I'm in a company truck so this is all just academic, but there's so much tech out there to make a battery powered APU more energy dense and user friendly than it currently is. As it is now there's auto-start which is completely opaque, or just starting the truck when the A/C stops or the inverter starts beeping at you.
We've got some amazing tech in battery storage. Enough power to drive cars with 1000hp, but we're stuck with heavy and inefficient lead acid. With LFP batteries and smart shunts you can have enough power to run the sleeper A/C for a 34 without running the batteries and less than half the weight, while being confident you'll have plenty to start up after.
Of course the biggest issue for many is the temperature sensitivity. Only really a concern if you're away from the truck for long periods in very cold weather, but lead acid is not immune either.
Do you like the idea of a battery system you can run a microwave off of without starting the truck? Long resets without having to waste fuel, or get rocked awake when it auto-starts? A man can dream.
Modern tech for eAPUs.
Discussion in 'Trucking Electronics, Gadgets and Software Forum' started by Tb0n3, Jun 24, 2025 at 10:44 PM.
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Ive parked next to a couple guys with the opti idle or whatever it is.. Seems kind of annoying to have the truck shake every time it starts then rev up rpms then shut down again..
Me personally I enjoyed my apu when I had one, although I found it quite difficult to sleep in the summer with the A/c because the apu is so loud... and it would bog down every time. The a/c clutch would kick in..
Ive enjoyed reading about a couple members on here that have the electric setup with batteries, I think it was @Siinman and I forget who else. They seemed to like it so farbroke down plumber and Siinman Thank this. -
Love my set up for what it is. I still need to change the EPU batteries at some point because they are still the original batteries. Once they die out I will put lithium in them or buy two more starting batteries like I have now that are lithium. This system works great unless out in the desert and over 100 with sun beating down. It cannot keep up in that kind of heat to my liking. I like to be around 68 degrees when I sleep or colder if I can.
D.Tibbitt and Big Road Skateboard Thank this. -
D.Tibbitt Thanks this. -
I drove freighter with their electric a/c it was ok. The problem was it could only go about 10 hours. Plus it only cooled the sleep and doing that in summer daylight it not big enough. The way it was wired the low voltage cutoff for the A/C could cut off before the computer monitoring the batteries would auto the engine to recharge them.
The new Volvo truck system that seems to have electric fans by radiator and can cool the sleeper and front of cab using the same system as driving plus it 24 volts truck. Sounds like a better setup.gentleroger Thanks this. -
D.Tibbitt and broke down plumber Thank this.
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D.Tibbitt and Arctic_fox Thank this.
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D.Tibbitt and broke down plumber Thank this. -
I wonder if a couple small vertical wind turbines would help 150 watt each . Mount a pole with a lockslide put it up when stopped and lower n lock when moving , just a thought .
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