[sodbuster]

Thank steve & person for your reply, I had know idea that auto A/C's had that much cooling capicity (btu's) on a hot summer day probly could not cool the cab. But what about after dark after the sleeper's air has cooled it down I wonder if it could maintain the temp. then. any larger A/C I think would require a generator. Thanks for the input.

[Doghouse]

Hey all,
Merrick,
the housing market here in St Petersburg is not that good either, I just happen to owe very little on this house, so I was able to lower my asking price and still clear a $95,000 profit. As far as any tax breaks,...I'm not holding my breath,...it probably won't filter down to us for a year or two.

Steve & Mike
Yeah tell me about it, I want to get out there so bad,...I've been sleeping in the truck :lol: :lol: , and all the stuff that's broken would have led to major breakdowns on the road, so I'm glad to have caught them before I started. This truck has 925,000 miles on it and I neglected to inspect the systems that I have found in need of repair. Working on this thing is really not that much different than the farm machinery I grew up fixing in NY.
$1.20,...sorry Steve O, Gman said my truck won't even start for that price :lol:
I'm hoping to be out by the end of this month, but you never know.

sod,
I have 4 huge 6volt batteries, and they will only run my RV roof mount A/C for about 4 hrs before my genset fires up.(they will run all the other systems for 5 days)
If you are going to try this, I would go with at least 6-6volt batteries (separate from the truck batteries), wire them series/parallel, and run then through a RS 2000 xantrex inverter, and depending on the roof of your truck (mines flat so the panels are almost undetectable) cheap solar panels are going to run you $700.00 a piece
Be prepared though, the cost for this system will be around $6,000.

A 5,000 BTU will cool your cab, but not very efficiently and it will always run on the high setting which will draw your batteries down even faster.
In inverter, even though they claim that the surge capacity should handle start up loads,....will not, and you should over size your inverter. Get the largest one you can find,..you will be disappointed in the performance of a 1,500 watt surge unit, to start an A/C unit, I would go no lower than a 3,000 watt surge.

[allan5oh]

OT:

Sod, I've posted a few links regarding this.

If you want the BEST batteries money can buy, get the odyssey pc2150.

The way you measure "storage" of the battery is amp-hours.

http://www.odysseyfactory.com/specs.htm

pc2150 is the group 31.

It can sustain 10 amps for 10 hours before voltage drops to 10. You can still charge in the summer at 10 volts, but it can be tough on your equipment.

X4 = 40 amps for 10 hours straight. 40 amps X 12 volts = 480 watts for 10 hours straight.

You do *NOT* want a cheap a/c unit. you want a SPLIT unit. They're far more energy efficient. Here's a good one:

http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/09KLS71.html

It has a SEER of 16, far better then any window unit. It will also seal better.

Honestly, 5000 BTU's can definitely work IF you have a well insulated truck.

In my volvo 770, I used to park in the sun during the day in minneapolis, and I never got too warm with a 5000 BTU a/c.

My dad regularly runs an a/c unit, but from his batteries. It's hard on batteries, you need an AGM battery! Regular batteries WILL NOT WORK.

[Doghouse]

Allan,
I ordered a split unit for my truck when I ordered my APU. The split unit was from Soleus Air (very similar to the link you sent), and when I contacted them about how to mount it on my truck,...they said "why are you mounting this on a moving vehicle, the unit was not designed to withstand the vibration, and installing onto a moving vehicle voids all warranties"

Needless to say another complaint for A-Trans generators, but besides A-Trans and their crummy product. I'm not sure any unit similar to the Soleus Air would be a dependable unit for a moving vehicle,....or just ask the manufacturer,and see what they have to say about it.

[sodbuster]

Hey thanks for the info and links. What does APU stand for, some kind of power unit???
Doghouse sounds like the truck is your new home after selling your house.

[sidman82]

Auxillary Power Unit.

[Doghouse]

Not the last one, I still have another one in St Petersburg for my girl and all our animals, but I am definitely setting up my truck to be a home away from home.
We are also planning to move to Flagstaff in about a year, so hopefully the housing market looks a little better by then.

Anyone know where Mutt Face lives? I'm down in Florida and have my night vision camera. Thought I would sneak over, snap some pics and post them.

[mike3fan]

Originally Posted by SteveBooth

Anyone know where Mutt Face lives? I'm down in Florida and have my night vision camera. Thought I would sneak over, snap some pics and post them.

I'm not sneaking over to any ones place that has Dog in his handle 8)

[Doghouse]

Originally Posted by mike3fan

I'm not sneaking over to any ones place that has Dog in his handle 8)

I go away for a few days, and Steve O is trying to find my hideout,...sheesh.
I was in Flagstaff for a week,..went up to GC and did some hiking,...sure was nice to get away.