Apu
 

How much do they typically cost to purchase and Install? What kind of maintenance is needed/costs? Do they work as good as advertised or are they finicky at times like the ParkSmarts?

uho, is someone thinking about buying a truck?

Only very slightly! I'm thinking more along the lines of why some companies have them fleet wide while others are JUST starting to trial them on a few trucks. They all run to the Northeast where an APU is a must have on trucks. You know, looking for a reason besides the company just doesn't care about the drivers.

On the ownership side, too much of a headache with everything one needs to do. I started looking up the IFTA and base plate stuff.........yeah that made my never ending headache worse. All the extra paperwork one has to do when fueling up.........I don't mind my hitting the fuel tab on the HOS screen and going on my way! I really appreciate how simple that is.

all i can say is these things...

many years ago, like back in the late 1970's, i was thinking of buying a truck. i was actually looking for ""plain jane" trucks, you know, not all chromed out, as i (to this day) see no rhyme nor reason to have all that glitter, well anyways, i was pricing out what was known then as "pony pacs" and gensets.

back then, they cost a mere $2,000 to $3,000 installed!!

i made the fatal mistake to sit at the counter of the truck stops. so i got to talking to a few guys, whether they were o/o's of not, i can't say. nearly each one said, "why you wanna buy something like that, they ain't that good, or they don't make sense"

to this day, i wonder how many of THOSE guys woke up to the fact, that APU's (as they are now called) have actual value and are actually NEEDED these days, for the various reasons.

i would be thinking out loud, if i said that mega-fleets buy so many at regular price, maybe get discounts for x number of units? then of course, they have thieir own shops, so installation would be (i'd guess) cheaper than the dealer that sells them?

i think the "average costs" these days with purchase/installation would be right around the $10,000 mark, give or take a grand, either way?

Well GA, back then 2-3K was like 6-7k today. :)

I've heard figures all over on the amount but from folks who don't have one or are even interested in them. Schneider is just now trialing APUs but only on something like 6 trucks in 6 different regions around the US. Why not just start outfitting every new truck you purchase with an APU? Does the initial extra cost not justify it? I mean they prefer us to not idle but if it's 100 outside they understand it..........your burning around 10-15 gallons of fuel every 10 hour break whereas an APU burns what, maybe 2 gallons? That's a cost savings that pays for the unit the first year and then some............

i think it was (at least) once said, the average return on investment of and APU was like 5-6 years in fuel saving dollars?

maybe it's shorter now. to me, makes perfect sense to have them, as we both know the number one cost running the trucks is fuel. they add those doo-dads windage tabs all over the trailer, cab etc, they put on hub caps, they buy aero trucks, but idle the engines......??????

oh well.:(

I had a truck with an APU and didn't like it at all. It seemed to be noisy and I never got used to it. My situations a bit different than most as except for my half hour break I very rarely sleep in my truck. The best power unit that I had was a battery powered unit for AC. It worked well for the hours that I sleep 4AM-. Where it fell short was on the odd hot day that I spent all day in the truck. It had the additional benefit that I could turn it on and leave coming back 10hrs later to a fairly cool truck with NO fuel usage.
My new truck has a newer version of Opti-idle that ends up with the engine running almost contently (boy that's efficient!)
I've thought about buying a truck but then remember some of the headaches of owning your own business and those crazy thoughts quickly fade, I have absolutely no desire to do that again and if you do I wish you well!

Of course I'm assuming my paid for itself in a year comment on a cost of around 6k for the unit and installation and fuel costing $3 a gallon. Another question is the shelf life, how long can an APU last before replacement?

Those hub caps are a joke, a d@m joke! They save an average of .04 gallons per tank of fuel. Doing the math, they save about $12 a year in fuel per truck.........big picture, 6000 trucks, that's a savings of $72k. Is it really worth it? To Schneider it is on the big picture. I'm glad we aren't Prime though, those guys got to put wings out on the backdoor, can't go over 58mph........but they get an APU and a very nice non-aerodynamic push bar on the front bumper which robs mpg!

That sounds similar to what we have called ParkSmarts. Gives heat or AC, works off the battery. Does great if the batteries are in good shape! Or if you don't have a cooler plugged in and running during your 10. I ended up getting a timer for my cooler, so it cycles on and off like a refrigerator to help extend how long the unit runs before the battery cuts to self preservation mode. Once it goes into that mode, everything cuts off and you have to idle the truck for a few hours.

The APU was quiet compared to the TK. I never noticed the APU that much, especially parked with other reefers. :D

...now I am an insomniac. I have scars to prove it.

Most of the OTR trucks I drove had a pair of 150 gal. tanks. You will need to go to a 100 gal. tank on the side you mount the APU for the space it will need.

I hardly ever used my APU. It comes in handy where you aren't allowed to idle your truck. Other than that I never shut off, so no need.

Not really Hog, the ones I'm seeing now have them mounted right at the drives. And still have dual 150 tanks. Now, some of the ones on Walmart trucks have a smaller separate tank on the drivers side, you see 3 filler caps, 1 of which is blue for DEF. So they might have a smaller left side saddle tank than the right side.

Do not think i need it badly, but now I would have bought the truck with it

as i see it, with the costs of fuel, and engine wear and tear, if one is an o/o of either 1 to 200 trucks, that fuel cost escalates rather quickly.

i see it as a benefit, and i am only a company driver. with only 35 + years, so what do i know???

Here in the north during the winter months, our apu's kept our rigs ready to go, while we took our break. We see sub-zero temps at times and it's so nice returning to the truck with warm charged batteries, a warm engine block, and the cab isn't a deep freezer.

Mr.Ford, I'm not sure anymore why that configuration decision. The rig I'm remembering was a new Pete 387, which weighed a lot! Pulling reefer I was always maxed out for weight, and with some loads... I ran with 1/2 fuel to save on weight. So maybe the decision to trim to 100 gallon tank on the side of the apu, had to do with a weight reduction decision?

The scales did give us a 500lb. allowance for the apu, and I think the reduced fuel tank was also to help me balance my axles... which at times was a big challenge.

I can also see a wheelbase decision to go that way too. Some of our trucks we took across Ontario and Quebec, and if I remember right, they had a 245" WB restriction? Not sure if that matters. We used Rigmasters at that time. They would mount on the frame, just ahead of the drives like you said. We also had some trucks equipped with Webasto's.

And what about the gas station by the way?

I was being too literal...and you meant fuel station. :)

I shut down for lots of reasons, so now I regret posting mindless crap.
I should work for CNN. :D

my tripac is hands down the best thing i ever put on my truck. yes, it saves a ton of fuel. i've recently done a reset in phoenix recently. 108* one day 109* the next. i had it set to 70, closed the curtians in the bunk it stayed between 75-78. thats in my condo sleeper columbia with little to no insulation.

winters.. the downfall is the trucks no insuation. if you close the bunk, put the heat on it'll hold for a few hours but again.. my truck is not insulated well. i've stayed in it with wind chills -15. truck will start right up.

with that said, i'm going in to another truck in the next few weeks. while i love tripac, the prices are high rightr now and i'm trying to save to for another trailer to higher some OO's. however, i REFUSE to idle if i dont have to. for now i'm doing a makeshift APU. got a 3000w quiet and efficient honda inverter generator. for an AC unit i'm going to do a portable home AC unit and vent though the window or bunk vent. for the heat i'm thinking about one of those dyson hot/cool heater. for keeping the batteries going i just found a battery tender thats a 5a charger/maintainer.

being i dont trust people anymore, there is a company that makes boxes specifically for the generator i bought thats also a locking box that sits on the side of the chassis.

we'll see how it works.

You are right))

Thanks, Hobo use to compliment me like that. :)
Haven't seen him in awhile, or GMAN either.

If you own a newer EGR/DPF/SCR truck, you need an APU. These new motors do not like to be idled. They create so much soot internally, you are just eating away at the motor.