APUs- Electric vs. diesel

Hmm I have had an electric APU in four different trucks over the years and they last 30 hours and when the batteries got low you simply idle for 30 minutes for the alternator to recharge the batteries. Dont know why truckers give such bad advice. "Durrrr I aint never used one but they last three hours and break!" I like that my truck is quiet and I can park behind any store amongst the 4 wheelers and no one complains since my truck isnt rattling and polluting the whole area for 34 hours.

 

It prob depends on the type of truck and Batteries. If you have cheap ones they will die fast on a hot summer day mine has never lasted more then 6 hours

 

I had a Webasto BlueCool electric unit on a company truck and it was a complete waste of space worthless unit in the summertime. Even on a mild day it was useless. You had to drive the truck for at least 8 hours to charge the unit up. Keep the a/c on high in the bunk with the curtains closed "pre-cooling" before stopping and shutting down. You'd be lucky to get 5 hours of "cooling" from it. After that it was just recircing hot air. Maybe they have improved something that was 6 or 7 years ago. Or maybe someone else has a better unit.

 

APUs of any sort will pay for themselves as long as they are installed properly and preventative maintenance is done. You cant treat something like crap and expect it to not break.

Carrier, TK and Dynasys are the big three out there and all make good APUs as long as you take care of them. I hear from many people that electric does not have the power or longevity of diesel but it is quieter.

Whoever paid 15k for an APU you got severely ripped off, thats a new car!!!! TK and Carrier are expensive with Dynasys being the cheapest but they all use similar if not some of the same components. TK and Dynasys have new product out this year because of stricter regulations. Dynasys was at MATS and i was impressed because they are using CAT now and they have an auto AC no generator system along with a gen head setup. Supposed to be a good unit. Anybody have experience with these new units? Sounds similar to TK? TK is now using the Yanmar engine in the Evolution which is what Dynasys used to use. Anybody know what Carrier is doing this year?

California is on another scale of their own. You cannot idle at all out there or be prepared for a fat ticket if you do. Use a blanket, get a cheap motel or simply suffer through those nights.

 

On cat APUs, would be pronounced also as perkins.