hi, saw a merc Atego rigid today with a roof top sleeper pod, got me thinking, what are these like inside? anybody got any pics? or experiences of sleeping in one? they must be a nightmare, freezing in winter and like an oven in summer?
AaronR
I have driven a few in my time and they don’t call them sweatboxes for nothing. Granted it has been a few years, but give me a standard sleeper any day of the week.
You will get the best nights sleep in one ever, they are completely dark inside and heat rises, so if you leave the night heater on, it is like a sauna in winter too.
I quite enjoyed using one especially after a little Mercedes Benz 12 tonner
have had 2 over the years one was on a DAF 95 which was quite small and like a sauna the other was on a MAN 22.361 drawbar which was very comfortable and very spacious with a decent roof hatch as well
I got told once by a fella in costco drivers room (he had just driven his load from Australia) that sleeper pods were illegal for nights out now 
I have 3 nights out in a 3.5t Sprinter with a pod on, that was in winter. It had a night heater under the passenger seat and a pipe went up to the pod, so it was nice a warm. This one had a couple of hinged windows either side, so could vent the pod in the morning 
I think the idea is if there is a problem, fire or the need to get out quick then the windows will pop out and you slide out I found it comfortable and had a good nights sleep, can well imagine that during summer its hell with heat.
I did a few weeks at Silent Night, they use a standard sleeper with a pod on top, so the depth is deeper and they are like small apartments up there, as the agency helper I had to sleep in the normal sleeper, the lead driver got the penthouse. I had a look up there and you get a bed/sofa and a few cupboards and a TV shelf, the height was okay as well inside.
I think that they are okay for the odd night out, on a 3.5 t van you are limited to how much length the van can be, so thats more of a have to, not sure I would what to have one as my home 4 nights of the week.
I did have one on a Cargo 17 tonner, nice and cosy but could get cold in the winter and if you had to use the kick out panel in an emergency it was a bloody long way to the ground, choices? Burn to death or get killed by the fall - 
I used to drive a Sprinter tilt with a pod on and did regular runs to Saarlouis in it, I am not the smallest guy in the world and though the entry was tight I found it nice a comfortable to sleep in unless it was the high of summer. Then it would act like a greenhouse and get very hot inside.
A lot of us removal guys have them and you get used to them very quickly. The pods normally have 2 bunks running along the length of the van. Ours have a small wardrobe and a sink with running water in between the bunks.
Whilst they are a little compact, when double manning it does mean that each person does get a little space for themselves, 1 up and 1 down with a spare bunk to store bags and such. They do get hot in the summer but if you leave the windows open whilst driving it does help to cool it down before you park up. The night heater has a separate pipe to trunk warm air up, just make sure the vent is not blocked by bags as you will wake up freezing at 2am cursing your stupidity
Yep i had one for around 16mths on a scania 6 wheel rigid for the first 10mths it never had a night heater and it was bloody cold in the winter in fact i used to sleep down stairs in the winter months as it was to cold, then had a night heater fitted and it was lovely plenty of room as well up there and had some good nites kip with it, but before any wise boys say yep to fat these days to get the old lardy up in one now 