No idling enforceable by fines?

In Manhattan, NY it's enforced for passenger cars as well. Mostly when the city is on one of their "ticket blitz " day/ weeks/weekends

 

Get an APU, problem solved. Not to mention save you about $30 a day in fuel costs. It will pay for itself in less then a year.

 

Yes there are many places with these laws in effect. However they sometimes have exceptions in place for if the temperature gets to low or too high. If you are at a shipper or receiver or at a truck stop, then ask someone there. Some places don't allow for a truck to idle but an APU is perfectly fine in these areas. If you don't have an APU then here was a trick that I heard on youtube. Have your truck on, crank the AC up as cold as you can get it. Get one of those 12v fans and turn that on high. Then shut off the truck once its colder than where you are comfortable and keep the fan running to circulate that air around to help keep the temperature from rising too rapidly. Or if a truck stop nearby has the idleaire system, see if your company reimburses or pays for that and hook up to that. No idling required, stay comfortable all night long, even be able to watch tv and if you pay for it, get wifi.

 

I just do it anyway. I will be comfortable in the truck in summer. I generally will try to park at a customer or other out of the way area where I won't be in a position to be harassed but sometimes it isn't always possible. nobody has ever said anything to me. yet. I'm sure the day will come though as much as I run the northeast. i'll cross that bridge when I have to but I've got deep pockets i'll eat the fine.....and will stay comfortable. I refuse to cook like an egg in the truck when my company gives us no grief over idling to be comfortable in the summer months.

that said, I know some of our drivers that have been told to shut it down or get fined in the service plazas in jersey. exactly the reason I try not to park in those kinds of places unless just absolutely necxessary

 

just one more example of how the government is looking out for your well-being

jersey service plaza? isnt that on the toll road? i dont do toll roads

getting an apu doesnt pay for itself for at least two years, sometimes more if you are not in the habit of idling, if you idle 24/7, surely it will pay for itself in a few months

 

yep on the toll road. company doesn't usually route us that way unless it's necessary to get to a customer but the lazy drivers that don't want to do 295/287/US 1 / 1 and 9 ect ect ect going up that way into the northeast they run the turnpike. they put themselves in that position by not driving the truck and taking the easy way out and letting it drive them so I don't have much sympathy for them when they get that knock on the door.

plenty of out of the way places to park going the off toll routes that you can be inconspicuous and not attract attention to yourself if you take the time and pay attention to what's around you to find them

not to mention getting noticed by your dm and the higher ups for actually following the route and paying attention to cost-efficient operation of the truck by running the shorter miles and not paying the tolls......although to my mind it's most likely a wash once you figure added stop and go wear and tear and fuel vs the cost of just paying the toll and rolling.......that's the way they want it run so I run it that way......if I wanted THAT much control then I'd run my own truck lol but the bottom line is it's their truck so run it the way they want it run.....if you plan your trip right it really doesn't add that much time to the trip to go off the toll road

while an apu would be the ideal situation we don't have them. if they kept their trucks longer I'm almost positive they would, but since they keep a young fleet and turn them over every 3 years it's probably more trouble than it's worth on a basic fleet spec truck. for all the other plusses for where I work that isn't a deal breaker. especially since we don't hear one word about idling in the summer.

 

If I was a cop and had a legit reason to write you a thousand dollar ticket, I would.
Fair or not, I won't comment, it's beside the point.
I specifically shopped for a truck with an apu to save the environment , my wallet and Cdl.

I can only hope that companies with apu equipped trucks will have the upper hand hiring and retaining drivers because one or two of mega carrier drivers were heavily fined and moved on while telling the others about their experience.

Your only line of defense is to say your starter is burned and if you shut down you would not be able to start it again or similar BS. We all know how costly it will be to hire someone to represent you in court once they write you up

 

My company provides APUs in all their trucks. We aren't doing it to save the environment at all. Its all about saving money on fuel and also on lodging costs in some cases. If your truck doesn't have an APU and you are taking a 34, getting a hotel room is actually cheaper than staying in the truck and idling it. The APU also keeps your batteries powered and your 12v plugs running plus a lot of them have a power inverter with them as well. A good APU might even be able to recharge a low battery without requiring you to get a wrecker or a shop to charge them enough to run.

 

You don't. You'll sweat your ### off. You'll lose weight if you want, which is a plus.

If I was to do it again otr (not likely) I would get a small portable air conditioner.

Get an inverter that will power that air conditioner.

Construct a shelf that would hang off the window like one of those trays from the old drive-in restaurants.

Hook that inverter up to the reefer battery (with welding cable). That reefer can run 24/7/365 'cause the meat that's in that trailer is far more valuable than the meat that's in the cab of the truck.

Kind of a pita but your complying and your able to sleep.