I could sell my truck for.



To the OP read this you may find some interesting ideas http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...wheelers/82129-increased-milage-apu-idea.html