Practical suggestions for saving $ for O/O

Guys, let's get real with the numbers. Even if you idled around the clock ALL week long then you might save $300. At that point why not just shut your truck off completely?

7 days x 24 hrs = 168 hrs.

168 hrs x .75 gallons per hour of idle = 126 gallons. (.75 based off actual ISX15 data)

126 gallons x 2.50/gal = $315 to idle all week long.

Your guys numbers don't make any sense. However, I do have respect for the hard work and due diligence that you do when purchasing your own used apu. Keep in mind the starter of this thread doesn't have said experience so that's somewhat irrelevant.

Apu breakdowns cost down time just like engine or other repairs. How much revenue or profit will you lose being down a day or 2? What ends up happening in real life is you say F it and keep running while deciding to get it repaired later. Boom, no more savings. Now subtract cost of repair and down time from previous savings and before long you end up with a cluster.

You proved my point in several things you said. Like the due diligence, the self service, not taking into account down time, over exaggerated actual savings, and lastly keeping your truck for an extended period.

I still would say in regards to the thread starter... save your money for now and take another look at it in the future. Likely what will happen is he will be smarter on the next purchase by knowing more of what he's actually looking for in a truck. Besides, it wouldn't surprise me if he doesn't already have a bunk heater. If not then install an inverter if needed. Not too difficult.

 

That's a fallacy. If you are a good mechanic and like getting dirty that's great but I have no time nor interest becoming a diesel mechanic.
I'd rather spend more time looking for higher paying loads or make around $1000 (net) working an extra day which comes out to $80-100/hour. Not to mention it would probably take me at least twice as long as an experienced mechanic

 

Just went to GA. It was 73-75 at night and I managed to sleep without idling for the most part. Cooled it down and it wasn't too bad until 6-7 am. Below 70 I don't even use APU.

 

Oh boy, lots of stuff to respond to.....

That's where I actually buy the used apu's from. Most of the used Prime trucks that don't get sold through Predigree they take the apu's off because dealers and wholesalers won't take the truck with one on. So yes I am very familiar with Prime in many ways.

There happens to be 7 days in a week. This driver I am using as an example has 2 dogs on the truck and had to leave it running 24/7 so it didn't get to hot or to cold. But with that number, when he would idle for his 34hr reset he would go through almost a 1/2 a tank of fuel or more. During that 34hr reset the truck would regen a couple times so that does eat up a bit more fuel. He has a 2017 Cascadia Evo just for reference. But even if he only idled 10 hours a day, that's 70 hours minimum of idle time. Well if he's using almost 1/2 a tank on a 34hr reset, that leaves 36 more hours to get us to 70 hours, but we still have 5 more days to idle so total idle time in a week would be at least 84hrs if a perfect week. So yes, that is how an apu has saved him about a tank of fuel a week.

Now yes, the apu does run on pixie dust, lol. Ok just kidding. I put the rigmaster apu on his truck and it consumes about .25 gallons an hour. In that 10 hour period that's only 2.5-3 gallons a night, or 17.5-21 gallons a week (70hrs x .25gls = 17.5gls or 70hrs x .3gls = 21gls) 21gls x $2.50 = $52.5 in fuel to operate the apu vs 150gls x $2.50 = $375 to idle a truck and use a full tank of fuel to do it.

But hey, lets use that 84hrs idle time I mentioned a minute ago. 84hrs x .3gls = 25.2gls. So 25.2gls x $2.50 = $63 a week to operate his apu instead of the tank of fuel at $375. You tell me which makes more sense?

The situation for that truck is possibly on the extreme end, but lets be honest, most of these drivers now days don't like having the windows down at the truck stop smelling or hearing the guy that parks next to them high idling all day/night so they'll idle there truck to keep that nice 68 degrees in the truck. Remember the op is at swift.

In my personal truck, I use the apu all the time when the truck is off. I don't like smelling the urine, exhaust and everything else at the truck stop either. There are many times where it's a nice day I would love to open the windows but it just isn't going to happen with the drivers that don't understand what fresh air is.

The savings I see in my truck each week for having the apu is around $200-250. I think $100/week in savings is pretty low with an apu. But even still that's $5,200 a year you save with an apu minimum if all you get is $100/week in savings.

Check your pm's I sent you message about this.

See my explanation above on how it can save you a tank of fuel a week.

Don't know about you, but I usually have no problem getting the apu repaired within a day or two without loosing downtime. I know where to get my apu repaired throughout the country and when it starts having issues (which in 2.5 years I've had my current unit that's been 2 times) I can make it work with my the load I am under so I don't loose revenue. The rigmaster is such a simple basic small engine and most TA's and Petros carry parts and I could repair it myself during a 10 hour break.

The only time my truck is loosing revenue is when it goes to the tractor shop for unexpected repairs, not because the apu is being stupid.

The 2 major issues I had with my apu was the fuel bowl nut hot stripped by the place that did a pm on it. APU still ran, just had to make sure I had lots of duct take around it so it wouldn't leak fuel all over the place. Ran for 4 days like that because it was 4th of July weekend when I found the problem. I knew where a shop was to get the parts and could swing through, pick up the parts, and did the repair myself in an hour on my DOT 30 minute break.

Second major issue was a blown main seal and water pump that started leaking bad. APU would still run, just had to make sure I topped the coolant off before I went to bed each night. Got to a shop 2 days later and it took them 3 hours to repair, but I didn't loose any time. I planned to stop there and took my break so they could get to it first thing in the morning. So instead of leaving right at 10 hours I left at 12 hours.

Yes it is possible that the #### thing blows up and there isn't nothing to do but replace it and that'll take me 1 day at swap the unit out with another one unit. Replacement cost with install will cost me $2,500 for a used one and yes a day of not working, plus a week of idling. With that math, lets look at what's it's saved me.

$2,500 investment ($1,500 for apu and about $1,000 for install) on an apu that has lasted almost 3 years so far, that's an average of $833 a year so far in initial investment. Now I don't run 52 weeks a year, usually work 42 weeks and we will use a conservative week savings of $200 that equals $8,400 in fuel savings. We need to subtract our fuel usage though since it doesn't run on pixie dust. So earlier I said $52/week in fuel consumption, that's $2,496 in fuel used. Lets take our savings of $8,400 and subtract our fuel usage of $2,496 and we get $5,904 in savings in a single year. But wait we still need to do maintenance on the unit and we pay someone for that at $90 per pm and I don't wait the 1,000 hours the manual says so that means I do 6 pm's a year. That's $540 we need to subtract from our yearly savings. That leaves us with a total annual savings of $5,364 with a used apu. I guess I can loose a day to get my blown apu replaced. With that number I could take a week off for the apu repair and install.

Also, with that kind of annual savings I could buy a used apu every year and still would come ahead. $5,364 - $2,500 = $2,864. #### I could buy two used apu's and keep one around as a spare with that and still have come out ahead by $364. (yes this last part was really ridiculous numbers, but just figured I would keep running with the numbers)

And that's good for you. I could cool my truck down to 65 or lower before I park and within an hour it'll be over 75 degrees because of the heat coming off the engine and exhaust. You can feel it coming through the floor. In the winter I don't have to worry about using a bunk heater because of how much heat radiates up through the floor for most of the night.

I am all for using the outside temperature to keep the inside nice, just not happening that much at most truck stops. When I find a nice rest area or solitary place with no one around for miles I love having the windows open.

 

While business credit is important, capital reserves are more important.

 

Best thing you can do is make more money, you are working for a minimum pay carrier. Move your truck to a percentage carrier and up your income by .50 to 1.00 a mile.
It's hard to get ahead or even survive working for minimum wage.

 

Its all important. In this new Era, a Buisness owner needs to be aware of it all. Times have changed. The days of saving while earning a decent wage are all but gone. Why? Because these guys aren't making any money working company. After all the bills are paid, there's nothing left. Understanding the power of leveraging can help with this. I'm mot saying its free money, but you can establish and obtain Buisness credit faster than saving cash (most people). I'm specifically talking about no personal guarantee.

 

What does he have....two 35 gallon tanks? Maybe he's selling fuel? Or maybe he has a 3408 idling at 1500 rpm? Good lord, 100 gallons of fuel burned in 34 hrs = 3 gph while idling.

 

Get away from swift, they pay $1 per mile and then don't even pass on their fuel discount to operators.. bunch of scum bags making money every time you swipe your fuel card..

 

Right there! Do your own invoicing. Avoid to be leeched off by them no matter how enticing their offers sound. Especially, if it is one truck only.