I carry a chain. Do you have any idea how many times I've used that chain to give someone a "PULL-START" in the last 5 years? You might have more success in convincing those drivers to shut it down if YOU INSURE that they will be able to re-start their engines when the time comes to leave the lot. Even brand new batteries get drained down overnight.

I can tell you for a fact. Have one of those 12 volt coolers, and a 12 volt fan plugged in to keep air blowing through the sleeper so that you can sleep, and in the morning... Yeah, I've been pulled a couple of times with my own chain too. And, we're not even talking about using the inverter to power the computer either. It's only good for about 1 1/2 hours with the internal battery. Want to keep it going?

Or, in winter, you can set some of your perishables outside to keep them cold, but plug in that 12 volt mattress heater. There's more than one reason they may have the engines going. Being able to leave in the morning without getting a pull is one of them. You might consider that before you condemn them.

That may work up north there Windy...but not in my home-20 neighborhood! The lunchmeat will spoil in a couple hours, the milk will curddle faster...and the cheese....toss the cheese!

And regardless....the critters will help themselves!!!

I was thinking that also Wind. Say you have 5 trucks sitting there all idling, you have no idea just standing there looking at them why that is. To you, the outside temp is just right but to the first truck it could be too cool. To the next truck they could be too hot. Maybe the 3rd one in line has a problem with the batteries where if he shuts the truck down it won't restart in a few hours. Maybe the 4th in line simply can't sleep without the truck running because he is so used to it. Which means he could fall asleep driving down the road from not getting any rest because he was forced to shut the truck off. The 5th truck is probably idling just to do it when they could actually shut the truck off. By his reasoning he is going to fine all of them when if you step back and look, you should only fine the 5th truck for being a pr!ck.

you know, I have found a system that works real well. it's called.... MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!! it has never gotten me into trouble

Well, 3 years driving my own truck i idled 3 times, twice last year in Toledo with temps f -11 and once in Texas couple of months ago with temps of over 110....

My batteries never died and as you can see i didnt die as well..

Am not saying dont idle at all, just dont idle when temp is normal for a baybe to sleep in, let alone a grown ***** man.

funny thing is that i had sort of the same problem with the truck i baught... my coleman cololer 40 qt one, would drain the batteries down to the safety shutoff in about 2 hours or so... i got sick of it, and just baught a new set of batteries. deka branded 925cca, 1150 otherwise. guess how many CCA's the old set had, and i bet they were the factory ones b/c it was alliance branded... 625! no wonder my truck starts a whole lot easier now, and runs much smoother, lights are brighter etc... so if your batteruies die oput that fast, you need new ones...

Also, now that i have a set of 4 new batteries, i can have the cooler, sat radio, laptop and marker lights on all night, and it still not drained to the safety shutoff... $400 took care of that problem... lol

my 2 cents

How do you know they had their A/C on? Unless you were in 90% of the trucks doing who knows what.:eek2:

If you really have safety concerns about idling your truck then you need to take action. Write your state legislators if you live in a state that has anti idling laws, write your congressional representatives and write to the DOT in Washington. If enough people write to them you will see action. You cannot always comply with the anti idling laws and hos. If you are not comfortable while sleeping you will not get the proper rest. Another source you may contact is some of the anti trucking organizations. Make sure you have your thoughts well constructed and use proper sentence structure and check your grammar and spelling.