Apus and inverters

Although, if its under 15 degrees, i'm not trusting an apu to keep my engine warm enough to start. Under 15 I runt he truck. Even if the block heater will allow me to start the truck, it supper bad for it to crank when its that cold.

 

At Gordon we have both APU'S and inverters provided by the company. The Apu will kick on to run the a/c and when the batteries get low it charges them back up. The apu does circulate the engine coolant to keep it warm but the company wants us to idle under 5 degrees. I would never drive for a company again that does not provide them.. it's like moving into a house without central air. Who does that anymore.

 

That's exactly what I thought after driving for Gordon--no APU, no deal-e-o.

Current company has no APUs, good looking KW T800s, very well-maintained, no idle restriction, not a peep about MPG, just get-'er-done. Avg driver makes $65K. Most trucks buttoned @ 71. Mine's ungoverned. I work part-time. It's like falling in love with a new girl and flat forgetting the old heart ache/throb that seemed to matter so much at the time.

Of course, Gordon is a 2000-truck mega 'starter' carrier. Current company is no starter carrier. Less than 100 trucks. Company meetings with food held on the dock, most all present including mechanics and staff. Ratio about 1 mechanic to 4 trucks right now... quirky, family one-owner atmosphere.

No problem putting in inverters, refrig, etc. but the T800s are not so roomy as newer, smurf-blue Cascadias. We go out for a few days at most (not 2-6 weeks) and then right back to Indy and home. I plug in the smallest $24 inverter to charge my headset, phone and iPad as needed.

 

Your truck has a/c by running the engine. If the company doesn't provide an apu or an auxiliary heating and cooling system, just idle. its not your fuel or engine wear.

 

WEL Companies in DePere operates about 500 reefers. All their power units have an APU and they will install an inverter if you buy it. They hard-wire it so you have to ask them to uninstall it when you either change trucks or companies.

 

Me, too. I hate, hate, HATE idling to stay cool. It's such an environmental disaster to sit at a truck stop with 150 idling trucks. And some are NOT quiet.

 

It's more than a garden-variety environmental disaster, Denali. It hadn't occurred to me until I read the AAOHN report The cloud of diesel fumes we drivers are exposed to at truck stops is toxic. Cancerous. It never snapped to me until I read the report.

Worksite-Induced Morbidities Among Truck Drivers in the United States
See: http://www.uncg.edu/phe/faculty/apostolopoulos/AAOHNJ.pdf

 

Absolutely. The number of states prohibiting idling is woefully small.

 

Actually most have a law against it...almost none enforce it though. I think CA is the only one that really enforces it.