Talked to a Crete driver about his truck..

I am no APU designer, but I don't think it could run the batteries down if it's installed properly. They have alternators that keep everything charged.

 

I have a 2010 Prostar International with Crete, and while I can't speak about the first ones, mine has 8 batteries (deep cycle). It has an Espar heater and a Bergstrom A/C. It will heat or cool from 10 to 14 hours if you preheat or precool the cab before starting the no idle heat or A/C. It may get worse as batteries age. When battery voltage drops below 11.7 volts, it will disconnect to save the starting batteries. Batteries will recharge in 4 hrs idling or 2 hrs driving. The kicker is the truck will only idle if the temperature is below 5 or over 85. Crete has no concern for driver comfort or physical well being.

 

Oh one more thing, mine has as a 350amp alternator/

 

The Espar doesn't keep you warm?

I need to look up the brand of A/C.

 

APU probably isn't the term you need here LaPurr. APU is a little genset that burns fuel. Keeps the batteries charged etc.

Can you run a microwave or fridge in the new Internationals?

 

You are correct, it is not an apu, only a no idle heat and a/c system.
Haven't had it long enough yet to see how the a/c works, but the heater works great. I have to keep it turned down about half way.
Truck has a plug for 12v imitation refrigerator, but you are out of luck as far as a microwave. Unless you get one of the older trucks that has a real APU.

 

Our trucks shut down after 5 min, we have an apu that needs to run for the ac and it charges the batteries, the espar runs great never a prob and plenty hot even when it's close to -15F without wind. Have a regular fridge thanks to the apu. our set-up, in my mind is pretty darn good but then again our company whants they drivers comfortable. They have a VERY low turn around. I'm home every second night and weekends unless there is a load that really needs to get out. If you are at the bottom of the list and no one wants it and it comes to you you are pretty much obligated to go. But thats part of the gig when you are a new driver! They pay well above avg. i do anywhere from 2000 to 3000 miles a week, with 3 months experience, never missed an appointment yet no fender bender no issues at all, and i get .415 cents per mile (CDN $, canadian driver running northeast us)(Drops, picks, switches, boarder crossing paid obviously, wait times after 4 hours paid by the hour and inspections at the boarder paid)and a 2007 freight shaker century, trucks are leased every 4 years, so new one every 4 years. They treat their drivers awsome, you hate your seat, really not comfortable, there will be a new one waiting in the shop for you when you get back from your run, matress sucks springs comming through? No prob another one will be ordered right away no lies. I guess how your company rig is set up depends on how much the company thinks it's stuff through, then again this company has been around since 1923 and still owned and operated by the family 3rd gen. now. Proper employee value from big man is a must to be happy at what your doing. But that Crete truck would blow, honestly i would probably quit. Gotta be comfertable when driving your rig all the time, if you are cursing it all the time then thats one long week, month,.........Company's that don;t think about their drivers really blow and there are too many of them around, let's face it the company might deal with the loads and all, but the driver is THE guy moving that freight!

 

Canadian Ay? What company is that?

Maybe I need to "defect" to Canada?" Too bad companies here in the U.S. don't concentrate on retaining drivers. The technology is there, and it is cost effective.

 

I have a new 2010 International, and while there are a few things I don't like about it, all-in-all it's not a bad truck... it's just different.

First, it has the Bergstrom A/C and the Espar heater. The Espar heater will roast you out of the truck - it's very effective. Also, the Espar has a way that it will pre-heat the engine on cold winter mornings. You get up, get dressed, and before you go into the truckstop for breakfast, you hit a switch on the dash. In about 45 minutes, the engine temperature will be warm - not operating temperature, but probably about 70-80 degrees, which makes winter starting a whole lot easier, not to mention less stressful on the engine.

How effective the A/C is, I don't know. I'll know more this summer after I start using it.

The only problem I've had with the batteries and re-charging them was about two weeks ago. I got snowed in in Carlin, Nevada, and had to wait out a winter storm. The batteries won't drain down enough to not allow the truck to start, what they do is shut down all the other electrics so that there is enough power to start the truck. I'd run the batteries down like I'm supposed to, but since I was snowed in, I had no way to drive to re-charge them. What I ended up doing, is starting the truck and letting it idle - every 3-4 minutes I'd have to "blip" the throttle to get the RPM over 1000 to keep it idling. After watching "Casino Royale" and "Star Trek" on my TV/DVD while idling the truck - the batteries were re-charged enough to allow another day of use.

I've driven Fruitliner Century's since 1996, and the International is... well... it's different. I'm not sure if it's the Bridgestone tires, or the additional weight of the battery pack, but it handles differently than the Fruitliner. I've logged over 1.5 million in Century's, and about .5 million in FLD's before that - I knew exactly how a Fruitliner handled, the way they handle in the rain or on ice, they way they lean in a turn, the way they "feel" as you drive down the road. The International handles differently, and while I know I'll eventually get more comfortable with it, for now... it's a little spooky.

The airbag on the driver's seat blew out at Thanksgiving (which I think is God's way of telling me I need to go on a diet... ), and the overhead cab light wasn't installed correctly from the factory and had to be replaced. Other than that, in the first 18K miles all has been okay.

On the negative side --

They all have the Meritor/Webco Collision Safety System with Adaptive Cruise Control. Without going into a long explaination, this system monitors the distance between you and the vehicle in front of you. If it senses you're getting too close, it will alert you, and if need be, it will automatically slow the truck to increase the distance, or reduce the severity of impact.

It's aggravating in heavy traffic (think: Los Angeles AM rush hour), and the constant beeping of the alert system is annoying. But, the number of rear-end accidents is down because of this system, so I guess it's here to stay.