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Never been in a patrol car before. No need to. So now someone please tell me just how many electronics, other than a 2 way radio, a radar gun and maybe a laptop are they having to run while idling? And how much of an amperage draw are we talking here?
I suppose it's cheaper to use tax payer dollars on fuel and increased engine maintenance as opposed to investing in solar panels and a few extra batteries?
I know. Its so they can get to the donut shop in a hurry if their donut warmer runs out of goodies. Nobody else said it so I did. lol
Next someone will post here that cops never eat donuts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MaxPower123
Adding more weight is probably not a good idea.
How much does a solar panel weigh? We have one at my work on a refuel cart to keep the battery charged....it's pretty light afaik. And it's not big either....maybe 8X11" or so. It's very efficient too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jdavid93225
Another thing to keep in mind is that some law enforcement vehicles are used for K-9 patrols, so there are dogs inside. This alone is reason enough for A/C, and a requirement to keep the vehicle running.
LOL yeah I can vouch for that. At work here we have security cops with dogs...the dogs get better treatment than the cops do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tennesseestorm
That all makes sense, but I wonder about the engines... not sure about the newest cars, but on all of the 80s and 90s cars I have owned, it clearly states in the owners guides to not allow the engines idle for more than 10 minutes, because it could damage the emissions control systems. Also as the car ages and the cooling system weakens, seems like it would cause the engine to overheat. I guess by then though it would be time to retire the car.
Which is probably one of the many reasons why patrol cars are replaced often. Also I've heard patrol cars have a heavy duty cooling system but not sure how true it is.
But as Elwood Blues once said...."It's got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant. It's got cop shocks, cop tires, cop suspension....it's a model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas." Right after he shows how a cop car can jump a draw bridge and not miss a beat. But..."fix the cigarette lighter".
I've done some ride alongs, and I did ask at one point why she wasn't shutting the car off. She had several reasons, but what I remember was, electronics and being "ready." This was a deputy who would blade stance on anyone, even in civilian clothes. You know the "cop 24/7" type. I got the vibe she just couldn't come to grips with that car being off unless it had to be off.
She turned it off twice in my week of night-time ride alongs. Once during a lightning storm we went to a trailer on a call that was a domestic and a fire. We had to park in some tall grass and she shut it down. I kept waiting for the grass to catch fire anyway, but it began to rain. The other time, a stolen car was spotted by the river and we went to look about. We saw the car's tail lights underwater, at the end of a boat ramp from a distance. She backed the car off the road and shut everything down, when back up showed, they went stalking around to find the perp.
I bet you'd get three answers "it's policy" "electronics" or "being ready".
These are fleet cars so they get good maintenance. As far as the cost of running it, it's negligible in the big picture I guess.
In some states it's actually illegal to let your semi idle in public areas. Thats why a lot of drivers are buying generators that install right on the frame of the truck and runs on the trucks diesel fuel. The reason why drivers leave the trucks on is because it's actually less wear and tear on the engine when it's cold outside, keeps the cab comfortable for sleeping and so they don't have to wait for the pressure to build up everytime they cut it off.
Electronics such as MDT's, Modems, Repeaters, CB/PBs, Laptops, Radar, radio that is on them.
I also wanted to say the sheriff office that I interned at had a staff of deputies that were religous to eating healthy and worked out constantly... I think the worst thing I seen the fto's and deputies do was drink mountain dew. Most of them stuck to water, lots of it and ate at subway so they could see there food prepared. There's alot of stress in the job the last thing a cop worries about is someone nagging about fuel consumption.
I'm pretty sure ford puts the seats in before the car is taken off the line. Even ford doesn't make them they still issue Crown Vic PI's with the seats.
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But..."fix the cigarette lighter". 
