APU Units
Topic 18143 | Page 1
APU is an Auxiliary Power Unit but as for an explanation of it . . . I know it powers other gadgets you may need/want in your truck instead of having to plug into a 12v power supply. Without it on your truck you will have to rely on 12v only gadgets.
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.
A bit more info:
What is an APU on a semi truck? The most common APU for a commercial truck is a small diesel engine with its own cooling system, heating system, generator or alternator system with or without inverter, and air conditioning compressor, housed in an enclosure and mounted to one of the frame rails of a semi-truck.
In a nutshell. It provides heating and cooling without running the Truck engine. Also, provides 120 volts of AC power. Just like the electricity in your house
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.
Dictionary help:
Many words automatically get a tiny book icon next to them. Touch the icon, and a definition of up.
APU , DM , DOT , tandems and more get these.
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Tandems:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Tandem:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.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.
OK, singular tandem?
Tandem:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
A bit more info:
What is an APU on a semi truck? The most common APU for a commercial truck is a small diesel engine with its own cooling system, heating system, generator or alternator system with or without inverter, and air conditioning compressor, housed in an enclosure and mounted to one of the frame rails of a semi-truck.
In a nutshell. It provides heating and cooling without running the Truck engine. Also, provides 120 volts of AC power. Just like the electricity in your house
Most APU's themselves don't provide 120V, but will power a hefty inverter. The alternator in an APU is similar to the one in the truck, Tri-Pacs have a 65 amp alternator.
https://na.thermoking.com/content/dam/tki-na/pdf/brochures/apu/55719_TriPac_Evolution_Brochure.pdf
The object of an APU - is to keep you from having to idle. APU's use about 1/10th of a gallon an hour - versus idling burns about a gallon. Saves the company 1,000's of gallons a year in fuel costs, plus the maintenance of keeping a truck engine running that many more hours.
Many states have NO IDLE laws - even with "Clean Idle" engines. APU allows you to have heat & A/C, Power an Inverter and keep the trucks batteries charged.
Thermo King discusses Auxiliary Power Units
Rick
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.
Just to put it out there. There are APUs and EPUs. An APU (Auxillary Power Unit) as already touched on is a small diesel generator. An EPU (Electrical Power Unit) is an oversized battery pack. Both perform the same function. They both provide power for recharging truck batteries, running an electrical heater/Air Conditioning pallet, and sustaining current electrical requirements while the truck is shut off.
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.
APUs:
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.
EPU:
Electric Auxiliary Power Units
Electric APUs have started gaining acceptance. These electric APUs use battery packs instead of the diesel engine on traditional APUs as a source of power. The APU's battery pack is charged when the truck is in motion. When the truck is idle, the stored energy in the battery pack is then used to power an air conditioner, heater, and other devices
Epus:
Electric Auxiliary Power Units
Electric APUs have started gaining acceptance. These electric APUs use battery packs instead of the diesel engine on traditional APUs as a source of power. The APU's battery pack is charged when the truck is in motion. When the truck is idle, the stored energy in the battery pack is then used to power an air conditioner, heater, and other devices
In woman terms...the appliances on the truck would drain the truck batteries while parked. So the APU allows you to have everything working and still be able to start the truck in the morning.
I never cared about the "guy" info like volts and amps inverters etc. No APU and your heater/ac refrigerator and TV etc would render your truck battery dead.
So just imagine how cool it would have been to have an APU for cars that kicked on when we left the lights on. (Yeah I'm showing my age. Back in the day we actually had to turn our lights on and off instead of the automatic one today).
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
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.
Rainy thinking she is old...
Yeah I'm showing my age. Back in the day we actually had to turn our lights on and off instead of the automatic one today
Good Grief...is that what you are showing us? Your age? Okay.
I got false teeth older than you (and so does Tractor, but his are carved out of wood). At least you didn't have to crank your car to get it started like Errol and I used to. LOL!
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
I got false teeth older than you (and so does Tractor, but his are carved out of wood). At least you didn't have to crank your car to get it started like Errol and I used to. LOL!
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What exactly is an APU unit and what's the difference between a truck with APU unit vs one without one?
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.