Anti Idle Advice

Well swift really has no excuse now, because some of the newer trucks like mine, a '14 cascadia, has this new type of opti-idle, where instead of shutting on and of like the volvos do, it shuts down half of the cylinders in the engine, really reducing both emissions and fuel costs. and the truck actually does have a temperature idler. itll want to shut down if its cool enough anyways, no matter what you do, but when its hot itll keep idling for you. you dont have to touch the clutch or anything. my truck just shut down after running all day past 10 o'clock here in dallas, and its a nice comfortable temperature outside that i dont mind opening the windows to. and the fuel calculator this truck has said that it was burning 5 gals/hr. which is excellent!.

 

what seems to be unacceptable is that drivers are treated in the worse possible way. We work hard. We deserve to be comfortable and to have restful days/nights. I am a animal lover, but don't you all think that there is something wrong in the picture, when a dog can't suffer the heat or cold but a truck driver can? Just think for a second...Do I need a pet to idle and avoid a ticket? Hell no. It is disgraceful how drivers are treated. We are human who are out there working long and crazy hours, putting up with dangers that mostly don't have to and yet, I can't have a cold or warm cabin because of some law or company policy? I am sorry...it's just very frustrating that WE, the drivers allow people to treat us less than a pet.

 

bigbellytrucker;

5 gallons per hour??!!

hope that is a typo.

my "08 Volvo gets 0.04/HR bumped up up a notch.

 

In those 3rd world countries, you are lucky if you make it to 50. Many die as children, many more die in young adulthood.

And before the advent of A/C and modern medicine, it was like that everywhere.

 

I think he meant .5 gallons per hour, which is about right for the newer engines if the A/C is off.

 

It is unbelievable to read these threads and see how some drivers are willing to work under conditions not fit for man or beast. Wake up this not the 1900's we are not a third world country. We deserve better but we will never get it if we don't insist on getting it. Some of the attitudes out here now is what has caused the trucking industry to turn to a big pile of crap

 

Oh, please.

I idle as I like.
I may have to time the clutch press, but then the truck idles until I shut it off.

I've been here nearly 3 years, and nearly every month I have been 'over-idle-time'.
But, I've not been fired yet - nor have I ever gotten a ticket.

 

It amuses me that so many truckers have this attitude. The "We're American and we aren't a third world country and we live in modern times, therefore we must have 100% comfort within a narrow range of temperature that is fueled by $10K to $20K diesel every year"....

... so far in my experience with modern trucking, with AC and Webasto heaters, this is freaking luxury compared to the '70's... anyone remember AC meant opening all the windows AND the vents?

Be honestly, are we as a people feeling so privileged and have we bought into the idiocy of "we must have a better life than our parents" that we have lost track of what represents acceptable living standards?

Let's look at my own situation. During the summer I had no problems maintaining a less than 3% over idle time by simply opening the windows and vents and sleeping in a warm truck. Ever have trouble staying awake in a warm classroom or auditorium? Warmth promotes sleep.

Now that I've run a few west coast runs with temperatures dipping down to 10ºF at night, I find that my over idle time has jumped up to almost 7%, and that's only to maintain the battery so I can run the Webasto heater in the morning and keep the 12v cooler running. I still sleep with one vent open, a knit cap on my head, a turtleneck on, and sometimes get into my sleeping bag under my light down comforter. I'm toasty warm in bed, and I have the alarm clock set to turn on the Webasto to warm the cab before I climb out of bed. Am I "suffering"? Heck no. I get a great night's sleep and can turn out to see some amazing sights in the night as I start my pretrip inspection, like seeing the stars and the milky way provide enough light to see the entire valley and mountains in the Sierra Nevada.

I still maintain that those that are "committed" to high idle times are very much like some of the clients I used to take out into the mountains when I was a guide. Like one gentleman greenhorn that was so afraid of critters he had a hard time getting into the concept of sleeping "under the stars" in a sleeping bag. I had to wean him day by day... first day sleeping in the van... second day sleeping in a tent by the van so he could "escape" if he heard a coyote.... after a few days I finally got him to hike a few miles into the backcountry and actually experience sleeping in a sleeping bag with nothing but the stars above. He was blown away.

I guess the folks with this fantastic fear of high or low temperatures must actually not be alive today, because it is pretty obvious that their predecessors weren't hardy enough to have actually survived before the invention of AC and electric heaters. RIP...