Has anyone on here ever had one of these devices that claim to keep the interior at a constant cool temperature? Only I’m considering taking a European job in the near future,mainly Spain and Italy but don’t think I could handle the scorching conditions I once brushed off years ago.
They seem like a good solution at around the 600 quid mark and would prob be economical by not using the air con as much,but they could also be a total waste of dosh with the refilling compatibility with varieties of trucks etc.
Any satisfied users??
For really hot climates they are pretty useless, they are not half as good as your fitted aircon unfortunately. good enough for this country but they would struggle in the heat we have been getting lately to cool sufficiently.
Is that from experience UK tramp
Some trucks come with similar systems available fitted from manufacturer. Such as Volvo and Scanias new s series
Those ones are more powerful, yes it is from experience and you can take it as gospel, if you have no aircon at all you could not get the same cooling capacity you would need in a hot climate on the £650 unit, you would need to double that price as a minimum. If you use it in conjunction with your aircon it would cope, you would at least save on your aircon by using it sparingly rather than full on all of the time. But it wont simply replace your aircon.
UKtramp:
Those ones are more powerful, yes it is from experience and you can take it as gospel, if you have no aircon at all you could not get the same cooling capacity you would need in a hot climate on the £650 unit, you would need to double that price as a minimum. If you use it in conjunction with your aircon it would cope, you would at least save on your aircon by using it sparingly rather than full on all of the time. But it wont simply replace your aircon.
As I suspected,those advertised in t&d magazine don’t look too promising tbh,prob high maintenance too.Thanks for the info chaps.
They are OK in my opinion. They certainly do help but I wouldn’t buy one with my own money. Just get a cigarette light fan for a tenner instead
switchlogic:
They are OK in my opinion. They certainly do help but I wouldn’t buy one with my own money. Just get a cigarette light fan for a tenner instead
To be honest the £650 unit is about as good as a plug in fan in hot weather , Put a bag of ice behind the fan and its as good if not better.
The pods came about from the EE drivers running engines all night to run the air con.
In some countries, fines were given for idling engines for air pollution and noise .
Plus wasting the bosses fuel.
As Luke said, a fan will do the trick, but I wouldn’t pay for your own pod .
I used to wet the towel and sleep on it, and wet a towel to cover the body .
European heat in the Sumner can be pain to work in, strapping loads down, and God forbid, stripping down a tilt trailer then rebuilding the dam thing, is ideal for weight loss and dehydration .
They have long lunch break Siestas, in that time, find a tree in the shade and snooze.
Sometimes I would drive at night to keep cool and avoid tourism traffic .
Not so many police around .
What a load of mard arses, I used to run to Spain and potugal 30 years ago in a Volvo f88 no air on in them bad boys you could fry an egg on the Effie dash board, best thing to do is find a bar or club get totally rat arsed empty your bag then you will sleep like a baby
Dave wj:
What a load of mard arses, I used to run to Spain and potugal 30 years ago in a Volvo f88 no air on in them bad boys you could fry an egg on the Effie dash board, best thing to do is find a bar or club get totally rat arsed empty your bag then you will sleep like a baby
Sound advice however not sure that has answered the question the from the OP
Surely most of the modern trucks over there have A/C ?
Monday I went down to Philadelphia arriving at noon to take 12 hours off and hook to a load to bring north at midnight, the temps were extreme, 106f and I had the A/C running that afternoon, I got a message telling me the load had been delayed and I didn’t get the trailer until 9.00pm Tuesday, I had the engine and A/C running the whole time, so much that the engine regenerated 3 times LOL. The fuel consumption went fro 9 mpg to 3.5 mpg LOL
I honestly don’t know how you guys put up with it 
Yup but it’s the overnight cooling I’m keen on thus alleviating open windows with the attendant noises and malfeasant cab ingress risk in some of the dodgier regions of Spain,besides don’t the yanks notoriously keep their engines ticking over constantly.Not really an option over in Europe tbh?
Dave wj:
What a load of mard arses, I used to run to Spain and potugal 30 years ago in a Volvo f88 no air on in them bad boys you could fry an egg on the Effie dash board, best thing to do is find a bar or club get totally rat arsed empty your bag then you will sleep like a baby
Lol like a baby,up gurgling every ten minutes screaming for the teat.
manalishi:
Yup but it’s the overnight cooling I’m keen on thus alleviating open windows with the attendant noises and malfeasant cab ingress risk in some of the dodgier regions of Spain,besides don’t the yanks notoriously keep their engines ticking over constantly.Not really an option over in Europe tbh?
If it is just overnight cooling it would be ok, not for the daytime heat.
Manalishi, another option, European truckstops have cheap hotels that offer discount for drivers, rooms have air con.
Motorway service areas have hotels and take your pick on the free national roads.
I used them once in a while ,got the laundering done ,some have free breakfast.
Formula hotel chain in France, 24 hours check in, if unmanned, use bank card on front door .
Hotels in Europe welcome drivers, with menu of the day meals, plenty of Lgv parking.
Even in the winter, I used hotels to warm up and have a hot bath.
Especially if the night heater was playing up.
Aye definitely purely for overnight cooling usage only but the ones I’m seeing advertised don’t really fill me with confidence,they look a tad rudimentary for the outlay.A road tested one would I think be a useful feature perhaps in a future truck&driver article■■?
The one you have seen is a little like from toys r us. It depends how cool you like it, it sounds like me you don’t like the heat and expect it to like your truck air con, it would disappoint at best. I used to fit these units, not the £600 units though, we wouldn’t touch them, the more expensive models are good but a lot more expensive.
All four firms…
That I worked for in Europe never once questioned me leaving it running all night in summer. The heat coming up from the engine and the heat from the fridge running was incredible. It has the added bonus of keeping the mozzies down as well, they don’t like the cold.
The pod is good at overnight cooling but, if you want a good one, you have to pay the money and get a decent one professionally fitted. Keep it topped up with distilled water too. Mate of mine had one defrost all over some of his stuff though so, nothing is perfect.
There were times though even with the truck AC on full blast, if I was running into the sun in Spain, I’d still end up getting hot in the cab.
Thanks for the quality replies folks much to ponder but the job I was considering turns out to be a self employed gig for an o/d subbying for Davies Turner doing the Gibraltar circuit.Throw in a manual DAF into the mix and box jockeying doesn’t seem too bad.I think the key lesson for me here is get a company that has integrated coolers fitted,wimpy I know but with spinal issues a good night’s kip has to be guaranteed.
What! No complaints with engine ticking overnight? Amazing.