There is a remote start/turbo timer box from DEI that will start the engine every 3 hrs and run for a preprogramed amount of time (I believe). I have one but don't use/need that feature down here.... so have never played with it.
I can pull out the book and copy/scan that part... if interested. I bgt the box at Circuit City for under $70.00. it's a fairly nasty install...lots of wires...but works very well.

Alternative - I remember a thread from a member in Alaska who left his truck running every night... when away from home. Said only burns 1/2 gal an hr. on high idle.

RJ

 

[QUOTE=JD730;1746875]Exactly, how long would that thing stay in the bed of a pickup parked on a college campus?
"Cobleskill, there's a couple of people from my area that are there right now. One is in the ag mechanics program I believe. He never had a problem last winter with starting his truck and he had a 97 'cough' powerstroke 'cough'.
And I had to unhook his fuel heater because it had broken loose inside the can and shorted out, told him to run extra additive. "


yea i am in the ag mechanics program to does he have a red powerjoke?

 

I think the generator is an excellent idea. Just one of the cooler sized ones would be more than adequate.

Seems lots of folks brag that their rig starts just fine below zero without plugging in.
Big point they are missing is the engine doesn't like it at all and that it severely cuts down on the life of the engine.

 

Yup... the my Cummins has started with the block solid at -35C. I sure wasn't happy I had to do that, though (and ended up just deciding to take public transit on really cold days, to save wear and tear on myself and the truck from short runs at cold temps where I couldn't plug it in, and because I was staying in the city).

Espars are great.

I would be concerned about how easy/reliably the gen would start when you really need it...

 

I agree.

Anything below 32*/freezing, my trucks get plugged in.

It is much easier on everything concerned.

It is nice to know that, in an emergency situation, it will start un-aided at much colder temperatures; but, if the cord is available, I'll plug it in.

 

Find a place to park it next to outlet, might be some outside around the building and try and park there, that sounds like the cheapest option.

 

There are several of us at Dartmouth that run diesels and like you, no one has a place to plug in. I wouldn't bother with a generator. I thought about doing the same thing my freshman year but decided against it. Just make sure to run synthetic oil and that your grids are working and you should be fine. My truck has been cold started at -25F several times and it was fine.

The bigger problem for us is fuel. With running synthetic, the engines will start as long as they aren't gelled up. Even running PS, we have had a couple of people gel up and a generator isn't going to solve that problem.

There are a few things that you can do. Where you park is a lot more important than a lot of people realize. I always park at the back of the lot where there is sun and the truck starts a lot easier and I don't have to scrape the windshield a lot of the time. We also make an effort not to have to drive on really cold days.

I think that you should go to school and if starting your truck becomes an issue, then you can start working on solutions like this but for the moment, I don't think that it is necessary.

 

I'm going to do what th geese do, and go south. I'll be in las vegas all winter. But, I have thought of the generator idea. I guess you could invest in one of those quiet honda ones. leave it in your place during the day and fire it up at night with a box like mentioned before. I dealt with the same thing 2 winters ago. Last winter I was deployed the whole time, before I left I put #1 in the tank and no problems when I got home in late Feb.

 

Unless you are going to be in the -20* or colder for a long time don't worry about your CTD starting. Mine will fire (even without the grid heaters) reliably at -20* without being plugged in if I need it to.

I've done the generator thing before and it dosen't work. If it is cold enough that you need the generator, the gen won't want turn over or fire.

If you are really woried about it check out a WEBASTO BLUE HEAT or find an AUTO START with a low temp setting.

Just make sure it is running like it is supposed to BEFORE it gets cold.

 

Webasto or Espar gets my vote. It heats AND circulates the coolant, so not only will the engine be warm, but so will the interior. Self contained and on a 7 day timer, and you will never have to worry about driving away still plugged in.

 

cold starts are terrible on an engine, if your rear main didn't leak, it will starting below zero with out some outside heat source. I live in norcal now, but i lived in alaska a couple years, so im not completaly full of edit. try getting a 5 gal propane tank, a weed burner torch, and a couple 4' pieces of stove pipe with a 90 on one end, and walah, ujoints, rear end, tranny , oil pan, thawed out. Just make sure your not blowing flames out the 90 and you should be good, and don't be scared to heat the propane tank with its own torch, in real cold conditions the propane freezes.

 

Just because it WILL start in the real cold doesn't mean that I do it on a regular basis.

Up here plugins are an everyday thing. Most employers provide plugins for you at work. Given the chance I will plug in anywhere below +20* that said, If I have to start it in the way below temps I know that it WILL.

 

Just how severe is something I think a lot of people severely underestimate. I'd bet that 20 minutes of running from a subzero cold start causes more wear than 20 days of continuous operation with a warm engine on the hwy.

If I had to continuously make unheated bitter cold starts and short trips, I'd consider a super-thin 0w-20 gasser oil and change it more often.

I gotta think a thin oil that flows faster when cold is more important than a little better valvetrain protection that thicker oils tend to provide.

JMO-- I'll defer to Bill's wisdom on this one.

 

Well I have just modified a fuel cap( tig welded) for a 1400 W Honda gen. I also drilled a hole into the side for a 1/8" O-ringed connector and used a 1/8"/ 1/4" reducer for the inside. Now I can hookup a 25 L Jerry can to it and it will have all that for fuel. The fuel can sits on a shallow Rubbermaid container. I run two cords to the box one for the battery warmers ( if batteries are to sit for awhile they should be kept warm) and the other for the block and oil pan warmers. I use Mobil 5w-40 for the engine and bailer belting for winter fronts just punch some holes in it and the 500 lbs twine across the hood mounts and there you are. I can vary the belting across and almost shut it in. Mine probably only burns about 70% of the fuel that it is supposed too so I know all about cold engines.
Now I don't have to move the 5KW gen up the ramps for fuel capacity. YESSSSSS

 

No, used to have a white one. Darren is his name. He just bought a 2008 ferd, 6.4L, dark blue.