Has anyone powered a generator off a truck?

[4570Man]

Or more accurately a school bus. I have a school bus that I plan to convert into a food truck. Obviously I'll need a generator. I'm considering powering one off the bus engine. There's plenty of room under the hood so that part should work. If I gear the generator to produce proper voltage at idle will it hurt the generator to spin much faster? If I'm not pulling any load off the generator how much power will it take? I don't want to make my fuel mileage any worse than it already is. Does anyone know how much fuel a International DT360 will burn at idle per hour?

 

[MossRoad]

I'd think it would be more efficient and less costly to have a self powered generator for that purpose. Your exhaust pipe on the bus will be down at street level, too, and folks standing around waiting for food aren't going to want to smell that. Also, you might get a CO buildup inside the bus if its sitting there idling with no air circulation. It also may be illegal to idle for long periods where you're planning to do business. Finally, why would you want to idle a 200ish HP engine for a little generator? All kinds of reasons not to do it.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I'd think it would be more efficient and less costly to have a self powered generator for that purpose. Your exhaust pipe on the bus will be down at street level, too, and folks standing around waiting for food aren't going to want to smell that. Also, you might get a CO buildup inside the bus if its sitting there idling with no air circulation. It also may be illegal to idle for long periods where you're planning to do business. Finally, why would you want to idle a 200ish HP engine for a little generator? All kinds of reasons not to do it.

Agreed!

SR

 

[4570Man]

I'd think it would be more efficient and less costly to have a self powered generator for that purpose. Your exhaust pipe on the bus will be down at street level, too, and folks standing around waiting for food aren't going to want to smell that. Also, you might get a CO buildup inside the bus if its sitting there idling with no air circulation. It also may be illegal to idle for long periods where you're planning to do business. Finally, why would you want to idle a 200ish HP engine for a little generator? All kinds of reasons not to do it.

The smell outside is my biggest concern. I'll have to move a large amount of air through the bus to keep it as cool as possible so buildup inside won't be a problem. The 4 main reasons I want to do it are #1 a 5,000 watt plus generator that runs as quite as the bus ( not very quite ) isn't cheap. #2 is convince. I won't have to load/unload, and store a generator weighing several hundred pounds. #3. I can keep my freezer and refrigerator cold while driving down the road. I know I could probably accomplish this with an inverter. #4. If I decide to add air conditioning I'll be able to run that driving down the road. Another plus I'll have a built in heater and compressed air, but it's unlikely I'll need either. I could probably get around the exhaust issue by rerouteing it to the top of the bus.

 

[4570Man]

Agreed! SR

You're a big fan of PTO powered generators and wood splitters. Isn't this the same principle?

 

[Sawyer Rob]

You're a big fan of PTO powered generators and wood splitters. Isn't this the same principle?

NOPE! What you want to do isn't going to work without spending a huge sum of money making a generator work on that engine, what I did didn't/doesn't have that problem.

SR

 

[MossRoad]

I'd say be sure to check the local regs where you want to operate that food truck first. They can be pesky (ours are).

Its not the smell that's going to get you and your customers sick, its the carbon monoxide, which is odorless.

Why would you have to load/unload a generator? Just build a compartment for it somewhere on the bus and leave it there. That could also help with sound deadening. Something like an Onan unit from a camper comes to mind.

By the time you purchase a generator head, figure out the gearing, how to control over-revs by the engine, mounting brackets, etc.... you may invest as much or more than a manufactured stand-alone unit, or a used unit from a junkyard.

What kind of food are you planning to cook. I love food trucks! :licking:

 

[4570Man]

NOPE! What you want to do isn't going to work without spending a huge sum of money making a generator work on that engine, what I did didn't/doesn't have that problem. SR

Why am I going to have to spend a huge sum of money? If that becomes apparent I'll get a stand alone unit.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I would recommend against this idea for several reasons. Unless you install an inverter style generator you are going to have to idle your engine at a constant speed which is ok except that most generators are designed to run at 1800 or 3600 rpm. If you go too much over then design speed they can explode from the centrifugal force. So your going to have to gear it run faster than the engine at an idle and then slow it down for going down the road.

Next how are you planning on keeping the generator rpm constant while your engine rpm's change due to hills and differing speed limits along the road.

Also large diesel engines do not handle light loads with long term reliability. If the motor isn't working hard enough, the injected diesel doesn't all burn completely because the engine isn't hot enough because of not working hard enough. The unburnt diesel runs down the cylinder walls into the oil and causes problems because diesel isn't a lubricant like oil is.

In the long run you will be a lot more satisfied with the proper sized generator with it's own engine. If you need to keep your freezers cold etc, then just run the generator while driving. Reefers do it all the time.

 

[4570Man]

I'd say be sure to check the local regs where you want to operate that food truck first. They can be pesky (ours are). Its not the smell that's going to get you and your customers sick, its the carbon monoxide, which is odorless. Why would you have to load/unload a generator? Just build a compartment for it somewhere on the bus and leave it there. That could also help with sound deadening. Something like an Onan unit from a camper comes to mind. By the time you purchase a generator head, figure out the gearing, how to control over-revs by the engine, mounting brackets, etc.... you may invest as much or more than a manufactured stand-alone unit, or a used unit from a junkyard. What kind of food are you planning to cook. I love food trucks! :licking:

That would cost more than I paid for the bus, and there's no good location to mount one. I think I have a generator head that would work. I can fabricate mounting brackets. I don't think carbon monoxide will be an issue with overhead stacks. After all it's common for a dozen semi trucks to sit on the same parking lot idling. The RPM change will be the biggest hurdle. No doubt a stand alone unit would be better, but I don't think it'll see enough use to be justified. I haven't decided on the foods. Likely frozen deserts and drinks and something simple like burgers and hotdogs.