Are APU's worth the money?

I'm not an O/O, but the APU on my company truck has changed my life.

 

I was told that, in order to really benefit from an APU you'd need to have it for 3 years first, which is great for some O/O's that are willing to keep their truck for longer than that.

Not sure on the math, and, the people that told me that could've been mistaken so don't take my word for it, but it was part of the reason that this particular company decided against apu's at the time. They traded their trucks in every 3 years and decided that it wouldn't be profitable until after that 3 year mark where they would no longer have the truck anymore anyway and would need to take them off and put them on a different truck.

Ofcourse, that may have just been the position on this particular company, they have 3,000 trucks or so and that's alot of apu's and out of pocket expensies, for an O/O i think they would probably be a dream come true personally.

 

I never had an APU on my truck but this I do know from o/o's I know personally. They are definitely worth the $ IF you plan to keep the truck 5 years!!. The o/o's I know keep their trucks that long. One o/o traded his 3 year old Freightliner for a T2000 KW and it cost over $2500.00 to replumb and mount the unit. He is stll gritching and complaining about it! He's had his T2000 about 4 years now. That $2500.00 he laid out is a sore spot so he plans to keep the KW 5 years and then trade it. I am retired now but if I had to put a truck back on the road it would have an APU on it.

 

I have a Pony Pac and it is now on it's second truck. 8000 hours on unit with very few problems. Unit cost me $7000.00 installed 5 years ago. I swapped it from old truck to new truck myself in 48 hours and two six packs..LOL All Bravo Sierra aside..I would not be in business now due to high fuel costs last year had I not had this unit.

 

Thermo kings tri-pac and the carrier are the best . Service on them is every 1000 hours (about every 3 months or so) The tri-pac is more quiet then the carrier, and it cycles on and off. The carrier stays on all the time. Ive had both of these on trucks, and i prefer the tri-pac.

 

I sat down and figured it took about a year for the APU to pay itself. This is based on being on the road for 300+ days a year. The fuel and maintaince savings are the most. Even eating in the truck 2 or 3 days a week is saving money. Also some states do give tax credits/rebates for installing a apu. Check with your home state on that.

 

My truck has a Carrier APU which was fitted when the truck was new in 2007.
Most drivers would agree that they are very useful but they definitly have their down sides also.
For a start they are powered by a very crude 2 cylinder engine which works fine in the lawn tractor that they are designed for but bolted on a truck chassis just under the sleeper they can be very noisy for the truck they are fitted to and the one next door. The Carrier that i use vibrates the sleeper badly while it is running also.
As for saving money? I don't think so really. My truck has a Cat C15 and when it is idleing the dashboard computer shows that it is using 0.4 gal/h if i set the RPM to 700. C15's will idle that slow ok without harm. The APU uses 0.3 gal/h so there is very little difference in fuel use although the APU saves engine wear of course.
Also some guys feel better running the truck engine much faster, say 1,200 RPM and that uses more like 1.0 gal/h.
But still, a new APU can cost up to $10,000 and that buys a hell of a lot of fuel.
Also when guys make the comparison they rarely factor in the maintenance costs of the APU. Last year the one on my truck needed a new capacitor, hoses and condenser. Total bill $1,150. Also normal servicing isn't free and includes the cost of oil, filter, belts etc.
Sure, they are good but i would not consider their worth is without question by any means.

 

My boss has a Thermo King Tri Pak and loves it. His truck came with it as its a former Trans Am truck. Now the pluses are that you remain comfortable and increase mpg. This means the difference between comfort and little comfort. I was able to run my cell phone charger, microwave and fridge on it and be comfortable. Also if you haul reefer and it is Thermo King you can get both serviced at the same time. Same with the Carrier. Are they worth the cost; some will say no and yes. However, when I go O/O in year or two my truck will have a TK Tri Pak APU on it. Someone correct me, but doesn't the TriPak have a Yanmar engine on it???


KH

 

Maybe. My Carrier has a noisy Kubota.

 

How many miles do you put on you engine while parked and idling? That is another cost savings of the APU! Now has anyone gotten a idling ticket ? I have $350 when the temp was 22* at Hunts Point! I've heard horror stories from CA and the rules are changing! More and more cities and states are inacting those rues!

As to which unit to get. I did all three generations of Rig Master and none were wiortth the headaches! Carier runs all the time, Tri pak was the best I'd tried! During the winter the TriPak doesn't run as much except to charge the batteries or to heat the engine block as it uses aEsbar heating unit to heat the cab. Keeping the batteries charged during the winter is great along with the block heating.
The fuel useage of less than .2-3 gallons an hour sure beats that 1+ from idling the engine along with the fines!

As for maintenance of the unit The Tri Pak as mentioned get it done when you get the Thermo king serviced but you can chance the oil and filters your self. There are also more Thermo Kings open 24/7 than Carrier and I do believe that Rig Master was bought out by someone and try to find a place for service!

Yes, the initial cost can be high but as an O/O you/ll be taking the unit to your next truck unless your next truck has an APU installed and in the cost of the truck!
When you add all the savings and aggregation of idling it's well worth the money and yes you will save money MONTHLY using it! Just remember one thing. If you do the west coast do not buy an older unit! It must be clean air certified just like your reefer and engine for those tree huggers out there!

I love my APU! That statement about noisy and vibrates, not completely true with the carrier and Tripak but others do make a lot of noise! Keep the nuts and bolts tight will reduce the rattling and vibrations but I've heard reefer and even trucks that sounded like they were on their last legs! Not to mention some yoyo with 8" straight pipes that puts the pipe next to your head while you're sleeping!

Oh one funny thing about the Esbar heaters. This low sulfur fuel makes the thing smoke like crazy when it comes on at first! I've had people pound on the truck thinking it's on fire, I've had cops trying to save my life and even woken to fire engines pulling up to put my arse out! For some reason it doesn't burn as clean in the Esbar unit and causes a build up of carbon in the furnace! I don't know if they have a fix for that yet! Just be careful parking around NYC or big cities in the winter! LOL