Do you guys have any suggestions on how to heat the interior of my rig during extreme cold? I don't have the ability to plug the block heater in at work. It seems to take about 5 minute warm up and 5 mile road trip to warm the cab up to comfortable. I thought about buying a 120' cord to plug in the block heater. Then the cab doesn't take as long to heat up. We usually don't get this cold this early and usually not for this long. The temps have been dropping to the single digits and less and not getting higher than freezing during the daytime. All the idle time is killing my fuel mileage. What really stinks is by the time the cab gets warm I am only a mile or two from home. I don't live far from work. As I am writing this the temp is 7 degrees. I do plug it in at home. Iit always starts within the first crank plugged in or not.

 

JC Whitney and like that have a 12 volt plug in heater. I had to use one a couple of (lots) years back when I didn't have the $$$ to fix the heater core or buy a different vehicle. It was able to keep the inside of the car toasty in the upstate NY winters by itself. It won't help with the block but at least you'll be warm and if you don't permenantly mount it you can use it as a defroster or hair dryer

 

I've found the only way to warm the engine enough to get heat out is to drive it. On a really cold day, idling will do little to warm it. You could look into an Espar heater but they are quite expensive, installed. A cheaper solution might be winter fronts, or even cardboard infront of the radiator. I use an interstate to drive to and from work. I have no problem getting up to operating temperature even if it's -15. But as soon as I leave the interstate and get onto local roads, my temp guage will drop as the heat is sucked out of the engine. The engine is a massive piece of iron. It takes a lot of heat to bring it up to temperature, and all that surface area makes for a good heat sink.

 

I've found on even the coldest of morning I can get heat in the cab by about 5 mins. It's really simple...

Turn on your jake!

The pyro jumps from about 200*F to about 400-450*F!!! In about 5 mins I see the ice on the windshield melting and its time to leave...

If its plugged in I don't have a problem with cold cabs... It parked in my garage...

 

There are always tools like wabasco heaters and such, there are small diesel based heaters that run on your water lines and will keep and engine right up to operating temps if you so decide, the truckers and RV's with diesels use them up here all the time. They can even provide additional heat if you so decide.

 

A canvas tarp hung in front of the radiator inside the hood, high idle at 15-1600 rpm after heat grid cycles, turn heater control to Hot but leave fan on low until you are driving, remove the fan for winter, turn on exhaust brake(B5.9 don't have Jacobs compression brakes), enable cold idle system and #1 be patient. Reality is our over efficient diesels are that way and therefore don't create a lot of heat at dead idle without help unlike gas engines. Patience and planning in the winter, pre-warming times are increased with fuel milage comprimised however a scored cylinder will cost a lot more than a few gallons of fuel. We are constantly pushed to reduce idling and do cold warm ups driving increasing the possibility of a scored liner combined with decreased lubricity of low sulphur fuel and cold oil in the engine. 10 minutes before leaving work start your truck and leave it running with doors locked and second set of keys in pocket. Set heater to Max A/C which only cycles cab air as it warms, idle truck up to 12-1500 rpm which also brings oil flow from pump up to operating pressures and starts to cycle warm fuel back to tank through engine. Increased fuel consumption is inevitable but so is engine life, price of owning a diesel in cold weather. Too many people have gasser habits and no patience as modern life has made every move an emergency act and must be done right away. Warm up truck and enjoy the drive home comfortably without 9 layers of bulky clothes hindering your driving in the case of evasive actions and frosty windows. Turn down the heater fan to #1 or #2 after highway driving to conserve heat in engine and cab (it acts as a radiator) and tarp in front helps keep the firewall warm on the highway increasing cab warmth. I am sure there will be opposing opinions but 28 years of diesels and never calfed an engine yet in any weather including -55 idling all night for 4-5 months. PS throw Dodge operators manual in garbage they did not build the diesel engine and I have lived in the cold longer than their engineers have. PK

 

P Kennedy gives good advice. Patientce.

One trick I have found to get engine temps up quicker is to leave the heat turned off until the thermostat opens. Yeah it stinks but I would rather have the thermostat open sooner than have a heated cab sooner. Once it opens give the heat the goods.

An exhaust brake works waaaaay better than high idle, but the old tried and true stick on the throttle is better than nothing.

Super quick heating up comes from the e brake and high idle at the same time. YIKES.

It is a given that a diesel in colder climates requires more attention and is a pain. Plain and simple. You have to realize that going into it. Cant fire and go like a gasser

 

If you put the heater contol on Hi-air cond. it only circulates inside air,doesnt draw any air from outside,be nice if one could shut off the incomming outside air regardless of the heater settings, then only inside heated air would pass thru the heater core, the way it is now when on hi-air cond. it dont blow now heat on the floor, just out the dash vents and defroster outlets,I pull the relay for the air-cond.,
in the wintertime so the compresser dont kick in, also run engine fanless.

 

You can not run the heater without outside air coming in as the moisture level of the cab would remain in a constant state of fogged windows. Sorry to pop another bubble stinkin humans release moisture all the time, they breath and exhale warm air. Want your truck warmer and no foggy windows quit breathing. The A/C must be on Max A/C to recirculate and at a certain temperature the compressor does not kick in anyways. PK

 

I'll try the A/C trick. I also dug out my 100' extension cord and ran it to the building. I'll do that for the rest of the week. Next week I start day shift again.

 

if you are going to run a cord to your truck get one you can also plug a heater into I have a $15 electric heater in the truck for just such a situation my windows are always clear and it is 80 in the truck when I get in.

 

My truck had been sitting for a couple of hours now. It had cooled to well below 140. So I tried the A/C on max and the heater selector on full hot. Within a half a mile there was warm air blowing on my face. That was nice.

 

warm up the cigarette lighter and wave it around a few times

 

Smart A--!!!!!!
I suppose I could light a fire and open the rear slider for ventilation too!!!

 

Remember, too a quad cab takes alot more time to heat up. I was jealous of dads old reg. cab-- heat real fast- just a couple miles and toasty, as is my work truck. now he has a QC- ha ha.

PS-- the AC wont turn on(shouldnt) below 35-40* ambient. It definately wont (again, SHOULDNT) run much below 35* in the evap. core, as that would lead to core freeze up and AC malfuntion. No need to pull the relay, unless there are other underlying problems....

I use the MAX-AC trick, but the windows fog up so its not real effective while driving, but is a dandy of a boost for cab temp.