Longest time idling?

[clandr1]

Hey everyone,

I do a fair amount of hunting/camping, and always take my Yukon. Sometimes I bring my ARB fridge/freezer and run it off my primary (starting) battery. I usually fire up the truck and let it run for 30-60 minutes to recharge the battery when my fridge pulls it below 11.5 volts.

I thought it might be interesting to see how long some of the forum members here have let their trucks sit, stationary, at idle without having overheating issues. For me, I think the longest I've let my truck sit at idle is between 30-45 minutes.

How about you?

 

[BG1988]

Hey everyone,

I do a fair amount of hunting/camping, and always take my Yukon. Sometimes I bring my ARB fridge/freezer and run it off my primary (starting) battery. I usually fire up the truck and let it run for 30-60 minutes to recharge the battery when my fridge pulls it below 11.5 volts.

I thought it might be interesting to see how long some of the forum members here have let their trucks sit, stationary, at idle without having overheating issues. For me, I think the longest I've let my truck sit at idle is between 30-45 minutes.

How about you?

Just idle it better then getting stuck in the middle of nowhere




Just POP the hood open though to keep the air circulating.... so you
don't overheat (assuring its a clutch fan)


its about ½ gallon per hour keep that is mind...

I would take another battery with you if you want to run it your way..

 

[wjburken]

Hey everyone,

I do a fair amount of hunting/camping, and always take my Yukon. Sometimes I bring my ARB fridge/freezer and run it off my primary (starting) battery. I usually fire up the truck and let it run for 30-60 minutes to recharge the battery when my fridge pulls it below 11.5 volts.

I thought it might be interesting to see how long some of the forum members here have let their trucks sit, stationary, at idle without having overheating issues. For me, I think the longest I've let my truck sit at idle is between 30-45 minutes.

How about you?

Let’s see...... how long has my wife been in a store like Target with me waiting outside with a crabby kid......
I think the record is 1-1/2 Disney movies like Cars, Cars 2 and Toy Story so that’s about 2-1/2 hours.

Never had an issue.

 

[Big Mama]

Thank goodness for electric fans

 

[Thauber]

Clutch fan here, have idled well over an hour without issue. Just make sure your coolant isn't broken down and the radiator and condenser fins are clean, and you shouldn't have a problem. A/C may not work spectacularly in the middle of the summer in direct sunlight doing that though

 

[avalonandl]

Cops idle for 4-6 hours all the time.

These LS engines are very efficient and dont carbon up like an old carb engine.

 

[rockola1971]

Why put the needless wear and tear on your engine AND transmission? There is room to add another battery under the hood and install an isolator between it and your vehicle starting battery. The extra battery bracket is readily available and is an OEM option.

 

[swathdiver]

Let’s see...... how long has my wife been in a store like Target with me waiting outside with a crabby kid......
I think the record is 1-1/2 Disney movies like Cars, Cars 2 and Toy Story so that’s about 2-1/2 hours.

Never had an issue.

Our wives must shop together! Mine goes in for just one thing and comes out 4 or 5 songs later. I've idled for 3+ hours in the heat of the day, during summer, with the wind at my back and no problems with those 700 watt fans. Whenever possible I point her nose into the wind.

 

[clandr1]

Why put the needless wear and tear on your engine AND transmission? There is room to add another battery under the hood and install an isolator between it and your vehicle starting battery. The extra battery bracket is readily available and is an OEM option.

LMAO, how is sitting still, idling, putting wear on my transmission?

I have the extra battery bracket installed. Unfortunately it didn't seem to hold down my blue top optima even when the battery hold down bolt was tightened all the way (I could grab the battery and shake it loose). Not sure if it's the battery, the holder, or the bracket that's causing the problem.

Otherwise I'd love to install one. I had a dual battery setup on my '89 Jimmy which I removed before I sold it a few years back.

 

[R3cord303]

I've idled for 3 to 4 hours before on long road trips when I pulled over to get some sleep. Haven't done that in the Tahoe but I did a couple times in my old S10

 

[rockola1971]

LMAO, how is sitting still, idling, putting wear on my transmission?

Whats not funny here is the fact that you dont know that when your engine is running the torque converter, transmission pump and input drum are spinning when you are in park which causes the transmission fluid to heat up and what is the #1 killer of transmissions.....Heat. But hey what do I know? I only use to build these transmissions for a living.

I have the extra battery bracket installed. Unfortunately it didn't seem to hold down my blue top optima even when the battery hold down bolt was tightened all the way (I could grab the battery and shake it loose). Not sure if it's the battery, the holder, or the bracket that's causing the problem.

Otherwise I'd love to install one. I had a dual battery setup on my '89 Jimmy which I removed before I sold it a few years back.

Install battery that works or fix what isnt right with current battery.

But hey its your vehicle. Do as you wish. Im not a fan of helping anyone that refuses or mocks my knowledge anyway. Ive come to terms with the fact that some people arent worth helping or are too stupid to listen to logic.

 

[Doubeleive]

If your engine and cooling system is operating PROPERLY you can idle from a full tank of gas until it runs the tank dry and not have any problem whatsoever even if it is 125 degrees outside, the ac may not cool to much but it will run, the transmission will not overheat, the engine will not overheat, yes it will put normal wear on everything that is active, some things may get excessive wear like headlight bulbs due to not getting air flow and dissipating heat.
if you discover otherwise then you have a cooling problem.
Is it recommended to do this? no
if you do this monitor the vehicle (in case) something happened to fail from normal wear and tear.

 

[SnowDrifter]

I've had mine at idle using it for campsite music. Maybe 2-3hrs or so with the rad fans on low.

 

[Dave01]

As mentioned above by someone, these aren't carbed 350's, the fuel/air is so well managed that you can idle indefinitely without harming the engine. No way it will overheat if the cooling system is in good shape. As for the tranny fluid heating up, I won't argue with an expert on transmissions, but if it were my vehicle I would not have any worries about that either. The only thing I might add, if you do this A LOT then shorten your oil change interval a bit, figure an hour of idling is 50-ish miles so if you idled 10 hours over a period of weeks that's the equivalent of 500 miles of driving.

Having said all that, install the 2nd battery!!! Even if you have problems with the hold down it's not exactly difficult to fab a hold down that will work as long as the battery fits in the tray.

 

[petethepug]

They will idle and cool the cabin great on the hottest days and for extended periods of time. If you have a bad hose, cracked coolant overflow tank or a coolant fitting that’s comprised, you will certainly find out in a hurry.

After we purchased our 08 Denali n 14, I was under a tree idling and noticed the temp gauge start to move over. It would of devastated the motor if I left the truck. I had a cracked coolant resi that slowly bled the system of coolant and at idle it was the perfect storm to cause a calamity.


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