Case Study - Summit Trucking

Case Study - Summit Trucking, Inc.

Overview

Background

Polar Fox APU partnered with Summit Trucking, Inc. to test and refine the Polar Fox Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) on a large fleet that has been utilizing diesel APUs for many years. This collaboration aimed to gather comprehensive performance feedback and comparison data between diesel and electric APUs, thereby enhancing the Polar Fox APU system to better meet the needs of the trucking industry.

Key Initiatives

Deployment

Polar Fox APU equipped Summit Trucking's fleet with their advanced electric APUs to monitor performance under real-world conditions.

Performance Comparison

The collaboration focused on comparison between the long-established diesel APUs and the newly introduced electric APUs, evaluating reliablity.

Feedback Collection

Summit Trucking provided in-depth feedback based on their extensive experience with Polar Fox Electric APU.

Industry Representation

With Summit Trucking's large and diverse fleet, the feedback and data collected represented the broader needs and preferences of the trucking industry.

Benefits

Enhanced Product Development

The real-world testing and detailed feedback enabled Polar Fox APU to fine-tune their APU system, addressing specific needs and challenges faced by the trucking industry.

Performance Insights

The real-world testing and performance insights will guide Polar Fox APU future innovation and development.

Cost and Efficiency Data

Summit Trucking's operational data helped identify potential cost savings and efficiency gains with electric APUs, making a strong case for their adoption.

Industry-Wide Impact

The collaboration provided a blueprint for how electric APUs can be integrated into large fleets, setting a standard for other companies in the trucking industry.

Strategic Feedback Loop

Continuous feedback from Summit Trucking allowed for iterative improvements to the Polar Fox APU, ensuring it meets the evolving demands of the market.

Timeline & Feedback

Date: 4/26/2024
Driver Feedback:
" It was the first night I tired to use it in SE Arkansas, it had gotten up to about 80+ degrees during the day... Somehow the remote changed the reading from F to Celsius and I couldn't figure out how to flip it, so I just went with a Ceelsius temp of 21 and turned it on. No air was coming out of the driver's side port below the bed and it just didn't seems to be cooling off at all, so I just shut it off and said I would deal with it Saturday night. I was too tired to read the manual, but I knew both ports were blowing out cool and strong air at the shop."

Date: 4/27/2024
Driver Feedback:
" Parked up a new load at our terminal, made it to eastern Arkansas when I shut it down that evening... Again it got up into about 80 when I stopped... Raised the bed and found one of the air ports was disconnected, the plastic next was still clamped to the air duct hose. I just had to snap it into the unit good, probably wasn't when they swapped the units. Thru the manual I figured out how to change it to Fahrenheit and sync the remote to the control box. Set that baby to 66 degrees and the 2nd lowest fan speed, did not close any curtains in the truck... Woke up during the night and had to shut it off, the Idle Smart (which was left off) was showing the cabin temp at 64 and was 79 when I went to bed... It worked great!!!

Pros:
1. Cools great so far in mild temps
2. Can really crank out some air
3. Hardly any noise

Cons:
1. The remote and inside controller have strange icons for the functions
2. The manual sucks"

Date: 5/21/2024
Driver Feedback:
" Until the sun goes down it naturally needs assistance from the truck A/C system but that was to be expected... It's just great they can operate together unlike a traditional diesel APU"

Date: 5/21/2024
Fleet Manager Feedback:
"Driver is running the Polar Fox APU while driving to keep the bunk cool. And this truck's fuel economy is almost of the highest in the fleet"