Heat / AC In Bunk Areas
Topic 21200 | Page 2
My truck has no-idle AC and heat, but no actual APU per se. It has an extra battery pack, but nothing to recharge them when they get low without starting the engine. My truck is also equipped with auto start/stop which will turn on and idle the truck automatically if the batteries get low.
I love this system--I don't know why more trucks aren't equipped with it. I'm aware that APUs tend to break down enough that they can end up being pretty costly in the long run, but this isn't your typical APU system, as it doesn't have a separate small engine to keep the batteries charged. I pretty much never idle except to warm up the engine for a few minutes before taking off. The no-idle AC and heat both work really well and don't typically drain the batteries even during a full 10 hr break unless I have the fan on high the whole time. The only large carrier I'm aware of that uses this particular system is Celadon, although I'm sure there are others I'm just not aware of.
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.
At Wolding we have some trucks with APUs , some trucks with EPUs , but all of our trucks are equipped with Opti Idle. Even though my truck has the battery style EPU , I rarely use it. It is an older version and pretty worthless. It maybe lasts 4 hrs. I pretty much only use it at shipper and receivers. For us we don't have a fuel bonus. The closest thing is getting your truck turned up. If you meet or exceed a certain mpg, your truck will get turned up to 63/65 instead of 62/63. I idle way too much for that. We do have auto generated messages if your idle percentage is above the company average. I just delete them. The only time anything is said is at the end of my quarterly safety meeting. You will get a 'review' on log violations, log edits, avg mpg, refueling compliance, idle percentage and other stats. Pretty much you get told where you sit and where the company as a whole sits. Not a huge deal.
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
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
Epus:
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
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Thank you to everyone who replied. This is good information. :)