Heat / AC In Bunk Areas
Topic 21200 | Page 1
Your truck has four big batteries. A bunk heater will last the night. A/C is most often from your engine.
Some.companies have APUs which are generators that prevent battery drainage. not do they allow xlimate control, but appliances.such as refridgerators and such.
Mine is set to start if the temps go above my choosing or if the batteries go below.a.certain voltage.
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
APU:
Auxiliary Power Unit
On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.
Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.
APUs:
Auxiliary Power Unit
On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.
Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.
Ok, more specifically, companies with no APUs , and possibly a no idle policy. I had read some companies had no idle policies so I mentioned it to a recruiter who dodged the question. Now it may have been an innocent dodge but it made me wonder.
APU:
Auxiliary Power Unit
On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.
Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.
APUs:
Auxiliary Power Unit
On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.
Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.
Ok, more specifically, companies with no APUs , and possibly a no idle policy. I had read some companies had no idle policies so I mentioned it to a recruiter who dodged the question. Now it may have been an innocent dodge but it made me wonder.
My truck does not have an APU or EPU , no idle management, and it won't stay idling between 35 and 68 degrees (anything hotter or colder and it will idle as long as you keep the key on).
This really hasn't been a huge issue for me. It's made me nervous a few times, but not to the point of having an actual problem. I can run a crock pot, my laptop charger, phone charger, bunk lights, and a 12v fan for a few hours before bed, then the bunk heater or vent fan and the 12v fan all night without killing the battery. Just to be sure I won't kill the battery, I idle the truck for a few minutes (3-5 minutes) periodically when I'm awake.
APU:
Auxiliary Power Unit
On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.
Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.
APUs:
Auxiliary Power Unit
On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.
Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.
EPU:
Electric Auxiliary Power Units
Electric APUs have started gaining acceptance. These electric APUs use battery packs instead of the diesel engine on traditional APUs as a source of power. The APU's battery pack is charged when the truck is in motion. When the truck is idle, the stored energy in the battery pack is then used to power an air conditioner, heater, and other devices
If they don't got apus then damn right I'm going to idle when it is hotter than heck. Swift will send us a message to idle less, but to do what is necessary so we sleep comfortably. Dart has a newer truck so his will automatically start and shut off (from what I heard the 2018 have this capability), I am in a 2016 so I just set the cruise control and the truck won't turn off. Good luck staying alive inside of a truck in desert or in the humidity of the east without having the a.c. going.
APU:
Auxiliary Power Unit
On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.
Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.
APUs:
Auxiliary Power Unit
On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.
Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.
I have an 18 and mine doesn't do that. Maybe it's only the redesigned condo models?
It depends on how your company specs and programs their trucks. Ours are supposed to be able to idle at very cold temps, but some trucks will, some won't.. mine is one that won't idle except to keep batteries from draining IF I turn on "idle management". In that case it will start and run for a very short time and shut off again. Either way, it doesn't help keep a truck warmer or cooler.. can't set a temp and have it start to maintain that temp... Only charges batteries (which powers the blower for bunk heat and air.)
Joseph, the recruiter dodged the issue probably because "idling" is more of an operations issue, something he/she really doesn't have any jurisdiction over. I drive for Schneider, one of the larger carriers, and I have never, nor will I ever, hear someone from my company say, " sure Pete, go ahead and idle the heck out of your truck, do what you gotta do to stay comfortable." They 'encourage' us not to idle when the temperature is below 70°, and I am OK with that. But when the temperature doesn't go below 75°, and that is not uncommon during the summer, I will idle my truck throughout the night to run the AC. And Schneider doesn't send out nastygrams chiding me for idling all night long. However, I probably also won't earn a bonus that quarter, as mpg's are part of the metrics that figure into our quarterly bonuses.
The short answer to your query is that no, companies won't ask you to suffer through a hot night or freeze your chestnuts off because they're not going to allow you to idle your truck. Just know that they're also not going to verbally give you the green light to idle as much as you want.
If they don't got apus then damn right I'm going to idle when it is hotter than heck. Swift will send us a message to idle less, but to do what is necessary so we sleep comfortably. Dart has a newer truck so his will automatically start and shut off (from what I heard the 2018 have this capability), I am in a 2016 so I just set the cruise control and the truck won't turn off. Good luck staying alive inside of a truck in desert or in the humidity of the east without having the a.c. going.
Actually, even though my truck is an '18, it's one of the older style '18's. It will automatically shut off after about 5 minutes of idling if the outside temp is between 35 and 68, but won't restart (as far as I'm aware, since I can't manually set Opti Idle on this truck).
APU:
Auxiliary Power Unit
On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.
Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.
APUs:
Auxiliary Power Unit
On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.
Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.
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I have heard of drivers talking about bunk heaters and ac cutting out during sleep time due to low battery cutoffs. I'm wondering how much of an issue this could be.