The Versatile Rice Cooker - A Trucker's Best Cooking Tool?

The idea of APU vs no APU.

There are companies out here that say their trucks have APU when in actuality all they are are battery operated heating and cooling systems.

Don't get me wrong. That is what is in my truck and I am happy that I have that for heat and cooling. But, while they call it an APU, they are not. I am very limited on what power output I have.

Even with using 12V appliances, I have to be careful on which ones I use. There are 12V products out there that use a higher wattage than I am comfortable with plugging into a "cigarette outlet". Which I was surprised when I looked into getting things for my truck. I thought since it was 12V, there wouldn't be any issue. I was wrong.

Anytime you pickup an "appliance" for your truck, always read the power requirements.

APU's are "Auxiliary Power Units". Meaning, they have/provide their own self contained power. They might operate with fuel from another source, but other than that they have no connection to anything to help it work.

They also provide output power. Some provide 12V and 110V. Others provide only 110V output. The units that are called APU but run off of battery power don't have any kind of output power. At least the ones in our trucks don't.

In saying that. You have to be careful which APU your truck has. If it is an actual APU, then you shouldn't have any problem with power needs. With in reason. Again, there is a "but" to that.

Even if your truck has an actual APU or you have a high wattage inverter, you still have to be careful in how you use it. Even if you have a 1500 Watt inverter, you don't want to use more than one high wattage appliance at a time. You don't want to be cooking with a microwave at the same time you have an electric skillet and a coffee maker working. (I have seen that happen.)

While a truck is your/our home away from home, it doesn't have a drop from the power company hooked to it for unlimited power usage.

Keep it safe out here, the life you save might be your own. Joe S.

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.