[nrvsreck]

Alot of times I park at the Petros in Shreveport, LA, Weatherford, TX and Oklahoma City. Usually when I shut down it's well into the evening and the only spots left are the IdleAire spots which there are usually dozens of empty spots that no one will ever park in. I park in them, but don't use the service. Never had a problem with the IA employees. They're just dumb teenagers anyway. Are you gonna let a kid tell you where you can and can't park for the night? They don't own the parking lot, just the contraptions. Hell, if I need to stop and sleep I'll be damned if they tell me I can't park there, especially since I always wind up spending money at the TS anyway. :evil:

[One]

I agree on most points made. i feel If I was paying for Idleaire, I wouldnt want my neighbours exhaust getting into my air supply. Too many drivers suffer from chronic headaches, fatigue and memory loss due partially to breathing poisons like that. As we all know, 06 was a record for drivers dying of carbonmonoxide-poisioning deaths :?

If you do park there, at least turn off all ur engines and let the paying neighbor sleep in peace.

[Windwalker]

I don't wait till I'm on "MT" to stop and fuel up. I have enough fuel to go another 75 to 100 miles. If I see that there is nowhere to park, I simply pull through the fuel island and go inside for coffee. When the person behind the counter asks: "Is that all?", I tell them. I don't see anywhere to park after I fuel, so I am not buying fuel. So, if Idle-Aire wants to reserve spaces and I can't park there, it's costing you fuel sales.

Now, if enough drivers let them know about something like that, it WILL make a difference in their own way of dealing with it. I've seen new drivers try to back out of these spaces while the trainer was in the bunk, and I've had the back of my trailer hit while someone was backing out of an Ilde-Aire space. While most of the drivers are careful when backing out, there are a few that seem to be a bit short on training. The law of averages says that at some point, we all have the chance to be parked across from one of these guys. If he hits your trailer, it may not do a lot of damage, but if he hits your grill, you could be out of service for a few days.

These days, if the truck stop has Idle-Aire, I want a row of trucks between me and the Idle-Aire spaces.

[squirrelbait]

I can see Idle Aire being needed in SOME areas ...... BUT if there is NOT an anti-idling law in the state, I say let Idle Aire open there OWN truck stops. WE have a SERIOUS lack of parking as it is.

As for being chased out, I've never had anyone give me hell about parking in the spots, which I do from time to time when the lot is full.

[Manicmechnic]

Originally Posted by roadhog

I do have an APU on my rig...which controls my cab temp between 60-85 degrees, and gives me 2- 110 volt outlets to run anything I want. So....I for one will NEVER use Idle-Aire....and I think for the money, etc. more companies might go with APU's as time goes on. For one thing....Idle-Aire is not everywhere....my APU is. I can shut down even at loading docks...where I may sit for hours. Think of the savings and cleaner air an APU offers.

Is this what you are talking about?
http://powerpacapu.com/

[golfhobo]

Originally Posted by thebaldeagle655

Now imagine my frustration when I drove out of my way to park in a truckstop and all the spots are taken by trucks parked in the idle aire spots that take up 1 1/2 to 2 times the area normally taken up by one truck. How about a little courtesy!

I hate it when I have to park at the back of the lot because the idleaire is in the prime locations!!

Now imagine MY frustration when I stop for a short break, shower fuel and dinner (team driver) at a truckstop where all the NON idleaire spots are taken up by SOLO's shutting down for the "extended" night, weekend, etc., and MOST of the IdleAire spots are EMPTY.... but I can't park there for one lousy hour!!! :evil: :evil:

[golfhobo]

Originally Posted by One

I agree on most points made. i feel If I was paying for Idleaire, I wouldnt want my neighbours exhaust getting into my air supply. Too many drivers suffer from chronic headaches, fatigue and memory loss due partially to breathing poisons like that. As we all know, 06 was a record for drivers dying of carbonmonoxide-poisioning deaths :?

If you do park there, at least turn off all ur engines and let the paying neighbor sleep in peace.

A few points, ONE:

1) The whole PURPOSE of IdleAire is to give you "filtered" air in your cab, so HOW is your "neighbors" exhaust gonna get into your air supply??

2) I, for one, did NOT know that '06 had such a record for suffocation deaths. Can you post a link?

3) ALL your engines??? How many do you have?? Oh.... you mean my REEFER engine??? Now... HOW am I gonna explain a load of spoiled groceries to my company and consignee?? Does IdleAire have some kind of "connection" that will power my reefer all night without making NOISE or polluting the AIRE???? :roll:

[golfhobo]

Originally Posted by Windwalker

I don't wait till I'm on "MT" to stop and fuel up. I have enough fuel to go another 75 to 100 miles. If I see that there is nowhere to park, I simply pull through the fuel island and go inside for coffee. When the person behind the counter asks: "Is that all?", I tell them. I don't see anywhere to park after I fuel, so I am not buying fuel. So, if Idle-Aire wants to reserve spaces and I can't park there, it's costing you fuel sales.

Now, if enough drivers let them know about something like that, it WILL make a difference in their own way of dealing with it.

I'm with YOU, WindWalker!!! It's TIME for us to speak UP!!! For every driver that spends $24 a night using IdleAire (for which the T/S makes WHAT??) there should be 50 other drivers telling them they just LOST $400+ in FUEL SALES!! More on this later!

I've seen new drivers try to back out of these spaces while the trainer was in the bunk, and I've had the back of my trailer hit while someone was backing out of an Ilde-Aire space.

The BACK of your trailer??? You mean you NOSED into a spot just opposite of an IdleAire spot? :lol: BTW.... IdleAire is SUPPOSED to provide a "spotter" for EVERY truck upon backing OUT of their spots!! I've seen this ONLY once or twice! :evil:

While most of the drivers are careful when backing out, there are a few that seem to be a bit short on training. The law of averages says that at some point, we all have the chance to be parked across from one of these guys. If he hits your trailer, it may not do a lot of damage, but if he hits your grill, you could be out of service for a few days.

Anyone who CAN'T back out of a "double wide" IdleAire spot, realizing that it only takes a small amount of tractor "jack" to "push" the trailer into the OPEN area between lines of trucks, shouldn't even have graduated CDL school yet!!! For those who have NO IDEA.... when you FIRST start to back out, jack your tractor steers immediately to the point of NOT scraping your mirrors on the trailer beside you.. and in the proper direction to PUSH your trailer in the OPEN direction. Then, keep your tractor CLOSE to the trailer on that side, and there is NO WAY you won't clear the line of trucks behind you! GOAL if you have/want to, but I promise you that you'll make it!

These days, if the truck stop has Idle-Aire, I want a row of trucks between me and the Idle-Aire spaces.

Yeah, SOMETIMES it is close.... but usually, it is the WIDEST aisle to be found! And there SHOULD be an attendant helping them! If not.... go grab the lousy flunkie and MAKE him come out and help like he's getting PAID to do!

[golfhobo]

Can anyone tell this is a BIG pet peeve of mine??? :lol:

Let's LOOK at some of the info from the www.IdleAire.com website!

The company is the outgrowth of a challenge originally issued to A.C. Wilson, a Tellico Plains, Tennessee, contractor, by his brother-in-law, a long haul truck driver fresh off a New Jersey run.

How could a driver park, shut off the engine (along with its noise, fumes and vibration) and still stay warm or cool while having access to the comforts of home?

Here's the FIRST problem! The WHOLE idea was thunked up by a couple of "incest related" bohunks from the most backward state in the UNION!!

And the one doing the "Wundering" was a WIMP who really wanted to STAY AT HOME and shouldn't have been allowed to drive OTR in the first place!

Since June 2000, IdleAire has further refined Wilson's original design and made significant strides with truck fleets and travel plazas, as well as the federal and state environmental and highway safety entities.

Here's their FIRST lie!! Can someone show me where the fmcsa has "signed on" to this??? And where they have made EQUAL strides to replace these parking spots for truckers??

Who Benefits » Lot Owners / Travel Centers

There are good reasons IdleAire is the choice of travel centers (and fleet terminals and other extending [sic] idling locations) from coast-to-coast.

Drivers love us

Fleets love us

We're the only idling alternative that keeps travel centers financially whole by providing income that exceeds any lost fuel sales

We provide turnkey installation and operation with no cost to you

We create a new revenue stream for you that is entirely profit

We drive store sales for accessories used with the IdleAire system

Well.... I guess they've NEVER heard of an APU!!! Income that exceeds lost fuel sales??? PROVE IT!!! What does the T/S make off of one night's stay in an IdleAire spot?? Does that exceed fuel sales for a truck that idles all night? How about those fuel sales they LOSE from people like Windwalker and ME who won't give them our business?? And HOW does using IdleAire mean that they LOSE fuel sales??? You either NEED to fuel when you stop there... or you DON'T!

And WHAT "store sales" are required for use with IdleAire??

Fleets Win

Unlike any other idling alternative, a $10 window adapter is the only retrofit virtually any long-truck on the road needs to use the IdleAire system

With a one-hour minimum and a per minute charge after that, IdleAire provides an immediate savings in fuel, maintenance and engine wear & tear … and fleets pay for only what drivers use, when they use it

Second lie! The adapters are, and HAVE been $15 dollars or more since the first time I asked! IIRC, there IS NO one hour minimum! I believe you pay a basic rate that is good for 24 hours (whether you use it or not) for the basic services! After THAT... it might be hourly, but MANY of the additional services are per POP!

IdleAire's heating and air conditioning system is a closed, filtered system, which draws air from inside your cab (not the outside) and filters it about once every minute. This makes the air you breathe inside your cab much cleaner and healthier than the air you breathe outside your cab.
As your cab's air is filtered and then heated or cooled, it is also subjected to an ultraviolet light treatment that immediately kills viruses, bacteria, spores, etc. IdleAire provides one of the most sanitary air handling systems available ANYWHERE.

So it "filters" the stale, carbon dioxide laden, air from inside your cab?? Heats and cools it? But.... does it infuse FRESH oxygen??? I LIKE the fact that it kills germs, bacteria, etc., but are we just breathing our OWN stale air for 10 hours or more?? NO WONDER we sleep better!! We're being induced into a COMA! :lol:

Q. What entices parking lot owners, such as those at travel centers, to let you install this system on their property?

A. Parking lots traditionally don't produce revenue. Parking lot owners share in the revenue from the IdleAire system, creating a new revenue center in a low margin business without any investment on their part. In addition, these areas become better neighbors to adjacent residents by significantly reducing air pollution and noise.

"Sell it to the AYER FORCE, MAYO!!!" There's not a truck stop in the country that doesn't make money off the truckers in their parking lot!!! Granted, some of you who eat out of your trucks, and never show your faces, MIGHT be somewhat at fault for the onslaught of IdleAire.... but, I doubt if you are really a "determining factor." Some of you actually PAY for showers! And, if you don't.... it's because they can stand to LOSE $9 for a shower if they get $400 or more for fuel! Add in the profit from the restaurant and convenience store??? Come on!!! NO REVENUE from a parking lot??? What kind of idiots are RUNNING this show??

Energy Implications

An idling diesel engine is a terribly inefficient source of energy for heating, cooling and ventilating a truck cab. During winter, when idling keeps the engine as well as the sleeper cab warm, 85% of the energy in diesel fuel is wasted as heat and atmospheric pollutants. In summer, when used for cooling, the efficiency falls and more than 94% of the fuel's energy is wasted.

I question this entire stream of logic!! I get about 5 miles per gallon going down the road. I can IDLE all night for about 2 or 3 gallons (I think - the needle hardly moves!) So.... at say, $2.50/gallon, that's $7.50 per night for heating and cooling. That's about the cost of my monthly power bill at home! And besides..... going down the road at 75 mph, I'm burning fuel faster and pushing out MORE of that "inefficent exhaust" per hour!

Now, don't get me wrong. I actually have DONE the math, and I think IdleAire MIGHT be more cost efficient than idling. But, IMHO, that is NOT the point! My point would be that IDLING produces less pollutants per hour than DRIVING the truck. And I am running the A/C or heat while driving, too!

Health Implications

Research linking diesel exhaust and many of its components to health impacts has been exhaustively compiled by well-recognized organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control, the Environmental Protection Agency and others. Components of diesel emissions include carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and particulate matter. The emissions from commercial diesel engines can produce a range of short-term and long-term health risks and effects.

And your POINT IS??? IF, as I suspect, we burn a mere 5 gallons or so while idling overnight, that is ONE MILE of driving!!! (not EVEN enough time to bypass your sh#tty little town!!) Look at your local power plant!!! 24 hours a day of emissions in your "neighborhood!" Global warming IS a serious issue... no doubt! But, I don't think that IdleAire is the answer! An average of 50,000 cars idling for 30 minutes every morning to get "warm" before driving 50 miles in traffic, taking them 2 hours, emit MORE exhaust fumes than a 100 parking spot T/S in ONE night!

And as for you WIMPS that can't stand my SMOKING in a PUBLIC SPACE that I pay taxes for.... I GUESS, based on the above statistics, that you have NO BUSINESS being anywhere NEAR a Big Truck, Truck Stop or the Trucking Industry!!!

Take your "candy azzes" home and close the doors and windows!!! The whole WORLD "STINKS!" And my cigarette is the LEAST of your problems!!! :shock: :roll: :lol:

All THAT being said.... I kinda LIKE IdleAire (though I haven't had the chance to use it yet.) I just DON'T like the way they are MONOPOLIZING spaces in the allready crowded Truck Stops! Check out their website and SEE how they have contracts to "take over" nearly EVERY decent sized Truck Stop in the country!!!

Next thing you know.... they'll be wanting to take away your GUNS, too!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

HOBO!

[Rev.Vassago]

The only thing I can disagree with in that whole rant :P is the amount of fuel burned while idling. It is between 1 gallon and 1.5 gallons per hour, depending upon the truck.

I can understand those who use the system in the bitter cold of winter, or the sweltering heat of summer, but it would seem to me that their revenue stream would be cut off in the spring and fall, when the weather is milder.

Furthermore, unlike an APU, you can't take IdleAire with you. You are tied to a truck stop, not unlike the truckstop WIFI. I, for one, would certainly rather park nowhere near a truckstop if I can help it.