Sleeping in bunk during winter

Absolutely, co2 poisoning is no joke

 

That's right. A little open vent on this way pointing with the wind direction, the other vent is open into the wind. But not too much, preserves the heat inside the cab while sleeping.

I have always without fail had 4 body pillows as big as a human, insulated on top of a large double sleeping bag plus a few blankets below the body and one over the body because the metal under the matress tends to draw your body heat away should your heater quit in the night. It's like a freaking nest. It has saved my life a number of times in the older trucks when heater cores and hoses burst inside the cab.

 

Depending on where I am at I will open and put a box fan there. We had APU's also.

 

I always put the top bunk down when I sleep, seems to keep me warmer.. Or maybe I'm just crazy but when its folded up I always wake up cold

 

Anyone use cold weather sleeping bags? I tried one and it seemed effective, but I didn't wind up in super cold weather.

Also, how about sleeping with a cab heater? Your saving on fuel, but how long until the engine gets to cold?

 

I use cold weather bags rated to -20. Ive had too many winter emergencies where it was necessary to face the truck cab east, climb into the bag in the dead truck under a howling blizzard outside and rest until the sun came up enough to thaw the frost off the clothes and get going to a shop with a wood stove I can curl up to most the day while they fixed it.

Those days in the coal fields made out to be some of the very best days ever for socializing and so on.

 

I keep the windows closed. But I use Webasto bunk and engine heaters to keep me warm and start the truck. I also use synthetic oil to help ensure the engine will wind over.
If it's below -30C I leave the truck running.
I have slept as low as -27C with out using the bunk heater (it wouldn't fire up) between blankets and a decent sleeping bag, I was fine. The forecast was only for -18C.
The engine heaters work great. I started a truck once at -34C after sitting all weekend. After running the heater for two hours, the engine fired up immediately. Only issue was I still was using regular oil back then, so the lack of oil pressure shut it back down (only about 5 psi). I let it sit with the engine heater running for another 30 mins and tried again, it was okay then.

 

Edit....dur moment.

 

This last winter was the coldest for me. In the past I had the bunk heater, but it busted so I was using a space heater with the little honda generator which worked way better anyway. Well the generator crapped out so what I would do is run the truck red hot then shut her down and get under the queen comforter and queen blanket which are doubled up like a sleeping bag, it would be like a sleeping bag that is not zipped. Stay good all night. Getting up and out of there is thehard part, soooo cold