Battery life...

When I got new batteries I could do a 34 with no problem. When I had week batteries I could not do a 10 without needing a jump.
I ran the bunk heater, laptop to watch movies, and the 12v cooler.

That said if they have a problem with you idling make them buy you a hotel or install an APU. Or thell them to #### and go get a job that treats you like a human.

 

The condition of your batteries, how many you have, and their capacity are all factors in how long you can run stuff. You'll be the best one to know how long by turning on the key periodically and checking the voltage while you're running the stuff you want. If you run the batteries until they're almost dead, it wears them down quicker so they hold less with each time you charge it.

For the most part, 11.6 is a low battery, 12.8 is a charged battery. Keep it above 12.0 and it should last longer.

When I don't use my battery charger and generator, I can go 10 hours with the bunk heater and fridge and wake up around 11.9. It will be less when it's colder outside. I will usually run the truck right before I go to sleep to get the engine and coolant temperatures up and charge the batteries. Then in the morning the truck is easier to start.

 

One month in Swift I got a call for idle time. The manager was like "while you are at 57% idle you are not even in my top 10 list"
Let those two numbers sink in.... She had about 80 drivers and I wasn't in the top 10 at 57%....

And it's basically like a gas furnace in your house. It burns diesel in an open flame (in a fire box) and pushes air through it it heat up the air.

 

A new truck like that should have an alarm and a low battery shutoff that should protect you against a dead battery. Have you checked with fleet management to see if the truck is so equipped?

 

Well you need to know what the power consumption is of each device and add it all up, add at least 15% to that and then you have an idea of what you are doing to your batteries.

Your truck batteries are not deep cycle batteries where you can deplete them and then charge them up again over and over, you will ruin your bank of batteries by doing that.

So consumption is critical, knowing how to power-shed things to minimize your consumption is important and getting alternative power sources is a good idea.

 

You need to “talk to them” about why they don’t properly spec an OTR tractor and why you’ll be looking at other job options while you’re sweating in the sleeper this summer.

Most if not all newer trucks have battery drain protection circuitry. They will start shutting off non-critical circuits as the voltage drops to protect from getting into a situation where there is insufficient voltage to crank the engine.

 

4 battery trucks normally have no issue with 10 hrs in colder weather .. 3 battery trucks are really dependent upon battery condition ... I normally warmed up interior a bit extra at 1000 rpm before shutting down which helped insure batteries were fully charged