They don't come that way from the factory unless its requested. But the APU is definitely worth it. I idle in extreme temps also cause like you said before, the apu can only do so much. Have a safe New Years.
You also have to be mindful of your oil weight, as well. The heavier the oil weight, the more it's going to coagulate and thicken when sitting in cold temps.
My truck never shuts off when i leave out. that whole gallon an hour bs is an old trucker wise tale. also you get better fuel usage if you are idling by bumping the idle up not just leaving it at key idle. turn the cruise control on and bump it up some. i normally run about 8 to 900 rpms. you will notice the idle smooths out also....i know for a fact my truck with the idle bumped up burns 20 bucks idling none stop for 24 hours...i tested it 4 times left it running for 24 hours at the truck stop full of fuel....filled up at the end and took 20 bucks to top it back off...tried again the next week end same the next same the next same.........companies are just cheap as hell these days...thats why they dont want to idle their trucks thats why companies are paying less per mile than they did 5 years ago. thats why trucking has gone to hell in a hand basket....to many brain washed wheel holders who do as they are told and dont care for their own well being
There's also the carbon ridge building at the end of the cylinders and the oil sludge which builds up at the bottom of the crankcase housing. Which is why systems like Detroit's Optimized Idle ran the truck at 1000 RPMs rather than at low idle.
Again we have APU's so the company likes to save money all around while taking care of the drivers. I will never drive a truck without one, we are going from this one into our own. Bad companies are definitely killing the industry! That's good to know about it not being a gallon and hour though. Even without an APU I never idled when I didn't need to, that absolutely is a waste. If it's nice out, my sleeper windows are open.
I absolutly agree wih not idling when its nice out. The only times ive idled overnight it got down to single digits. I did it more for keeping the truck warm then for me, my bunk heater will run you out of the truck if you turn it up to far. All i need for power after the day is up is a couple hrs of radio and a light on. I cook whatever in a crock pot on the last leg of the drive. I just wasnt sure at what point is it better for the truck to idle than to be shut off.
Our trucks have a webasto heater. At 10 degrees outside it will roast you out. I can't sleep with the truck shaking, keeps me awake. In the winter I leave it on (webasto) over the weekend so I can return to a warm truck, windows stay clear and my supplies dont freeze. I also have a smoke and carbon monoxide detector in truck.
