question on APUs

[CharlesD]

Hello there. I've been reading this forum for some time now and finally got around to registering. Anyway, I'm rather new to driving, been doing local and regional stuff for a little over a year, mostly courier stuff.

The company I'm with has a good amount of expedited freight and I've decided to go that route now and give up the local courier driving because I'm somewhat limited as to what I can earn doing that. My Ford E-350 already had a lot of miles on it when I got it and now it's just about on it's last legs, so I'm buying a new Sprinter 2500 this week. Since I'll be on the road a lot more, I've been considering the idea of putting an APU in so I don't have to idle all the time when I'm sleeping. I know in big trucks these things can save you quite a bit of money, but I would like to know how much money they can save in a Sprinter and how long it would take to pay for itself. Also, it seems that there are so many of them out there. Does anyone know which ones are the best, or if the more expensive ones are really worth the extra money? They don't look cheap, and I want to be sure it will be worth the money if I decide to fork out the extra expense right now.

 

[randb]

I have a Powerpac apu and am very happy with it. You are right, they can save a lot of money for a larger truck. They can also save you from a dead battery. However, they can be large and quite heavy. Go to a truck show and see many of them in one place. We were at the truckers jamboree at the I-80 truck stop July 12 and seen 4 apu vendors there. I can see where size and weight will be an issue for you. And they are pricey. Ours was around $7000, installed. Good luck.

 

[ebsprintin]

I installed the idlebuster on my 07 sprinter. Their model goes on the roof. Their website is at www.idlebuster.com APU's are expensive and heavy. And this one is LOUD--like a big truck reefer unit. They say the new model is a lot quieter (does me a lot of good). What you might consider doing is running a while without a unit and figure out what your requirements are going to be. Get an idea what your cargo and weight configuration is in the real operational world. Same with your idling and electrical usage. Yes there is a smaller percentage advantage in fuel economy in a cargo van, but there is also the reduced wear and tear on the engine.

I went with an apu because I'm a fairly heavy power consumer. But going with an apu uses up a lot of my weight capacity. I can haul 2000 lbs, but I must tightly manage my personal stuff. I'd like to have a couple heavy auxiliary batteries, but can't because of weight, unless I cut back on something else. So do a good audit and projection of your weight.

And in the case of the idlebuster which rides on the roof consider what it will do to your fuel economy on the road. I lost a very solid two mpg that will never be regained.

eb

 

[RLENT]

If you only need heat, you may just want to put in an air heater (Espar, Webasto, etc.) to heat the unit overnight - much less expensive than an APU.

And if your electrical needs are modest, consider some AGM batteries and an inverter.

Even with the two above it will probably be way less than an APU @ $7K

 

[CharlesD]

So, it's been a few days since I posted that question. In that time I have switched from local courier driving to expediting and I have purchased a new Sprinter 2500 170" wb extended. To say the least, it uses far less fuel than my Ford did and doesn't cost nearly as much to idle as the other van did. My main concern is avoiding a dead battery from keeping my fridge plugged in. I am not eating out but instead packing a large amount of food from home to do me until I get back. I can go a few hours at a time with the engine off without the fridge running down the battery, and even the other night when it was kind of warm where I was and I idled most of the night just to keep cool, I didn't burn that much fuel. I might consider some AGM batteries as have been suggested and only idle when I need to keep cool or warm. Based on my experience so far I don't think an APU would be very cost effective at the moment. Thanks for the input though.

 

[lostandfound]

we have a Thermo King on our truck it is supposed to be the mercedesof APU's or so i've been told by a few tech's unrelated to T/K all i can say it does it's job and doe's it well.

 

[RLENT]

If you go the AGM route there are a couple of very informative posts here on EO made by "Turtle" about his battery/inverter setup and installation .... well worth the read. Unfortunately I don't have a link to them handy ......

..... Ken ?