Ok, so I have to say that for a 2002 the ac works pretty darn good. The compressor is a couple of years old. I’m not sure the age of the other components.

I guess I should start by saying I live in Phoenix. Today, for example, it’s 111 out.

I’ll start by outlining its current performance. If I’m driving at expressway speeds, the cabin feels like a freezer. It’s great. It doesn’t matter how hot it is, it gets nice and cold.

if it’s super hot out and I’m driving stop and go (where I live that means intersection every half mile, give or take), it’s ok. But when I’m stopped it starts to struggle.

if I’m idling for a while, like when I have to sit and wait for a hour to pick up my daughter from school, it eventually really struggles. The air coming out of the vents is cool, not cold. If I rev the engine up to about 1300 rpm’s it’s gets cold again. I don’t want to do that for an hour though.

steps I’ve already taken: the truck is white, so that helps. The windows are tinted 20%. The entire cabin has multiple layers of sound deadening and closed cell foam which really help insulate it. I’ve also wrapped the proper ac lines in the engine compartment with pipe insulation, which really made a big difference.

my question is, can I do anything else? Especially to help with extended idling?

 

Any route for air to get to the cooling fan without first going through the condenser should be blocked. Ford was pretty thorough about this but seals are often lost during repairs. Make sure every air dam between the bumper/grille and the radiator/condenser is in place to minimize recirculation of hot air.
Have a shop evacuate the system and weigh the amount of refrigerant in your system. It's the best way to verify if it's undercharged.