Portable generator on truck??

Will only have a 13,300 front.

 

Cool Power.
Thats the system that was on the KW I drove.

Its made by Webasto. I just read that on the new KW's that they use 4 deep cycle batteries and it now runs for 10 - 12 hours. Its rated 17,000 BTU.

The Webasto website calls it Blue Cool.

Probably pricey,.. but an option.

Hurst

 

I had one of those worthless Webasto Blue Cool units on a company truck. '08 Pete 387. Wake up drenched in sweat all the time to the point of I said **** your idle policy I can't sleep like that lol. Maybe they have improved in the past several years.

 

I meant to say 7000 Btu's was the max I would get for the A/C with the 2000 Honda and using the Eco mode. Probably could go a little more Btu's using the max rpm setting for the generator.

Anyway, the portable A/C unit came with some plastic accessories for venting the hot air outside. Very inefficient design for the big truck due to the irregular shape of the window etc, I often went full redneck trying to seal it up for the 10 hour break putting a strip of duct tape to seal the gaps. Finally graduated to the idle aire plastic inserts and custom cut a 1/2 inch piece of high quality plywood. Eventually will pretty it up with some more plywood around the edges for a perfect seal-- for right now those ugly square blocks were just to see if it worked and was too lazy to pretty it up yet. Plus the Rotozip I used to cut it is only 1/8th inch bits and they burn up and break off about 1/3rd of the way around that plywood. Will be investing in a Dremel soon to finish the job and also want to route that yellow extension cord out through a hole in the bunk up under the cab and put a new plug on it.

 

I had pretty much the same experience. It worked well when the batteries were fully charged and the sleeper was already cool from the main AC,.. the Cool Power could keep it nice for a few hours till I fell asleep. Like you,. I often woke in a sweat bath after the system shut off or just wasnt blowing cool air and it was hot as hades in there. I'd crank up the truck and then run them both at the same time.

Hurst

 

I've tried them all. This is the cats meow for sure. I have a Rigmaster that has a 6,000 watt generator so I put a 15,000btu unit on. Way over kill. If I were to do it again I would buy the Honda generator below with the external fuel tank with handle and wheels.

Already checked on this. The hole in the back can be closed up with a nice window. Many options from an RV dealer for around $200.

Had the 15,000 btu roof unit. Piece of junk. 15,000 my ###. They have NO air flow compared to a real house unit. Also, it will bounce your roof up and down. The RV dealer said the whole headliner had to come down and reinforcement bars put in. Screw that. That's when I took it out and put a Fantastic Vent Fan in it's place.

This AC unit has been in for around 7 years now. I was in Vegas and it was 106 outside and 67 inside running AC on low. Like I said, way overkill. 10,000 would do it IF mounted on rear of truck.

 

I'd love to see some pics of the setup.

 

I'm about ready to take the plunge and start cutting a hole in the back of my sleeper. God help me.

Got any tips?? I'm curious how you dealt with the interior? And how you did the bolts for the support brackets?

As for the generator I'm really interested in the portable diesel generators. They are heavier and louder, but the appeal of being able to refuel at the same fuel island, and pulling fuel from my tanks is very appealing. Plus I can fuel cheaper using the reefer option at the pump. Looks like I can get into one for around $2k.

 

alot of them on the market are chinese and crap. Here is a good one, but not sure about size, weight and noise. http://www.ebay.com/itm/MEP-016D-Mi...722?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4196db9342

 

Yeah, I do worry about some of the brands. I've always heard good things about Yanmar with there marine market.

The gas generators are so inexpensive and seem to run and run. They only things holding me up is the separate fuel, but it's really not that bad in the grand scheme of things. My buddy just uses a collapsible dolly and walks over to the gas pumps.