!!!!!!! Is an apu needed for teams? !!!!!!!!!!!

Do you have specific areas that you will run consistently? That may help you make a decision.

Of course, your girlfriend will probably make the decision for you.

 

$10K... is that thing gold plated?

 

IMO yes they are worth it. running team there is no such thing as hardly ever stopping there is some teams that will have weeks with less miles than a single driver. there are shippers, receivers districts and states that wont let you idle. Not to include if you have a engine breakdown in -10 or 105 temp and have to wait 4-6 hours on repairs. Then there are times you will get to where you have to deliver sunday afternoon but the place dont open til monday morning. There is a lot of cases where they are useful. The comfort of having one plus the saving is worth it to me. You have to figure out you advanges of having it and if it worth it to you. But dont be one of the ones that spend all you profit on chrome and chicken lights and freeze you but off or die of heat stroke stuck somewhere looking cool. If you ever sell your truck you will get about half you investment back unless you transfer it to a new one and its a tax deduction. If you idle as little as 20 hours a week thats 1040 hours of wear and tear on you engine that will cost about $3120 a year in fuel vs $312 in fuel for an apu x 3 years = $8424 in fuel savings plus 3120 hours of engine wear less soot buildup extending oil changes and injector life plus the return value on your investment if you sell

 

I will tell you this, my next truck will have one, and I am signing the checks.

 

Yes and no. If you are a consistent team with consistent freight and have very little down time, it won't be worth it outright. Because you're using it less, the "payoff" for it will be longer - the time that it takes to pay off and start seeing the financial benefit.

On the flip side of the coin, as others point out, if you have downtime and you're stuck in Wyoming and it is -20 degrees with a 25mph wind, keeping your coolant warm is very nice. The same goes for the summer when it is 110 degrees outside and you are laid over. These are really intangibles that need to be quantified between you and your partner and dependent on where you run and how you run.

Personally, I'd skip it in your situation, get a Honda generator, a powerful inverter and an ac unit with heat. There's a thread here somewhere about homebrew "apu" systems you might take a look at.