Schneider testing out apu's

I'm not sure, that's why put the fuel the APU used vs the regular engine. It's only 1/4 less. I did oil samples back when I have my 2000 truck with same system. The oil samples showed something like only 10 parts per million more stuff in the oil meaning more engine wear. That truck had Optimized Idle and I used it all the time. That engine lasted till 1.2 million miles.

 

I found a manual on line and it says the bunk heater on high burns 0.10 gallons per hour. That number most people seem to talk about. That what I always thought. The newer evolution may be better but the original one said the engine under a load with the a/c going used like 0.75 gallons per hour. Not sure I can find the old manual online anymore. I was looking the new one doesn't seem to say how much the engine burns. They always just talk about the bunk heater.

 

Like I said I've have seen any personally.
I'm just going by what the guy said at the shop the other day when I stopped to get a tire swapped out before I dropped the trailer at the customer. The was a truck co. truck sitting right behind him with one of those f'ed up idle air on it , I said that looks like a lease return , he said yup we got 50 of them.

 

My tri- pac used 1 gallon per 10 hrs versus engine using 1 gallon per hour. Bunk heater was espar used .07 gallon per hour.

 

Yes I know , I get it
What I was only saying is by using trucks with the idlefree units ( battery pack ) will mess with the statistics because of the idling you have to do to keep them charged.
I had one for a year and during a 34 you had to idle for a few hrs every couple hrs to keep them charged. If don't and you run it till it's dead you'll have to idle it well over 10hrs to get it charged back up enough to use it.
I made this mistake when I first got the truck fortunately it was time to roll and even after a full 11hrs drive it wasn't fully charged back up.

If your using that 1500watt inverter that comes with it then the run time is shortened even further because the inverter is powered by the same battery pack as the ( idle free) cooling unit.
I've got a tripac on my current truck and the fuel savings over having ( verses )a idlefree unit is huge.

Many of those electric ( idlefree ) units won't even make it through a 10hr break.

 

The only drivers that will see the APUs are the southern trucks. Those running out from Wisconsin will never see them even though we run down into hot southern weather. The refrigerators will be tiny boxes. Nothing like the frig with freezer that the Volvos have in them.

 

Nah.

I would bet that all new truck ordered in 2018 will have tri pacs. Just a hunch.

 

Are APUs worth the price?

I'd agree for smaller fleets, or fleets holding on to trucks long term. Schneider decided a few years ago that there was not a cost savings to avoid that couldn't be gained by the ambient temperature sensor. What's changed is how much we're spending to get new drivers in the door. I don't think we're looking at how much fuel or maintenance costs will be saved, but if we can stop hemoraging drivers to companies who have apus.

 

What they seem to fail to realize is when they sell these trucks off they'll get higher resale value out of them because of the APU but then again the way Green Bay thinks to save a penny they spend 10 gazillion dollars so who the hell knows

 

I was going to post the same thing. You beat me too it. Its all about keeping drivers. This is the reason I don't own one. It would take me 5 years to see a return. I don't idle that much anyway. I have no microwave or fridge in truck. Its all about maintaining drivers,