APU's And Inverters

What is the story about APU's , inverters, being able to idle etc. I believe it has to do with being able to run air conditioning etc while parked. Can someone give me the details. I think that might be good information when deciding what company to drive for. Thanks.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

APU's:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

An APU is a Auxillary Power Unit..meaning it has its own fuel source( they plumb them into the truck tank), and they provide heat and AC to the interior of the truck. They also provide 110 electric. Some companies do have them, but they are finding that they are hard to maintain. Alot of companies are not putting them on their new trucks, for that reason. There are other types of heating and cooling systems. Most companies have an "Idling Policy". It may be something you want to ask the recruiter. Inverters are units either plugged into the cigarette lighter (for the smaller inverters), and for the bigger units, they must be hard wired to the batteries on the truck. I'm not sure that trucking companies are providing them, since they reun directly off the batteries, and you run the risk of having dead batteries from to much inverter use. There are inverters that have a fail safe in them that will shut them off when the batteries get low. Again, you would have to ask the recruiter if these are allowed. I'm sure the little plug in ones are fine. But since the big ones have to be hard wired, you would have to check with the company prior to having that done to their truck.. Hope this helps you out some....

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Starcar nailed it. I can't really add much to that other than to say don't pick a company based on whether or not they have APU's in their trucks. A lot of people seem to be under the impression that companies policies or state laws prevent you from idling so without an APU you'll roast or freeze all the time. That's simply not true. Once in a great while you'll be in Southern California or someplace that has no-idling laws and you'll be a bit uncomfortable. But companies let you idle when you need to for power and comfort.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

APU's:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

I need to buy an inverter. The mechanics at the shop will install it for me. Any advice on what brand. I at least want a fridge, coffe and a george forman grill to run off of it. Thanks.

I don't know that the brand matters too much. Just make sure you get enough wattage. You're going to want at least 1500 watts to run that kinds of stuff, possibly more - around 2000.

I need to buy an inverter. The mechanics at the shop will install it for me. Any advice on what brand. I at least want a fridge, coffe and a george forman grill to run off of it. Thanks.

I was an apu mechanic at prime right after i got out of highschool, witch was only 3yrs ago, but the smallest we would install was 1500w and used several different brands. But you need to be sure and read online and ask other drivers about what inverter they are using and what they are running with them, because i found that some refrigerators would not run off/or flip the reset switch on certian inverters, the same would happen with microwaves. so see what works for other drivers before spending $$$ on a brand you've never heard of.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.