Advice on apu ,

If properly maintained, idling isn't a problem for egr motors. Mine had tons of idle time when i bought it but the motor runs great and has perfect oil samples. Now DPF's can clog if idled to much, but my EGR isn't any worse for all the idleing my truck did with its previous owner.

 

moostek, I take it you have never owned an apu. I paid 8500 for my dynasys installed with shore power unit , it has a separate heat. cool unit, 6500 watt generator.

the pay back on this unit was just over a year. my fuel mileage went up 1 mpg just by cutting out idling, then figure in the ability to run a microwave, have a fridge freezer, my quality of life in the truck has improved greatly.

the fuel use of my apu is the least concern, my unit cuts on and off with the thermostat setting , it doesn't run constantly, I have it set to run 45 min when the low batt autostart kicks in, I can also run my block heater with it, and have 110 volts outlets. I also installed an inverter, I run the tv, printer and such on it so I don't have to constantly run the apu, I figure it uses on hot night maybe a 1 1/2 gallon of diesel with the time it runs, I have had mine 2 years and 3 months and have only 3100 hours on it, and I stay out 3 weeks at the time.

the only folks who don't think an apu or a homemade apu setup will pay for itself are people who have never owned one.


and leftlane has a great setup, but very few people have the setup or the ability to fashion a system like his, we discussed on a post that if were to do one like that for sale the price would be 5000 to 5500 , you can get a new dynasys without the shorpower option for about 7500 installed.


and heck even the upper Midwest and northeast gets hot in the summer, to only have a bunk heater and box fan, wont do you much good in the vast majority of the US . I simply don't like to sleep with the bunk at 80, my apu is set to maintain 72 degrees

 

you have never owned an apu, mine uses on avg 1 1/2 to 2 gal a night, I change the oil, 2 and 1/4 qts, a oil filter 6 bucks, fuel filter , 9.00, and air filter 12.00 every 500 hours, although the manufacturer recommends 1000 hours, so my maintenance is about 33.00 every 500 hours.

and your inverter cant do anywhere close to my apu, it wont charge your batts, wont run microwave for an extended period .

like I said if you ever get a apu with a generator or a generator setup you have no idea of the real deal,

I know , I never thought one made sense, til I got one, and saw how wrong I was.

 

I can run all those off inverter. Only thing i need to start the truck for is long microwave use. I cooked a pizza this morn after running frrige and laptop all night and did not turn truck on.

That apu uses .3-,4 per hour. you could use as much as 4 gallons in a night. The most the diesel bunk heater uses is .5 the whole night. $16 vs $2. If you buy an APU you should also buy a bunk heater anyway to save fuela nd get a hotter nights n cold weather. (tripack includes a diesel bunk heater)

How long have you had your dynasty. They use to much fuel and brake down a lot. That's why they are 5k less then a tripack.

 

bunk heater cost 2 bucks a night to heat your truck as much as you want. If you have problems where you need your batts charged, you should get that fixed and not use your apu as a band-aid fix. As for microwave, my batts can handle 5-10 min of microvave and still start the truck the next morn. If i need more i runt he truck for 5 min.

1.5-2 gallons of fuel cost 6-8/night................................. Bunk heater cost 2

Install cost of apu is 7000+................................ Inverter and bunk heater cost 1500-2000 (installed, cheaper if you do yourself)

Charges bad batts................................................... Replacing bad batts cost 1000




If your batts cant handle a night without being charged you should buy a new set of batts. So total cost with brand new agm batts for bunkheater/inverter is 3000 an it uses 2 bucks a night.

Total cost of apu is 7000+ and it uses 6-8 bucks a night. The only thing you need the apu to do that the bunk heater cant, is cooling. If its worth it to you, then buy an apu, but i can deal with fans in summer as long as im warm in winter. Really, the only thing an apu can do better then the bunkheat/inverter combo is cooling. It however cost at least 4000 more, needs maintenance and cost more to run. Many apu owners also have bunk heaters and inverters since bunk heaters are cheaper to use in winter and they dont want to run the apu all night.

 

The newer engines only use about .5 gallons per hour when on long idle if the A/C isn't running. Then it goes to .7-1 gallons per hour.
APU's generally use .25-.5 gallons per hour.

Adding in the cost of the unit, and the maintenance required to keep it running, I don't think it will pay for itself within the first 400,000 miles or so.

Swift uses trucks for around 525k miles, at the most.
I doubt they would forego APU's in every unit if it really would save them money.

If I bought a truck and planned to have it for a million miles or more it would make sense to have an APU.
But if I plan to have it only ~500k miles it really doesn't. It would make more sense to pressure my drivers to lower their idle time.

Maybe it all depends on which side of the fence you are operating on.

 

They may use .5 if at low idle, but its norm bad for dpf and the oil pressure to idle for extended periods at low rpm. You really should bump up to 800-1000 rpm depending on who you talk to which of course uses closer to 1 gallon per hour. More fuel, but less motor damage.

 

I have had my dynasys for 2 years and 3 months. funny that it has the same exact engine as a tripac, and rated for the same fuel usage. and you can run these on a automatic setting, they don't run constantly . mine would use less fuel than a tri-pac in that respect.

I don't need a bunk heater, I have a dometic unit that heats and cools.

again, I have operated both. I prefer the dynasys with the generator rather than using a inverter for all 110 power

 

you apparently don't understand the apu doesn't have to run all night for heat, it cuts on and off just like a central air unit in a house.

and my batts are just fine, my apu has an alternator just like a tripac does plus the generator,

tell ya what , you keep operating with your window screens and box fan and I will keep apu a/c.


many apu owners have bunk heaters and inverters because the tripacs they have only have an alternator and no heat capability.

 

moostek, as you said you don't own a truck and don't own an apu, the payback on apu is now where near 400,000 miles , the maintenance (if done regularly) is negligible actually.

and an apu at most would use .25 gallon an hour, but a apu like got may only average running 10 minutes an hour maybe.

yeah and you said it all , when you state you would pressure your drivers to idle less, lol. that's why swift doesn't have em, they got trained rats that put up with a lower quality of life otr.

raise your yearly mpg 1 mpg gallon on 100,000 miles by having an apu and check the payback, plus the less hours on the truck engine.

on 100,000 miles going from 5 to 6 mpg would be about 3,000 gallons a year times 4.00 equals 12,000 bucks in one year, vs an apu cost of 8500 and you think it would take 400,000 miles. an apu will easily pay for itself.