Park Smart
Hello everyone, I am loading in Charlotte, NC. today. The temperature is in the nineties today and the sun is shining brightly. The Park Smart HVAC system will normally keep the cab cool without pulling the sleeper curtains shut. Today, for the first time, I have exceeded the HVAC systems capabilities. I pulled the insulated curtains that separate the sleeper from the driving compartment for the first time. After pulling the curtains shut, the Park Smart HVAC system was able to keep the sleeper area cool. The HVAC system could not keep up due to the fact I was trying to cool the cab and sleeper areas . The Park Smart HVAC system is not intended to be an APU. However, if it’s used as designed for only cooling the sleeper, it works very well.
Thanks and have a great day,
Henry
February 16, 2012 at 6:26 pm
Hi Henry,
I know this is an older post to your blog. I googled “Freightliner Park Smart”, and of course, I figured you would have addressed this. I appreciate. What all does this system do while the engine is off? Has there been improvments/ updates to this system since you bloged this?
Safe traveling.
P. S. Is your truck equipped with the rolltek seat that has the side airbags?
February 17, 2012 at 11:46 am
Lester,
There have been many updates to the Park Smart HVAC system since it first came out. The latest version moved many of the components to the outside of the cab for easier servicing. The Park Smart system gives you 10 plus hours of heating and air conditioning with out the engine running. My system also came with a inverter for 110 volt appliances. I normally idle the engine to operate my microwave but other than that the engine is shut down while I am parked.
February 17, 2012 at 2:49 pm
That is great. Ease of serviceability is always a plus. I would assume it equals less downtime. I should have asked this the first time. You stated in this blog that Park Smart is not intended as an APU. Has that changed/improved? I have heard of some APU’s that serve as an engine block heater in extreme cold weather.
February 17, 2012 at 7:29 pm
That is exactly what it means. This is a theme which is found all through the Cascadia and the Detroit Diesel DD-15. Everything from the headlights to the taillights has been designed with uptime and ease of service in mind. It has been awhile since I have done a blog pointing out all of these features so look for one on this very subject in the near future.
February 19, 2012 at 7:05 am
Ok. Cool, Henry. I love your truck. I am interested in what you chose to have in the way of gauge choices: what you chose and what you didn’t, and why. I also would be interested in exterir components that really help with aerodynamics and which are just for looks: and again, which ones you chose and which ones you didn’t and why. I have so many questions, mostly just being curious, to ask you.
February 19, 2012 at 11:04 am
Lester,
Obviously, I chose the normal guages first. These include the speedometer, tachometer, oil pressure, water temp, volt meter, air pressure primary and secodary and application air. In addition to these, I added a turbo boost guage to assist me in driving for efficiency. Transmission temperature and oil temperature were added to monitor the condition of these two components. I also have a suspension pressure gauge ( I would’nt have purchased this as I have an onboard air weigh system… this make that gauge redundant. With the open space from the airway, I would have added either a rear axle or an exhaust pyrometer. All the exterior components on my Cascadia were selected for fuel efficiency. In fact, I deleted a few items to improve my aerodynamics. Such as, the hood mounted mirror’s and the sun visor. Hope this answers your questions… thanks for commenting.
February 20, 2012 at 7:21 am
Yes it does. Thanks, Henry. I guess it is only the companies that have those hood mounted convex mirrors. Does a hood mounted air deflector help or is that just for cosmetics? I think I saw the blog where you added the deflectors at the bottom of the side fairings. Thats cool.
You said you would have added a rear axle temp gauge. You would only need one for the drive axle, correct? That is so cool how they integrated the DEF gauge within the fuel gauge.
With your tractor being a 6 X 2, can you still pull 80,000 pounds with ease. Is going uphill(in snow) harder with just one drive axle?