Should A New Driver Allow No APU/INVERTER to be a Deal Breaker?

Not to mention they had easy meat to eat.
Right there at their fingertips.

 

Apus are expensive and are high maintenance items. Over time they pay for themselveß many times over, but fitting out 300+ trucks with them is a BIG budget item. Inverters otoh, are cheap and easy to install. If a company won't pony up for a small thing like that which makes a HUGE impact on driver comfort and budget, it tells you a lot about how you can expect to be treated.

 

Plus there's a whole psychological effect thanks to those inverters. You need comfort. True, tons of drivers went without it, a lot still are, but it's mentally draining to be "at work" 24/7. Being able to unwind and watch TV, or play a video game (we have the technology for wifi, companies really need to start fighting the data limits and offering wifi to truckers), or even just be able to microwave some food or coffee, to have the feeling of "home" in the truck can make a HUGE difference in how you perform as a driver. Can you be physically awake, but it doesn't necessarily mean that you're there mentally.

 

Yes it would be a big expense if the APUs were retrofitted. However its not that large of a start up expense if the APU is part of the original truck order and is part of the loan. I also don't feel that an APU that is properly maintained is a high maintenance item. I had a shop foreman tell me once that over time on average they spent more money on brakes then they did their APUs. When you factor in both the savings you get from using less fuel when idling and less wear on the main engine over the life of the tractor an APU actually saves thousands of dollars. This is one reason I am so dumbfounded that all truck operators of all sizes are not using them today.

 

80 %Percent of these posts on this forum are whining, welcome to life. If you want it your way open up your own brokerage firm and your own trucking company.

 

use one big set 2/0 to the inverter, and 2 short jumpers to the other terminals, does great, is cheaper, fuse it at 250 near the battery just incase

 

Its strange that this thread bounces up on the same day I hear of a truck burning because of an improperly installed inverter. Destroyed the truck and the driver got some burns. Never forget Ohms law. You pull 5000 watts off of an inverter your pulling around 4 amps on the high side of the inverter, but over 400 amps on the battery side. 5000/12 even at 1000 watts your pulling over 80 amps at the battery. I am actually surprised more trucks today are not burning.

 

When my dad was growing up it was -10 avg temp in summer time, he had to walk uphill both ways carrying his little brothers and sisters on his back. Man up wussies

 

Only thing i can think of that will make trucking life fun and easy is one of those auto driving animated Peterbilts with A girlfriend that comes along with the truck + 3 dollars a mile

 

Look, in all seriousness, we were all once a beginner driver, and NONE OF us ever did such a stupid thing. This isnt an issue with proper training, this is pure & simple lack of conscious.