Central’s no good, then you have to keep sitting up in bed to alter anything whichever end you sleep. Choosing which end you have them only works where the driver gets to spec the vehicle, which is rare (unless you’re an owner driver). You also want to be able to change ends depending on what angle the truck is parked up at on any given night. I’d duplicate, personally.
the Scania night heater control unit is a good idea as it is movable, this helps when you sleep in different positions, as for controls in the arm rests I would prefer more controls on the steering wheel where my hands are rather than on an arm rest.
The best cab I ever had was a Daf 85 sleeper cab with a Marsden pod on top. I had enough room for everything, a sofa upstairs one bed in the cab and one upstairs, a fridge and microwave and TV/video upstairs
similar to this, however, many drivers don’t like pods for some reason
We are difficult to please as we all want something different to improve our lot
The Scania night heater control unit WAS a good idea as it is movable until amongst a certain fleet a few went missing, and then a few more, until it reached the stage where hardly any vehicle had a control.
Not helped of course by someone in the North-East who sold the control from HIS Scania, on Ebay.
Three times. 
He didn’t even bother to change the wording of the auction.
Controls on armrests. No thanks. Someone new comes along to drive the vehicle, doesn’t realise that it can be rotated upwards and either stands on it or trips on it, and suddenly the whole assembly is dangling limp. 
After previously mentioning the need for ‘leisure’ power, I have since found out that Isuzu Trucks provide a 10amp feed within the loom, as standard in ALL their vehicles.
And to air a personal ‘rant’. 
Rarely a week goes by that we don’t awaken to Traffic Reports that some Motorway or major Truck Road is closed and is “expected to remain closed for some time”. Working in transport, we all know what that means; that some poor soul has lost their life on our busy network system.
And whilst the investigation will rarely prove that the cause was tiredness, or at the very least, inattention, other factors having been ruled, authorities are left with that remaining conclusion.
Driving long distances is boring. Particularly so at night. For all but a lucky few, whilst our circadian rhythms are telling us that we should be asleep, our bank accounts, and the need to service them, dictate otherwise.
To relieve the boredom, most drivers rely upon the vehicle radio, but even that has its limitations. There comes a point when one is just “music’d out”. Perhaps it is an “age thing”. Listening to the sickeningly silky sweet tones of Richard Allinson covering a late evening slot incites me to remove a boot and shove it where only transistors lurk. And Janice Long is little better. Often the first hour of her programme comprises solely of a pre-recorded interview with unheard of no hopers playing boring tunes interspersed with indecipherable lyrics. Although, as the night progresses, a degree of improvement follows.
A recent thread on TNUK centred on a number of people “admitting” that they listened to Radio 4. I was one of them. But listening to Book at Bedtime whilst still working, is surely a contradiction of terms. And somewhat pointless unless one is on a regular Monday to Friday working pattern.
The transport industry has made great strides in developing systems to alert drivers to fatigue. There are “lane following systems” which will read the white line and put a “rumble strip” noise through the appropriate speaker should the driver begin to deviate without signalling. They have developed Forward Looking Radar that will “back off” the cruise control and, if necessary, apply the vehicle brakes. There are GPS systems that can warn a driver that he is approaching a bend or junction at an excessive speed. We have the technology to move a vehicle from A to B with NO driver input, should that ever be permitted. Currently in development are systems that will monitor the “blink rate” of the driver’s eyes in order to monitor their attention level.
Whilst all of these safety features are, or will be, available as add ons. “Add ons” are what they will remain. The average fleet purchaser wants the best deal for the smallest outlay. The comfort, and safety, of the driver, albeit their presence constituting approximately one third of the cost of running a vehicle, does not rate highly on their list of considerations.
At a recent meeting the Fleet Sales Manager from one of the leading truck manufacturers candidly admitted that the major concern within the industry today is that of “driver inattention”. Unfortunately, it seems, the industry is seeking to tackle the problem through Technology rather than just plain and simple “intelligent engineering”.
We are now in age of the “portable media”. MP3 players and SD cards have superseded CD’s. CD’s are fine but only allow for a limited amount of content, and are not really compatible with being carried in the average Fleet driver’s bag. Add to that the anecdotal tales that I have heard of people paying £10-£15 for a CD, only to insert it into a vehicle’s radio, and then finding that it will not eject.
Truck manufacturers are good at producing vehicles with an excellent speaker system. They then compromise that status by fitting a poor quality radio on the basis that most owner drivers, or drivers with allocated vehicles, will fit a better system. This leaves the Fleet driver with an excellent sound system, providing they could access it. They are not provided with any means of linking the audio output from a laptop or DVD player when viewing a film. No means of plugging in an MP3 player or SD card loaded with a personal choice of music or with Audio Books or training or language courses.
Such radios, with MMC/SD and MP3 player compatibility are available in the retail market for as little as £50. Surely bulk purchasers would only have to pay a tenth of that price. Finding that I needed additional outputs, I recently purchased a USB card for my computer at a cost of less than a pound. The equivalent of paying for a loaf of bread.
And so, my question, when safety is such a primary concern, for the price of a packet of ■■■■. “Why don’t truck manufacturers fit a decent radio?”
Krankee, you bring up lots of good points. The radio thing seems like an obvious problem, so I can take care of that in the same way they’ve done with cars.
Another thing you said that struck me was that in fact manufacturers attempt to solve the fatigue problem through driver warnings and other such things when in reality the environment inside the truck could help reduce the need for that technology in the first place. I will PM you for further discussion of my ideas, as you appear to be a knowledgeable contributor to this topic.
By all means.
Spy 
Lovlyperson:
Spy
If you mean “spy footage,” there isn’t any because the truck is being built as a 1/5 scale model. I’m aiming for publication on CarDesignNews in June.
If you mean something else, I have no clue what that is.
A ventilation system that is capable of blowing cold air ( or hot when required ) at the driver. The bit between the knee and the belly can get hot and sticky and that makes it really uncomfortable.