Swift And APU's
Topic 9724 | Page 1
One of the reasons I have been considering going lease/op.
OMG please don't start your own business so you can idle a truck. You said you can get around it, right? I don't know of any trucks that can't be idled. You might have a wait a minute and trigger something to allow it to keep idling or idle it up to a certain RPM or whatever. But all trucks that I've ever known of can be idled for extended periods of time.
To be honest, that really shows just how much people underestimate the difficulty of running their own business. You start a hobby on a whim. You dedicate your life to running a business if you expect it to succeed because you're going to be competing with people that are doing exactly that.
I just said I was considering running Lease/Op. But I have been considering that for couple months now, not just because of idle control, but because I'd like to run my own business and have my own truck at some point in future. And I know first hand its not easy, both my father and uncle are Owner Ops, both have told me not do it yet, and I didn't plan on doing in in next month or anything, I was considering doing it in a year. And I just cancel out Idle Control by setting my cruise control, its not a big deal.
I just cancel out Idle Control by setting my cruise control, its not a big deal.
Exactly. I never had an APU in all my years of driving. The only place you had to watch idling was in California. There are other states with idling laws but they're either never enforced or at least do not appear to be enforced under reasonable circumstances.
And that idle control, from what I've understood over the years, it to help keep the oil pressure up and the coolant flowing through the system a little better. That's why you have to idle up the RPM's a bit to get it to keep idling. Now in recent years they've added a number of emissions controls to the mix and I'm not sure if any of that is affected by idling too low. But it's a bit better for the engine to bump the RPM's up two or three hundred RPM when idling.
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
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.
So if swift does not have APU's in the trucks and you can not have the truck idle because of idle laws does that mean you just have to survive the summer heat?
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.
APU's:
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.
Yeah it shuts off truck after 5 minutes, if Im behind wheel doing paperwork I can cancel it by tapping accelerator, but I have heard of guys using sticks and poles to push down the accelerator to keep it from shutting off. Only reason I wanted APU is for AC in summer, winter isn't bad because the bunk heaters work really well, close off curtains and seal in sleeper and that bunk heater will warm up sleeper.
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.
So if swift does not have APU's in the trucks and you can not have the truck idle because of idle laws does that mean you just have to survive the summer heat?
Not really, you can get around Idle Cut off and idle the truck like normal. My buddy has built an AC out of his power cooler and set up some hoses and a fan that blows out cool air that cooler produces, pretty nifty stuff.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.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.
APU's:
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.
Kind of a bummer Swift has pulled all APU's out of their company trucks. I guess from what service shop said its causing a lot of fires in the trucks. Only way to get APU in the truck is if you have medical condition ala sleep apnea. With Idle Control and no APU's its really making summer a bummer. Couple drivers showed me some tricks to get around the Idle Control but I wish it wouldn't come to that. One of the reasons I have been considering going lease/op.
Worst comes to worse when your parked just set the cruise and bump up the rpms to avoid idle control, no company wants to leave their drivers stuck in 100 degrees trucks to save a few bucks. And if idling is a big concern i would switch companies befor I jumped into lease op. My .02
Sleep Apnea:
A physical disorder in which you have pauses in your breathing, or take shallow breaths, during sleep. These pauses can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. Normal breathing will usually resume, sometimes with a loud choking sound or snort.
In obstructive sleep apnea, your airways become blocked or collapse during sleep, causing the pauses and shallow breathing.
It is a chronic condition that will require ongoing management. It affects about 18 million people in the U.S.
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.
APU's:
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.
Hey there Jarod, I was shut down in well below zero once in Montana. I was a little worried about the motor and the air lines freezing while I slept. I called a night time dm and he said to try just releasing the tractor break but of course keep the trailer break applied so you won't roll away. I guess this makes the truck think it is going to move and drive because in this particular 2012 Cascadia it worked great and it idled as long as I wanted it to. In calling I was covering myself by getting permission to idle documented that way I believe it didn't go on my percent idle so as not to get dinged for it later. By the way, the bunk heaters work great... Mike
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.
Hey there Jarod, I was shut down in well below zero once in Montana. I was a little worried about the motor and the air lines freezing while I slept. I called a night time dm and he said to try just releasing the tractor break but of course keep the trailer break applied so you won't roll away. I guess this makes the truck think it is going to move and drive because in this particular 2012 Cascadia it worked great and it idled as long as I wanted it to. In calling I was covering myself by getting permission to idle documented that way I believe it didn't go on my percent idle so as not to get dinged for it later. By the way, the bunk heaters work great... Mike
LOL Hey Mike, yeah I have heard that trick too, and I actually tried it once, but I didn't realize how hard it would be to go to sleep when I know in back of my head that the tractor brakes are released lol. But I found out a good trick of just idling up setting cruise control, you don't have to idle up much just couple hundred RPM's and then set cruise control and it works great. I haven't got to use the bunk heaters personally but I went out with my Uncle last winter and they work perfect!!!!
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.New Reply:
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Kind of a bummer Swift has pulled all APU's out of their company trucks. I guess from what service shop said its causing a lot of fires in the trucks. Only way to get APU in the truck is if you have medical condition ala sleep apnea. With Idle Control and no APU's its really making summer a bummer. Couple drivers showed me some tricks to get around the Idle Control but I wish it wouldn't come to that. One of the reasons I have been considering going lease/op.
Sleep Apnea:
A physical disorder in which you have pauses in your breathing, or take shallow breaths, during sleep. These pauses can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. Normal breathing will usually resume, sometimes with a loud choking sound or snort.
In obstructive sleep apnea, your airways become blocked or collapse during sleep, causing the pauses and shallow breathing.
It is a chronic condition that will require ongoing management. It affects about 18 million people in the U.S.
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.
APU's:
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.