New Truck Drivers Get Help Here - All about IdleAire....??

Was/am sitting in Laredo, TX (no, i'm not going to waste my money going into Mexico to watch the donkey show) where it is in the mid to hi 80s. I am sitting comfortable in my sleeper, vents open, and got a really strong breeze.

I thought about getting an IdleAire account. Anybod who has one, tell me what you think of it?? Is it really worth it?? I know it keeps your idle time down, which i am sure the company you drive for will like, but the cost for I.A. comes out of your pocket, and dont think the company would reimburse you for that.

I was about to go get one this morning, but then looked on their website, and it was like $2.50 per hour. I dont need the added gizmos...phone, internet, tv...etc. Just want something, seeing how spring is upon us, and soon, summer, that will keep me cool when i'm in the truck stopped. And before anybody asks....no i wont sit in a truck stop TV/movie room just to be cool. I like to keep to myself as much as i possibly can.

you are aware that any money you spent that is not reimbursed is a tax deduction???

Was/am sitting in Laredo, TX (no, i'm not going to waste my money going into Mexico to watch the donkey show) where it is in the mid to hi 80s. I am sitting comfortable in my sleeper, vents open, and got a really strong breeze.

I thought about getting an IdleAire account. Anybod who has one, tell me what you think of it?? Is it really worth it?? I know it keeps your idle time down, which i am sure the company you drive for will like, but the cost for I.A. comes out of your pocket, and dont think the company would reimburse you for that.

I was about to go get one this morning, but then looked on their website, and it was like $2.50 per hour. I dont need the added gizmos...phone, internet, tv...etc. Just want something, seeing how spring is upon us, and soon, summer, that will keep me cool when i'm in the truck stopped. And before anybody asks....no i wont sit in a truck stop TV/movie room just to be cool. I like to keep to myself as much as i possibly can.



I used to work for a company last year that payed for the IdleAire for up to 20 hours a day with no money out of pocket, you just swiped the fuel card *Comdata* in the credit card slot at the top of the window unit. With that being said, I very rarely used it. The few times I did hook up to it the next day I would be really sick and could barely drive. It's like
sleeping in the stankiest truck you can imagine with out actually being there. You get all the pet odors, cigarette odor, and the I quit bathing two months ago truck driver stank all bottled up and blown into your cab for your breathing pleasure. Seemed healthier for me just to idle the truck, leave the windows down if it was decent out, or just get a hotel room.
Landline magazine, put out by OOIDA, had an interesting article on IdleAire a while back

you are aware that any money you spent that is not reimbursed is a tax deduction???
REALLY???!??!??!? you mean all those receipts i've saved since last August actually mean something???? i was using them to pretend i was stashing away real money, and going to roll around in my receipts once i got my imaginary million dollars.....oh man....what a waste.

I used it for $840 worth in 2008, never had a problem. Better than idling, but then again I pay for my own fuel.

you are aware that any money you spent that is not reimbursed is a tax deduction???

Not necessarily. It is only a tax deduction if you earn enough to itemize. And even then, it isn't necessarily worth it. I would much rather pay $0.30 to the IRS for every dollar I make than spend the entire dollar just so I don't have to give $0.30 of it to the IRS.

Which makes the true question, "Is what I'm going to spend the money on worth the money I will spend on it?" Which is what Kevin asked in the first place.

Personally (and I am speaking from the perspective of an owner operator), I think their service is overpriced. The hourly rate they charge is at or above what it would cost me in fuel to idle my truck given the current fuel prices (granted, that was not always the case). The units themselves, according to a majority of the people I've talked to who use them, are poorly maintained (the smoke smell being the worst culprit).

I guess what you have to ask yourself, Kevin, is what will you gain by using the service, and will whatever it is you gain outweigh what you will have to spend? It would seem that a majority of the industry seems to think it doesn't, hence the fact that IdleAire declared bankruptcy. I'm not sure I'd invest a whole lot of money into a service that may disappear at any given time.

Not necessarily. It is only a tax deduction if you earn enough to itemize. And even then, it isn't necessarily worth it. I would much rather pay $0.30 to the IRS for every dollar I make than spend the entire dollar just so I don't have to give $0.30 of it to the IRS.

Which makes the true question, "Is what I'm going to spend the money on worth the money I will spend on it?" Which is what Kevin asked in the first place.

Personally (and I am speaking from the perspective of an owner operator), I think their service is overpriced. The hourly rate they charge is at or above what it would cost me in fuel to idle my truck given the current fuel prices (granted, that was not always the case). The units themselves, according to a majority of the people I've talked to who use them, are poorly maintained (the smoke smell being the worst culprit).

I guess what you have to ask yourself, Kevin, is what will you gain by using the service, and will whatever it is you gain outweigh what you will have to spend? It would seem that a majority of the industry seems to think it doesn't, hence the fact that IdleAire declared bankruptcy. I'm not sure I'd invest a whole lot of money into a service that may disappear at any given time.

true. guess another poster said it well, that you're paying for a service where u get pet smell, B/O from other drivers, nasty truck smell. with fuel being $2/gal or less, its almost cheaper to pay to idle the truck. However Swift is keeping an eye on idle time, and i think regardless how hot it might be outside, they would rather you not idle the truck. My new Volvo shows me how much "g/h" im burning when i idle...and its 0.5 to 0.7g/h

And what will Swift do if you idle the truck?

And what will Swift do if you idle the truck?
with the ecomony the way it is, and the 'need' to downsize or get rid of the undesireables, i am sure they'd use 'high idle' as a reason to term you. i got a message a month ago about that. they wanted idle time under 25%. i was at 34 for Jan...and i'm under 15% since feb. they also look at mpg. who do u think would get termed first....a driver with 3 service failures, gets 7.0mpg, and 15% idle, or a driver with 3 sf, 34% idle and 5.9mpg?

I use it some when I sleep during the day. They did have a special going for $1.99 if you got in by 12 I don't know if they still do. Thats about the only time I will use it, but it works good.

Was/am sitting in Laredo, TX (no, i'm not going to waste my money going into Mexico to watch the donkey show) where it is in the mid to hi 80s. I am sitting comfortable in my sleeper, vents open, and got a really strong breeze.

I thought about getting an IdleAire account. Anybod who has one, tell me what you think of it?? Is it really worth it?? I know it keeps your idle time down, which i am sure the company you drive for will like, but the cost for I.A. comes out of your pocket, and dont think the company would reimburse you for that.

I was about to go get one this morning, but then looked on their website, and it was like $2.50 per hour. I dont need the added gizmos...phone, internet, tv...etc. Just want something, seeing how spring is upon us, and soon, summer, that will keep me cool when i'm in the truck stopped. And before anybody asks....no i wont sit in a truck stop TV/movie room just to be cool. I like to keep to myself as much as i possibly can.

I find it cheaper and more comfortable to get a motel, I joined the checkinn program and can usually get a motel for around 40 bucks.

I find it cheaper and more comfortable to get a motel, I joined the checkinn program and can usually get a motel for around 40 bucks.

I just signed up for that card. Do you think it is a good deal so far? I havent used mine yet.

The check inn card is a great deal.

I just signed up for that card. Do you think it is a good deal so far? I havent used mine yet.

I like it, you save an average of about 10 bucks every time and you dont have to give your credit card to the motel

Kevin, instead of signing up for an IdleAire account, why don't you just try it and see for yourself if it is worth it. I have never used IdleAire myself.

thought about doing that, but didnt want to shell out $2.50 an hour, specially when i dont know how long i'm going to be sitting. and i know i can always unplug it at anytime.

oh, and its KEVIN, by the way. =)

I use it occasionally. Sometimes its nice to sleep without the vibration of the truck when it idles. I keep a can of air freshener in my cab and if the unit stinks about a 10 second blast of that into the air vents on the unit works wonders. My company pays for it though up to 24 hours and probably longer after that if I need it. They also pay for resets in hotels. The best thing I like about it is lots of times its easier to find a parking place late at night since some idleair places hold some spots for people who actually want to use the service.

I use it occasionally. Sometimes its nice to sleep without the vibration of the truck when it idles. I keep a can of air freshener in my cab and if the unit stinks about a 10 second blast of that into the air vents on the unit works wonders. My company pays for it though up to 24 hours and probably longer after that if I need it. They also pay for resets in hotels. The best thing I like about it is lots of times its easier to find a parking place late at night since some idleair places hold some spots for people who actually want to use the service.

i hate to sit. i've sat longer in the past 48 hours than i have in the last 2-3 months. I must have p!ssed someone off. But just today, i needed a jumpstart because my batteries went to 10.9v and the engine woudlnt crank. This is the 3rd time since i've had this truck its needed a jump. Last time, the on-road swift dude replaced 2 of the 4 batteries.

thinkin' maybe i should get an idleaire account just so i can use the outlets in that thing rather than drain my batts down. I started my truck and let it run for 5-10 minutes every hour or two. but aparently that wasnt good enough. Seeing how i want to be a 'good employee' and watch my idle time, i dont want to idle the truck when all i need is a small fan, and open the vents. (oh, i also run my laptop and my Igloo cooler. The cooler and the fan both run plugged into the cigarette lighter). I'm thinkin' i should just say 'screw the idle time', and idle the truck.

if they want my idle time to be low, they need to keep me moving. =)

i hate to sit. i've sat longer in the past 48 hours than i have in the last 2-3 months. I must have p!ssed someone off. But just today, i needed a jumpstart because my batteries went to 10.9v and the engine woudlnt crank. This is the 3rd time since i've had this truck its needed a jump. Last time, the on-road swift dude replaced 2 of the 4 batteries.

thinkin' maybe i should get an idleaire account just so i can use the outlets in that thing rather than drain my batts down. I started my truck and let it run for 5-10 minutes every hour or two. but aparently that wasnt good enough. Seeing how i want to be a 'good employee' and watch my idle time, i dont want to idle the truck when all i need is a small fan, and open the vents. (oh, i also run my laptop and my Igloo cooler. The cooler and the fan both run plugged into the cigarette lighter). I'm thinkin' i should just say 'screw the idle time', and idle the truck.

if they want my idle time to be low, they need to keep me moving. =)

or, you could try going with dry food rather than the stuff that needs to be cooled. having all that crap plugged in and sucking up the batteries is asking for trouble later on. the only two things i have plugged into the cigarette lighters is a 75w inverter i use for my cell phone and a 200w inverter that i have my laptop plugged into. in the volvos i had prior to the freighliner columbia, i could go a day and a half without having to hear the lower power alarm.

having a tv, cooler, and other power sapping things will cause trouble at some point in time. especially at those places where they don't want you idling while your trailer is being loaded or unloaded.

or, you could try going with dry food rather than the stuff that needs to be cooled. having all that crap plugged in and sucking up the batteries is asking for trouble later on. the only two things i have plugged into the cigarette lighters is a 75w inverter i use for my cell phone and a 200w inverter that i have my laptop plugged into. in the volvos i had prior to the freighliner columbia, i could go a day and a half without having to hear the lower power alarm.

having a tv, cooler, and other power sapping things will cause trouble at some point in time. especially at those places where they don't want you idling while your trailer is being loaded or unloaded.

well you can only eat PB&J for so long. i have water, milk, and meat in my cooler. and honestly, the road pro cooler seemed to work better than the igloo one got. takes up less space too.

anyone want an igloo cooler? =)

when and if i ever buy my own truck, it will have to come with a fridge. my mentor had one in his KW T2k, think it was a 2006 or 07....but it had a fridge in it. think it came with the truck and not something he put in.

well you can only eat PB&J for so long. i have water, milk, and meat in my cooler. and honestly, the road pro cooler seemed to work better than the igloo one got. takes up less space too.

anyone want an igloo cooler? =)

when and if i ever buy my own truck, it will have to come with a fridge. my mentor had one in his KW T2k, think it was a 2006 or 07....but it had a fridge in it. think it came with the truck and not something he put in.

Yeah you can get factory installed fridge as an option on most trucks. My vovlo 780 has a built in fridge from the factory. It's pretty descent in size, has a freezer too.

or, you could try going with dry food rather than the stuff that needs to be cooled. having all that crap plugged in and sucking up the batteries is asking for trouble later on. the only two things i have plugged into the cigarette lighters is a 75w inverter i use for my cell phone and a 200w inverter that i have my laptop plugged into. in the volvos i had prior to the freighliner columbia, i could go a day and a half without having to hear the lower power alarm.

having a tv, cooler, and other power sapping things will cause trouble at some point in time. especially at those places where they don't want you idling while your trailer is being loaded or unloaded.

That is nothing, your batteries ought to be able to handle 3000 watts easily for a good while. them igloos take up barely any power, actually TV's dont take up that much power either. The only thing that gives me a warning is the microwave, and that is from the inverter itself, I have yet to get the power low enough to trigger the trucks voltage alarm.

Do you smoke ? I do and the one time I used the idle air thingie, My truck stunk like a cheap motel room for a week. I smoke in my truck, while im driving, I close the sleeper and roll down both windows :)

But as another person said, he got sick, I totally agree with him, i felt like crap the next day, my truck stunk I was un happy with the experiance.... Now I get a room, or run my trip pac :thumbsup: most of the time I'll get a room it is easyer, I have a best western gold card and it is nice when you get free stays :thumbsup: I save them to take the wife out to get away from the kids once a month :clap: