The trucks are thin sheet metal, brown absorbs the sunlight, and putting A/C in the cabs is all but useless.
They’re going to try & implement better heat controls for the cargo area, fans to blow out hot air & such. That’s more important than A/C; the cargo can reach temps well in excess of 130°F. You can bake cookies back there, yes, people have done it to demonstrate.
Once the new contract takes effect, all trucks sold must be A/C capable (lol) & very very hot centers will get more assistance first. All older trucks will be required to be retrofitted with 2 fans in the cab. That is a far cheaper, EASIER, more effective, and more common sense approach than A/C in delivery trucks.
Sounds to me like it’s time to retire current delivery trucks and start getting trucks that actually CAN have a/c then. If they actually are making that much profit and with climate change its what needs to be done.
I agree with all my heart. But that is much easier said than done. I’ll give you a few things to chew on, related to that… (I love subjects like this)
The trucks can, and will, have A/C in them. The thing is by design running the A/C will not be effective at all, it would be like trying to heat your home in winter with a blowdryer & all your windows open.
Designing a delivery truck to hold cold air even in just the cab, as I understand with today’s known tech, would require sealing up the cab. The doors are often open…well, that will have to change. Maybe you don’t have side doors at all, and enter the cargo hold & a side door for every single stop. There are some rental trucks & oddballs like that currently. This design drastically slows down the delivery process. Navigating the truck is more wear & tear on the driver’s body; the design isn’t nearly as ergonomic. But let’s say we can improve that…the vehicle chassis would probably weigh more with insulation. Greater manufacturing cost per truck, not very green. With all the stops, turning on & turning off the vehicle, one might want to find the most efficient way to keep the A/C running continuously via battery or fuel. So that’s yet another additional cost, additional drain, to factor in to a longer work day in an clumsy, expensive delivery truck with a limited service life.
…as you can see, this scenario is getting incredibly drawn out, expensive, contrived. And it might not even be very effective!
Instead of obsessing over A/C, I think it’s better to reframe & identify the real problem. The problem isn’t that the weather outside, or truck cab, is hot. Not per se. No, the problem is that [external factors] cause the drivers to overheat. If you can find alternative methods to cool down the driver’s body & prevent overheating, the problem is solved.
Google UPS cool solutions & you’ll find such methods. I’ve mentioned elsewhere that trucks will have 2 fans installed. Now that’s so simple, and it will help a lot. Especially if it’s wicking sweat/water off of skin, that evaporative effect.
If you want to get really fancy with the concept, there are a few designs out in the wild for a “cooling vest”. Have an ice chest or reserve of cold water, pump that water through a worn vest. It rapidly cools core body temperature. Now that’s a reasonably priced piece of equipment, very realistic, I’m sure you can visualize it in your head with little issue. You can build it with off the shelf parts. Now if one of you guys builds a rough & tough pro version for delivery truck drivers/blue collar workers in general? Athletes? Idk, ambulances & first aid? I fucking guarantee you’ll be rich & be able to sell a good number on contracts.
The trucks are thin sheet metal, brown absorbs the sunlight, and putting A/C in the cabs is all but useless.
They’re going to try & implement better heat controls for the cargo area, fans to blow out hot air & such. That’s more important than A/C; the cargo can reach temps well in excess of 130°F. You can bake cookies back there, yes, people have done it to demonstrate.
Once the new contract takes effect, all trucks sold must be A/C capable (lol) & very very hot centers will get more assistance first. All older trucks will be required to be retrofitted with 2 fans in the cab. That is a far cheaper, EASIER, more effective, and more common sense approach than A/C in delivery trucks.
Sounds to me like it’s time to retire current delivery trucks and start getting trucks that actually CAN have a/c then. If they actually are making that much profit and with climate change its what needs to be done.
I agree with all my heart. But that is much easier said than done. I’ll give you a few things to chew on, related to that… (I love subjects like this)
The trucks can, and will, have A/C in them. The thing is by design running the A/C will not be effective at all, it would be like trying to heat your home in winter with a blowdryer & all your windows open.
Designing a delivery truck to hold cold air even in just the cab, as I understand with today’s known tech, would require sealing up the cab. The doors are often open…well, that will have to change. Maybe you don’t have side doors at all, and enter the cargo hold & a side door for every single stop. There are some rental trucks & oddballs like that currently. This design drastically slows down the delivery process. Navigating the truck is more wear & tear on the driver’s body; the design isn’t nearly as ergonomic. But let’s say we can improve that…the vehicle chassis would probably weigh more with insulation. Greater manufacturing cost per truck, not very green. With all the stops, turning on & turning off the vehicle, one might want to find the most efficient way to keep the A/C running continuously via battery or fuel. So that’s yet another additional cost, additional drain, to factor in to a longer work day in an clumsy, expensive delivery truck with a limited service life.
…as you can see, this scenario is getting incredibly drawn out, expensive, contrived. And it might not even be very effective!
Instead of obsessing over A/C, I think it’s better to reframe & identify the real problem. The problem isn’t that the weather outside, or truck cab, is hot. Not per se. No, the problem is that [external factors] cause the drivers to overheat. If you can find alternative methods to cool down the driver’s body & prevent overheating, the problem is solved.
Google UPS cool solutions & you’ll find such methods. I’ve mentioned elsewhere that trucks will have 2 fans installed. Now that’s so simple, and it will help a lot. Especially if it’s wicking sweat/water off of skin, that evaporative effect.
If you want to get really fancy with the concept, there are a few designs out in the wild for a “cooling vest”. Have an ice chest or reserve of cold water, pump that water through a worn vest. It rapidly cools core body temperature. Now that’s a reasonably priced piece of equipment, very realistic, I’m sure you can visualize it in your head with little issue. You can build it with off the shelf parts. Now if one of you guys builds a rough & tough pro version for delivery truck drivers/blue collar workers in general? Athletes? Idk, ambulances & first aid? I fucking guarantee you’ll be rich & be able to sell a good number on contracts.