Mack Trucks will offer a factory-installed electric Auxiliary Power Unit (eAPU) for its 70-in. Mack Anthem sleeper models. The Idle Free Series 5000 eAPU offers customers increased air cooling capacity, reduced idling and simplified maintenance, the company says. The Idle Free eAPU features a 10,000 BTU compressor and three-speed evaporator fan to direct the airflow to the sleeper without ductwork, allowing the driver to adjust temperature and fan speed from the control panel located on the evaporator in the bunk. Mack made the announcement during the American Trucking Associations Management Conference and Exhibition at the Music Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
The system can be retrofitted with an automatic start-stop kit which allows the truck to automatically idle to recharge the batteries, turning the engine off when they are fully charged. The Idle Free eAPU option is installed at Lehigh Valley Operations, Macungie, Pennsylvania, where all Mack Class 8 vehicles for North America and export are assembled.
The Anthem is spec’d with the 13-liter Mack MP8HE+ efficiency package, which includes the Mack MP8 engine, Mack mDRIVE automated manual transmission, Mack Predictive Cruise and multiple aerodynamic upgrades.
When compared with the baseline Anthem model, customers can see up to a 13% fuel efficiency improvement with the MP8HE+ package, the company says. Mack’s revised MP8HE engine, which utilizes Mack Energy Recovery Technology, is instrumental in the fuel efficiency gains realized in the HE+ efficiency package. Energy Recovery Technology captures waste energy from the engine exhaust and converts it back to mechanical energy, which is then delivered to the engine crankshaft for increased torque, Mack says. A redesigned wave piston to better distribute more evenly the air-fuel mixture within the cylinder burns fuel more consistently and completely than other piston designs. Increasing the MP8HE’s compression ratio to 18:1, and improvements to the wastegate and turbocharger also contributed to the increased fuel efficiency.
The Idle Free eAPU will be available for order in Q2 2022.
