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Anyone use a gasoline generator to heat sleeper/block?

Another option I have been considering is to mount my 3500 watt generator under my trailer. I have a good place to mount it where the old spare tire brackets were (the rack is no longer on the truck). I could weld up a rack to mount it on and carry a couple five gal buckets of fuel alongside it. Then run a cord up to the truck to power a small electric space heater and another to the block heater.

Has anyone tried doing something like this? :roll: :?

DOT might (will ) have a problem with the gasoline can thing for the generator...

I wondered about that. I don't know the regs on it offhand. Perhaps if it were "concealed" properly??? 8)

Quote: Perhaps if it were "concealed" properly???

This is the kind of stuff that keeps the Fire Depts and Emergency Rooms in business.... if you live through co poisoning, the wreck or a fire. :?

Why do you say that Kurbski? Maybe some folks don't have enough sense to properly transport and operate a generator. I have used one for years while camping and see little difference in using it for my truck. But then, I have also survived 28 years as a pilot, 20 years in police work, and 6 years paragliding. Regardless, it could be done safely; would hinge more on what DOT says than anything.

That's not the impression I got from you "concealing" it in your post which mentions nothing about safety... So Thats why I posted what I did because exhaust from generators is poisonious.and crashes/fires etc..
That's all. It seemed like a "sneaky post" like your going to hide something from DOT man. No biggie since you posted your resume.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigDiesel

DOT might (will ) have a problem with the gasoline can thing for the generator...

Could you point to the regs that apply to gasoline and CMV's?

I will share a little consultation I did online with an experienced old trucker who runs a Honda 3000

Quote:

I have a Honda 3000is. It is strapped to the truck by two 2 inch rachet straps. DOT has never even looked at it. The wire connections have to look pro. It pretty much runs my stuff and burns probably 2 1/2 gallons for eight to ten hours of air conditioning or heating with a heat pump. I have a large microwave and it will not run 14,000 btu of air conditioning and the microwave at the same time. You would really need a 5000 watt for that heavy of use.
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Yes it is on the catwalk. I have a rubber flap down first to cusion it from the rough alumimum and a strap on each side hooked to the frame. There are many truck running generators. My setup is a little more complicated where I have a 2000 watt inverter in line with it that also charges the batteries. I also have five deep cycle batteries. But I ran it with the generator only at first. Just so the wiring is installed neat and secure it is ok. A small inverter, 29.95 at walmart will run any tv well and not take the batteries down in 24 hours.

You need to look into the air conditioner good. It will amaze you how big you need to cool the truck on a hot day. I havce 14.000 btu and it is not big enough but tolarable. On a 90 degree day it will get to 85 or so in the truck. But without it goes to 110 degrees or so. Test borrow one or buy one at Wallmart and return it if not big enough. Set it up on a window and tape some plastic on a hot day to get an idea. then you need a generator big enough. The 14,000 draws 1600 watts on run and dims the lights when the compressor starts with the 3000 watt generator. When I first got it, (the air) till it broke in, sometimes it would pop the circuit breaker on start up.

In the winter a ceramic heater draws about 1500 the biggest you can get. It will heat you ok till it gets real cold. I am good down to 10 or 15 degrees and colder thanthat you need to let the truck run anyway. I can give you a couple of tips, the truck system needs to be put on recirculate while stopped, the system will bleed hot air in and cold air in the winter. I don't know what post you read, but I have a bunch of stuff in here, coffee maker, toster, 2 1/2 cubic foot freezer, refridgerator, 27 inch high def tv, dvd, and so on. I can park at night with no generator and be ok except for air cond. I also have a fan mounted in a vent to get some air. Flys are a problem. With gas at 2.40 it takes about 4.50 or 5.00 for a 12 hour run with the generator, now it is up to 7.00 or so with 3.00 gas. I also have remote start on my generator, a real help. I found that before the remote I would run the generator all night when i did not need it so that it woud be running in the morning when the sun hit the truck. Of course I drive most of the night and sleep later.

An inverter with a charger is a great thing. I have left the markers on all night and the batteries low in the morning. Woops, but the generator running the inverter charges them back up in a half hour or so. Something to remember, the industry standard for house current at 115 volts is 1500 watts and it does allow a surge to 20 amps or so to start a compressor ok. 'RV units do run up to 30 amps and that is what I run, but you cannot run two full 115 volt loads on the system. Mine is 3000 watts full current and 2700 run.

If I was to do this over again knowing what i know now, the money would have gone into a 3000 or 4000 watt inverter with all the stuff running on the inverter and a generator to keep the batteries up. Of course that would take some serious batterys.

Yep, we did it last winter and also used one this summer while logging. DOT never said a word to us about it and we were inspected more than once in NC. :wink:

We are going to use it again this year too.

tootie

I've been thinking about setting up something based on a honda generator, more than likely the EU3000IS model. MSRP on this unit is right around 2 grand. It is very quiet at 58 decibles, and would be even quieter mounted as described below.

What I'm considering is mounting the generator inside a box mounted on the frame rail and tying the exhaust into the trucks exhaust system. Vent the box with two fans, one sucking and one blowing. Mount a 10 gallon foam filled fuel cell between the frame rails under the catwalk. It would be easy to securely mount everything and have the wiring and fuel lines protected from road hazards. Mount the starting switch, oil pressure guage, and breakers remotely in the sleeper where they are easy to get to. It would then be an easy task to wire in a gang box with a few outlets inside the sleeper.

During the winter, the block heater could be run on a switched circuit. Most block heaters pull from 750 to 1000 watts, so the generator could easily power that as well as another heater for the cab.

Running a fridge would be easiest with an inverter I think, just so it can stay on most of the time instead of only being on when the generator is running. What I don't know, is if inverters are rated to be run continuously for something like this?

Setting up a battery minder to run off the generator would be a good idea too I guess, to keep them up while the inverter is running.

Sure, something like this would take some work to get all set up, but in the end it would still be far cheaper than an APU.

Oh, and yes, I will be checking with the DOT about the legality of running a setup like this. I have read way too many differing points of view regarding the legality of having a gas generator on a CMV, none of them official or linked to a law that would allow or prohibit this.