What is it about idling?
- Thread starter ATeam
- Start date
butterfly610
Veteran Expediter
Everytime we are trying to enjoy the peace and quiet of not idling, we too find someone parking next to us that HAS to idle constantly. It is quite annoying.
nightcreacher
Veteran Expediter
During my days as acompany driver,we had guys that ran their trucks all night to get the extra grren stamps,because they were burning more fuel,company paid for it,right.Now with the ponts you get for buying fuel,think maybe thats why sll the idlersI'm sitting 85 degrees,widows open and trucks on both sided of me are idleing.Yes its hot humid,but its what you can get use to.I can sleep in the heat of the day,but not cold of the night,Can never get warm enough.
No, not every one can get used to heat and humidity. Just as some cannot get used to cold. It is more than possible to stay warm in colder temps than it is to cool off when hot. I have never been able to handle heat or humidity. I use AC for that. As it gets cold I can add blankets, sleeping bags. I run heat enough to stop things from freezing in the truck.
No, not every one can get used to heat and humidity. Just as some cannot get used to cold. It is more than possible to stay warm in colder temps than it is to cool off when hot. I have never been able to handle heat or humidity. I use AC for that. As it gets cold I can add blankets, sleeping bags. I run heat enough to stop things from freezing in the truck.
We have a APU but do have to idle if we are running the microwave. Also if it gets too hot we idle to help out the APU. It cannot keep up if it gets too hot.
nightcreacher
Veteran Expediter
heat just woke me up.79 degrees ,humididity 100 % or at least thats what it feels like,started truck to get iot a little cooler,runnig it long enough to get back to sleep.For those that run 10 hours at a time,in my truck,that would be 10 gallons of fuel,and motel 6 is less than 10 gallons of fuel.Going back to sleep now,truck will stay cool for anothe r couple of hours,Volvo has great insulation package
Pretty much what I do. I have a Fantastic roof fan and two 12 volt fans that help get me through the night.
Where in the h**l is the shorepower in truckstops? I'm All wired and ready for it. Guess the downfall of Idleaie really put the skids on it.
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greg334
Veteran Expediter
This is one thing I don't get - the APU units on the market should actually have a better A/C system than most of the trucks on the road so handling the cooling load shouldn't be an issue.
My APU is 10,000BTU. It does NOT keep up when the temps are near or over 100 or if it is in the 90's with high humidity. The AC with the truck has a greater BTU out put. What I often do is run the big engine and AC to get the truck cool, then the APU is able to keep up for a few hours then I repeat the process.
Part of the problem is the poor placement of the AC vents. Another is the lack of insulation on the floor.
I would love to get a new APU, there are a few out there with 33,000 BTU's. That would really do it .
In old school I was taught never turn off a diesel engine...it is meant to run....it was thought the constant starting did more damage...diesel is designed to run....some old timers just can't sleep when the engine is off.....to hear a low purring well tune engine was music to their ears...
greg334
Veteran Expediter
Well OVM, that's was and still is a bunch of crap.
Layout, 10k BTU is a small system and with a 10 HP engine, you can get a lot more out of the system than 10k, like 33k. I think the old GM systems were about 30k and the newer ones are 20k and both consume less than 3 hp at most.
Messing around with a few APUs, they are poorly engineered and seem to be all the same.
As for insulation, the walls can be a bigger problem if you have not had yours refitted with new insulation. Many of these sleepers people have from the great manufacturer don't even approach what they should be in both quality and performance (anyone can build the sleeper) so I won't get into who they are and what I think of them.
Maybe read the sprinter insulation thread.
Layout, 10k BTU is a small system and with a 10 HP engine, you can get a lot more out of the system than 10k, like 33k. I think the old GM systems were about 30k and the newer ones are 20k and both consume less than 3 hp at most.
Messing around with a few APUs, they are poorly engineered and seem to be all the same.
As for insulation, the walls can be a bigger problem if you have not had yours refitted with new insulation. Many of these sleepers people have from the great manufacturer don't even approach what they should be in both quality and performance (anyone can build the sleeper) so I won't get into who they are and what I think of them.
Maybe read the sprinter insulation thread.
Crap to you maybe....but a lot of oldtimers lived by it....cold weather starting was deemed a bad thing....stress on the batteries, starting system...and back then there was no such thing as APU's.....a bunch of wussy drivers these days...
There is some insulation on the walls. You can feel the heat and cold coming up from the floor.
I was told that my main truck AC was 30,000BTU. My ProHeat is 10,000. There are some newer ones that are 33.
greg334
Veteran Expediter
Some?
Really?
There should be a crap load in any sleeper built after the 1960's. You will feel the extremes on the floor but it isn't the extremes that matter, it is the slow heat soaking that the walls have, Alumunim conducts heat/cold really well and the units I have worked on all have the same issues - not one is different - they didn't properly insulate any part of the sleeper. The newer ones have been a lot better but many are still using the same material that they should get away from - they need to use a composite.
Well that's kind of like paying for a 300 hp engine and getting a single cylinder Briggs engine in its place.
Upgrade it. There shouldn't be a reason why you could not have a good A/C tech put in a bigger compressor, evaporator and condenser to reach 20k or more. NOTHING on that APU is special - all use off the shelf parts. Crap you could do what I did, run off to the junkyard (pull your own one) and get all the parts you need to do it yourself.
You might be able to do it yourself, not me. I am about as good with tools as a frog is.
I would love to redue the sleeper. I keep spending all my extra money on AMU repairs, air leaks etc. They are becoming a real pain.
As to an upgrade, the engine has over 7000 hours on it. I assume it will last longer, it is maintained, but is it worth the cost on an old engine like that?
WHAT?? Joe work? get his hands dirty? He is white glove for reason ya know...
OH, The humanity!!!
