how to stay warm when one can't idle?

LOFT is the answer and you don't need to drain electricity for an electric blanket. By "loft" I mean the thickness of insulation from your comforter, blankets, or sleeping bag. If you go to a store like The North Face (pricey, but with very knowledgable staff) they can run you through the parameters of what you are looking for. Most sleeping bags these days are "rated" for a comfort zone of temperatures.

Synthetic insulation sleeping bags or comforters have a narrow range of comfort. Down comforters or sleeping bags have a much wider range of comfort (wider range of temperatures at which you feel comfortable) but are harder to clean.

With a good sleeping bag of adequate temperature rating you can sleep comfortably in very cold temperatures. I designed a custom bag for climbing Mt. McKinley (Denali) that was comfortable down to -40ºF. By -45ºF I had to add additional clothes inside the bag to endure the night. For that climb we were product testing and used a minimum registering thermometer inside the tent to note when we felt cold. That was pretty ###### cold. Our breath froze in crystals that hung down 2-4" from the tent walls and in the morning we would shake the tent, then take a whisk broom to sweep away the "snow" before lighting the stove and starting to melt snow for the morning meal.

Bottom line is that with proper insulation you can be comfortable in most anything that a trucker might encounter. I'd have given my left family jewel to be in a sleeper berth when I was enduring -45ºF that last night before the summit.

By the way, that sleeping bag I used on McKinley was high quality goose down with a Goretex shell and 10" of loft (thickness). It's the loft (thickness) that counts.

 

Aside from getting a nice sleeping bag like other people said, I would idle the truck. I'm gonna be comfortable when I rest. It's bad enough that we have enough distractions while we are trying to sleep, lot lizards, loud reefers, other trucks idling, etc. I've never worked for a company that would not let me idle the truck.

 

Not sure if its been posted but there are low watt bunk warmers that plug into your CIG lighter and will warm your bed up pretty well.

I use one of those and really thick blankets and make it most nights. I also have a robbers mask that I wear. Nice and thick and it keeps my face warm.

With the bunk warmer, turn it on an hour or so before you plan on stopping and your bed will be nice and toasty. Never had issues with battery drain either.

 

get her as your girlfriend and sleep next to her in the bunk.. you won't need an esbar heater anymore.

 

fat isnt warm, its cold as no blood gets to it.

 

Lots of blankets and warm clothes. Although I have an APU it is always braking so I plug in an electric blanket into the inverter to stay warm.

 

Good heavens, then you risk an "overweight " fine. I'm sorry, this is plum sad, I don't recognize anything here, poor thing.

 

You ain't right. Not at all!!!!