APU's on trucks

Serious question here. If the Mays trucks don't have APU's and have a strict idling policy, how or what do you guys do to overcome these "obstacles"? How do you run electric items, microwave, small frig, etc. off an inverter without draining the truck batteries, how do you stay cool in the summer when on your 10hr break, same in the winter, how do you stay warm? All this without idling the truck?

I know you can idle some without penalty but how long? Please excuse my ignorance as I am new to this all.

 

Im not a may driver but i will tell you this. Run your recap, be a 8.75 hr max per day driver and you wont ever sit long enough to draw the batteries down. Your loads may not always allow for this but do what you can.


In the summer if possible run during the day sleep at night. In the winter drive at night sleep during the day.



I use a 12v fan with window screens and vents open and i can go a bit higher on temp before i need to idle. In the winter get a good comforter and a -20 sleeping bag to throw over it






American Trucker

 

Thanks. Do you have idle restrictions over at Lone Star?

 

Nope we do what we want. Unfortunatly we have lots of idiots that idle 24/7 that just waste fuel. They just dont get a fuel bonus when they average 2mpg





American Trucker

 

That is my understanding---- they were given a very negative
responce--- DOT issues-insurence issues-spillage issues
and other liability issues....

 

i have a fridge, microwave and my laptop in my truck. the fridge is always plugged in of course, the microwave I usually use as soon as I stop for the night, if I plan on using it. If not I just turn the truck on for however long I need the microwave on and then shut it down. the laptop i have plugged in while driving so it charges (same with phones and anything else that needs to be charged), and then use it in the evening. I usually dont use it for more than 3 hrs each night but if I do i just plug it in. since I don't have anything else sucking up power I usually don't have a problem plugging it in for a while, like if I have a really short driving day. some nights I hear that #### voltage alarm going off but not as much as I used to when I had that coleman plug in cooler. I never use the bunk heater or the ac... not yet anyway, when I first got my truck that alarm would go off ALL the time so I got used to not using them and that was before I even got the inverter installed.

 

Rubberducky, to answer your question, you are allowed to idle. If you go over the alloyed idle allowance for the month you are in, you must send in a request for idle time to your DM stating how much time and the reason for the idle. Now if the reason for the idle time requested is for PS3 use, computer charging, or comfort when the temps are comfortable already; you will be denied the idle time and have to eat the cost. However if you need to stay cool, temps above 80, or have to idle due to extreme cold, or you have to sit somewhere stranded in the winter for three days due to wind snow or ice and need to keep the batteries up; you won't be charged after sending in your idle time request to your DM. Many people think it is silly to have to request it, but it keeps us drivers honest. At least some of us.

 

Bunk heater in the winter = no idle. Some trucks have ###### batteries and you may have to idle 20-30 minutes before bedtime to charge em. As long as your idle time is used for this purpose, you submit your idle request to your dm. Your terminal manager looks over all requests and approves or denies them.

You are allowed a certain percentage for a 2 week period. Different months have different percentages ranging from 10% for winter to 45% for summer. It is calculated by how much the truck is in motion vs how much time it sits idling.

Things you can do to lower your idle time are: drive more (duh), turn your truck off while fueling, hooking a trailer or any other time when you don't need to idle. My trainer explained it to me this way, everytime you get out of the truck and it's idling when it doesn't need to be, you are reaching into your pocket and throwing loose change on the ground.

 

Efon, then again these things have been covered a hundred times here