Being Comfortable in Cold Weather

Summer is winding down and before you know it Winter will be here with cold weather.

Just when you think you are getting a break from having to run the air conditioner in your truck it will be time to begin running the heater.  

Some states are getting really tough with their idle laws and running your truck to keep cool or stay warm may be an issue you’ll need to address.  Here are a couple things to consider to help yourself.

For keeping yourself warm you may want to install thermal curtains in the cab and sleeper to keep the heat in and the cold out.  Putting a little more insulation in the cab and sleeper can’t hurt either.

Bunk heaters are also very popular and run on auxiliary power.  Using auxiliary power for heating in the Winter or cooling in the Summer saves on your fuel consumption and keeps you comfortable.  But we are talking Winter here and before going out and buying a heater, you’ll first need to decide how long you idle your truck engine to heat your cab or sleeper.  

There are two types of fuel-fired auxiliary heaters; coolant and air.  The diesel-fired coolant heater circulates truck engine coolant through a heat exchanger and helps reduce wear and tear on your truck engine.  Coolant heaters generally come in two different capacities:  light-duty and heavy-duty.  You will need to decide your heating needs depending on what part of the country you are running in the Winter months along with the heater’s capacity.  A general rule of thumb is when the outside temperature is 32 degrees, you’ll need 20 Btu’s for every cubic foot of space for a comfortable interior.  If you want things heated up quickly, you’ll want to consider a unit with a high Btu rating.

Diesel-fired air heaters draw air over a heat exchanger.  This method can preheat your cab or sleeper or provide supplemental heating when needed but NOT heat your engine block.  Air heaters burn from a half cup to full cup of fuel per hour of use and are good in cold weather but not extreme sub zero temperatures.

Heaters also have three types of controls: manual automatic timer or full-temperature.  A manual controller is just that, manual.  You control when the heater starts and stops.  The automatic timer enables you to warm up the truck and defrost windows all before you even open your cab door.  The full-temperature control is exclusive to air heaters and provides you with the greatest control over your cab and/or sleeper conditions.  You control the heaters’ fan speed and are able to regulate the temperature more accurately.  

Installation of an air heater is about 4 hours and a coolant heater is about 6 hours.  An authorized technician should also be used to avoid any warranty issues. 

So after all is said and done, you decide what is right for you and your budget. 

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