Rooftop AC

I was just thinking about giving an update since I have spent the weekend sitting in Beaumont TX after delivering 6 sets of windmill blade cradles with 100+ heat index...

Like Left lane, no problems... at some point it got down to 63 in the sleeper Friday or Sat. I sat in Beaumont from noon Friday til Noon Sunday non stop.
This morning around 3am, I had to turn everything completely off because I was freezing my ars off. And again like Left Lane stated, I should have done this yrs ago....

I have seen quite a few trucks with rooftops this past week, more then any other previous years. I guess its like buying a blue car, you suddenly realize a lot of people have one. I even noticed 2 condo's... yep rooftops on condo's ! They had some type of adapter like a chimney that allowed them to mount a rooftop below the roof line towards the middle front of the sleeper. It looked a little funny in my book, but what the hell, if it accomplishes the task, so what. Today it was 103 in some spot of Ms, 98 here in Winona and with a 8" fan blowing air to the cab, I'm very comfortable.

 

And I had the same thing happen with oil and switched to grease packed bearings. If you have a catastrophic seal failure, your going to burn up a bearing in no time were as with grease you will have time. A lot of times people don't put enough grease in the hubs which will cause catastrophic failures like in your case. I pack in 2-3 pounds of grease in each hub and I remove and check/add more grease every yr and clean and replace grease when it looks burnt.

In my case, the bearings had about 3/4 million miles on them. No one could or would tell me the life expectency of a set of bearings... After the one wheel failure like you, also having to replace the spindle (twice), I rebuilt the other 3 axles only to find 2 more bearings falling apart as I was removing the hubs/seals. It is now my standing policy to replace all bearings and race at 1/2 million miles... no if and or buts about it.

So don't blame the grease or oil (unless too little was used), bearings do wear out.

 

Starline,,,
I respect what you said & agree completely about bearings wearing out. I've always considered greased bearings the way to go however like I said,,,ya can't check-em w/o pulling them down. You also rely on the guy knowing how to pack bearings in the 1st place. Personally I feel better now with oiled bearings that I can check the oil on at a glance thru the little window. JMHO.

 

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead, and it's hardly the time to discuss rooftop ac units, but I'm curious how those that chose to go with the eu3000is generator dealt with the fuel issue (fairly small gas tank and expensive and complicated to install a fuel pump to draw from a remote tank).

twolane, you said early on that you were using 2-2 gallon tanks but might consider possibly a DEF tank along with a 12 volt fuel pump to refill the generator's fuel tank with. I would be interested in your experience if you went this route since this sounds like a good approach to me.

I'm currently using that generator and a space heater to avoid idling, but I have to refill the tank frequently. I'd like to hear from anyone who has a good solution to this problem.

Thanks in advance.

 

I had an EU3000is on my Pete with 63inch sleeper for about 2 years. The rooftop unit was originally a Colman Polar Cub but that died after about 6 months and was replaced with the Roughneck which is still working well as far as I know. I also used a space heater like you're doing. Depending on which heater you use the heat can actually use more gas than the A/C. BTW, I found that using a small fan made a huge difference in the heat distribution in the sleeper. Either way, I rarely got 2 full nights out of a 4.4 gal tank of gas. It is a P.I.T.A. to fill it every day and forget about it in the dark or when it's been running and is hot unless you are a better aim than me!

I thought and thought about how to make a larger fuel tank work and searched the net for info about a way to get the genset to draw fuel into it through the cap like the smaller units do but failed to find a good solution. I thought that buying or building a 15 - 20 gallon tank that would be frame mounted between the rails that could replace the tank by plumbing the fuel line to it instead of the genset's fuel tank. I don't think the generator will know the difference where the fuel is coming from. Northern Tool had some tanks that were sized about right. Anyway, I sold the truck before doing it so can't say if it works or not. If I had to keep filling the generator like I used to I wouldn't do it again. I'd do a rooftop with a diesel generator - either a power unit from an APU or build one. There's a supplier in Jacksonville that builds them and they fit in a box that's nearly identical to the size of the Peterbilt 379 battery box.

 

something like this ? http://www.sandparts.com/servlet/the-1592/10-30-BUGGY-DUNE/Detail

If you mount it higher than your carburetor you won't need a fuel pump. I bought a used Onan Gen off of Ebay, it has a fuel pump. I haven't decided for sure what I am going to do either, but this looks like a pretty good option. I basically want to be able to fill up and be good for 12 hours or so.

 

Yeah, 10 gallons will last about 4 and a half nights, more or less.

 

For whatever reason, DOT requires that it has a electric fuel pump. I mean I don't think they really care, but it is on the books.

BTW, My system is still going strong, no issues. I have a small 800/1500 watt heater that has kept the truck sleeper very comfortable at 35 deg temps. Its going to be interesting when the temps drop a little colder.

 

Then, there is always the option to have a multi fuel generator, that can run on gasoline, natural gas, or propane..... which ever you chose since it will run on all 3 fuels. One could install a good size propane tank mount on the truck and have their generator run on propane. No more having to fill up those 2 gallon (or whatever) fuel tanks with gasoline. And according to the FMCSA regulations, you can carry far more propane than you can carry gasoline. Like somewhere around 100 gallons, not that someone would want that large of a tank on the truck. But those 10 or 15 gallon tanks, mounted to the frame, would be a viable option. That amount of fuel would last well over a week.

Oh well, it is an option. Here is a link to an outfit that is doing Yamaha generators to run on all 3 fuels......

http://www.yamaha-propane-natural-gas-generators.com

 

I dont really mind filling the generator.
ONLY time it has ran out, was when using BOTH the block heater and the portable heater inside. It used the full 3 gallons in @9-9.5hrs then. Using just the heater though, maybe 2 gallons in a 10hr stretch?
As convenient as a APU? Probably not.
A fraction of the cost, quieter, with better warranty and a lot less weight? You bet.
I still love it, and will continue to use the snot out of the EU3000. Has @1200hrs on it now, so is more than paid for, well paid for a few times over to me more precise.
There are fuel pump kits out there, but would probably screw the excellent 3yr warranty from Honda. They involve plumbing in a vacuum pump IIRC.
Biggest regret? Not doing it @5yrs ago...
Martin