Right,who’s got one,what type & make is it and are they any good?
The last few weeks I’ve been suffering with the heat at night,it might be an age related thing,but trying to sleep when it’s 30c is becoming more and more difficult and lying on top of the bed with a fan that just circulates hot air is no good.
I feel like ■■■ in the morning due to lack of a good night’s kip.
Running the engine half the night is not the answer either.
A mate of mine in Sweden has one fitted on his Scania,but,he say’s when he’s in Spain and the temp is 34c outside,the cooler only brings the cab down to around 25c.His is an evaporator type,with the water tank on the back of the cab,but I have seen an increasing number of Waeco models,which use a compressor the same as fitted to their range of fridges and therefore no water tank.
I know they’re expensive,typically around a grand,but I am seriously thinking about getting one when I get a new motor.
Wheel Nut:
We have the MAN units fitted in the side locker. You charge them up during the day and they run almost silently for 8 hours.
Not had massive heat wave in France but they seem very good.
Didn’t even know MAN did such a thing malc,I thought Merc were the only ones that did a factory fitted cooler,a lot of Adam Offergeld Merc’s have it fitted now,all you see is two hoses running up the back of the cab.
I’ve had a waeco cooler on my roof for around 3weeks and it’s lovely. My air con packed up and i decided that this was the way forward instead of air con repair. Plus points are, getting into cooler cab after tipping/loading, being able to sit in the cool whilst tip/load even without the keys. Being able to bring cab temp down before going to bed. Less load on engine than aircon(i think). Negative points, because of how close you are to the unit on my top bunk it is a little noisey, but if i laid on my bottom bunk it wouldn’t be to bad.
Not very clear Im afraid but the info is there. Basically it is a silver box that fills the drivers side locker. (LHD) Im sure it doesnt get as cold as a standard aircon with 400 hp driving it, this is a simple fix, saves the engine running and allows you to sleep well. When I get back to work i will send a picture of the actual gubbins.
The only problem I have had is when the French customs tried sticking a screwdriver through the case. This was after 2 scans and a visual inspection. I literally through the bloke out of the cab and went to see his boss.
EN) The invention relates to an auxiliary air-conditioning module for a motor vehicle, particularly for a goods-carrying vehicle, comprising a latent cold accumulator that is designed for being charged via a compression cooling circuit and discharged via a heat transfer circuit, and comprising a heat transfer/air heat exchanger with which cold can be transferred from the heat transfer medium of the heat transfer circuit to air to be cooled. The invention also relates to a motor vehicle, particularly a goods-carrying vehicle equipped with an auxiliary air-conditioning module
Ive just been to a few hot countries(lots!) and mentioned to the yard manager i was going to get one, he told me to hold on as the firm will be trying to get a deal on having all trucks fitted with them. If nothing is sorted by next spring i think i will be paying myself, as the amount of hours in bed trying to sleep but not being able to cos of the heat just tires you out for the next days work, plus we do a lot of night work and sleep during the day, and the trucks are black which doesnt help. One of our drivers has got the same cooler a sMr Vain and he absolutley loves it. One of the McGuiness trucks i was with had a Bycool fitted and he loved that as well ,so no idea really which is the best…
We have the Webasto sleepwells that fits on the back of the cab with the cooler on the end of the bunk but its one of the first ones that came out with power of 400watts the new ones are 800watts .
If i bring the cab down with the engine ac and close the middle curtains it blows right along the bunk and will hold 20degree c no prob when the outside temp is in the 30s plus.
A few of my mates have the top coolers but they have to be running flat out (uses a lot of battery power) to have the same effect as mine on fan speed 1 so with a top cooler a set of jump leads is a must
Defo go for the cab top Waeco cooler though as it’s pretty likely I’ll be getting a new XF 105 Space Cab,and that’ll fit under the roof spoiler without having to cut a hole in it,innit!
To be honest, there is probably a very good reason for those coolers in the MAN TGA. With our factory spoiler kits they measure at 4.05 metres on the lowest setting. A cab top spoiler and an AC unit might just cause us problems, even in liberal France. I went under a 4.1 bridge last week and the spoiler was oh so close
If I was still driving I would definitely be going for one of those, even if I have to pay for it myself. I notice that one or two of Gauthier’s current fleet have them which tells me that he isn’t paying for them.
When I used to do the overnight Dijon job, tip and load in the morning then park at the routiers in the day I used to roast in the cab trying to sleep. What made it worse was the place I stopped, on the Route Nationale west of Besancon, was carved out of an old quarry and the sun used to reflect off the white rockface.
I would leave the engine on tickover for a few hours but then had to wake up to switch it off but it soon heated up again.
Has anybody ever thought of buying one of those fridge units they put on the top of small butcher’s vans? I thought about it for the Saxo but now I’ve bought a Berlingo with aircon so don’t really need it.
Spardo:
Has anybody ever thought of buying one of those fridge units they put on the top of small butcher’s vans? I thought about it for the Saxo but now I’ve bought a Berlingo with aircon so don’t really need it.
My missus keeps on at me to buy a second hand van with a fridge body,just so’s we can fill up with even more supplies on trips to Blighty!
anyone got any updates on these gizmos please, inc prices paid? seems to be a choice of the waeco, bycool and the webasto which klunk mentioned - any info would be appreciated, ta!
i’ve had both,and if possible i would definitely go with the one that fits on the rear wall of the cab.if you’re going with the one on the roof,the viesa is as good as any.
global warming my foot 
