Building a cheap APU Only $450

Soooo that's why the truck is rocking

 

You forgot the stripper pole! Nevermind, I FORGOT, that's the most eco-friendly part, no fuel, lotsa fun!

 

***AMEN **** same here, I would have the exact same reaction....bring it! lol

mrktwiz

 

Everyone including yourself should get a carbon monoxide detector for their truck. That being said, the small amount a gas gen puts out would clearly dissipate in no wind long before it got into the truck next to it. Same with the weed burner trucks idleing.

 

So I've looked into the suggestions on this thread. Here what i have found.

Lets assume you can nicely install an electric ac an heater.

If you got he gas route, you can save money, but those gens have a short maintenance cycle and are really not designed for continued use. They are designed for power outages. Not 10 hours every night. The small quiet honda gens need an oil change every 100 hours. That less then every 2 weeks if used 1 hours a night. Of course you have to carry around a gas can that needs to be filled every other day to. Kind of a PITA.

So, upgrade to diesel. Aprox 2k. Run quieter, can plum directly into main fuel tank. Maintenance cycles are still 100 hours or less. So upgrade to water cooled diesel. Somehow the price jumps up to around 10,000 for those bad boys. They are nice. They have 1000+ hours maintenance intervals. But for that price you can just buy a preconfigured APU like a tripac.

So, to me, heat is the most important. There is no more efficient way to heat then a diesel bunk heater. At .5 gallons per night that is 20% of what a diesel gen/apu would use. Cost is less then 1K if you shop around. Installation is simple and you never need to refill it since it pulls off your main tank. So for 1k we got heating covered.

For power, a 1500 watt inverter cost less then 300 bucks and can power your microwave fridge etc. You might need to run the truck while microwaving, but 5 min of fuel isnt much. This will keep your laptop, tv etc powered all night and most "hotel" loads. If it cant handle it you may need to check your batts. I prefer AGM batts personally and they last for every with over 4000 CCA to start. If your batts arnt in good condition, using an inverter will show the problem, but you should be running good decent batts anyway.

So the only thing and apu can do that a bunk heater/inverter cant is cooling. I dont have a great solution for this. Wabasco has a blue cool unit, but i have not seen it for sale any ware and have no idea of the cost. Personally I don't mind the what as much as the cold. So the question to ask is: Is just cooling really worth 8000+ dollars? I norm get away with big fans and window screens. Does anyone have a better cooling solution. Yes you could go back to the gas or deisel gen route, but the maintenance cycle is still way to much of a PITA to me.

 

Obvious which way I went...
I service the generator either when I am sat for a day or two, or when I get home. Under a qt of oil is really no big deal to replace in my opinion. No filters, just .6qt of oil. Takes @10 minutes to do a "service" on the EU3000. Had 2 of them now, on my last truck as well as my current truck, and they have both been totally flawless. Never heard of too many people with an APU say the unit has been totally fault free.....
For under $3k, I have colder AC than any of the floor mounted units, heat, battery charging, and AC power. All in a package that is both a LOT lighter and a LOT quieter than any apu on the market. Yeah, I have to refill gas cans every few days, but I'm just not that lazy where it becomes an issue. I also drop the trailer and fill both the generator and cans at the RV islands too.
Mind, pilot cars also make life easier when I have them, for getting gas.
Battery powered stuff is fine, so long as you never sit for more than @10hrs. When I spend my money on something though, it needs to cover multiple bases, not just 10hrs of heat/ac, and so on.

Martin

 

Cold weather I can deal with without anything special. It's heat that kills me. Try doing a 10 during a summer day in Laredo. A small window ac unit and inexpensive gen would be perfect. I saw a Florida truck this summer with this type of setup. The ac unit was set up to fit the passenger side window. Nice and tidy.

 

Also this setup really helps if you run into something weird in your travels. You have a way to charge your battery's if they are dead for no reason when you get back to the truck. You might need to run a tool to fix a simple problem. You want to plug in your block heater while heating your bunk for the night. Your home and the power is out, just plug it in to keep your fridge from defrosting. This just has soo many more options, its definitely the way to go over a single use, dedicated unit.

 

LLtrkg:Nice neat and clean set up! Now tell us how it works: do you have to plug cords into the generator every time or do you have it prewired? Is it remote start? What do you use for heat? Thanks

 

Took the foto before the wiring was in place. Just dropped the truck off at Detroit, or would take a foto of the wiring. Basically, the wiring for the rooftop ac and the GFI outlet inside, is run through flexible conduit from under the bunk into the generator housing. I then made a jumper to go from the AC plug to a normal household plug, to be able to use shore power to run the rooftop ac in summertime.
A battery charger is mounted inside the truck, next to the GFI outlet.
Wireless remotes are on Ebay, so it has one on it, just like my last one did.
For heat, I use one of these. Works great on the low setting, has a thermostat, and is easy to store when not using it,
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Honeywell-H...ced-Surround-Space-Heater-Black-/190810877736

Rooftop AC is the best, simple as that. I have been in trucks with APU's, and floor mounted AC. Heat rises, cold air falls, anyone can figure out which system would work the best. I cut a hole in the roof of a brand new Western Star, if that is compliment enough for the rooftop ac.
12hrs of AC takes @2gallons of gas. Tank holds 3.6 gallons, plus I have the gas cans.
It can run the heater on low, and the block heater, for @8-9hrs on a tank of gas. I never really bother with the block heater though to be honest, it wont stop fuel from gelling up.
Only time I idle the truck is when the real temperature is below 0f, due to the possibility of fuel gelling. Anything over that, the generator is running saving me money.
I can take whatever pictures you want when I get the truck back.

Martin