The last wagon that I drove had the heater removed completely for a week while we awaited a new rad for it, I was on resurfacing work at night on the M1 at that time (Junction 28) and being January it was a pain scraping the inside of the screen plus having a blanket around my legs to try and keep warm, draughty Foden doors etc!
Looking back I wouldn’t do it again as I couldn’t get warm, especially when waiting to tip at an hour or so a load, but work was work and if you didn’t do it then you didn’t get paid.
Ben9:
Would I be in the right to refuse to drive a truck with no working heater at all■■?
Now when I was a lad we had never heard of heaters, a simple candle was sufficient to keep your hands warm
And if it really got cold we would light it
By gum these young’uns now adays dont know they are born
Yer right there davey lad.My first truck was an albion reaver 6 wheeler,poor heater,holes in front wheel archs meaning when it rained more water came up off the road than fell from the sky.In the real winters[you know the one,s]no night heater,poor cab heater day cab,tramping all week,coat on,hat on,pants tucked in socks,gloves on, and still cold.Nobody would want to go back to them days,thank god they are gone,but to refuse to take a truck out without a night heater,come on get a life and some backbone.
spent a number of seasons at the wheel of a AWD gritter with no heater ,used to scrape the ice off of both sides it was not all that many years ago either
also had a ford D series with no heater on tarmac patching work ,i used to have the gas ring going in the cab ,was as warm as toast in there ,and it was good for making it too to be honest i do not use the heaters much anyway ,mainly to clear the windscreen ,and dry my feet out when they are wet ,nearly always have the window open to some degree
not really a user of aircon either ,it is fitted to the machine i operate and have never switched it on in 3 years
Ben9:
Would I be in the right to refuse to drive a truck with no working heater at all■■?
It depends on why it isn’t working. Silly thing to ask but have you checked the water lately. If the water level in the rad gets too low, it doesn’t get to the heater matrix and creates an air lock when topped up later. You have to undo the top most hose exiting the matrix to let the air out or find the air bleed thingy.
If the night heater isn’t working, check for fuel leaks in the little clear pipe coming from the diesel tank, if it has air bubbles in it anywhere, it has a leak. These air bubbles link up before they reach the night heater and cut off the fuel supply. Some safety gizmo then turns the night heater off or will stop it firing up in the first place. Also check the air vents near the motor intake. If they get blocked, the heater will not fire up.
