Making some changes to my generator's appearance
 

So there has been some active discussions regarding my generator system that I've been building for my truck. As promised, here are some pics of it.

http://www.worthless1000.com/0711081717.jpg

The box is made of 1/8" steel, and is bolted to the frame in six spots.

http://www.worthless1000.com/0711081721.jpg

There is a double door that splits in the middle.

http://www.worthless1000.com/0711081722.jpg

With the top open, everything inside is fairly easily accessible. The generator is bolted directly to the box, which is lined with sound deadening material. More sound deadening material will be added tomorrow (I ran out).

http://www.worthless1000.com/0711081722b.jpg

There is a 12V radiator fan in the rear which moves 500 cubic feet per minute. There are two vents - one on the left side, and one on the right.

http://www.worthless1000.com/0711081722a.jpg

The exhaust runs the entire length of the frame, and exits out the back.

I removed the fuel tank already, and Peterbilt will be running fuel lines to the generator for me on Monday.

I have a little bit of work to do tonight, and I'll take some pics of the A/C system.

Any and all criticism on this build is welcome. As I am flying blind here, if you think I've done something incorrectly, by all means - point it out.

You sure it's not this one.
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...2/IMG_1269.jpg

Looks good, a few hours of test running in summer heat should find any flaws. make sure you put a in line fuel filter and leave the fuel pickup a inch or two above the bottom of the tank. mine is water cooled and I use a point and shoot infrared thermometer to check the running temp.

Since that fan is designed to cool a car, I have no doubts it will cool this generator. My only concern is the exhaust pipe, and that the heat will affect the sound deadening material. I may get some exhaust wrap tomorrow to wrap the area that is inside the box.

It's on my list of things to get tomorrow. :wink:

The fuel pickups are already installed in the tank. Peterbilt was nice enough to install a supply and return line at the factory specifically for running an APU.

I think I may invest in a thermometer to see what kind of running temps I'm getting.

Here's some pics of the vents:

http://www.worthless1000.com/0711081827.jpg
http://www.worthless1000.com/0711081827a.jpg

Now on to the air conditioner. Please note that I will be having a louvered surround built for it to cover the exterior, which will be painted the same cream color as the truck.

http://www.worthless1000.com/0711081823.jpg
http://www.worthless1000.com/0711081824.jpg
http://www.worthless1000.com/0711081826.jpg

The only issue I've run into with the AC is that the water drips down the side of the truck. I think the best solution for that is to have a small channel built to direct it away from the truck about an inch or so. I'm sure I'll always run into issues with it splashing on the truck, but I wash it on a regular basis, so I don't see that it will stain the side of the truck.

The AC unit sticks out about one inch on the top, and about 3/4" on the bottom. I've had several people look at the truck already, and most didn't even notice there was an air conditioner in the window.

The AC puts out 12,000 BTU, and I've had it running on and off for a couple of days already, and it keeps the sleeper at a nice temperature. It does not seem to have enough power to keep the cab cool though. As far as noise, it compares to a standard metal 12V fan, so it isn't too terrible. The body of the AC is over the bed about 6 inches, which I can live with.

Aren't the side vents of the AC system supposed to be outside?

I thought the same thing, but the only vents that really need to be outside are the ones for the condenser (which are at the back of the unit). The front ones are used for fresh air, as opposed to recirculating air. Since I'm recirculating air anyway, it isn't an issue. I discussed this at length with someone who services AC units.

If you feel the outside of a window mounted AC unit, you'll notice that all the heat is at the rear of the unit. That's because the condenser is mounted at the rear, and is the only part that gets hot.

Do you now how much it weighs Rev.?

Rev,look for gutter spouts at any Rv dealer I use them on my camper to keep the rain from running down the sides of the wall,they redirect the water about 2 inches away from the edge.You may have to do some modification but I think you can handle it :wink:

Somewhere around 400 lbs, including the AC. The generator is 219 lbs, the box is around 100 lbs, and the AC is about 60 lbs.

Thanks, I'll look into that.

:lol:

I like that box Rev. Very sharp but I think I would have painted it with some mexican chrome instead of black. :lol:

I just put a rigmaster on and I think you saved alot of money their with your apu.

To have such a nice truck that exhaust pipe looks pretty hideous! Is there not a way to dump the exhaust where it will be hidden? I just can't see someone screwing up the good looks of a truck like that by jamming a window unit in a sleeper window! You never cease to amaze me Rev. at some of the shit you come up with! With as much money as you spent on that truck a couple a months ago you could have the best APU on the market and could have probably put a big sleeper on it too! No way I could ruin a truck by doing that. If you put a louvered cover on that condenser you are going to drastically reduce the cooling suface area of that unit and it is not going to work half as good as it does now. I hate to be so critical, but IMO you just ruined the looks of that truck. I would hate to hear that thing rattling in the window going down the road.

Here's what I have invested in the system at this point:

Generator - $809
Air Conditioner - $216
Box - $600
Misc parts and labor - $300 (approx.)

______________

TOTAL - $1925

It should take me between 1 1/2 - 2 months to recoup the costs of this system.

Considering the exhaust pipe is completely hidden, I don't see where the issue is...

There is. Along the frame rail, where I have it now. I may end up painting it with high temp black paint, at which point it will blend in even better. With a trailer hooked to the truck, you'd have to climb underneath to even see it at this point.

It's hardly "jammed". A lot of planning went into the placement of the AC unit. I chose the location because of the fact that I could put it back to stock quite easily.

Really? Here I thought that the "best APU on the market" cost about $11,000, and large sleepers cost between $80,000 and $100,000. I wasn't aware that I spent between $91,000 and $111,000 on the work I had done.

Considering the cover will be approx. 2" away from the unit, I fail to see how that is possible.

I'd hate to hear it rattling in the window too. It's a good thing that it doesn't, but rather is secured with 8 bolts, and is mounted to a 1/4" steel table.

As I've stated on several occasions, this is the solution that works for me. I don't have $9000 - $11,000 to invest in an APU system at this time, but I still needed to come up with an idling solution. This idling solution works for me. Will the window unit become permanent? I don't know. I've already taken the AC apart to see how it is put together, and have contemplated separating the condenser from the main unit, so I can install the condenser on the back of the sleeper, and the main unit under the bunk. But I lack the time to do that at this point.

One thing I pride myself on is the fact that when I experiment with things like this, I make sure that they are capable of being disassembled and returned to stock. This is no different than when I installed the seats from a 64 Impala. I could have this entire APU system off the truck in about a half a day, and you'd never know it was ever there.

You could get an exhaust elbow that has a 1&1/4 fitting welded to it , then the exhaust just goes up your stack.
Did you have to install a fuel pump?
You should def. put a thermometer inside there to check for heat, if it gets too hot, you could always just open the top while you run it. Its better to make some noise than start a truck fire.
Your roof is flat isn't it? if so a roof RV AC unit is a possibility in the future.
My unit cools my sleeper down to 63 degrees even when its 100+ out.

Someone humor me please..... Where does the window go when the A/C unit is in, and what about rolling down the road ??? Does the A/C unit come out ???

Big sleepers are for fat old drivers, besides no one can afford one where he works. Plus they are a lot of trouble. :D

Best think about covers for the vents before winter. louvers won't hurt the output of the AC as long as they don't restrict airflow. How many watts is the generator?

Rev what is the diamond plate cover above your microwave oven for?

That would work if my exhaust were anywhere near the generator, but it isn't.

No. It has a fuel pump already built in, which is one of the reasons I went with this unit.

Chicks dig fire. :lol: If heat becomes an issue, I've got room to install a second (or larger) fan.

It is, but there's a wing in the way. I had originally planned for a rooftop AC unit, but there just isn't enough room.

My AC will cool down to 60 degrees. I'm not sure if it gets that cold, but I've gotten goosebumps while sitting in the sleeper.

No it doesn't. I disassembled the window to put the AC in. I had planned (and even built) a new removable plexiglass window, but I found that the size and bulk of the AC unit made it impossible to move in and out. The unit is only out as far as it needs to be, which is about an inch.

:lol: Yeah - I hear refilling the water tank is a bitch.

The entire unit will be removed during the winter months, and the original window reinstalled.

6000 watts.

The only thing I can point out is how much bracing holds up the unit on the inside? It doesn't look like alot in the picture but I am sure you either have it hidden or aren't done with it yet. The balance is off and might vibrate on bumpy roads more then you think.

When I installed my 20" flat screen TV, I had a big opening where the old TV went. I turned it into storage by installing a hinged door.

Here's some more pics of that "hideous" exhaust :lol:
(pardon the crappy pictures, as I've been using my camera phone all day and it was getting dark out)

http://www.overdesaturated.com/0711082042.jpg
http://www.overdesaturated.com/0711082042a.jpg
http://www.overdesaturated.com/0711082042b.jpg
http://www.overdesaturated.com/0711082042c.jpg
http://www.overdesaturated.com/0711082043.jpg
http://www.overdesaturated.com/0711082044.jpg

So then where does the air go after drawn through the condenser?

edit:

where does it come from rather... it goes out the condenser...

BTW what generator did you go with?

With it having a fuel pump, it should be legal. Interesting.

There is a 1/4" steel table that I had built for the unit to sit on. It is hidden, and you'd have to stick your head underneath the AC unit to even see it. The AC unit is not only bolted directly to the truck, but it is also bolted to the table. I've been bobtailing quite a bit with the unit in place, and the level hasn't changed at all. The major thing I have to watch out for is that I don't park in an area where I am leaning too far to the left. The AC is installed at a 1/4" slope, and is sealed off to prevent water from running the wrong way. There are 7 drain holes along the bottom edge, from front to back, which will allow water to drain even if I am at an incline.

It is built by Eastern Tool and Equipment.

Yes - this unit is DOT compliant.

The condenser fan (which is in the middle of the unit) draws air from inside the truck which it blows on the condenser. That hot air is blown out of the rear of the unit (the part that is outside the truck). If you put your hand outside in front of the unit, it is very hot. If you put your hand on the side of the unit inside the truck, it is cool.

1st dumb question; How do you cover the condensor opening for the winter?

2nd dumb question; Did you put rubber dampeners between the jenny and the box?

3rd dumb question is personal; ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FREAKING MIND? That's something one does to a truck like mine (10 year old FLD) not a truck like that. :lol:

I'm lazy. I just picked up my truck from Thermo King yesterday and got a tripac with all options installed for 8500 out the door.

Would I consider yours? Probably not. For the value of about 1/4 of what I paid, I think you're getting the better deal, and since you built it, you'll probably have better servicability out of it than mine.

I was gonna make a thread about my sexy APU :x

Looks like a clean install. I agree that the exhaust is ugly, but since you can't see it and it works, I say "right on!"

Bandit, if you wanted sexy, RIGMASTER is the way. Thermo King sounds like your full of gas or something. I showed you pictures of my female friends and I only had to say 2 words slow to them......RIG.......MASTER!!! Said with a deep, Barry White voice.

My thoughts on this whole setup.

I would put the A/C out the back, mounted properly with a nice shelve to support it. I think the way you have it will either cause your cab metal to deform or the thing is just plain going to fall inside the cab.

A/C units are not meant to be mounted that way due to the heat that they generate which is going to end up in your cab. The back 75% is also meant to be outside in the heat so the dehumidifier can do it's job correctly to remove moisture from the air.

That muffler hanger in the back will break real quick. The pipe will vibrate and resonate causing the metal to fatigue and break. I would suggest going to Mienike Muffler and have them install a car muffler pipe and car muffler like I did on my Rigmaster. It cost me I think $130.

Being a single cylinder I think it's going to be really really loud but the majority of the noise will come from the engine and not the muffler but you have some good insulation so that may help.

The fan should not have been mounted on the side. It should have been mounted facing towards the rear like all other APU's. Between the air intake grill facing forward and the fan on the side that sucker is going to fill up in no time with tons of crap, salt, water and snow. I'm guessing those plugs will short out due to all the water and snow getting in.

I kind of wish I would gave gone this route instead of the Rigmaster just for the simple fact it would have been fun to do but I'm very happy with my unit.

I would put the window back in, ditch the A/C unit and buy a roof mounted Carrier A/C unit and junk what ever you have to on the top of your cab to go that route.

Your also going to have to change the oil very frequently. Most APU's like mine have a 4 quart capacity due to the harsh conditions and having more oil extends the frequency of the oil changes.

I also think your going to generate tons of heat with a single cylinder engine basically running it's balls off as opposed to a twin cylinder like most APU's that have a large radiator with fan and water cooled.

I applaud your setup and think it's a good start and will work for a while but my guess is that your going to end up doing the WHOLE setup over again with better equipment.

At a minimum, I would put that Carrier unit on top for $500 bucks. That's something that will stay even though you may need to replace everything else.

I'm being Devils advocate here and not attacking you personally and hope it didn't come across that way.

On another note. I think many people boast that there APU cools the whole cab to 65 degrees on a 110 degree day and I say your all full of crapola.

I have been in Texas many times already with the temp over 100 and every single person with an APU is doing the same as me. We are not only running the APU but have the truck engine running also and it's STILL NOT ENOUGH.
I've seen many trucks doing that plus have IdleAir hooked up!!!

The ONLY person I've seen that had the perfect setup had a Rigmaster with a Carrier A/C on top. I saw him at the fuel pump and talked to him about his setup. He told me to come over later and I did. It was about 66 in his cab, the outside temp was over 100 and I was actually cold after 10 minutes.

He runs both the Rigmaster A/C and the Carrier A/C when it's really hot. Other times he just runs the Rigmaster for the power and uses the Carrier. He was able to cool the whole cab off and didn't have to close the privacy curtains to cut the cab in half like I do.

I also plan to do the same when the opportunity comes up. On occasion I'm in an area with tons of RV dealers and shut down for a day and I call up seeing if they have a unit and can install it but no luck yet but will keep trying until I do.

It will come out entirely in the winter.

No. But there are rubber dampeners between the generator and the inner frame.

Maybe.

That's where it was originally going to go. The problem is that the rear wall on a 379 is sloped, meaning the AC would have either had to be at a really odd angle, or all the water would have run right to the front of the unit. It's not sticking out very far, and most of the weight of the unit is held by the steel table I had built for it.

Have you ever seen an in-wall AC unit? Those have no side vents at all.

Possibly. I plan to keep an eye on it to see how it travels.

You know, I talked to the service guys at Peterbilt about that. When I said I knew a guy who put a car muffler on a generator, they cringed. They said that is probably the worst thing you can do, because you are actually restricting the exhaust from escaping, thereby increasing cylinder pressure. I talked to another guy who knew someone who did that, and his generator died prematurely.

They told me that my only real option to reduce the exhaust noise is to put a longer exhaust on, never reducing the size of the exhaust, and keeping as many bends out of it as possible.

We'll find out on Monday.

Take a look at a Comfort Master - it's mounted in the rear, just like this. Those APU's are running a radiator - I'm not. That's why the fans are mounted on the side.

It is weather tight. It doesn't look it in the initial pictures because I was still putting it together.

So let's see......I should remove the wing on my roof, which has given me a guaranteed 3/4 MPG savings, so I can put a roof mounted RV air conditioner up there because it would look better? :roll:

Mine took 1 3/4 quarts. The manual suggests changing oil every 500 hours.

Possibly. Most of the time it will be running at 1/2 load or less.

For what you paid for your one Rigmaster, I could replace this generator TEN times. If I can get one year out of it, that means I can run for TEN years before I've matched your cost. How long do you expect your Rigmaster to last before you'll have to replace it?

It did. I'm telling a moderator. :wink:

lol

When Meinike did my muffler they have reference material to indicate the correct back pressure for ever car ever made back to the Model T. It also lists generators and marine engines that cover the Perkins like mine. It's a real broad range and they were able to pick from tons of mufflers made for 4 cylinder cars.

And yes, I would remove the wing.

Oh yea, one more thing. How long have you had that TV mounted to the wall? I would like to do the same but was wondering about the vibration and bouncing around and just how much abuse those things can take.

That kind of defeats the purpose of installing the generator in the first place, now doesn't it?

It's mounted to a cabinet door, and has been there for about 2 years now. I've never had any problems with it.

I thought you said the unit was having problems cooling your cab also.
I have the advantage of being able to super insulate my sleeper when I gutted it. Pair that with Carriers newest most efficient rooftop A/C-Heatpump, and yes....it will cool the entire sleeper and cab down to 63 and that was last week in Houston. Keep in mind that my roof height is also only 75" high in the sleeper, and I insulated the cab when I had it gutted also.

I think that the unit you have should be mounted the way it was intended. Having it place like you do,...it is taking your cool air out and pushing it through the back of the unit.

That is how it is designed to operate. :lol:

It's not designed to do that, you have altered it to take cool air from inside the sleeper and send it out through the back. A normal wall shaker put in a house window would have trouble cooling the room because you are pumping the cool air outside. Your sleeper should be able to overcome the air balance issue because you are cooling a very small area,....but you did say it was having difficulty cooling your cab,....so maybe this is why.
If this continues to be a problem, you could put some ductwork over the vents on the side and vent outside air to them to cool the condenser, then that puppy would turn you into a revsicle.

I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you? :lol:

It would be funny,..picture this:
A custom truck sits at a truck stop with the generator running for 5 days before anyone noticed,....they bang on the door,..wait a few days and then they call a locksmith,....6 hrs later they find a frozen truck driver in Jacksonville Florida,...in the middle of July.
Funny thing,..the drivers hand was frozen to a computer, and it was on classadrivers.com :shock:

I think if he mounts it the way it's suppose to he would either take out a toll booth or have to buy oversized permits for every state.

Hey Dog,

What is involved with doing the roof top A/C myself? I'm assuming just cut a round hole and the unit bolts down over a gasket between the metal? Just a drill bit and some metal shears?

I just ordered the Carrier 20,000 btu roof unit. Should be here next week when I get home. Now, where did I put that hacksaw.

http://www.rvwholesalers.com/catalog...&cat=37&page=1