buying my 1st truck tomorrow 8/6 and need a tripak..

How long do you plan to keep the truck you are buying? When I do my math, generally a Tri-Pak APU takes almost 4 years to make it worth the investment.

 

ck with co. U R running 4 see if they have deal

 

Here is how I math it out:

Apu will burn 0.3g/hour to keep you cool.
Truck will burn 1.0 g/hour to keep you cool.
Fuel average say 3.80/gallon.
Over 10 hours you will save 0.7 x 10 = 7 gallons x 3.8 = 26.60
Apu purchase price is let's estimate $9,000 installed.
9,000/ 26.60 = 339 days of idling to break even on your fuel cost.
We haven't included the cost of oil changes or repairs you may have with the unit.
The value of 0.3g/hour is out of my head. I do not know how much they actually burn, but I think this is a good estimate. I have heard some people claim it burns 0.2g/hr and others claim 0.75g/hr. This will be key to if it is worth it or not. Also the installation cost of $9,000 is another value out of my head. They are expensive up here in Canada (like $11,000) but usually things cost less in the USA. Another key number here.

How many days per year do you idle your truck now? Here's where it gets even a little more complex ... If you aren't one to idle all the time now, but you find you really enjoy your comforts that the Apu brings, you may use the apu more than the same amount had you been idling the truck. This brings your savings down even more. If the APU burns only 1/3 the fuel your truck does idling, but you run your APU 3x the amount of time you would normally run your truck, you will not save any money in fuel. Your comfort also enters into the equation. Also, when you sell the truck, the Apu generally goes with it.

Any time I math it out, to me the only way to get the money out of an Apu is to only buy it if you are buying a BRAND NEW truck, and as long as nothing major goes wrong with the Apu, it will have paid for itself and kept you comfortable, and also not put lots of hours idling your brand new engine. I consider it to break even at about 4 years of truck payments. That's the only time I would ever buy one. I don't drive in the south very much though, generally up here the heat isn't too bad. And when it does get very hot it's only like that for a month maybe. I am running the Honda 2000 watt/portable a/c, I know it looks ghetto and poor as all get out, but you know what, I can take that out of the truck at a moment's notice and use it for whatever. My cost on that was $1300 for the unit + $300 for ac unit and my fuel costs me about 1.5 gallons of gasoline per 10 hours or about $6.

If you need heat in the winter time you don't need an Apu at all. Just get an Espar or Webasto. It is more than enough even in the Canadian winters. If it is so cold out that you fear the batteries will die, leave the truck running on high idle.

 

I should also add, I hope you meant you don't have a dime left FOR THE APU. Hope you have cash on hand just in case if you have slow paying receivables or large repair bills. Everyone's amount to have on hand is different - depends on your comfort level.

 

Ooida members are supposedly approved without a credit check for APU financing. Axis capital will finance them although I DO NOT recommend dealing with them I have gone a few rounds with them over my flatbed trailer that I have financed through them.

Keep in mind you can get a used tripak apu as well they're all over truck paper. Not sure what a new one costs as opposed to a low hour used one but it may be worth a shot. Also check into the CAT apu. 30,000btu heating 24000btu cooling. Does everything the tripak does, its about 9400 and weighs about the same. (Don't believe thermo king on their weights after total installation they weigh about the same.). Service hours are shorter than the tk but serviceability is about the same. Throw a rock and hit a cat dealer. Has a 6kw generator as well not a bad deal IMO and its a cost savings. Also think about this how often do you idle and be honest with yourself. Do you idle all the time or only during the extremes? I have been told when talking about APU's if you idle for 40 hours a week the fuel savings will pay for itself. I find that hard to believed as every engine burns different amounts of fuel while idling you may have to idle more often in order for the savings to make your payments or visa versa. They do help with resale value and they help with financing. Ooida actually increased the value of a truck almost 6 grand for an APU. Not saying it'll do the same for you that is just my experience.

I would say make sure you know how much you burn in fuel a week idling before investing in an apu. It doesn't make much sense to go out and get an apu for your truck if its not going to save you any money in the first year or so. I don't picture them running much over 10000-15000 hours and they're not cheap. All things to think about when it comes to investing in something like this.

 

have you looked into haveing a webasto heater installed?

a honda or yamaha generator and a portable a/c be much cheaper. and don't break down.

there are other ways to acheive what you want much cheaper, with much less maintanace. and the weight factor.

 

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...perator/211635-generator-for-the-tractor.html

 

a apu is not a necessity. get your truck up and running and earning money and then think about having a apu installed.