The life of a trucker can be quite lonely. While an APU can provide all the comforts of home when it comes to air conditioning, cell phone charging, and so much more, it cannot provide companionship. Many truckers and trucking companies opt to allow for team truck driving. This is when two drivers travel together and take turns behind the wheel. This process can actually lead to increased efficiency and a greater sense of workplace satisfaction. For the trucking company is allows the truck to keep moving while continuing to follow the hours of service regulations. The company ends up paying for the total miles driven and that sum is divided amongst the two drivers. Below are a few things to consider if you are considering team truck driving.  Can you trust your driving partner: There are many reasons why you will need to have complete trust in your driving partner. For one, you will need to be able to feel you can get restful sleep while they are driving and vice versa.  Comfortable sharing space: The cab of your truck and general living area offers very tight quarters. You will want to make sure that you can comfortably share a space with this other person. This is one of the main reasons that driving partners tend to be husband/wife teams or other combinations of family members.  Compromise: The two of you will need to decide how the day is divided up. For example, you will need to agree who drives first, for how long, how many stops you take and where, etc.  Benefit from company: Are you someone who feels they will benefit from company on the road or do you prefer a solo drive? Most people find that they will benefit from shared usage of their APU and drive in general.

When it comes to saving money on your fleet, every dollar counts these days. Rising diesel prices have dramatically impacted the way fleets operate and how efficiently owners can run their companies. More often than not these increases in fuel prices are forced onto the consumer directly. However, there are many ways that you can help to maximize your fuel efficiency in order to save as much money as possible. See below for some ways to help save as much as possible while operating your fleet during these difficult times. 1. Track Everything: It is difficult to improve your operating costs and expenses when you are not actively tracking your current spend. It is important to track every dollar spent and why. Make sure that your drivers also incorporate their idle time. 2. Reduce Idling: This is where APUs come to help save hundreds to thousands of dollars annually. If you are not currently using APUs it is time you took a look at our cost savings calculator on our website. You are missing out on significant savings. 3. Consider Load Placement: How you load your trailer impacts the fuel efficiency of every drive. Try to streamline the wind as much as possible for any exposed areas. Also, evenly distribute weight so that a smoother ride is possible. 4. Be Selective: Some routes just make more sense than others. Make sure you have reviewed each route so that you check for things like hilly terrain to be certain that the job is profitable. 5. Smooth Driver: Having a driver that drives “smoothly” can help save the most on gas usage. Things like anticipating traffic stops and accelerating slowly can help save money over time. The worst thing you can do is to constantly break or to break quickly as this kills your fuel efficiency.

The current state of the economy has taken its toll on many industries. The reason for this is likely tied up in the toll it has taken on fleets across the country. With the dramatic increases in inflation, fuel, equipment, and labor costs, companies are struggling to keep up. This is forcing a higher cost onto the consumer directly for just about every good and service across the board. This is unlikely to settle for quite some time. Manufacturer delays are so common now that fleets have been forced to focus on preventative maintenance as their top priority. Maintenance costs were down in the year 2020 due to the COVID19 pandemic. As things started reopening and customers started placing more orders, maintenance costs increased in 2021. Now that we are halfway through 2022 we are seeing even greater maintenance costs across the board. There has been a 20.4% increase in repair costs since the year 2020 just to 2022. This is more than a little inflation that companies could have anticipated. In order to help get in front of the small problems that could exist and in order to prevent them becoming large maintenance items, companies are now recommended to check their APUs more often than ever. APUs help reduce idling with can help to prevent large maintenance items in the long-run. Repairs have become so costly that they are now placed in order of priority. Repairs that are a safety concern are taken care of immediately. Drivers need to be kept safe while on the road at all times in order to protect themselves and others. Repairs that impact the reliability of the vehicle are next in line. Finally, convenience items are taken care of last. If you are worried about the ongoing maintenance of your fleet, we highly recommend taking the preventative maintenance approach.

This month the average diesel prices has risen to a record high of $5.473. This is a huge jump in prices just from last month when the national average was less than $4.00. These diesel increases are devastating for freight transportation companies that require fuel. Many diesel trucks are paying close to $2,000 every time they fill up. With prices this high many companies will be forced out of business as the cost to fill the tank has simply eaten away at any potential profits. While an APU can help reduce some costs it cannot entirely eliminate the need for diesel when it comes to freight. Nearly 70% of freight is transported via truck. What this means is that if the companies do survive these massive price increases the cost will be put off onto the consumer. Increasing diesel costs have already contributed to the massive increase in inflation over the last year. However, predictions are that consumers have not yet seen the worst of it as diesel is expected to keep rising. The initial increase in diesel prices were due to the ban on Russian oil. While the United States only receives a small percentage of its oil from Russia we are still trading in a Global Market. After a major crisis occurs, oil prices tend to shoot up but take a significant amount of time to come back down. Consumers can expect to pay more for nearly all commodities across the board. Everything from groceries, building supplies, and online ordering all come via trucks. If we cannot get the cost of diesel down soon not only will businesses go under but consumers will not be able to afford their current lifestyles. We hope APUs help offset some costs for freight trucks, but we know this high cost of diesel is simply not sustainable.  

Thermo King Parts are now synonymous in the world of APU’s as one of the top carriers and quality parts. But how did they come to be? Thermo King Corporation is an American Manufacturer of transport temperature control systems for trucks, trailers, and shipboard containers. They now develop TriPac hybrid auxiliary idle reduction and temperature management systems for truck cabs. This is likely how you know of them today. Headquartered in Minneapolis they are a proud American company. In the beginning Joe Numero partnered with engineer Fredrick Jones and formed what is now Thermo King. They developed a cooling unit for trucks that were carrying perishable food. They were able to patent this development in 1940. After that was established, they were then challenged to create a refrigerated truck and Thermo King was born. Refrigerated transport changed the way the entire food industry operated. Thermo King’s most recent invention is the development of the TriPac hybrid auxiliary idle reduction and temperature management system which eliminates the need for a truck engine to idle while still providing heating and cooling to the truck cab. Just like refrigerated trucks forever changed the food industry, the TriPac hybridauxillary idle reduction and temperature management system forever changed the trucking industry. If you are in need of Thermo King Parts, our APU Center would be happy to help you find exactly what it is you are looking for. We can help guide you to new products as well as help you restore any problematic existing parts that you may already have.