idling?

That's a great question. I was going to ask it myself. The truckers who post on this site are unbelievably helpful. I hope you get some answers cause I'll be checking too.

 

The truck we are training in right now has an APU. It keeps the batteries charged, runs an A/C unit and provides power. The rear heater is an aux heater that runs off the truck batteries, but since the APU keeps the batteries charged there are no worries about dead batteries.

Our company is retrofitting all the trucks with APU's but its a slow process. I only pray the truck we are assigned to out of training has one. It really makes it nice. The only draw back is the trucks are equipped with an auto shut off feature. If the APU goes down like ours did the other day, you either go straight to Thermo King to get it fixed or you better hope the weather is not too hot outside LOL. The truck will only idle for about 4 or 5 minutes before it shuts down and the cruise will not override it.

 

Normally this is more of an annoyance then a problem. There is only a few states with these crazy laws that post the blame of smoke on trucks when the trucks rarely enter the problem cities. (Directly referring to New York). This allows politicians to look good and make themselves and constituents think they are being proactive on an issue of smog, but in the end, it turns into nothing but a revenue source.

So, luckily, most OTR guys don't have to be in these states all the time. Its a day here or there. The real problem is with companies that try to squeeze out driver comfort in the name of profit and don't allow there drivers to idle ANYWHERE! This is down right dangerous. Heat and cold can be life threating. Lack of rest because one is uncomfortable is dangerous to everyone on the road.

As the other posts state, there are constant ideas like APU's and Idleair trying to get a one up on this, but companies are slow to implement or pay for services like this with fear of short term hits in there profits.

 

We also have an APU on our truck. They are wonderful! We did idle one night last winter though -- also ran the APU. We were in Wisconsin and it was well below zero with the wind chill. We wanted to keep the engine warm and the fluids moving so we ran both. But other than that, we never idle. I've never seen the police bothering anybody who was idling at a truck stop in those non-idle states -- doesn't mean they won't, just that they don't usually stand around the TS waiting to write tickets. But, if you're really concerned about it, find a company that has APU's in their trucks. Ask them before signing on. The more prospective drivers that ask, the better chance that more companies will install them. You can also check if they pay for IdleAire. Many of the truck stops have them now and many companies pay for their drivers to use it. I'm not very impressed with it, don't like that the trucks have to park nose in and they take up alot of space in the truck stops making it difficult to find spots to park, but it can help solve your idling dilemma. Hope this helps.

 

There are a few ways to stay warm such as the use of a thick winter sleeping bag or several blankets. There are bunk warmers which are like large heating pads that you plug into the cigarette lighter and can sleep on. For summer time you can buy window screens and an oscillating fan to keep the air flowing and be a little more comfortable.

 

It really depends on the local goverment. When it is inforced, they normally hang out at a truckstop or patrol the ramps. I have seen it enforced at a Pilot once. They just do it all night long.

 

We heard that starting sometime California is going to a 100% Zero Tolerance for idling? I was just wondering if the rumor was true or if anyone else has heard of this.

We don't have the funds to get an APU. So as of right now we have IdleAire. We like it. It's a little more expense then using an APU but it's still alot cheaper the idling.

 

Schneider has Webasto Cab Heaters (don't know if that's common to other carriers) so you can be as warm as you care to be without having to idle. I'm concerned about cooling though since I don't know what the idling policy is during the summer. Seems dangerous to me to drive without a good night's rest.