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Cost to run OTR vs generator?
It’s my understanding a 20-kilowatt generator will use up about 1.6 gallons of fuel per hour while running at full load. What does it cost to run the OTR? I’m not talking about efficiency, I know there’s no comparison between cruse air and OTR. Just curious what it costs to run?
Harry
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9 Replies
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diesel gen? most less than 1 gal per hr. charge 27 lbs freon plus labor and parts? AC is normaly one of the most expensive cost on tour coach maintance, You might even have R-22 in that year of coach=big $$$$
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1/2 gallon per hour For the gen Harry, Jon has accurate data.
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My 15K Martin generator with Yanmar engine consumes .4 to .6 gallons of diesel per hour over a period of several years of checking it. I do not know how much fuel the over the road air conditioning uses, but when it is warm outside I flip the switch and enjoy the great refrigeration! Whatever it uses, it is worth it!
Davy
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I dont think its R22 for OTR for that era. It would be R12. R22 was used in the Cruisairs for that era though.
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Harry in the 50,000 miles we have run ours, I can’t really tell any difference in mileage drop off, or it’s so minute I can’t tell it. Around 5 mpg weather I’m running OTR or towing a vehicle. Don’t really keep close tab on fuel but just seems like that. On that subject, had mine converted to R134 many moons ago and still have the same expansion valves for 12. They didn’t change um. Ordered from Prevost and sitting in shelf and might do that this spring as I need to refresh my system. Mine never runs year to year without something blowing up. Oh and have one of these if anybody needs one. Bought it off Carrier and mine just needed a front seal. Pics are fuzzy but top is expansion vale upfront drivers area. Bottom is O5G 40CFM Carrier Compressor. Still charged with nitrogen.
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The fuel consumption of our generators can safely be estimated at .5 GPH powering as many house A/C units as is required to keep the coach comfortable, along with whatever other 120V loads are normally in use. For 170+ hours my generator used 71 gallons of fuel during a 10 day period when I was being an energy hog dry camping.
Running the OTR is going to impact mileage, but so will headwinds, hills, the weight of the toad, etc. I have no way of isolating fuel required to handle the OTR load but we do know running the OTR requires energy to run the compressor as well as to power the alternator that is being loaded by the condenser and evaporator fans.
It is likely the MPG of a coach could be impacted by one or two tenths of a gallon, maybe a little more, maybe less. The bottom line is if the coach has OTR you have a choice and the difference in cost of fuel is not going to be one of the factors to aid in making the decision which is used.
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Thank you one and all. My reason for the question is a conversation I had the other day at the RV park. He was saying to use an RV park instead of running the generator at Walmart because the fuel cost is close to the cost of an RV park. That made little sense to me and I remember before I bought my bus. Jon saw the hours on my generator and said “the generator has been used and that’s a good thing”!
The guy at the park didn’t know about OTR and after I explained it he asked me the amount of fuel it used?
Harry
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Seems to me that in the big scope of expenses, OTR or running the generator is mostly a wash. There are maintenance expenses for running the generator, sometimes exasperated by NOT running the generator under load frequently enough. Maintenance of the OTR system has been reported a potentially expensive too. Increased engine fuel consumption with OTR or fuel consumption with the generator is hard to compare. Power used by the OTR might reduce hill climbing efficiency somewhat but we all get to the top of the hill. Some like the cooling capacity of OTR but my air conditioning configuration has been way beyond adequate in 100°F days, travel and parking. Those with cruise air have reported varying experiences.
It’s really hard to see much of an overriding choice.
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At 24 hours of run time and 1/2 GPH you will run about 12 gallons through the generator and if you assume $3 per gallon and a few cents for wear and tear, oil changes etc. the local campground is competitive as long as the daily rate is $35 or less.
We dry camp a lot when there is no convenient campground but unless it is exceptionally hot or cold we shut our generator down when we go to bed so at the most we only are using it 16 hours a day so from a purely financial view a CG has to be at $25 per day. But the reality is a CG offers safety, water, sewer, and even at $50 per night is our preference if one is available and convenient. If we are on the road for multiple days I really hate some CGs that even if conveniently located make check in a long process when all we want is a spot to sit for the nite so the cost is far less of a consideration than safety and convenience.
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