Apu-generator
 

BEST A.P. U.

I am going to purhase a generator "apu" in the next couple weeks, and thought i might get the thermo-king tri pac
i study apu's a year ago but have not kept up on the market and im afraid there might be newer and better technology.
If anyone no's a good place with a good price id appreciate it !

Get ya a Detroit APU. Ya know... one of those Silver 92's. :p

jack, i dont follow!

I think Jackrabbit is joking that you can use your truck engine as your APU.

Seems like I heard somewhere that the state of TN now has a program to pay half the cost of a new APU for owner/ops or something like that. Maybe Gman is familiar and could chime in?

Found the web page for the program in Tennessee, called "Idle Smart".

The Official State of Tennessee's Department of Environment and Conservation, State Parks Website

Info says that "motor carriers" are eligible, does not say "owner/operators" but I didn't read all the details so depending on your situation you might qualify. Also says that those who receive funding for APU purchase will regularly have to report data to the state relating to fuel savings.

edit- I now noticed that it does mention "independent owner/operators" as eligible.

Take a look at Carriers product as well. I usually hate parking next to some one with an apu, but this one time I did and it was a Carrier, very quiet actually.

Sorry. I was making a joke. Not trying to be smart, but silly..

You remember those Silver 92 Detroits? Whaaaaaaah! :p
In case you don't remember. You know what the motor sounds like in a (oil) drilling rig? Very loud. Sounds like it's gonna blow to peices.
Or a fire truck. :p They run those ol Detroits.
Anyhow..

What I meant was,- Be parking in a truck stop, with that Silver 92 Detroit. Crank it up, and wake up the whole parking lot. :p It was dumb, sorry..

I had a Tripac put on last September, I'm very happy with it. it's pretty quiet,
call around to different Thermoking, the prices I got varied a couple thousand bucks, it was 8500 installed in Sioux City, thats' with a 3000 watt inverter.. Carriers are pretty quiet too. I dont how anyone could pay for that POS Rigmaster that you can hear from 2 miles away

I am doing the same research right now, as I intend to put an APU on my rig in the near future. What I hjave come up with is this. I used to have an Espar heater in a truck I used to drive. It wasn't enough to heat the truck (Freightliner Century big sleeper double bunk etc) I had to shut the big curtains, and put a sheet between the bunks "caconing" myself in the lower bunk, and then it was accepable. this is in avarage winter weather nothing below 20 or so... and the Tripak unit comes with this heating system.

I did some further reasearch, and found a unit that has 22,000 BTU's of heating and cooling. It's the Blackrock Apu, if you google it, you'll find the website with all the info. I also asked a few local installers how much they are, and it's pricier than a tripak. This one comes in at a hefty $10,500 installed out the door taxes and everything. has good warranty and all...

Now here is why I'm going to get this apu. I see a Lot of Smith Transport trucks having these on, and I always ask the driver what he likes or dislikes about it. So far 5 out of 5 have said they like it, and some of them had Tripak units before, and say that this one blows the tripk out of the water. They have no problems maintenance wise, and most repairs can be done manually bu the driver. One of them had 3000+ hours on the APU and only had to replace 1 belt during that time (regular maintenance being done and whatnot...)

So as soon as I get some cash together, I'll be buying the Blackrock Unit.

My 2 cents

Tripac FTW!

I received something from the state a few months ago. They sent me an application and all the paperwork to get started. They must have sent it to all carriers in the state. From what I remember, you need to get an estimate from a manufacturer and submit it along with the required paperwork. You need to send them your vin number for all trucks that you want to put an apu on and then submit it to the state of Tennessee. I have not decided whether I will send in an application or not. They will pay 50% of the cost of an apu for each truck. I don't remember if there was a limit on how many they would pay for or not.

Thanks for all the replies!

Gman- hope everything is going well for you!
Thats what i did filled out the app and got appraisal at thermo-king in k-town. Just got approved.
They gave me 4-grand.
Would like to find a takeoff somewhere, less money out of poc.ket

That's odd. I think your the first person I've heard complain about the Espar. There's a few on this board that have them and love them. I'm wondering if somethings wrong with it maybe?

How noisy is it? Have you heard the units running on the Smiths trucks?

:lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2:



You did good Jack! I "Got" it!

Some of today's driver's haven't been in "the industry" long enough to have driven a truck equipped with a "Silver Bullet"!! Or a Cat 3208(the screaming meemies...run it till it blows...then throw it away and add another one!)....or an 8-v 77. Remember them oil spewing suckers? :eek1: Or...are you to young?? :clap:

Screaming Jimmys
 

Why not go for the best, cost the same or less Gen-Pac / Double Eagle Industries

I have an espar in my studio sleeper, have to keep it on the lowest setting, when I first put it in, I let it run in the yard for 5 hours on the highest setting, it went to 80 degrees plus in there.

As far as the Blackrock APU goes, Smith got a deal on them, they are all being installed by Cleveland Bros Cat in Milesburg Pa, Smith NEVER ran Tri-Pacs, they ran Rigmasters,and probably still would if they were still in buisness, this came from the shop guys at Milesburg

The Black rock is kind of loud, at least I think it is.

My buddy has 20,000 hours on his Tri Pak, had to replace the water pump and the belts only, I'd say he got his moneys worth.

I have one of those Mechron CCS. the same one the Flying J's were selling. They were interesting units as they could be ordered in a wide array of configurations including 10k or 14k for both heat and air. 6kw direct drive and no alternator. A 30 or 40 AMP charger were the options. They could be plumbed into the truck cooling or have their own frame of cab mounted radiator. I have shore power and remote start with a key fob. Mechron is a Canadian company that has been in the generator business since the 40's and they furnish 7 different militias around the world with APU's including Canada and the US. I have over 10k hours on mine and have had the coupling between the Stator and the Kubota give up the ghost a few times. I was told a technician repaired in wrong the first couple times so it may not have been a quality issue. It has, however, done this again. I was in extreme cold wind chill temps in norther Canada and I have seen the water separator on it gel when the attacked by a direct side wind in -30 temps (windchill -47) so I was starting it and stopping it as I drove to keep it warm. This may not have been good in those extremes and it needs to be repaired again. I have had it for 4 years and run it all the time. Unfortunately they have discontinued it. One thing I really liked about it and showed the company;s experience in the industry is that while all the others idle at 2800 rpm producing that whack-whack-whack, these idle, granted burning more fuel, no load at 3700rpm and inside the truck they are more of a hum than anything else.

In the past with another APU on an earlier truck I had, I lost the trucks alternator and the APU had a 90A so no prob. I never lost an alt with this but was always somewhat concerned if it could keep up with 40A.

I have a microwave/convection and am not convinced that a Tripack's inverter could suffice and this would be my worry of one of those.

There are lots of them on the market nowadays but there are lots leaving, too. I will say this, they take a helluva beating out there.

I remember the old 8V71, and at one time a lot of city buses ran 6V71s. Should see how they would spew oil when they blew a "keeper".

I am doing pretty well, freebrd. Things seem to be picking up. Thanks for asking. It sounds like you are doing better. I probably need to find the paperwork and get it in while they will cover some of the costs. You can sometimes find used units for much less than new. It should save some fuel if you idle a lot.

:D
I was hoping somebody would catch that. :p
A friend of mine sometimes hauls dirt for a local construction guy that used to have a General with a 430 in it. They finally lost that 430, but they put in a couple gallons of oil in it every morning.

I might be a little young...., but it seems like I remember a V-8 Detroit that was a 2-cycle.

An owner-op in our fleet just lost his 2 year old Mack truck because the APU generator he had in it caught fire! The truck was a total write-off but the insurance company just paid off the loan. The poor guy is now a company driver and thinks of suing the APU company. I don't remember the make but it's one of those that went bankrupt not so long ago (I think).

I"m using a Webasto heater in my truck and it's enough. Had to replace the burner ($140 plus 2 hr labour) after 1.3 years but other than that it was a good investment (cost me Cnd$1,400 in October 2008).

I haven't had the real need to put on an APU until recently. Even now, it is not that critical but would be a nice to have option. I have a lot of space limitations along the frame rail, so am looking at the Kohler 3APU unit. Almost 200 lb lighter than the larger Tripac, Carrier, Blackrock, etc styles and uses less fuel (single cylinder engine instead of dual). Doesn't have AC electric, but it keeps the batteries charged (so one could still use an inverter) and provides heating and cooling. Is about 16" wide and can be mounted in line with the frame rail, mounted similarly to the other units, or even mounted on top the frame rail behind the sleeper. Kohler has a solid reputation for engines and generators in other applications and has a nationwide dealer network. The cooling and heat do not use any space under the bunk and is non intrusive to the vehicles existing venting system.