Originally Posted by pigrider

Steve what is your opinion on the battery powered apu?

I'm sure it works fine but you need to keep something in mind. When it's above 90 or so outside there is nothing that's going to keep your whole truck cool. You would need a 100,000 btu unit to do that job. The real purpose of those APU's is so you can sleep comfortable so vents are usually placed so that they blow on you while you sleep.

I have a Rigmaster which is a 20,000 btu A/C but will not cool the cab down but will blow my socks off with cool air as I sleep which is really what you want.

I was in Texas once and I met 2 people who had APU's. It was 110 outside and they had the APU running with the A/C on, Idle Air hooked up and running and the truck running with the A/C on and it was still hot inside the truck. It was so hot I had to use my T-Shirt to hold onto my chrome door handle to open the door.

My guess with that battery powered A/C is that after 8 or 10 hours of use you would have to run the truck for 10 hours at least to recharge the batteries so if you were shut down for the weekend you would be out of luck.

[Doghouse]

When I was checking out APU's I also looked ate the Nite System and a few others,..the salesman at Bergstom told me that it only works good enough if you create a tent over your bed, and the vents blow right on you. The guy at Webasto said the same thing, and I even went to a demo in Tampa for Webasto, and sat in a truck while it ran. It was very loud (the fan unit) and I was not impressed by the output,...it was cool,...but not cool enough to save your but over 80 degrees.

As an example for a unit that will cool your truck for at least 10 hrs,..I have:
1.600lbs of batteries
2.Pure sine wave inverter 3000 watt with a 7500 watt surge.
3.The newest most efficient roof mount A/C w- heatpump unit 15,000btu, by Carrier.

Now to charge these batteries, I use:
1.135 amp truck alternator.
2.3 130 watt solar panels on my roof.
3.APU single cyl. diesel 3600 watt.
4.Transwarp phase conduit (for the kaneutin valve)

I can get the tech specs for you, but you'll have to wait for me to put it all together, right now I am replacing every stinking piece of fu$%#ng rubber on this 12 year old beast. I had an air bag go on me and a hidden coolant line let loose a few days ago during my shakedown (and I do mean shakedown,..new shocks as well) run.
It also looks like I'll be doing rear wheel seals,....because one is seeping and what the hell,.....its one thing I have not done yet :lol:

[pigrider]

Dog house thanks for the reply and information!

[Doghouse]

No prob,
I'll be creating a post like Steve's as soon as I get finished, and it will include the tech stuff for my truck,...and I know this will make everyone happy,...lotsa pics.

[pigrider]

Am I reading correctly? That an APU will not really cool your truck in the heat of the summer and you will mostly stay cool during the night.

[Doghouse]

An APU's efficiency is unfortunately dependent on how well your truck is insulated,....most factory truck are not insulated that well, so in order for you to be comfortable. It sometimes requires your main engine A/C and your APU A/C to keep you for turning into a ballpark frank.

Let me tell you,.....115 degrees in Arizona when you can smell the tires melting on the pavement,......you'll shove ice cubes up your butt to stay cool.



I bought a gutted truck and put double the insulation in the sleeper and the cab (except for the doors).

Originally Posted by pigrider

Am I reading correctly? That an APU will not really cool your truck in the heat of the summer and you will mostly stay cool during the night.

Yup, that's true. The area inside a 76" sleeper truck is probably 5 times the size of a car and has the same size 20,000 btu A/C unit. Your car seems nice and cool on a hot day but it's not really. You have those vents blowing cold air right on you. Get in the back seat and take a reading, it's going to be real hot back there.

[nsxman2001]

Originally Posted by SteveBooth

Yup, that's true. The area inside a 76" sleeper truck is probably 5 times the size of a car and has the same size 20,000 btu A/C unit. Your car seems nice and cool on a hot day but it's not really. You have those vents blowing cold air right on you. Get in the back seat and take a reading, it's going to be real hot back there.

I think it maybe a good idea to add some installation to the walls and celling and doors to help with cooling and heating. check this out
http://secondskinaudio.com/store.php...FQMsFQodLwNefg

good luck!

[nsxman2001]

I used some of this stuff in my car and works great I have extra so I will do this to my truck as a side project in the future..

I'll bet that would really help and I've thought of that but what a royal pain in the butt that would be to take all the panels out to install.