“It took me two years to figure this out,” Greenberg says. “I checked out all the different aftermarket no-idle A/C units. I checked out every Mickey Mouse set-up I saw at the truck stops.”
He was looking for, ultimately, simple and solid mounting, easy service and low noise, with no modifications to the truck’s bedrock systems required.
All in, total investment for the system was $3,900, well under most auxiliary power units purpose-built for tractors, under a third of the price of some. Installation costs, however, Greenberg emphasizes, are likely to vary considerably, depending on the truck.
Benefits include simplicity, he notes, and “the components are serviceable by anyone.”
Downsides: the need to fill the generator’s tank, “and needing that fan” to circulate rising hot air. “Also you’ve got to watch the tilt of the truck when you park. The condensation drain is on the back wall.”
All things considered, “I would do it again,” he adds, “even in a new truck.”
Overdrive editors and ATBS present the industry’s best manual for prospective and committed owner-operators. You’ll find exceptional depth on many issues in the 2022 edition of Partners in Business.