So if the company is #####ing about idle…..

Me also, but some drivers got a thrill out of gaming the system.
I stayed in the truck.

 

Y’all don’t take vacations ?

 

Company my nephew works for has a policy that the drivers never shut the truck off if they are under a load .

no way I’d stay working for a company that wouldn’t let me keep the heat and ac on while I was sleeping

Next time i was at the home office I’d walk around back and shut off their ac to the office . maybe with an ice pick so it takes three or four days to get it fixed .

 

Nope.
That is just one extra paycheck each year.

 

Life is about balance. Many years ago I got called in because my idle % was too high. Generally speaking, I try to stay low-key and to be honest let more things roll off than I should allow. The problem though is while you should attempt to maintain balance, you should NEVER allow anyone to disrespect you. That winter I spent a lot of time bouncing between the Arkansas/Missouri area and Utah. I spent many hours parked in below-zero weather in a truck that did not have an APU or that BS Freightliner called Optimized Idle. So during the discussion at our Atlanta Terminal I simply asked the man where did he want me to park my tractor and who I left my bills with on the loaded trailer I was about to drop. Needless to say after that question the man made a phone call and that idle % BS stopped. Don't abuse idle, but these days I would REFUSE to operate a tractor that did not have an APU.

 

Really? I never knew them to give motel rooms for anything really. I was there back in 2009. I didn't really mind sitting in the truck waiting for them to get it in the shop at the Nashville terminal until they came out complaining about idle time. It was hot outside.

 

I was at the Nashville terminal also. Some of the drivers were authorized motel rooms in Stockton. I never asked for one because I preferred to just stay in the truck.

 

I think the OP was confusing Pennsylvania with Massachusetts.

VERY bad idea. Most companies require you to actually RETURN to work to qualify for your vacation pay. Even if that was for only 1 day, you would be working for 2 carriers at the same time! Not sure what all the ramifications of THAT scenario are (log timing, employment contracts not allowing, etc.), But I suspect doing this will only come back to bite you in the *(related to a donkey)*, and HARD!

Seriously, this is NOT how large carriers work. Once I took 1 week vacation off while working for JB Hunt. Came back on the day I said I would. It was understood that they could not 'keep my truck', so I took all my stuff out, and returned with it after my vacation. Well, when I got there, the terminal manager said "We don't have any trucks for you, and you are (some number greater than 10 but less than 20) on the list. Might be a couple of weeks."

So, I went back home (90 miles each way..), and went down to the Unemployment office. I filled out paperwork for being on "layoff", and saw an official that same day. Next morning, the terminal manager calls me up, saying "Get here by 10; we're putting you on a trainer truck and he's gonna take you down to Springfield, OH to get a BRAND NEW unit from International." Yep, straight off the assembly line! Nicest truck (of their fleet) I ever had working for them!

From what I heard, the dopes who didn't take action actually sat for a week or 2.......

 

If it’s 100° out or more, the APU is not gonna keep the entire cab cool, however, I found it up to maybe 105° depending on the humidity level if I close the mid-level curtains all the way and make sure they’re sealed tight, just barely the AC will keep it semi comfortable in running off the APU only. However, if you’re out in the middle of Phoenix or somewhere like that, it’s 119° out, You’re going to have to idle the truck to be comfortable. Does your company want to pay for a heat stroke claim on Workmen’s Comp.? When it’s 120° out it’s about survival at that point. You can get heatstroke in less than 30 minutes in something like that.