Anti Idle Advice

for us older farts, the cold isn't so bad, but the hot and humid nights are miserable.

I have COPD and will idle.

when I interview with a company , I put it up front.

and no I don't have a doctors note. haven't needed one. yet.

and to the smart ##### young pups,no I'm not too old to drive either.

 

give em hell,lol

 

double the hell

companies would be smart to install furnaces. at the least. i can see not doing apu's becuase they breakdown too much. be cheaper to just run the engine. furnaces are cheap and according to some posters. use even less fuel then an apu.

if you need cooking. buy propane or 12v appliances.

as for a/c. truckers didn't have them back in the day. but we do today. and i'm idling. gots me a sticker that says i can.

and as for the post that asked if anyone knew of anyone suffer from heat stroke. since he has less then 1 year experience. he wasn't on the road 2 years ago when a trucker died in his sleep in phoenix. from heat.

 

Perhaps I'll update my profile to note a total of 4 years experience, only 0-1 year recent. I tried a Google search for any news article about the Phoenix heat stroke death, couldn't find any. Do you have a link? I did find many articles about the 19 illegal immigrants that died in the trailer after the trucker abandoned them in Texas, but nothing about a trucker dying in his truck.

 

You need proof of people dying before it will be OK to expect drivers are treated as well as pets?

 

No, not at all. I just keep hearing references to some trucker dying in his truck and wanted to know the circumstances for obvious reasons, seeing that I'm a dedicated non-idler. I'd like to know more about the temperature, whether his windows were open, shades pulled, etc.... that sort of thing. All the heat stroke articles I found regarding hospitalization or death in vehicles were related to passenger vehicles, with windows rolled up, no thermal shades, and much less insulation than modern trucks.

I did find an article that discussed the issue for truckers, but even after their search they couldn't find any research related to how hot it really gets inside a truck versus outside temperature. I've found that I can sleep just fine midday in 105ºF with a nice breeze coming through the window screens and vents, with humidity about 40%. It didn't seem like it was much over that temperature inside, and maybe even a little cooler.

Ever go to a third world country where it's real hot and they don't have AC? How do they survive? Our ancestors didn't have benefit of AC until just a couple generations ago, yet enough of them survived to procreate.

It just is notable to me that there is such a fear among truckers about temperature. It doesn't matter what the outside temperature is, you go to any truck stop and I'll bet at least half the trucks are idling. It can be perfect conditions for sleeping with the truck off and windows open, but nope.... they gotta be idling. Doesn't matter if it is hot or cold... gotta be idling.

Perhaps it's really just a morbid fear of fresh air.

 

I can't find the original story now but here's an example of how idle laws can lead to terrible things. This happened a few years ago. The driver who died shares the blame but this should never have happened.

 

I always thought a propane heater inside was a bad idea. He'd be alive today if he had a sleeping bag, long johns, and a wool cap.

 

unfortunately. the radio doesn't post links on the internet.

evan lockridge was the news man at the time. he used to have a facebook page. in relation to the show. but don't know if it's still up. never looked at it.

not all news is major news and posted all over the internet.

i use a one burner stove in between the seats. with the windows down. and usually the back heater blowing. if it's cold outside. too cold and i just eat inside the store. and forget the stove.

 

Who cares? We're not in third world countries and shouldn't be expected to live like we are.