Do you warm up your truck?

[JTredway]

We’ve lost 4 diesel trucks this year to catastrophic failure. 2-22's and 2-24's. Two were due to excess idle, due to the nature of our construction work. Both idle trucks were close to being out of warranty as far as milage was concerned. GM denied the warranty as they were over the milage because they count every hour of idle time towards miles driven. I can't remember the exact number but something like 20-30 miles per hour idle. First time I have ever heard of this, but I guess it's a thing. Company bulletin went out the crews can idle in the winter to warm the truck up and clear the windows. Other than that trucks need to be turned off, even if they move the truck 50 times in a day. Starters and batteries are way cheaper than a motor replacement.

It's a big thing , we have this argument daily with Supers and Foreman about idling trucks and equipment. Not only do you run your warranty out, increase maintenance cost, fuel costs, and loss of salvage (sell) value when we sell the equipment at the end of the project (in the case of it being a JV project). I'm company owned assets you reduce the general life expectancy too bc we salvage (sell) after 5yrs or 150k miles (using the idle mileage calculator mentioned before).

 

[quad racer]

I’d be interested in the opinions of mechanics to see what their take is.

 

[Churchkey]

If it’s roughly 20* - 40* ish I’ll remote start it let it run maybe 3-5 minutes at most if it’s below 20* I usually have it plugged in when home then the same let it run about 3 minutes the 6.7 takes forever to get heat in it and idling doesn’t do shit for it I mainly do it just to get the oil moving a bit

One of the best options I added to my current truck is the supplemental cab heater. It warms the cab up in a few minutes. My last super duty didn't have this options and it took forever to warm up in the cab.

 

[Cux211]

One of the best options I added to my current truck is the supplemental cab heater. It warms the cab up in a few minutes. My last super duty didn't have this options and it took forever to warm up in the cab.

I have it but honestly I don’t think it works because when I leave work at 1 in the morning the cab is like an ice chest, trying to talk/explain something to the service manager at my dealership is like talking to the wall they literally don’t know shit about vehicles

 

[JTredway]

I have it but honestly I don’t think it works because when I leave work at 1 in the morning the cab is like an ice chest, trying to talk/explain something to the service manager at my dealership is like talking to the wall they literally don’t know shit about vehicles

it's only like a 1500w electric element, like the wife's hairdryer, it's just there to knock the chill out of the air and help with defrosting the windshield so that you can get in the truck and drive it to warm it up. It's not gonna make any drastic changes.

 

[Apparition]

I have it but honestly I don’t think it works because when I leave work at 1 in the morning the cab is like an ice chest, trying to talk/explain something to the service manager at my dealership is like talking to the wall they literally don’t know shit about vehicles

If the climate control is on auto it won't blow until it's warmed up. If you take it off auto such as max defrost, you'll have heat coming out quicker.

Once you get some engine temp go back to auto.

 

[Godzilla/Tremornator]

I live in Utah, lately temps have been in the teens overnight, and it'll get colder than that in the coming months.

My truck warms up for a solid 15 seconds, the time it takes me to walk from the garage door to the truck door. Then, I get in it and try to drive reasonably until the oil temperature hits 140.

I can't imagine having the time for some of these routines, not to mention the unnecessary engine hours. These new EPA diesels do not like to idle, I would wager that some of these long idle times are worse (cylinder washing, DPF issues, etc) than just getting in and driving away.

how do you know the oil temp?
water temp
tranny temp
oil pressure
fuel level

oil temp?
a diesel thing?

 

[Cux211]

If the climate control is on auto it won't blow until it's warmed up. If you take it off auto such as max defrost, you'll have heat coming out quicker.

Once you get some engine temp go back to auto.

I never have it on auto it stays at 75* on defrost and floor all winter

 

[Vermonster]

I do. Today it was 17F. I remote started it and let it run for about 5 minutes. I plug it in when I am 10F or below, but I also make note not to keep the DEF not quite full due to freezing.

 

[Apparition]

I also make note not to keep the DEF not quite full due to freezing.

I had to reread this multiple times

 

[Vermonster]

I had to reread this multiple times

I run at about 3/4 Def during the cold months to keep the Def tank from cracking.

I agree - that's why I should not post while I am doing other things. lol

 

[mattdm]

Hovering right around 0 or 32*F here in the mornings. I usually hit remote start a few minutes before I am ready to leave. Mostly for defrost and to get some heat in the cab. Not sure if its because of the supplemental heat option, but it only takes a few minutes for my cab to get warm from starting.

I also usually take it easy on the go pedal until the oil temp comes up.

 

[TremorKR]

We’ve lost 4 diesel trucks this year to catastrophic failure. 2-22's and 2-24's. Two were due to excess idle, due to the nature of our construction work. Both idle trucks were close to being out of warranty as far as milage was concerned. GM denied the warranty as they were over the milage because they count every hour of idle time towards miles driven. I can't remember the exact number but something like 20-30 miles per hour idle. First time I have ever heard of this, but I guess it's a thing. Company bulletin went out the crews can idle in the winter to warm the truck up and clear the windows. Other than that trucks need to be turned off, even if they move the truck 50 times in a day. Starters and batteries are way cheaper than a motor replacement.

Industry maintenance standard is every hour of idle is equal to 25 miles of driving. Very important for proper maintenance of a fleet. Are idle hours part of your calculations currently?

I have not heard of manufactures calculating idle hours for warranty consideration, news to me and good to know.

Also your pooling in the intercooler reminds me of the 6.4L powerstroke days. There was a tsb on those intercoolers building condensation during damp/rainy/foggy days when idling or driving with a light foot. Go to get up on it after that and you got sputtering and a cloud of white smoke risking hydrolock or a bent rod. I guess GM had to learn some year..

 

[cayenne]

I have it but honestly I don’t think it works because when I leave work at 1 in the morning the cab is like an ice chest, trying to talk/explain something to the service manager at my dealership is like talking to the wall they literally don’t know shit about vehicles

Mine has it, and it works amazingly well. It's -12F here today with a windchill of nearly -30F... My cab was warm before I ever left the subdivision. At work I'll remote start a few mins before leaving and the seats and cab are warm when I get in.

 

[Fozzy]

Industry maintenance standard is every hour of idle is equal to 25 miles of driving. Very important for proper maintenance of a fleet. Are idle hours part of your calculations currently?

I have not heard of manufactures calculating idle hours for warranty consideration, news to me and good to know.

Also your pooling in the intercooler reminds me of the 6.4L powerstroke days. There was a tsb on those intercoolers building condensation during damp/rainy/foggy days when idling or driving with a light foot. Go to get up on it after that and you got sputtering and a cloud of white smoke risking hydrolock or a bent rod. I guess GM had to learn some year..

On our LT and MD trucks we do full service every 5K and every 20K pull an oil sample. We only track hours on equipment and semi’s. It has never been a problem before but all the 22 and newer diesel trucks have been plagued with problems. I know Isuzu stopped manufacturing the Duramax in 22 so I wonder if that has anything to do with it. Plus the Dmax crank case filter system works differently. Ford and Ram has a serviceable filter, but if it’s not changed regularly it does the same thing. Fuel system on the Fords is a ticking time bomb, it’s not if, but when, you’re one tank of bad diesel away from $18K minimum repair. Dmax has this crank case filter and DEF problem. The Cummins use to be the best of them all but now they have lifter problems, assembly problems and that heater grid bolt. Then add the DEF system. The CP4 I blame on the manufacturer. Everything else is the regulations.

 

[TremorKR]

@Fozzy i wonder how many idle hours your rigs accumulate between 5k services. Maybe time to track and maintain like your equipment and semis? The newer diesels are definitely getting more finicky.

Interesting the GMs don't clean in park. I've witnessed the ford self clean in park on its own. Maybe on your GMs you need to have the manual regen enabled as briefly mentioned on the bottom of the page you shared.

Thanks for sharing

 

[Churchkey]

it's only like a 1500w electric element, like the wife's hairdryer, it's just there to knock the chill out of the air and help with defrosting the windshield so that you can get in the truck and drive it to warm it up. It's not gonna make any drastic changes.

Interesting. My cab gets pretty warm before the engine heat kicks in.

 

[diese nuts]

I installed the high idle kit a month or so ago, hoping to prevent some concerns about idle time. It has some parameters set that won't allow it to kick on right away in really cold ambient (under 30 I think), but it still seems like it should let the engine run at regular idle for 30 seconds or so before it idles up even in warmer weather. It doesn't though. High idle kicks right in immediately.

Not being an engineer, it just seems counterintuitive to me that running an engine at higher RPMs is better for it. I understand why in theory, just hard to wrap my tiny brain around.

edit to add: Is idle time considered that truck running and not moving, or is it below a certain RPM? So high idle is still idle as far as idle time on the truck is concerned?

 

[TremorKR]

@diese nuts i believe engine on and vehicle not moving counts toward idle. Whether your in drive, park, high idle etc all counts toward idle time/hours. Also if memory serves me right engine hours is a total figure inclusive of idle hours.

 

[F-Seriesforlife]