They also may offer a pre-wiring package for your desired aftermarket idle reduction solution.Īt Kenworth, for instance, “customers tell Kenworth which aftermarket APU they plan to purchase, and Kenworth provides electrical connections to a single point back of the sleeper for easy aftermarket installation,” says Erik Johnson, Kenworth on-highway marketing manager.įollowing are seven technologies that could help reduce idling in your fleet.Īutomatic idle shutdown could be considered the “first tier” of idle reduction. Today, truck manufacturers now offer APUs, cab heaters and other idle reduction technology installed in the factory, both their own brand as well as some third-party options. “It can mean extended engine life and better trade-in value.”Īt one time, idle reduction products were nearly all an aftermarket solution. Less idling also means less engine wear, he says. Payback periods can be relatively short on an APU – less than three years, based on fuel savings alone, says Dean Lande, APU business manager for Carrier Transicold, which offers a diesel-powered APU. Look at the efficiency of the product to really calculate how soon it will pay for itself.” “This means, don’t just look at the initial cost. “We always encourage fleets to look at the total cost of ownership of an idle reduction solution,” says Josh Lupu, marketing manager, Webasto Product North America. While there are a range of idle reduction solutions, a full-blown APU that can slash idling to next to zero is not cheap.
Depending on the application, the tradeoff in fuel savings might not be worth losing several hundred pounds of payload. “How many of us would want to live somewhere on the side of the road where you can’t watch TV, use your PlayStation or Skype with your family?” Not to mention being able to sleep comfortably in 90-degree weather.įor some fleets, it’s also a weight issue. “You’ve got to have this technology to recruit operators and drivers,” says Nick Forte, fleet maintenance administrator with Prime Inc. In order to provide that comfort without idling, you have to invest in auxiliary power, heating and cooling.
#VOLVO IDLE TIMER DRIVERS#
They want to make sure they provide the comfort that drivers expect.”
#VOLVO IDLE TIMER DRIVER#
“However, they are also very cognizant of driver turnover. “I think in general, fleets are very cognizant of idle time,” says Navistar’s Peterson. “I still see 50% of vehicles out there that still aren’t implementing idle reduction.” “Some small to medium size fleets just aren’t onboard yet with the entire idle reduction savings,” says John Dennehy, vice president of marketing at cab-heater supplier Espar Products.
However, there are still many fleets without idle reduction policies or technology. Higher fuel costs, stricter environmental and idling regulations, and new technology are driving more fleets to take multi-pronged approaches to saving fuel wasted while idling. One drawback to APUs is they require frame rail space and add extra weight. Carrier is just one of a number of companies offering auxiliary power units.
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