A bunk heater is an essential accessory in your semi-truck. It keeps you nice and warm, especially during the winter.
Yet, sometimes, it could be confusing how to operate them.
Worry no more because we will discuss in this article how to turn on different bunk heaters in 5 semi-trucks and give a glimpse into how to use them.
Here’s a Quick Answer on How to Turn on Bunk Heater on a Semi-truck
To turn on the bunk heater on a semi-truck, enable it by pressing the power button, then adjust it to your desired temperature and press set. The bunk heater should be working. A bunk heater may not work if the control panel or buttons are damaged or if any of the bunk heater components are faulty.
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How to Turn on Bunk Heater in Peterbilt?
Before starting a bunk heater, make sure that you turn your key off. Otherwise, the bunk heater may malfunction or not work at all.
Your bunk heater has a small screen with buttons in your truck. Notice that it has three buttons, the blue one on the left, the power button on the middle, and the red on the right.
To begin, press the power button, and it will flash on the screen that the heater is enabled. Then, input the temperature. Next, press the middle button to set.
With those simple steps, you can enjoy warm weather during cold days.
Peterbilt recently introduced a factory-installed, no-idle, fuel-fired heater in the market. However, it needs more information.
We know that the latter requires no plug-in resources and has low voltage. Also, the same is impressive as it automatically disconnects and reconnects non-vital batteries.
How to Turn on Bunk Heater in Kenworth?
Although it is hassle-free to operate a bunk heater, there are key takeaways to ensure its smooth performance.
Firstly, check the bunk heater where the air comes out. As you can see, it has metal covers that protect it from foreign objects.
It could be very hot. That’s why metal covers are the best way to go.
Secondly, always ensure that there are no objects such as paper and other materials on the vent because they can cause a fire.
Then, we can go on with the steps to turn your bunk heater in Kenworth. As mentioned, it may also use the same bunk heater in other semi-trucks.
Step 1: Press the power button.
Step 2: Set the temperature by pressing the left button to decrease and the right to increase.
Step 3: Wait for about 5 minutes before the bunk heater releases warm heat on its vent.
There are also advantages to setting your semi-truck in “no idle” mode while using the bunk heater. One consideration is that it saves fuel or because of fuel economy.
The Kenworth uses or burns lesser diesel even though the bunk heater is on. Another one is that the emission system does not like being set on “idle” while using the bunk heater.
The reason is that it can cause damage to the system, especially in the long run. Hence, it is significant to look at the other components of the truck as they can also affect one another.
How to Turn on Bunk Heater in Freightliner?
There are things to remember when turning on a bunk heater in a Freightliner that apply to other semi-trucks.
The number one rule is always to check the batteries. You must ensure that they are functioning well. Otherwise, it can affect the performance of your bunk heaters.
Now, we can proceed with the primary goal. What we have here to discuss is a bunk heater in Freightliner Cascadia.
The steps are straightforward:
Step 1: Set the screen to enable the bunk heater.
Step 2: Set the temperature that you want.
Step 3: Set, and you are ready to go.
How to Turn on Bunk Heater in Volvo?
Like other bunk heaters on different trucks, the Volvo semi-truck must not be idling before turning the bunk heater on.
When setting it on, you need to press the “menu” button thrice, press on, and then press set.
You would be surprised that the steps are a no-brainer. If you want to turn it off, you follow the same steps but instead of “on,” press “off” before pressing the set button.
Now, if you feel that it is not that cold and want to keep the bunk heater on cycle, you would be grateful since the bunk heater in Volvo has a “cycle” mode.
You need to press set, turn the knob until the screen flashes the word “cycle,” then press set twice to adjust the minutes you would like.
For instance, if you choose 5 minutes, the bunk heater will turn off every 5 minutes, and the cycle repeats.
Also, the bunk heater has an “auto” mode. You also need to set it into a heater, choose “auto,” press set, input the time, and then press set again twice.
How to Turn On a Bunk Heater in International?
International LT, or ProStar, uses an automatic start or stop bunk heater (hydronics), which we will tackle in this article. The steps are as follows:
Step 1: Restart the truck by turning the key on for a few seconds and then turning it off.
Step 2: When the green light is on, select “no idle cool” or “no idle heat.”
Step 3: Set the fan speed and the temperature. The top button is for the fan, while the bottom controls the temperature.
Always observe and watch for the battery and the temperature to ensure your bunk heater is functioning well.
How to Turn on the Espar Bunk Heater?
Espar bunk heater is one of the widely used and trusted bunk heaters for a semi-truck. It is suitable for trucks such as the Peterbilt, Kenworth, and Freightliner.
Some International trucks also use Espar as it operates efficiently and lasts long. We already knew how to use the same as mentioned above.
Drivers claim that the Espar bunk heater can heat your truck even for 67 hours straight!
As we said above, always check the vent where the heat comes out and ensure nothing is before it.
After that, you can start the bunk heater by pressing the power button. Wait until you see “heater enabled” on the screen. The green lights indicate that it is on.
The next step is to set the temperature. The left or blue button decreases the temperature while the right or red button increases it.
How to Turn on the Webasto Bunk Heater?
Webasto is another popular and established bunk heater in the truck industry. These are highly effective bunk heaters for different types of working environments.
This article will discuss how to start and operate Webasto SmartTemp Control 2.0. This one is innovative, convenient, and works perfectly for your semi-truck.
It has a single rotary dial controller with four buttons. The upper button has “webasto” as its label, while the bottom has the menu: the left and right buttons.
Here are simple steps to activate the Webasto Bunk Heater:
Step 1: Turn it on by pressing the “webasto” button. Then you would see the illuminating blue color on the screen, which means it is on already.
Step 2: Now, you can adjust the temperature by rotating the dial to the right to increase it while turning it to the left to decrease it. Note that each click represents one degree.
Step 3: After inputting the temperature, press the Webasto button and the menu button at the bottom. It would subsequently reflect a red light as it is already in heat mode.
You will see it has many features. When the bunk heater is not in heat mode, the menu button can access mode, language, temperature unit, and options control.
If you choose “mode,” you can select heat or vent mode. Meanwhile, if you choose a timer, you can edit and adjust it as you prefer.
Typical Problems of Why Bunk Heater Won’t Turn On
Many reasons are attributable to why your bunk heater won’t turn on. It can range from minor problems that are quickly fixable to severe ones that require repair or change at all.
One of the main problems is that your control buttons need to be fixed or fixed. Thus, it is significant to check your equipment and accessories before driving.
It could be because your truck needs more coolant, which is why your bunk heater failed to send it to the heater core. You will have trouble starting the bunk heater.
The reason could also be that the fan in your bunk heater is clogged, preventing the system from functioning.
Sometimes, the reason why the bunk heater won’t turn is that it is already old. It either needs repair, or you might as well buy a new one.
The same is fixable by restarting the bunk heater, cleaning it, and ensuring that it is not clogged, but some of the reasons can be because it is already damaged.
Whatever it is, you can always contact maintenance to help you fix your bunk heater to keep the truck, its passengers, and its engine warm and safe.