APU Inverter 2 hour limit?

Discussion in 'Roehl' started by rumandcoke123, Jan 24, 2011.

  1. CondoCruiser

    CondoCruiser The Legend

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    Sounds like they treat you all like children. Time to turn the TV off and go to bed! :)

    Stuff like this comes from the brainstorming of one idiot behind a desk. Like others said, with the crack down on sleep apnea, they are going to have to accomodate the drivers with a CPAP.
     
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  3. CommDriver

    CommDriver Road Train Member

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    You cannot brew coffee, with a real coffeemaker, with a plug in inverter.

    Thermo King and the the other APU makers need to put larger alternators on the APU's. But a lot of the problems are not caused by too much stuff plugged in. They just have a lot of maintenance issues. They need to built better.
     
  4. CondoCruiser

    CondoCruiser The Legend

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    Our set up CD is a ThermoKing and a seperate 2500 watt inverter. Those are the best setups. Then all the APU has to do is recharge the battery bank.
     
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  5. CommDriver

    CommDriver Road Train Member

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    That is the way I had it at my last company. But they were still trying to blame APU problems on drivers who had a lot of electronics. And yet, drivers who didn't have a lot of electronics were having the same problems.
     
  6. davect

    davect Light Load Member

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    is this in effect now or in 6 months?

    so this basically means you can't have a fridge in truck because you can't keep it on correct?

    do you have 2 total hours of usage until it resets or 2 hours consecutive? consecutive wouldn't be so bad but i HIGHLY doubt thats the case.
     
  7. rangerroehlroadtrainer

    rangerroehlroadtrainer Light Load Member

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    no this is the NEW trucks. you can use the 12v coleman coolers..looks and acts like a fridge. Mine worked fine... anything 12v stays on... it limits the 110 usage. which is burning out the alternators on the APU. 110 volt fridges have been banned for some time now... you can basically put one in but dont complain when it kills the APU.
     
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  8. rangerroehlroadtrainer

    rangerroehlroadtrainer Light Load Member

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    you can also get a 12v coffee pot... 12v items do last longer in the truck...
     
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  9. davect

    davect Light Load Member

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    if you get a truck with no APU can you have mechanics install an inverter? If so what size and would it still be capped to 2 hours of use and then reset after 10 hours? I would love to be able to bring my ps3 but I don't think a cig lighter inverter would be enough for the laptop, ps3 and tv running at once.
     
  10. Meltom

    Meltom Road Train Member

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    If the think you have a 110 fridge in the truck they will ask you to unplug it, notify your FM and probably your OPS manager. Someone will come out and inspect it, and you'll get talked to. i'm not sure what happens on a second offense but i'd recommend not finding out.
     
  11. paoldschool

    paoldschool Heavy Load Member

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    One thing to keep in mind with a thermoelectric cooler, they will cool to 30 deg. below the air temp in the truck. If it is 60 deg in the truck, it will be 30 in the cooler, if it is 90 in the truck it will be 60 in the cooler. You can see the problem there. The thermoelectric coolers also require maintenance on a regular basis, cleaning the fans, and heat sinks, you also have to keep a close eye on the 12v plug, they tend to vibrate out and then melt... There is also the 12v refrigerator route, they are expensive, and not something I would invest in until you know you are in this for the long haul. (no pun intended.) For around $500 new you can buy a frig that will plug in to the wire harness right at the 12v outlet and fit right into the cabinet behind the drivers seat. These work just like a regular frig, they have a 12v compressor that comes on and off just like the frig at home, my will run for 3-4 days while I am home before the low voltage cutoff will shut it down. As for all the other 12v stuff, coffee pots, hot pots, ovens etc, they do work, as long as you take care of them, they last for quite a while. I still keep my stuff just in case I would need it again. As for running a PS3 in the truck, you can run a small tv, and a dvd player off from one 175 watt inverter, your laptop will also charge or run off of one that size also, buy 2 for around $20 each and you would be good to go. Inverters, at least the ones that we can get at the truckstops do not last. I would not waste the money on one, plus the $100 plus that Roehl charges you to install it. I think they limit it to 1500 watts anyway. I hope this helps, and good luck.
     
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