At What Temp Do You Not Drive Your Flattie

[55 Fargo]

Had ideas, of going to the Walmart garden center to buy bagged soil for the planters, but have had 2nd thoughts.

It is 90 degrees, with a humidex factor of 105, think I am not going driving, the old truck flattie can probably handle it, but not so sure about Me.......LOL

So what's your cut-off, not drive temp?????

[ledfootslim]

Ha! Well, with the 2-65 air-conditioning :-) in my 1948 Desoto, and with both vent windows open and pointing at you, it stays very comfy, and it gets into the hundreds easy here in Arkansas.

[55 Fargo]

Ha! Well, with the 2-65 air-conditioning :-) in my 1948 Desoto, and with both vent windows open and pointing at you, it stays very comfy, and it gets into the hundreds easy here in Arkansas.

Right on Brother south of the M.D. line, guess our heat is just "junior" compared to yours.

But yall gotta remeber, we get down to -35 to -40 sometimes in winter.

No issues with that ole engine running hot, or any problem with hot starts after a run???

[Don Coatney]

These days I pretty much do not drive my car, truck, anything else, or leave the house at anything below zero.

[55 Fargo]

Well, bit the bullet, and drove truck just 7miles each way to Walmart, no issues, U-joints are getting bad, gotta change those this week....

[55 Fargo]

These days I pretty much do not drive my car, truck, anything else, or leave the house at anything below zero.

Don, you would be in the house for 3 months here. Winters can be brutal, suppose your new digs are colder than Ole Tennessee.....

[RobertKB]

No top end for temperature when I drive my cars. They always seem OK but I often wonder what it would be like to live where it is really hot during the summer like Texas or Arizona. I don't think I would like it although I think I could put up with it better than some of the cold crap we get here in winter.

[greg g]

Last weekend I went to our local Mopar Association show.  About 20 miles one way.  The temp at 10:45 AM was 81.  At 3 when I left the temp was 91. my car usually runs at 170, but I did notice that it was at 180, and went to 190 when I got stopped at a couple of long traffic lights.  Never seen it get above 190.  When the light changed and got back to cruise speed she dropped back to 180 for the remainder of the trip.

[JBNeal]

As far as the cold, I've driven below freezing with the only problem being window fogging when there is high humidity in temps below 60 (no defroster installed on either truck).  But here in TX, it's summer from Cinco de Mayo til Halloween, so we gotta be smart when it comes to driving in the heat.  That usually means get off the pavement from lunchtime til dinnertime, as the blacktop temps can approach 180 on triple-digit days, and many tires go a-poppin' in that, so I opt not to chance it.  The engines can handle the heat, but the cab turns into an oven, and with all the windows & vents open, that just means we're being cooled with a blowtorch in the afternoons.  So as a rule of thumb, I choose not to drive in the '48 or '49 when it's over 95

[Sportfury59]

I can understand your expression of being cooled by a blow torch, however look at the picture of my 51 panel truck it does not have vent windows just the center cab vent has anyone installed side kickpanel vents in their trucks?

[Jeff Balazs]

Because I live in a hot climate and I built my truck to be my daily driver.... I took the task of adding insulation to the cab very seriously. Multiple layers of different materials.....everywhere. I also chose a cool color instead of one of the more common stock colors. Big difference there. The third thing I did to help with this is the addition of the factory fresh air kit.

It all works together very nicely. I can park it out in the sun on a hot day with all the widows closed and get right in and go....without getting scorched. I have so much insulation on the firewall and cowl area I don't get any discernible heat from the engine compartment into the cab either. It was a lot of extra work and cost me quite a bit but it was totally worth it.

 

Jeff

[55 Fargo]

Because I live in a hot climate and I built my truck to be my daily driver.... I took the task of adding insulation to the cab very seriously. Multiple layers of different materials.....everywhere. I also chose a cool color instead of one of the more common stock colors. Big difference there. The third thing I did to help with this is the addition of the factory fresh air kit.

It all works together very nicely. I can park it out in the sun on a hot day with all the widows closed and get right in and go....without getting scorched. I have so much insulation on the firewall and cowl area I don't get any discernible heat from the engine compartment into the cab either. It was a lot of extra work and cost me quite a bit but it was totally worth it.

 

Jeff

Hmmm, glad this has worked out, I would have thought, insulated cab, which is a good thing, BTW.  But with sun shining through glass, my first guess would be elevated cab temps, and insulation to hold that heat in, but seems the opposite.

I know your environment is much hotter than here, but the nice thing about your heat is it is  not that sickening, muggy slimy, humid heat you see in the deep south, midwest and even up here in July and August, not sure what is worse, the extreme dry heat or muggy hot weather. Up here if it is hot, it is muggy most of the time too.

Your clothing is soaking wet in a short time, with this weather, and breathing is even harder too....

[Jeff Balazs]

It is simple if you stop and think about it.

The color I chose to paint my truck made a huge difference. The dark traditional colors just absorb more heat. Looks nice but not a real good choice when it comes to a hot environment. All you have to do is put your hand on my truck after it has been sitting out in the sun for a while then go find a dark blue, green or red one and put your hand on it. And just forget about black.

 

The insulation I have added to mine serves a few purposes. It helps prevent any heat absorbed by the sheet metal from being transmitted into the airspace of the cab. It also keeps the heat generated by the engine out of the cab. I have used a combination of several products.......and I went at with the goal of having the coolest and quietest cab possible. Honestly I seriously doubt if anyone has done as much work on this aspect of their truck as I have. I have four separate products in use on the entire floor of my truck. Rubberized bedliner.....Hushmat Ultra.......at least a double layer of foil bubble type insulation and rubber floormat or rubberized carpet. And that includes the area behind and under the seats. I cant tell you exact degrees or decibels that this all adds up to.......but I will put it up against any other Pilothouse truck in it's effectiveness. Heck I even went after the back side of the dash and the glove box. It all adds up.

 

Jeff

[ledfootslim]

Right on Brother south of the M.D. line, guess our heat is just "junior" compared to yours.

But yall gotta remeber, we get down to -35 to -40 sometimes in winter.

No issues with that ole engine running hot, or any problem with hot starts after a run???

Ha, very true Fargo, we generally don't get below fifteen or twenty below most years and no probs with running hot so far! Edited July 6, 2014 by ledfootslim

[4852dodge]

The temps were not a decideing factor to drive or not.   I drove year round unless it was snowing.   I usually drove the 48 on in town errands more than my 04.  The problem was dual wheels, no extra weight and a steep driveway.   When she is back together it will be used for longer back road trips than before (rebuilt motor and trans) .  Maybe after she's done the missus will go also, the truck squeaked and rattled too much before, she was afraid it would self destruct.