Anti Idle Advice

Are you guys talking about 650 RPM idle or 1000+ RPM?

 

it's the fan kicking in and out that prevents sleep. when something is continuous you can adjust to it, it's the sudden changes that act as a #### alarm clock going off every few minutes. that's gotta be my biggest gripe with guys that idle beside me.

right now I've got a perfect example. I've been sitting here most of the day cause my next load doesn't pick up till tomorrow morning 30 miles away. this guy backed in beside me about six hours ago, he shut it off right away but then starred it back up less than an hour later. it's currently 65 degrees outside, so no need for heat or ac. in the last 15 minutes his fan has kicked in twice and his dryer has spit 7 times. I'm sure I'll eventually get tired enough it stops waking me but in the meantime I'm sitting here awake when I'd rather be sleeping. all because of an inconsiderate #######.

 

I would rather take a chance on a cops car not starting, than me, my family or someone else out on the hyway, getting run over by 80,000 pounds because the driver sweated all night and half slept.....

 

Commerce City Police, Commerce City, Colo. tried telling me that one morning, after I watched 7 of their officers sit at Sapp Bros. Café (when it used to be open 24hrs) for 90 minutes, while their cruisers were idling the entire time outside. When I called the watch commander he said it was acceptable, the Asst. Chief said it was acceptable, City Council didn't agree. All 7 of those officers were docked 1 hrs pay (they only get a 30 minute lunch break) to cover gas.

 

Yes, police officers are next on the .....no idle for the mermidons...they just do not know it yet...

 

See, the thing with idiling especially in below freezing conditions or arid conditions (90+) the one thing that you would meed to tell either your dispatcher or an officer or even those at a customer is the reason im idiling is due to safety. Because i cant sleep because its too cold or too hot etc etc...they cant say #### after that. I drive for swift and during the summer i run in the south so this is a constant issue for me but i always tell them that its for safety reasons and thats the end of it

 

5k AND 60 days in jail? Wow. I got a $400 ish (don't remember now) fine in commifornication once. Never went back. I have a bunk heater, I will idle tho if it gets below -20c as its too hard on the engine starting. I don't have air so if its above a comfortable sleeping temp my 500hp air conditioner is running. I have a new truck with the clean idle sticker and it says "clean idle mode" on the dash after a while, but I will admit I have no idea what that means, or do I care. I own it and its my fuel. I'm gonna be comfortable.

 

I also work for the big S.

They want our idle time to be around 18% or lower, mine is usually at least double that.
I got written up for it once. Once, in nearly 3 years.

Our trucks don't have a temp range, they just have a 5 minute timer. But there is always a workaround. My current truck is a simple press on the clutch once the notice shows.

They always mention it, I always ignore it.
I won't idle unless I need to, but, I'll always idle when I need to either keep warm or cool or to charge the batteries.
I have a bunk warmer that works very well in this truck, but it can drain the batteries to the point that it is shut off.

This truck is my main place of residence, and I expect to be able to keep comfortable just like I could at home.
Just as every office person can, and does... just as every officer or official does.

And part of the companies responsibility is to make sure each driver gets decent rest out there on the road - so I feel, as a company driver, it is their responsibility to pay for the fuel used.
It is their own choice whether to do this by installing an APU or by allowing us to run the engine.

But I have done my own calculations on APU's, and how long it would take to recover the cost of the unit and maintenance.
With Swift retiring trucks at around 500,000 miles, it is at a break even point at best - especially with these newer trucks that use much less fuel on long-idle. So I figure they simply don't see APU's as a good option.
So, let them eat the fuel when I need to idle my truck.