Poor cab thermal insulation

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

I love my truck but it seems to be noticeably less "insulated" than my '01.



Now with colder weather it seems difficult to keep the cab comfortable without keeping the temp knob within 2-3 ticks of Max Hot. This is with temps in the 30s, nothing terribly cold.



Yesterday we took some kids into the mountains to go sledding and it took forever to get the back seat of the cab warmed up even after the engine was warmed up and blowing lots of hot air out the vents. There isn't a problem with the T-stat, the engine warms up reasonably fast and runs at 190F. My 2001 Ram did a lot better job of warming the cabin and staying warm without having to crank the heat so much.



Last summer it was the opposite deal, the A/C seemed to struggle to keep the cabin comfortable. This was quite apparent last July when it was 105F for 2 weeks straight. You have nice cold A/C blowing out of the vents but the back of the cab and anyplace you didn't have air circulating was very warm in the cabin. Thank goodness it wasn't 110+ like it was last year.



Vaughn

 

[jman]

I can't say I have that problem with mine. We had single digit temps this weekend and the thing is like a convection oven and will run you out of the cab if you don't keep it turned down a bit. I also had no trouble in the summer either, but I have tinted windows and that makes a huge difference IMO blocking heat. I had more trouble with my Pat. Blue 01 in the summer, probably because of the dark color. It took a long time to cool it down after sitting in the sun, but it sure was toasty in the winter if the sun was out.

 

[SBashaw]

Just got back from Jackson Wyoming, 4 degrees in the morning, truck warmed up just fine. Drove all the way to Reno before the outside temp got above 30 degrees, stayed warm as a bug in a rug!

 

[Mopar_Mudder]

Well I think it has nothing to do with "insulation". Think about it for a minute and the fact that most of the cab that you are next to is glass, which has very little insulation value. You feel radiating cold off the glass all the time. The floor is carpeted and padded and you have a head liner which takes care of most everything else. I guess I can't say I have had any problem. It takes a little longer to warm up then my previous truck, but that was a regular cab, that is a pretty big increase in volume to heat.



One thing I wish they would have done was put an adjustable air vent in the rear.

 

[Grunt]

What the 3 G need is a rear seat climate control. . you can roast in the fron while the people in the back are freezing their toes off. heat/ac vents would work wonders

 

[Mopar_Mudder]

Originally posted by Mopar_Mudder

One thing I wish they would have done was put an adjustable air vent in the rear.

Thats what I said... ...

 

[Crunch]

Originally posted by Vaughn MacKenzie

I love my truck but it seems to be noticeably less "insulated" than my '01.

Originally posted by Mopar_Mudder

One thing I wish they would have done was put an adjustable air vent in the rear.

There do be a couple of pass-through air vents behind the back seat but they aren't adjustable. Maybe that is what is venting air in or out. My truck takes a bit longer to warm up than a gasser, but once it is warm it can get like an oven in the cab. I tend to use the defroster when the engine is still cold because you can still get warm air from the heat pump effect.

 

[Mopar_Mudder]

I think what you are talking about is the body vent, that just let air out of the cab. Have nothing to do with the heating or cooling system.

 

[bighammer]

Now Vaughn, when were you riding in the backseat?

 

[Prairie Dog]

Originally posted by bighammer

Now Vaughn, when were you riding in the backseat?

Now thats a loaded question and fairly tasteless too.

Do you have any pictures?



Scotty

 

[SLinse]

My heater works ok around 0, but it hit -25 and it was chilly in the cab. However I turned on the re-circulation button, and that helped a bunch! It would be great if they had vents for the rear!

 

[ray1933]

Cool Cab

Well now,, I have never had a complaint from the passengers in the back seat.



Could that be due to the fact I took the back seats out and made a full padded level floor for our Bernese Mountain Dogs.



The only time they complain is when we go thru the drive in window at the bank and the teller does not send out a dog treat.