In truck sleeping vs hotel

Zero Breeze Mark 2


I may have posted this thing before. I think I'm going to order one & give it a shot. I normally do the same as you at dark. Pre cool the truck as cold as I can, then run a just a fan all night with the window up to try & keep the humidity out. Out west, no humidity vents open windows cracked.

Anyway, I think pre cooling with the truck AC, then run the zero breeze AC might be ok.? Then just recharge the units batteries during the day while driving..

I hate to idle, but I idled 17hours, from 4:30pm till 9:30am in south GA last night.!! Ugg..

When you do idle, do you turn on the cruise & bump it to at least 1100rpm or so.? Might help if you have to do it again..

 

Yea we have spoken about the Zero Breeze. I've looked at that zero breeze and read the reviews. A lot of people are really unhappy with it. Most can't get a refund even though they say 30 day money back guarantee. A lot of the reviews are trying to cool off a car mid day at 100 degrees and it doesn't do much and will only run 3-5 hours on a charge. Maybe cooling off the truck first at sundown and then turning this thing on would give better results. I wouldn't buy their battery though, I'd get a solar generator like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0829KM77W/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_3?smid=A3H5DUG78CAIWF&psc=1 so it can power this AC for more than 3-5 hours and maybe also my fridge. Still, $950 for the zero breeze is pretty steep. That generator isn't cheap also at $1400. There is also a 2400w solar generator model for $1700 might be worth the upgrade. Gotta see if my truck can fully charge that generator during the day.

Yea on the odd occasion I have to idle for more than a half hour I bump up the rpms to 1100. The truck will regen automatically if I dont anyway. If I idle I'll have to start doing oil changes every 2 weeks/5k miles. Between the filters and oil I'll be spending double @ $500 a month + wear and tear and fuel. I'm terrified of the DEF system crapping out on me.

 

Check into Goodman A/C in Houston, you might be able to land a steady gig, A/C units tend to be bulky more than heavy.

 

I do both.. I sleep in my truck some nights but also stay in hotels a lot. I don't want to idle my truck which is the biggest reason I stay in hotels because it's simply too hot in the summer to stay in the truck with no AC.

I don't have a truck payment so it works for me but if I was paying $1k/month for a truck payment, then trailer payment and crazy insurance it wouldn't work.. but I just went out for 6 days. CFL to Shreveport then to NC then back to FL. Made $3,5k on that run spent $680 on fuel slept in Hotels for 4 nights which cost me $348. (I stay at specific hotel chains but I shop around for a good rate usually around $70ish)

That run cost me roughly $1k to make $3,5k before monthly expenses and that's with a 2 car trailer which I only hauled 5 cars the entire trip. 2 cars to Shreveport, 2 cars to NC then 1 car down to Jax then home. I only hauled 1 car down to Jax because I ended my trip on Sat and didn't have a load prebooked so I took what I could pick up and drop that day as I drove home.

Even staying at hotels I still pulled roughly $2,5k after trip expenses so to me it's worth it.

To me considering my expenses I consider hotels worthwhile most of the time but once I get north a bit and it's cooler at night I'll usually stay in the truck, but being I tend to run regional runs like I just described I usually end up in hotels more than I'd prefer but it still works financially for me at least due to lower operating expenses than most.

For the record, I'm close to putting a different truck on the road (f550) which will let me run a bigger trailer and do a 3 or 4 car trailer so profit will be going up with not a lot of extra expense added to my runs.

 

Give RTS fuel card a look. Some smaller chains we get darn near 30c off

 

I’d just look at a 2-axle tractor with a sleeper IMO rather than an F-550. (They actually make an F-600 now too with the same super duty cab but a higher GVWR). It will do everything better especially with having air brakes.

 

You can get into a 2 axle small sleeper for between 50 and 60 K low miles, and you have a truck that's going to last close to a million or so miles.

 

The bigger you get the less nimble you become. If you are gonna run a semi-truck, why run hotshot? Just run a full-size trailer and be big rig at that point. Personally, my F550 has the long frame so I'm putting a sleeper on it when I find the right one then I'm gonna either pick up a used electric APU or do a generator & AC unit.

 

Oh, if you already have the truck that makes sense. Size and weight wise there is not much difference between a 550 with a long frame on it and a 2-axle class 8. Those new Fords and Rams are capable but I’d rather have a proper big truck with larger bore motor, 10 speed Fuller transmission, heavy duty driveline and rear end, air brakes and a sleeper already on it. Seems like the value there is hard to beat. Plus they are easier to see out of