Roof top A/C

[greg334]

SO you can use a 2 stroke powered generator and that would be OK?

I guess, I never thought of that to ask.

I mean I carry a 2 stroke on the truck, it is gas and oil mix (yea and it is a mess) and I was never bothered over it. She (CARB official) made the statement, I had her repeat it and I wrote it down and read it back to her to make sure I wasn't dreaming and it was not more than a few weeks ago that I talked to her.

While my 2 stroke is about 6 years old, I would venture to guess the new ones with oil injection actually are fine with them. But you know all that will change tomorrow when they discover someone wondering about it.

 

[ebsprintin]

...or they become interested when they see it become a trucker loophole. I installed an apu on the roof of my sprinter to then have carb publish the deal about an apu having to have the same kind of particulate filter as the vehicle powerplant. Does it really apply to cargo vans, I don't know, I can't keep up. Wasn't it California that was trying to control lawnmower emissions? --eb

 

[P51bombay]

CA wants to control pretty much everything you don't pedal and for that matter I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to "filter bicyclist's f*rts. As far as "new" 2 strokes being clean - that would only apply if it was direct injection, meaning no oil combustion and they haven't quite worked all the bugs out of that just yet.

 

[crazytruckin]

Hey guys, got email from EO about new A/C from Espar. Apparently battery operated. Checked their website and it does not show this new product. Have'nt called them yet.
I have seen other battery powered units in internet sites. Anyone have any experience with this type of unit.

 

[x06col]

Greg, answer is YES. Rooftop with a generac 3.5, gas. Used(s) bout a quarter gallon/hr. Could run anything ya wanted, when you wanted. Remote control center inside. You can get the generac and gas tank at basspro. Everything else is up to what YOU can dream up. Had about $2600 in the new unit, gen/ac. Neat beans.

 

[chetjester]

A. Blair has three M2s with rooftop ACs and Onan Generators. I drove one of those trucks for 7 months and was in the shop 5 or 6 times because the Onan kept breaking. (We're talking a $9000 unit). The rooftop AC had to be replaced on all the trucks as they were designed for an RV and couldn't take the amount of miles a commercial vehicle drives.

One of the other trucks had problems with their Onan. I don't know all the details, but it seemed to break often.

I am about to move into another of the straight trucks, and the Onan on that truck was replaced with a brand new Onan. It is at Cummins in Louisville right now being repaired. It didn't last more than a month.

I would never recommend this type of setup. You know what? The rooftop AC is great. But the ones we have aren't really designed for heating. If the temp goes below 40, I have to plug in my ceramic heater to stay warm.

I would prefer an APU. It heats and cools. The Onan just provides electricity. So, you have to pay for the Onan, a rooftop AC and some other kind of heater. Expensive setup.

 

[x06col]

If'n it's a m2 i understand. Thems the roughest ride ya can get. ya need a cabover with a 25-30 foot wb.

 

[P51bombay]

That's not nice news at all, I was under the impression that Onan products were about the most reliable you could buy - I hope the same isn't true of their APU's. Speaking of which, most APU condensers seem to be mounted on the rear of the cab and for obvious reasons that isn't possible on the ST. So where are people putting them? I've seen one above the cab on the front wall of the box - not very aerodynamic so could you put one on a frame bracket next to the APU? Any other ideas?

PS - what about the commercial (read rentals) motor coaches that the musicians use? Those would see fairly frequent and I would think severe (for an rv) service so what are they using? Surely someone spending $250K on a motor home wouldn't be happy with a generator and/or AC/heater that kept breaking. Perhaps it IS the M2.

 

[greg334]

If'n it's a m2 i understand. Thems the roughest ride ya can get. ya need a cabover with a 25-30 foot wb.

Yep there you go. but alas, the Argosy is on the shelf for me, more important things popped up in life. could you believe that?

Onan is a good generator, I think there is a problem with the way they were mounted onto the chassis. I have seen these things on portable com shacks that sit on the back of trucks and they get beat but don't fail.

Well I don't have much of a choice, I have to finish up the insulation of the sleeper maybe this weekend, work on the cab insulation and get the A/C installed. The heat from the cab and the floor of the sleeper is now the real problem, cab temp is 86 right now, sleeper is 81 (floor temps are still higher).

My problem is my reefer unit, we pre-fit the a/c and with this crappy sleeper top, I have one place for it on the sleeper which won't work at all for me inside. So I am thinking the cab is the only place I can put the single unit. If I can find a split unit, I will do that.

I got the generator already but I will keep that in mind. The generator I will use is my 5500 watt honda that I got for nothing. I have it almost back together and it now has electric start so I never thought of the boat tank, so that sounds like a solution to me. Got the wiring all figured out, need to do some welding for the generator box and I will have a CARB accepted generator with the luxury of A/C.... finally.

 

[davelees1]

My 4 month old Power Tech APU with 500 hours is broke down again (It's a real piece of junk and there are 5 people in the world who can fix it and they are always on vacation), my 2004 M2 with 500,000 miles just had $1,200 of AC work done on it and it just quit. Here we sit in Tulsa, OK where its 96 degrees and 90% humidity and I'm thinking about getting a third AC just to have one working!

 

[arkjarhead]

x06col: Gee sorry for being so stupid, guess your a genius huh!!

And the Col. is a spelling bee champ as well!!!

 

[P51bombay]

my 2004 M2 with 500,000 miles just had $1,200 of AC work done on it and it just quit. Here we sit in Tulsa, OK where its 96 degrees and 90% humidity and I'm thinking about getting a third AC just to have one working!

Let me guess, new compressor, flap actuator and switch assembly? I've found that (even with a new switch) if you've had it set on heat for even a short period of time that it takes forever to get the AC blowing again UNLESS............you switch to AC, turn the temp knob to full cold then snap it sharply from mid range to full cold again several times and USUALLY this will get the cold air to blow in a few seconds. So now if I turn the heat off I always move it to the full cold setting even if I don't need it right then - that way when I do want AC it blows cold right away. Gotta luv that Freightshaker.

 

[x06col]

I'm confused! What is your issue here Ark?

 

[arkjarhead]

I have no issue. Just joking around a little. He said you were a genius on page 1 and I replied saying you were a spelling bee champ. Kinda a pun at the we you are always "tinking" something instead of thinking. Guess it was a bad joke. Sorry.

 

[RLENT]

Hey guys, got email from EO about new A/C from Espar. Apparently battery operated. Checked their website and it does not show this new product. Have'nt called them yet. I have seen other battery powered units in internet sites. Anyone have any experience with this type of unit.

Yes - I have one - Mini-Cool compact made by Dirna in Spain. Was mentioned in another thread.

Used it today after I dropped in Kansas City - went down to the J in Peculiar, MO .... was around 87° or 88° outside (and sunny) when I hit the rack about 15:00 ...... woke up around 22:45 and was actually a bit chilly (in the van) .... kept having to adjust the blanket (which is small) to cover my bare skin .....