Question on Not buying a APU???

I know some places you'll have problems carrying a full propane tank if they catch you. Like going thru the tunnels in Baltimore.

 

Some of the generators are CARB certified so as long as it's got the certification you are in the clear.

 

I have no affiliation with the APU other than to test and evaluate against other ones in the market place as to function, performance and cost.If you should choose to use the loan proceeds to apply to another apu which would provide a lower cost to benefit ratio that would be your choice. Only point in mentioning availability is that one can always find propane along major motor carrier routes. The unit under full load uses approx 1/2 lb of propane per hour, with low noise and no pollution. Insofar as cost vs return that is clearly charted as to net dollars saved.

 

It is a whole lot easier to find diesel as opposed to propane,.....And less of a headache as well,.....

 

Point taken, Diesel is easy, it is also subject to being regulated in high pollution areas such as the the larger ports here in US as many are adopting zero emission standards when parked. the exception being refrigeration units, and those must now meet minimum standards as well. Propane is non polluting. It just comes down to an individual's choice if cost not a major factor. Adding a pre combustion catalyst to the intake air stream of a diesel is proving to have major effect on reducing pollutants along with extending mileage, involves no major mechanical refits. The cost of the catalyst is minimal and usually shortly recovered in diesel saved. Look for these pre combustion catalyst systems to start showing up along the 80 very soon.

 

I am using a 2000 watt Honda sitting on the back deck...Have it hooked to an aux 6 gallon boat tank (DOT approved) and runs all week on that tank...I used an old IdleAir window insert to hook the hose from a 8000BTU floor mount A/C unit...Have about 1200 bucks in the whole think...Use a elect heater for the winter...Any part of it breaks I can toss it and replace it on the road for CHEAP....and all on about 1.2 gallons of gas in a 10 hour break....I run the midwest so maybe a bigger BTU A/C unit would be needed in the south lands....

 

I notice no one else has addressed this post.

Krooser, I don't know what you run, or where you run. But I don't think the swamp cooler is going to do what you want it to.

For one thing, the whole idea behind the swamp cooler is that it works by blowing air over water filled pads. This dumps humidity into the air. LOTS and lots of humidity. It might be OK in the Mojave Desert, at least until July or August when the humidity comes in. But it is going to be miserable and totally ineffective in the deep south or anytime the outside humidity is high.

I hate to see you spend $ 500.00 on something that you are going to hate. . .

 

I got the exact same setup, almost. My extra gas tank is a 3gal and my window insert is a piece of 1x6 that is used a jigsaw on to get the correct shape/size. I live in the south (Texas) and it works just fine down here so bigger is not needed. Plus the 3-5 min to service the generator is nice also. No need to take it to the shop and pay the high prices.

 

Now I like and admire that innovation. Jist goes to show what one can do when properly motivated. What I wonder is if one can get it recognized for Smart Way Certification as a bonafied pollution reduction fuel saving device for the benefits afforded to Smartway Certified Carriers. I will be checking to see if it can be opted into the program for CARB and EPA approval. I doubt that it can due to unnecessary anal bureaucratic regulations. A Carb/Epa approved unit will allow one to save on taxes and in many cases, get an apu through a no pay back grant program. That is what I do in researching the options available to Owner Operators and small fleets for no pay back grants or the next option of low interest SBA loans. In any case, I can reccomend a peak profit program specifically crafted to fit the needs of the small fleet or individual trucker, which can and often does, save as much as 40% of yearly fuel and maintanence costs. For a lot of us out there, that amounts to an extra eight hundred to a thousand a month take home after servicing the SBA low interest loan payment of less than two hundred a month. I can and will craft this program free of charge as a service to the independent small fleet and owner operator. Why? because I can. My pay off comes from the companies making and/or selling the tested, proven EPA/Carb approved products which are incorporated into the program.

 

I am running a 3 cyl. Onan with a Kubota engine. It uses between .10 and .25 gallons an hour and taps into the fuel tanks. I do my own oil changes, fuel filter changes, an have a k&n washable air filter. There are other users of this type of generator who have racked up tens of thousands of hours. I currently have over 6000 hrs on mine and it always works. It is a 7500 watt and I take it into Cummins once a year to have them check it out. I had them install a ball valve on the exhaust spark arrestor so I wouldn't have to climb under the generator to release the spark arrestor soot. These are the same gens that the military uses in Iraq and Afghanistan so if the troops rely on them for their lives, they are good enough for me. You can mess around with a one cylinder gen that sounds like a lawn mower running under your bunk in an attempt to save money, but you get what you pay for. You can even install a bypass oil filter on the Onan as well as a less expensive fuel filter. I get all of my oil filters from Wal-mart for 3 bucks each.