© Dometic

Auxil­iary air condi­tioners for truckers

Relaxing breaks for every trucker: the new high-perfor­mance gener­a­tion of effi­cient CoolAir auxil­iary air condi­tioners from Dometic.


Truckers often spend several days behind the wheel, driving thou­sands of kilo­me­ters and living in their trucks the whole time. There they do their paper­work, prepare their meals, and sleep in the cab.

In the summer months or in hot regions, that can be espe­cially chal­lenging. The new CoolAir auxil­iary air condi­tioners from Dometic provide for a perfect climate in the cab, so drivers can keep a cool head even when it’s hot outside. That’s not only comfort­able, it’s also good for safety. Drivers who have had enough sleep can concen­trate better in traffic.

To get maximum air flow, for example, we use a new blade geom­etry from ebm-papst for the evap­o­rator fan.

Daniel West­en­darp, Global Product Manager at Dometic

No rude awak­ening

Dometic has been devel­oping auxil­iary air condi­tioners for trucks for more than ten years. Daniel West­en­darp, Global Product Manager at Dometic, says “Customer require­ments have changed a lot in the past ten years. Drivers want it cooler, and for as long as possible.”

In a shop, mechatronics engineers can install an auxiliary air conditioner in only a few steps. (Photo | Dometic)

In a shop, mecha­tronics engi­neers can install an auxil­iary air condi­tioner in only a few steps. (Photo | Dometic)

West­en­darp and his team took up the chal­lenge, devel­oping a new gener­a­tion of compressor air condi­tioners that can deliver suffi­cient cooling output with low energy consump­tion for long periods even during breaks on hot summer days, whether in southern Europe or the Middle East.

With the engine switched off, the RTX 1000 cools the cab with 1,200 watts for up to twelve hours at central Euro­pean temper­a­tures. And in eco mode, the RTX 2000 can keep going with up to 2,000 watts for an entire weekend.

The tech­nology has been field-tested in Australia. “That requires top effi­ciency from every single compo­nent in the system,” says West­en­darp. The entire plug & play system is designed for 24 volts and is oper­ated using the truck battery. The output can be adjusted in seconds using the display or via remote control with one of the four modes: auto, eco, manual and boost.

To get powerful, effi­cient and compact fans for a 24-volt appli­ca­tion, you have to work with special­ists.

Daniel West­en­darp, Global Product Manager at Dometic

An inte­grated voltage monitor with a sensor circuit checks the battery’s charging level. “Under no circum­stances can the battery be allowed to discharge too far. Nothing could be worse for the driver than to spend a pleas­antly cool night, only to be stuck at the rest stop,” says West­en­darp.

Fans made to measure for wind and weather

The experts at Dometic formu­lated their require­ments and approached ebm-papst. “To get powerful, effi­cient and compact fans for a 24-volt appli­ca­tion, you have to work with special­ists,” says Daniel West­en­darp. 

With the engine switched off, the RTX 1000 cools the cab with 1,200 watts for up to twelve hours. (Photo | Dometic)

With the engine switched off, the RTX 1000 cools the cab with 1,200 watts for up to twelve hours. (Photo | Dometic)

And the air condi­tioner is mounted throughout the year on the truck’s roof, so the indi­vidual compo­nents – espe­cially the condenser fan, which is installed in the top part – have to resist rain, snow, ice, UV radi­a­tion and corro­sion. Simply buying an off-the-shelf product is not enough for such special require­ments.

Together they modi­fied existing condenser and evap­o­rator fans. “To get maximum air flow, for example, we use a new blade geom­etry from ebm-papst for the evap­o­rator fan.” That enabled them to generate high output with low energy consump­tion in a compact design.

The compact design is so impor­tant because the system is usually built into the truck’s roof hatch. In a shop, mecha­tronics engi­neers can install an auxil­iary air condi­tioner in only a few steps. Whether the unit is to be retro­fitted or installed at the factory, it is compat­ible with the majority of current truck types.

 

More about Dometic CoolAir auxil­iary air condi­tioners.

Required fields: Comment, Name & Mail (Mail will not be published). Please also take note of our Privacy protection.