How cold is too cold to shut the truck down for the night?
 

Just paid 60 bucks to a tow truck guy who had to boost me :( Ran the truck yesterday for half an hour - everything was good. Shut down for the night, used the bunk heater to sleep, and then the temp went down to -2F or -18 C all of sudden. The starter was barely turning. The tow truck stayed hooked to the battery for 30 minutes, and I was able to start the engine. Whew ... thank goodness I replaced all 4 batteries last winter. So now I'm running the engine till morning for sure. My question is: if I don't want to idle for heat, at what temperature I MUST idle anyway so that the truck can be usable in the morning? Thx!

I would suggest that you idle when the temperature gets below about 22F. If you want to be safer then if the temperature gets below freezing then you could idle.

You need new batteries imo. I used to only idle my truck if it got into the single digits F when I had my bunk heater. Most diesel engines will start in extremely cold weather if you have enough cranking amps. They are expensive as hell but get some yellow top optima batteries which are deep cycle and you will be fine for 3 years. It's a hellava investment but you will make it up by not idling your truck.

With 4 good batteries, perhaps a Canadian could be fearless to -15 Celsius/5 degrees Farenheit?
However, I'm betting you've got some bad batteries in the mix with your recent results.
Which way are the dogbones connected to your batteries?
Too many trucks are wired with the connections conveniently both at the same end of the row, instead of one at either end for balanced charging and loading. The battery furthest from the connections has a bad habit of being under charged, or the one closest gets overcharged, shortening their lives.
See the solar power folks for tips on getting the best from our battery investment?

It's sure looks that way. Or alternator problem....Otherwise, you shouldn't be getting any problem to -20C, assuming of course your fuel is good for that temperature. But just to be safe, i'd idle if park for extended period of time in a very single digits F.

I agree with the others concerning your batteries probably needing to be replaced.

I got them replaced last year. They are 1 year old. The old ones died in similar freeze. On top of the batteries it says "extreme" something... so these should be good batteries. One reason why I couldn't start the engine is because I spent 3 days in this place without moving the truck. The first 2 days it was only below freezing temp (-2C or 29-30 F). I idled the truck for half an hour each day to charge the battery a little bit but 30 minutes evidently is not enough when you use the sleeper heater half a night (each night for 3 nights) and hook up your computer to a power inverter. Would good batteries last 3 days in a mode like this?

RE: connections. The wires go across all batteries like a couple of 'x' letters. The nearest connectors to the outside are marked "negative".

If you were using other things which require battery power then they may have pulled the batteries down too low. Coupled with the cold may have been too much for the batteries. If they are only a year old they should still be good. It would be easy to have them checked. That is where I would start.

How about something like this?: Digital Volt Meter, Plugs Into Cigarette Lighter To Determine Battery Condition
When the voltage drops too much, start the truck and recharge.

you could get loads that go south, and then stay there. Lol

My company could care less if I idle.But if its below freezing outside I would deffinately idle all night.If you're going to be out of your trk in freezing weather make sure you plug it in otherwise you'll be having a tow guy come start your trk everytime.If my trk does'nt start and I could have did something to prevent it then I have to pay for the jumpstart but if its the trk then my company pays for it.Last winter we had so much snow everytime it was hometime that I had to leave trk at truckstop and I slept in it everynite while on hometime just to make sure it starts.O/O for my company almost got fired lasat yr because he was home for a week and did'nt plug his trk in and it took hrs to get it started and he was a day late delivering a load and it was a high dollar load.

It's hard to tell, but i'd still check the alternator. One thing for sure, half an hour is definitely not enough for recharging, it's barely covers loss from a start in a cold weather. Should be at least an hour, better 2 hours at 8-900RPM.

That seems like a great gadget. I might get one of these. Would be useful in winter in a situation where you're parked waiting for a load...

You have some battery issues. Get them load tested. If they're only a year old you should have warranty. Run the truck longer to charge the batteries also. I'd let it run for an hour anyways in the morning and before you go to bed. How many batteries do you have? Some guys have a dedicated battery for their inverters. I don't plug mine in until snow accumulates and when I'm on the road it doesn't idle until it's -10 degrees celcius.

As a thought to this and no I'm not a driver (yet) but I did manage an auto-truck parts store many years ago. You may have bought batteries one year ago.....but how long were they sitting there waiting to be purchased? I don't recall if the 4d's and 8d's had date stamps on them.....but car batteries will have a date code of manufacture on the side of the battery, ie an A-10 sticker would mean a January 2010 manufacture date, B-10 would be February 2010 etc. It might be something to look at.........

The problem may be as simple as not idling the truck long enough to build the batteries to full capacity. If you have a Harbor Freight near you, they have a charging system check/voltmeter that you can purchase for about $15. It will check the alternator and batteries and you don't need any outside power source or batteries. It is handy to keep with you. A shop would likely charge you for a 1/2 hour minimum labor rate to check your system. You can do this yourself for $15.

The stock voltmeter on the dashboard will tell you the same thing if you just turn the key on for a few seconds.

Yesterday I ran half a day, and then idled for an hour before going to bed and the truck started flawlessly in the morning. So, I"m sure it was like the Gman said - not enough idling while the truck was parked for 3 days. The truck started but then I ran into another cold weather related problem: the passenger side 2 wheels on the trailer got stuck! I'm not using that stupid air brake lock in cold weather again! Landstar wants to always put on that Enforcer thing and release both trailer and truck brakes and that's how you get into problems. I dragged the trailer around the parking lot forward and backwards - it didn't help. Finally I grabbed a hammer and crawled underneath and started hammering at brake pads. The top one on the inside wheel was frozen to the drum! It came off after a few hits with a hammer. This is some trip I"m having ...At least I didn't have to call in the $150/hr cavalry :)

I am glad to hear that your truck cranked up all right. I never put my trailer brakes on in winter, especially when there is snow or ice. It can be a bit difficult when you are doing drop and hook. I will share something with you in case your brakes freeze up again. Keep a bottle of rubbing alcohol with you. If your trailer brakes freeze up you can take the glad hands loose and pour some alcohol in the lines. Start pumping your brakes and using anything that has air and it should free itself up within a short time.

That's what happened to me last yr at the TA in Albert Lea,MN.I never knew that alcohol trick untill the mechanics did it to my glad hands and FOR FREE EVEN,LOL.Who do u drive for if you don't mind me asking?

Amazingly that's exactly what I did on the night before! I was getting worried about the brake lines with such low temperatures, so I bought a bottle of some brake spirit-based fluid. I put it into the air lines before going to bed and then again in the morning - right into the glad-hands. And still one wheel got frozen because I had applied the trailer brakes (this was THE last time!). It wasn't an internal problem (frozen moisture in the lines). It was external - one brake pad FROZE TO the surface of the drum and stayed put even with the brake released. Hammering at it was the only way. And you're right - applying trailer brakes in cold weather is just asking for trouble.

You can get an alcohol evaporator bottle installed on your truck. They're cheap and easily installed. Some trailers are worse than others for freezing. Back in the day with spoke wheels I used a small sledge and foot long breaker bar to hit the drum. That way you didn't have to get under the trailer. The vibration from hitting the drum will usually break it free. Also try backing up first they seem to break free easier that way. When I got a trailer with hub piloted wheels the problem seemed to go away IDK I don't find any difference with applying the brakes or not. I let the brakes cool down or maybe dry if it's a sloppy snowy day before applying the brakes and that's it.

If the pad is frozen to the hub then it likely won't do any good to put something in the lines. I have found alcohol works as well or better than any of the commercial products and costs about $0.79 at Dollar Store. It can be a pain to have to get out and beat the brake drums when the weather is nasty. That is why I don't apply the trailer brakes in winter. I am glad that you got the brakes loose.

I remember once leaving my car with a manual transmission in the yard with applied hand brake. The weather was warm when I left on a trip but I was gone a long time and fall turned into winter :) When I finally got back home, I got into my car and it wouldn't move. Took me a moment to figure out brake shoes froze to the disks (I have all disk brakes). But at least on a car you don't have to climb under it to get the brakes release: I just added more gas, the car hesitated a bit, but then snapped out of it and I was rolling :)

It's minus 2 F (!) or -19C in Jamestown, ND right now and the truck started fine. I drove all day, then shut down, drained the water separator/primary fuel filter and my tanks were 90% full with plenty of anti-gel. I idled 1 hour before going to bed and then shut the truck down. Started the bunk heater around 4 am. Started the truck at 7 am. It hesitated a little bit but fired up okay. So, I agree with guys who said you should be okay without idling to -20C or 0F. As long as you don't discharge your batteries too badly and your fuel is winter-ready and you have no water in your water separator/fuel filter. Too bad the CAT didn't make the primary filter the way they made them in a Volvo - where you have the bottom transparent. When I get to drain the damn thing I have to drain it 100% - about 8 oz of fuel - because there is no way for me to tell if it has water at the bottom or not.

You should be able to open the drain cock on the fuel filter and get rid of most of the water without having to drain the entire filter. Water should settle to the bottom of the fuel filter and you should be able to see if it has water when the fuel hits the ground. It would be great if all trucks had transparent fuel filters. It would make it much easier to spot the water.

buy the alcohol with the red label. it has a lot less water content in it. It is 91% alcohol instead of the usual 70% I aslo carry a small propane torch kit to heat the drums if needed.

You can also spray the alcohol ON the brakes linings, it will release them right away, AND NOT hurt the linings.

Save an extra bottle cap and drill a small hole in it, put it on the alcohol bottle and squeeze, it will squirt 20 feet, squirt the linings without going under the truck or trailer.

Rubbing alcohol is IPA, (isopropyl alcohol) , it WILL eat rubber, use Methanol instead, that is what the air brake stuff is, or you can get Methanol in the paint section of Home Depot or Lowes. or any hardware store.

The alchohol that is being sold in most truck stops I have seen is the 70% variety. What a waste. Like HeavyHaulerSS stated, get the 90+ percent stuff. Why would anyone want to throw water into the air system?

When in Alaska, I would carry a can of Ronson lighter fluid. If brakes were froze up, I would squirt a line of lighter fluid on the drum and light it up. Maybe not the best choice, but it worked in -60F temps. The use of a small propane torch would be the best choice for most people. Propane didn't work quite so well in real cold temps like Alaska.

Good point, Maniac. I never really considered that before. In Alaska, our alchohol supply was in a bulk tank and we just filled jugs from it. Never noticed whether it was Methanol or not. Based on your comments, I would bet it was.

Nothing with the starter dude they are the batteries which creating the problem .... get them replaced....

Now explain to me how rubbing alcohol in the glad hands will free up a brake shoe frozen to the brake drum?

I think they ment to apply it directly to the break shoe and drum, hence punch a hole and squirt at a safe distance

That doesn't matter! LOL! It's electricity not water! What gauge are your "dogbones" [?], 00 right? What gauge comes off your alternator, 6 correct? You really think any amount of alternator amperage is gonna have trouble coming from the 6 ga. on through the 00 ga. from the starter to the "dog bones" [still ?!] and then have trouble getting all the way across the "dog bone"? Barring any uneveness in battery condition and corrosion/bad connections in the cables, each battery is gonna take what it needs and the voltage regulator in the alternator won't overcharge the batteries. If batteries are in uneven condition the best one will charge up slower than the more depleted ones because they are taking more of the available charge.

Methanol or anything else introduced to the air system of a truck is not desireable. I think some mfrs even void warranties? like Bendix or WABCO.

There is no excuse for not maintaining your air system with a properly functioning air dryer. You should not have to contaminate your air system with foreign substances.

I drag my own platform but you D&H guys must all suffer the lowest denominator - the guy who's compressor is running 100% duty, his air dryer pops off every 20 seconds and he drains a gallon of water and oil out of his primary tank!

I own my truck 15 years and have yet to get one drop out of my primary.



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Must be nice, My truck get a new dessicant every year and it still gets moisture on a day with high humidity. Has since the day it was new.

you should never use rubbing alcohol, it will dry up the seals and cause them to fail, get a bottle of air brake antifreeze, they have it at most truck stops, it has the proper lubricant in it

I don't usually leave the alcohol in the lines. Once the ice melts I try to blow all the moisture out of the lines. Regular alcohol can dry rubber, but I have never had a problem with it. Once you get the moisture out of the lines you should not have any problem with them freezing unless your shoes freeze to the hub.

I don't know about u guys, but sometimes it's too cold to stay in the truck when it's sot down( In such cases I go and rent a room for a night. I hate cold places, and when I bought my first house it was really cold there, so I renovated all the central heating and replaced all radiators with ones that are more energy-efficient. You can check this radiator outlet to get the same ones.