How to stay warm/coolat

Who said I can't idle my truck? Regardless of law my truck idles period! I don't carry a sleeping bag (although some drivers do because of the no idle laws) which may help them but my tractor idles when it's cold. I prefer warm weather to sleep in so summer time stip down kick the covers off open the windows and I'm good usually if not once again my truck's idling. I'll shut that truck off when the judge that enforces the fine on me turns his ac or heat off in his house and tries to sleep. I've never been ticketed over idling even in states that have anti idle laws. A simple way to get it through mr. dot's head is to ask him "would you rather write me a ticket and force me to shut my truck off or clean up an accident tomorrow because I didn't get any sleep and fell asleep at the wheel".

 

My company policy is if its below 15* outside, we have to idle. We dont have to worry about fuel being jelling and batteries not wanting to turn the engine over. Summer time, some window screens and a good fan go a long ways! I have an electric blanket and a warm comforter in here also. Depending on the kind of truck, get it nice and warm before going to bed and if its insulated well, its stays good for a while.

 

if your batteries are good should run all night

 

The fan doesn't take any power really. As for the blanket, it seems like it.cycles. warms up and them cuts out after it gets.warm. either that or my truck has a low voltage cutoff. A good pair of sweatpants or thermal underwear and sweatshirt or thermal top help tons also. Summer time I wear gym shorts and thats it.being very well hydrated in the summer helps keep your body cooler also.

 

A small gas generator and a portable heater and ac unit works a treat, and require no permanent mounting. Just a suggestion

Martin

 

You can pretty well judge a company on how they treat drivers in relation to driver comfort. With over 3 million trucks out there you will see all kinds of variables from zero idle to an APU, inverter and a bunk heater. Those should be some of the questions you ask when shopping for a company. The beauty of trucking with a good record is you can pick where you want to work and not just settle for the first opportunity that comes along. New drivers and bad drivers can't be so choosy. I wouldn't work for any company that didn't have an APU and bunk heater. Not only does an APU pay for themselves in about a year, they give a driver comfort and an endless power supply. I don't understand why all trucks don't have them. Either the company can't obtain financing or doesn't have the ability to save 10 grand up. They make good business sense because year 2 on up is $$$ saved. ThermoKing TriPac APU's will last a good 7-10 years on up and are transferable if you buy another truck. My last APU had over 15,000 hours on it and still ran strong.

Companies can control the engine idle through the trucks ECM with a laptop and special software. The options give them choices of letting the truck run continuously or a set amount of time or temperature. A good majority of trucks have bunk heaters which are diesel fired and tapped into the trucks fuel tanks. They will run long enough for your 10 hour break without draining the batteries.

Yes it does but you either idle or an APU charges the batteries at the same time. Running an inverter while a truck is shut down will give you limited usage depending on the appliance. A microwave or heater can run the batteries down in an hour or two while a TV can run 10 hours. The truck and most inverters have low voltage shut downs which will kick when the batteries get down to about 11V. Usually that's just enough to get the truck started if you do't have issues like cold weather.

If you work for one of these bad companies then you just resort to camping out methods with warm clothing and bedding. They make sleeping bags with various ratings even down to subzero. Only a foolish company would shut down a diesel truck below freezing with no block heater at a minimum. You are just asking for service calls.

Summer is another issue. Staying cool with no AC usually means finding a shade tree to park under. They make custom made screens for the windows. But this is pre-1990 technology. Times are different now.

It doesn't matter if you can idle all the time. You always prepare for the worse in the winter. You don't know if you will get stuck in a snow storm and have fuel or engine issues. Always carry a 3 day food and water supply in bad weather. Most places can get dug out in 3 days.

Do your homework and find a good company.