Mandatory APU's

I've found outlets at many shippers and would like to run A/C at my friend's house without running the APU. Many companies I've been to have outlets outside.

 

that's pretty much where I was gona go with that.

 

Beieve it or not i'm hooked up to shore power right now. In Toledo, WA at the Gee Cee truck stop, exit 57. The company is called (easy enough) Shorepower Technologies. The brochure states that they have 6 locations, all in WA.( you can add the dot com to the name if you want to know more). I talked to the guy for a while, right now it is free, eventually they wxpect it to cost $.75 and hour. The only real problem I see is that it doesnt really help with cooling unless you carry some kind of a/c unit with you. The heating wouldnt be a problem, plenty of space heaters available. Maybe it will catch on, maybe not.

 

IIRC the T/A n/o Eugene, Or has shore power.

 

Basically you would need an all weather plug-in rated at least 15 amps (or 30 if you install an RV type AC unit), an AC breaker panel, DC fuse panel, and a converter for your DC appliances.
Just about any RV supply shop carries these items. I would also add that buying a little Honda type generator that is quiet and output KW is at least 1.6 would be helpful.

I just got a little 12 volt AC unit that is much like a swamp cooler, works quite well. It cost me around $300 and it works like a charm. Basically, it's a box with a reservoir and a fan with two vents. I open the vents on my sleeper so that it draws in air then cools it, and forces out the hot air through the other vent. I tried it the first time in Cosco, CA which is on the Owens Valley side of the Sierras. It was in the 80's that night and I woke up around 2 am and had to put a blanket on. Not bad for a 12 volt unit.

 

Continue as if this post wasn't here . No, wait...I actually have something to contribute to this post. Give me a couple minutes to snap some pics and upload them.

Here's what I did:



Coleman 1800 watt generator, runs a/c unit 6 hours on 1.5 gallons of gasoline ($400 new at home depot).
Custom cover from Tri-City canvas ($40)
Platform materials were about $80, (mostly the expensive bolts) and the headache rack u-bolt kit I used to mount it $50 at Truck-Pro.



Two batteries underneath that can be isolated from the starting batteries with an old fashion lever switch.



Goldstar 600 watt A/C unit ($70) [there is a 700 watt Frigidaire unit available at Lowes in the same size for $100]
Sliders at lowes 100 lbs capacity ( $18 )



Better pic of the sliders
Foam weatherproofing ($5)
I screwed aluminum angle to the sides of the A/C casing so it would only slide out so far. The foam is glued to the angle. while the casing was off, I screwed the unit to the board it is sitting on.



Slides away for storage...no exterior cutting. Inside I have cut away the bed over this unit and installed a table (no pics right now, it's messy in there <embarassed>) but you can easily add venting and run it out the front of the bunk.



Close the door and go, I run an short extension cord to a Freightliner block heater-type outlet I bought at Chrome Shop Guys With Crazy Goatees in Joplin for $6.50. Takes about 5 minutes to set up and take down [ cover off, fuel up, run e-cord and pull start ].

Total $669.50 plus 2 Batteries at Autozone $80 each if you want them. I use them for running a proheat diesel furnace in the winter or running marker lights when it is cool enough for no A/C but I want drivers to see my truck at night.

 

I'll never understand why anyone would pay up to $9,000 for an APU that doesn't cool the cab and sleeper. For what they cost that thing should turn that truck into an icebox!

My uncle has one and was telling me the other day he had to run the truck to stay cool down in Texas. So whats the point in having it?

 

If you are at Laredo and it is over 100 degrees, the parking lot will increase the temperature even more. Running the truck's air in both did little to cool down the truck because these trucks lack insulation.