Is it worth it to get an APU (Auxilary Power Unit)

I wouldn't be without my apu and once you have one you won't want to be without one .
Between carrier and thermo king both have theyre advantages and disadvantages.
I have a carrier that has been good overall but also have a pal with a very well maintained tri pack with over 30000 hours on it .
Maintenance is key with these things and alot of people neglect them .
I run mobil 1 5w40 full synthetic in mine and change it every 1000 hours along with all the filters , at 2000 hours all the belts go away .
If you buy a carrier dont forget to clean the hvac intake filter a couple times a year , and of course check the oil level weekly and look it over .
This will save you many headaches and your unit will last a long time .

 

years ago, LONG BEFORE anti-idling laws, and the costs of diesel fuel, and the plethora of companies that had lease/purchase deals, i did my "homework" on getting what they were called back then....a PonyPac

then something amazing happened.

i sat at the truck stop counter, and every expert in everything under the sun, busted my chops for wanting to buy such a device and waste my money.

well, i ended up staying a company driver, (not cuz of all the experts), and i wonder how many of those experts actually invested in such a wise device..since way back when....???

 

And by the way the apu center in Springfield mo sells used and refurbished units and does installs , while there check out they're pile of junk apu engines ( carrier and tk ) and you will learn how NOT to maintain one .

 

I don’t understand what is so difficult in maintaining a fuel fired unit. Know a number of people with them. The ones that take care of the units, doing things like check the oil, coolant and belts have no problems. Units are 6,7,8 years running strong. The ones that didn’t do basic things have junk hanging on the side of the truck.

I have an electric unit. I like it quite well. Truth, it struggles when temps start hitting 115+ degrees. Never had a heating problem, even at negative temps. It does require some basic maintenance. Checking cables and clean terminals. keeping battery fluid levels up. Once a year check the refrigerant charge. The system has a fuel fired hydronic heat system, so the hoses to the cooling system need to be checked regularly. Good quality batteries will go about 4 years or so. Last set was about $900.00 for 4 batteries installed.

 

My truck had an idle free electric unit on it when I bought it ...the hvac part was ok especially the heat and it pumped hot coolant thru the engine .
It had alot of hours on it tho and was basically wore out so I went with a diesel carrier that I'm much happier with ....the idle free unit used very little fuel but the inverter on it sucked ...as said all have theyre strong and weak points .

 

An APU saves fuel and wear and tear on the engine. The fact that you will not be idling the truck will increase the engines longevity. They are expensive though, and requires the truck to be down usually 3 days for installation. It will take you longer to recoup the expence of the unit if you are only out a week. The longer you stay out the more you save

 

You guys forgetting that APU its not just for heat/cold.
With APU you can set up decent 1500+ watt power inverter , to run fridge
TV/ laptop at pretty much same time. That way you can forget about draining battery from your truck when its off
Unless of course you that type of person who like to live in a cave.

 

And a warm truck engine when its time to roll, as well as fully charged batteries resulting in longer battery life .

 

Not to hijack your thread but I saw multiple guys talk about a bunk heater...advise!

my truck has an APU, but it’s aftermarket, it doesn’t run the trucks heat like my old Pete used to. So I brought a small home heater unit. It pulls too much juice and instantly kills the power.

 

All the bunk heaters I ever had was under the bed and was basically a small burner that burned diesel and that heat was carried by the air circulation system into the cab. These things also got VERY hot.