APU or Generator

[Rawze]

An APU is flat out an expense of luxury. I have an APU on my truck...

If you have a lot of "sitting time" in your truck because your an OTR solo driver who stays out for long periods,... Definitely worth the investment. Having one is like having a home with a central A/C and power vs living in a shack. The only question is to buy an actual APU made for a truck or to use a generator and portable A/C, etc. Both work, it is just a matter of spending more money on it or not.

Team drivers, or anything less than something you have to use daily, it will take 5+ years or more just to break even in costs vs idling. By then, the unit is ready for an inframe and lots of parts like alternators and A/C compressors + other things to keep it going only to learn that in some states it may no longer be compliant.

- There are alternatives to an APU. Like mentioned, custom engine tuning that reduces fuel costs at idle. It is not too difficult to adjust an ISX to go form 40+ milligrams per stroke in fuel consumption at idle all the way down to 12 or 14 milligrams per stroke. When this is done, it is very competitive to an APU in fuel costs when considering all things. This is done by advancing the injection timing at idle + relaxing the exhaust requirements. Doing this is not legal in some countries, god forbid someone wants to consume 1/3 the fuel at idle,... that would be bad for the environment eh?


The other alternative is to use a generator and portable A/C. Yes it may be gasoline but i can assure you that long term it is not any more headache than having an actual APU because all of the truck APU's are problematic and need constant maintenance in other ways. The generator idea is the most cost effective solution of them all. Something wears out you simply replace that part of it instead of the whole thing.


That is just my own thoughts on it, no one has to agree.