FCC--Fremont Contract Carriers

So the boss said we might not be getting APUs on some of the new trucks. They seem to be more hassle than they are worth at times. Not sure how he actually said that. Might have bunk heaters in cabs and let us run the engine in warm weather.

My APU is currently busted too and not running. Some bracket under it is broken or something and it’s a 4-5 hour job just to fix it.

I certainly don’t mind the low rumble of the big engine running vs what sounds more like a freezer unit on a Reefer.

one burns more fuel and one introduces two engines to maintain etc.

What are others opinions on having APUs vs bunk heater and running the big engine in warm weather?

 

Or just put Thermoking APU's on. I had a Thermoking on a Schneider truck and my Magnum truck. An alternator had to be replaced on the one on my Magnum truck but other than that I had no issues with either of them. I've had nothing but issues with this Carrier unit. Even my manual that I had for a week when I started here had issues.

RM's lease truck had a Carrier APU on it. And as far as I could tell, it was a bottomless money pit. He was always having to fix something on it. And this was several years ago. You would think it would've taken a lot less time than it has for the company to realize these APU's are junk and to move on to something else.

TriPac's are much better than Carriers in every way, shape, and form in my experience.

 

Plus these are the easiest controls in the world to use. A lot easier than fiddling with the little screen and buttons. Here you just have three large knobs.

 

The new tripak that are coming out have a digital thermostat on the panel… but I will say this much. My company has tri-pak’s on their trucks, and the only problem I’ve had in nearly 11 months running with These Tri-Pak APU‘s is this… I had an AC issue, which was the result of a AC line that had a hole rubbed through it and lost its Freon and that’s it… Otherwise it runs like a champ…

 

There's a reason why the vast majority of trucks that have diesel powered APU's are TriPak's

 

As a company driver I probably wouldn't care, as a business owner I absolutely want an APU! Yes, you have another engine to maintain, but 1 gallon of fuel per hour vs. 1 gallon per 8-10 hours is a huge difference, especially when fuel prices get where they were last year. Plus it a lot less wear and tear on my truck engine not idling it every day, I'd way rather work on an APU once in awhile if it helps make my money maker last longer, and save fuel, it's a no Brainer. I think the issue they were facing and the reason it might not always be worth it to FCC is that some drivers aren't using them. If they aren't being utilized then of course they won't be worth it. As far as tri-pak vs. Carrier and durability. I've had both before and was reasonably happy with the tri-pak, but like anything else if you do your maintenance it'll do it's job, knock on wood! I've had minor issues here and there with mine, but nothing major.

 

Thanks for the update and I doubt your trip thru great bend had anything to do with it .
Belts , tensioner pulleys and alternaters for carriers are cheap so every other fall they all get replaced good or bad .
I dont piss around with batteries either , good or bad at 2 years they all go away .

 

Ah the battery dilemma. I'm going through that right now. One of my cars has a NAPA Legend battery that's over 5 years old. It still performs well but I know that's on the upper end of battery life these days, and I'm wondering just how much life it has left.

 

Absolutely! ...im at 22000 hours on my carrier now and it's been maintained religiously ...only had full synthetic oil in it and fully serviced no later than 800 hours , pro active component replacement and the engine compartment gets a good bath every spring and fall ..still looks new inside and out .
The generaters are known to fail at around 15000 hours and mine failed at 15500 and they arnt cheap ! .
While in there put a new radiater in it too.
New control panel and circuit board , glow plugs too .
It's been worth every dime and I expect another 22000 hours out of it .

 

Stopped at the Petro in Joplin to have a rare sit down meal. Sadly like most the salad bar is gone, but love the soups here. Prices have gone up since last I stopped but hey, McD’s ain’t cheap any more either!