How Do You Keep Cool?

I just spent 3 days in Washington DC with the heat index being between 105-110 and that is what inspires this question.

My company and of course the park police don't allow idling in DC. However, to an extent, in those temps my company kinda overlooks things. To an extent. And the park police, if you don't take advantage, don't say a lot to a driver.

Just about every site I have visited talks about not being able to idle your truck. Mostly due to local laws, but also due to a company's policy. And I totally understand the cost and all that.

I have also read where some companies provide sleeper heaters for cold weather.

My question is this: How in the world do you stay comfortable in the cab/sleeper in hot weather if your truck doesn't have an APU or you can't idle?

I mean in the middle of the summer in places like AZ, NM, OK, etc, the outside temps are well in the 100 degree range. The cab/sleeper would have to get over 120 degrees if you were shutdown in the middle of the day waiting to be loaded or trying to sleep because you drove all night.

How do you survive? How do you even sleep in those conditions?

This might be an issue of which company I lean toward for my training and to work for.

Thanks, Joe.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Thats a great question, and I myself would like to hear what others have to say. I am attempting to start a career in the trucking world and want to absorb as much info as possible. Thanks Joe...

Great subject. I would also like to hear what current drivers have to say. I am going with Roehl and not sure about company policy.

The idling thing is different from company to company....many understand when its to hot to rest comfortably. And that is as it should be. We bought screens to fit our windows, and a 12 volt fan to move the air. We tried to park clear out away from everyone so we could get any breeze, if there was one. Being O/O's the money for idling fuel came right out of OUR pocket. But we did do a fair amount of idling. I like the heat, and 85 is real comfy for me, its the cold that I can't deal with...makes me creak. But TSB has asthma, so he can't do the heat.... The APU's have proven to be expensive in the repair zone, and they need regular maint. just like any other engine. Companies are pulling them and not buying replacements... All I can tell you is to try and pick a company that has some sort of auxiliary heating/cooling, and go with them...

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

APU's:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Great subject. I would also like to hear what current drivers have to say. I am going with Roehl and not sure about company policy.

I'm with Roehl and most of our trucks have an EPU or APU so you don't have to idol. They are a bit more loose with the policy in temps like that. I have an Kenworth that doesn't have either an EPU or APU, so I have to idol to keep cool.

OOS:

When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

EPU:

Electric Auxiliary Power Units

Electric APUs have started gaining acceptance. These electric APUs use battery packs instead of the diesel engine on traditional APUs as a source of power. The APU's battery pack is charged when the truck is in motion. When the truck is idle, the stored energy in the battery pack is then used to power an air conditioner, heater, and other devices

Companies will allow you to idle when necessary or they will have APU's.

If a company doesn't have APU's , which most don't, they'll have idling policies of some sort that will account for more extreme temperatures. They'll let you idle a certain percentage of the time. What they worry about is drivers idling the trucks when they're not even inside them. But they know you have to sleep in extreme temperatures.

Don't worry about this situation a bit. There aren't any drivers out there sweating or freezing to death unless they're choosing to do so. In a very rare instance I have to go against what Starcar said - do not pick a company based upon their idling policy or whether or not they have APU's. You're going to be able to idle when necessary except maybe in Southern California where they're extremely strict about it. Otherwise, you're going to be fine.

Remember, trucking is highly competitive and every company out there is always begging for drivers. If certain companies forced their drivers to freeze or roast in extreme temperatures, they wouldn't have any drivers around to haul their freight. So don't worry about this situation - you'll be able to work it out just fine.

OOS:

When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

APU's:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Thanks Brett. That helps tons. I can't praise your site and all the help it has been so far. I have never found any site even close to this one. Wish I have found it sooner.

Keep it safe out there, Joe S.

Glad you like the site! And better late than never. Think of how many poor saps got their career started with nothing but the garbage they read on TheTruckersReport! Can you imagine???

I don't even want to imagine. I might meet some of them on the road out there some day.

I have been to that site. Didn't stay long. I won't say it was all bad, but you just didn't know what to believe or not believe.

Hands down, no question, this site is the top of the list.

Even being in the motor coach business, I have learned things about trucking just by reading even if I didn't want to go into trucking.

Thanks again, Keep it safe out there, Joe S.