I started tramping in January and found i got a reasonable nights sleep until the hot weather started I am really struggling to sleep I find the heat stifling
I have the roof hatch open and windows half open The nights drag on as i try and get some sleep. I normally drop off as soon as my head hits the pillow at home I’ve ran the engine and aircon to keep cool and received a warning from the boss for doing it
I’m looking for advice as i can’t carry on like this feeling permantly knackered
Try a 12 volt fan blowing on you one that has a timer would be best as once your asleep hopefully you’ll stay asleep, it will help somewhat blowing cold air on you buy be careful not to flatten truck batteries using one.
A damp towel underneath you can help as well or a damp flannel on your forehead. Or buy some pet cooling (unless they do human versions) mats and stick them under your sheet to lie on. They actually work quite well tbh and feel fairly cold.
Expensive options are a thermogel truck mattress so depends on if you could get your boss to pay for one or pay for it yourself to get a good night’s sleep.
I have the same sort of issue being at home and sleeping in the day on hot days but usually a fan is plenty adequate.
Opening the truck grill at night is supposed to help dissipate some of the engine heat as well.
There’s a such a driver shortage that bosses think they can give warnings for running engines to get proper rest.Obviously a few pints of fuel is more important than knackered drivers wiping someone out.Probably because he knows that the insurance will pay out and the driver will go to jail not him.
Having said that if you think it’s difficult sleeping during warm nights night try day time in a real Summer heatwave regardless if it’s home or truck cab.Open the windows loads of noise including Concorde’s regular 11 am morning takeoff in my case.
Yorkshire lad:
I’ve ran the engine and aircon to keep cool and received a warning from the boss for doing it
And they wonder why nobody wants to drive a lorry any more. Not allowed to run the engine for a short while to help you cool down!
Im glad I work for an understanding boss that will put us up in a hotel when it gets too hot.
The first thing you need to do is leave the job you are in now, if the boss is so tight fisted and has so little regard for you that he won’t let you run the engine to cool it then he doesn’t deserve to have any drivers. Second thing is don’t run the engine at all for anything, all the heat off it is soaking into your cab and heating it up. As soon as you get parked up get the grille up to let the heat escape while the engine cools, keep the curtains closed too. I never bothered but a few of the lads at my old place swore by JML chillmax air conditioning units that you charge up and add water too, apparently it can get the cab so cold you have to turn it off during the night, only £30 from Asda too
Night-and-day:
The first thing you need to do is leave the job you are in now, if the boss is so tight fisted and has so little regard for you that he won’t let you run the engine to cool it then he doesn’t deserve to have any drivers. Second thing is…
There is no second thing,.tell him to stick his job up his arse
( …after you get one lined up obviously 
)
Sleep in the back of a refrigerated trailer with owner permission. Not srs
If you are going to do the above yourself.Don’t forget to padlock the wrong door shut in case of a passing comedian.
Don’t go to bed until you are dog tired - you must have an easy life if you can’t sleep
trying to sleep before you are well f***ed is never going to end well
Go out for a pint or 3.
By the time you get back,the temperature will be lower.
commonrail:
Go out for a pint or 3.
By the time you get back,the temperature will be lower.
Hard to argue with that.
If there’s no pub around make sure you’ve packed a camp chair and 20 tins, same result.
Yorkshire lad:
I started tramping in January and found i got a reasonable nights sleep until the hot weather started I am really struggling to sleep I find the heat stifling
I have the roof hatch open and windows half open The nights drag on as i try and get some sleep. I normally drop off as soon as my head hits the pillow at home I’ve ran the engine and aircon to keep cool and received a warning from the boss for doing it
I’m looking for advice as i can’t carry on like this feeling permantly knackered
Maybe knock up something like this to throw in the passenger seat - 8 hour air conditioner
bed down by a hedge
One tends to roll about more in the heat when trying to overnight on a bunk… Waking up, having slept on a nerve isn’t uncommon. It is also too easy to wake up at say 4am in daylight, thinking it is 6am+… OK if you intend parking up the next night well before 9pm, but there always runs the risk of taking one’s minimum overnight rest - and not actually getting much sleep on it! 
Yorkshire lad:
I started tramping in January and found i got a reasonable nights sleep until the hot weather started I am really struggling to sleep I find the heat stifling
I have the roof hatch open and windows half open The nights drag on as i try and get some sleep. I normally drop off as soon as my head hits the pillow at home I’ve ran the engine and aircon to keep cool and received a warning from the boss for doing it
I’m looking for advice as i can’t carry on like this feeling permantly knackered
Tell him to fit a pod or FO