Idling fuel consumption

If you Idle it burns about a gallon an HR. And no, heat and ac wont work when your truck is off.

 

Idling burns about 0.6-1 gal/hour, depending on the engine.

You can heat a truck with a bunk heater which burns not even 1 gallon for the entire night.

You can cool a truck with a diesel-powered apu which burns .1-.3 gal/hour. And there are electric apu's which can cool a truck for 8 hours before needing 4 hours' driving to recharge.


That means if you drove a truck 11 hours at 6.5mpg, then idled for 10 hours, your overall mpg would drop to 5.96-6.15mpg (depending on your idling burn rate).

 

Man,that is the dumbest question I have ever seen on this forum.

 

Obviously you haven't been on this form for a long time then

 

Hi Night_driver, many old timers may roll their eyes at a question like this, but that's what this site is all about, (asking questions, not the rolling eyes part) The heat in your truck comes from the warm coolant in the motor, and when the engine is shut off, the coolant doesn't circulate, thus cooling off, no heat. Similarly, the A/C comes from a compressor ,also run by the engine, when the engine is off, the compressor stops turning, no cool air. Idling has many disadvantages, it uses fuel, (about 1 gal./hr) and dilutes the oil with condensation and contaminants from the engine not running at normal temperature, as diesels tend to run a lot colder at idle. Idling for 10 hours will cost you,(or the company) $40, and for a few more bucks, you could almost get a motel. APU's, (auxiliary power units) have like a small diesel motor that runs a generator (for the fan) and circulates the coolant, and use substantially less fuel, but cost thousands of dollars, so in a way, it's cheaper in the long run to idle the motor. You have to be warm(or cool) so if you must idle the motor, step up the idle to 1000 rpm's, either with your cruise control, or a stick on the gas pedal. It keeps the engine warmer, and doesn't load up the motor like idling at 5-600 rpm's. Hope this helps.

 

Your profile shows "student", so you must be planning for your first job.
Look for companies with diesel APU's as first choice and battery APU's as second choice. Tri-Pac diesel is the most popular.
Most tanker companies don't have APU's but have no idle restriction.

 

At least the OP posted in the right section. A lot of these other users can't even find the right sections for their posts so they post in this section. If they're too lazy to post in the right section I can only imagine what kind of drivers they are......

 

'08 Volvo idles @ 900 RPM's uses .4-.6 g/hr. it shows right in the dash readout.

about $15/night. no motel I would stay for that price.

 

Dash readouts are notoriously disingenuous in their calculations, and fuel use will vary depending upon engine make and size. A 12L truck might be in the .6-.7 gpm range, a 15L truck will be closer to .8-1 gpm. With fuel prices in the mid $3's, you're looking at anywhere from $21-$35 in fuel being burned over the course of a 10 hour break. Add to that the $10 you'll spend on a shower if you haven't fueled at that truck stop chain. Then add in the $1.50 for coffee, and another $8-10 for the breakfast you had to buy which would have been complimentary with the room. Add in the lack of TV channels in your truck (or the bill and hassles if you've got a dish) compared to the cable TV in the motel...and decent grub within walking distance vs. being stuck eating whatever slop the truck stop is serving up. A large, comfortable bed, no reefer kicking on & off next to you on one side, no pig-hauler parked up wind, swimming pool, exercise room, etc. etc. etc...not to mention having your own private bathroom steps away from your bed...no need to put your boots on and walk across a parking lot in the middle of the night if nature calls.

There is quite a bit more to the equation than JUST fuel cost. Personally, I won't go out overnight without getting a room. If the load doesn't pay enough for me to be comfortable, it doesn't pay enough for me to do.