[Mackman]

Originally Posted by Malaki86

It's also extremely bad on your turbo to shut the truck down immediately after pulling off the interstate. If the turbo fins are still spinning when you shut down the engine, you cut off the oil supply, hence frying the bearings. It takes 5-10mins of idling to cool down the bearings. So, in 10 mins I can be refueled and back out on the road.

On my MACK after you turn the key off the truck still runs for 3mins. and then shuts it self off for that reason. BTW this is all BS this idle stuff more reasons why i like my local job. :wink:

[Rawlco]

Originally Posted by Malaki86

It's also extremely bad on your turbo to shut the truck down immediately after pulling off the interstate. If the turbo fins are still spinning when you shut down the engine, you cut off the oil supply, hence frying the bearings. It takes 5-10mins of idling to cool down the bearings. So, in 10 mins I can be refueled and back out on the road.

This is why we flatbeds take so long to back into a parking spot, to let the turbo cool down. :lol:

[Rawlco]

Originally Posted by Soladad

Rawlco...I agree that there are ways a driver can cut it back to the bare bones like you have. But why do we have to submit ourselves to such barbic ways to work and live in our trucks?

Personally I take pride in keeping a low idle time. With TMC our fuel economy is a factor in our pay rate, so it directly benefits me to burn less fuel. Other than that I simply see no need to idle the truck constantly for thermal comfort. I do not submit to barbaric ways in my opinion and if I want to idle I do so. Of course saving idle time where I can allows me to idle more when I want to.

I heard an article on Land Line now today concerning working/living conditions and the idle issue that said if other workers in other lines of work had to be in our conditions to work that it would be considered under sweat shop conditions. There is no worker in an office building sitting for long periods of time that would be able to keep up production when it is over 75 or under 45.

Agreed

At home, people would be considered under slum conditions.

Also agreed. Our house we keep the thermostat at about 60 degrees with the price of oil as high as it is.

Again why do we need to live differently than the rest of the world?
Where is our constitutional rights?

We should not have to live differently than the rest of the world. We should be able to choose for ourselves. I am not advocating that the government prohibit idling or discriminate against us. I am simply giving suggestions that I use to reduce idle time and remain comfortable.

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Warning, thread derailment in progress, Warning
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Now regarding the constitutionality of anti idling laws. . . This is something we will have to incrementally work on. The communists have been chipping away bit by bit at our liberty for decades and fighting back is going to be a long road. At least with the new Maine idling law there are a lot of loopholes. I asked my representative to tack on something about limiting the idling of law enforcement vehicles unless on the scene of an emergency, but that didn't fly. There is discrimination against trucks and truck drivers, we just need to prove it with eloquence and lawsuits.

We need to follow the money first. There are several commercials now that cast trucks in a negative light. The first I can think of is a Verizon wireless radio ad, where the person is telling what they will do with their unlimited minutes and the last thing is "and I'll tell that truck driver what I really think of his driving" That commercial ticks me off and I would cancel my verizon service if I could, but I have US Cellular and Fairpoint for my landline.
The second ad is by CSX railways, claiming that shipping things by train reduces traffic on the roads. Of course they don't tell you that the worst traffic is in cities where trains aren't going to relieve any congestion, and that trains run long distances next to wide open roads. Of course I can't really fault CSX since rail has had almost as bad PR as trucks lately.

[got mud?]

Originally Posted by Rawlco

Personally I take pride in keeping a low idle time. With TMC our fuel economy is a factor in our pay rate, so it directly benefits me to burn less fuel. Other than that I simply see no need to idle the truck constantly for thermal comfort. I do not submit to barbaric ways in my opinion and if I want to idle I do so. Of course saving idle time where I can allows me to idle more when I want to.

Agreed

Also agreed. Our house we keep the thermostat at about 60 degrees with the price of oil as high as it is.

We should not have to live differently than the rest of the world. We should be able to choose for ourselves. I am not advocating that the government prohibit idling or discriminate against us. I am simply giving suggestions that I use to reduce idle time and remain comfortable.

________________________________________
Warning, thread derailment in progress, Warning
_________________________________________


Now regarding the constitutionality of anti idling laws. . . This is something we will have to incrementally work on. The communists have been chipping away bit by bit at our liberty for decades and fighting back is going to be a long road. At least with the new Maine idling law there are a lot of loopholes. I asked my representative to tack on something about limiting the idling of law enforcement vehicles unless on the scene of an emergency, but that didn't fly. There is discrimination against trucks and truck drivers, we just need to prove it with eloquence and lawsuits.

We need to follow the money first. There are several commercials now that cast trucks in a negative light. The first I can think of is a Verizon wireless radio ad, where the person is telling what they will do with their unlimited minutes and the last thing is "and I'll tell that truck driver what I really think of his driving" That commercial ticks me off and I would cancel my verizon service if I could, but I have US Cellular and Fairpoint for my landline.
The second ad is by CSX railways, claiming that shipping things by train reduces traffic on the roads. Of course they don't tell you that the worst traffic is in cities where trains aren't going to relieve any congestion, and that trains run long distances next to wide open roads. Of course I can't really fault CSX since rail has had almost as bad PR as trucks lately.

she says "I will tell that guy what I think of his driving" she even looks in his direction and you plainly see that he is driving a cargo van. that is hardly a knock at truck drivers!

[got mud?]

Originally Posted by Soladad

Rawlco...I agree that there are ways a driver can cut it back to the bare bones like you have. But why do we have to submit ourselves to such barbic ways to work and live in our trucks?
I heard an article on Land Line now today concerning working/living conditions and the idle issue that said if other workers in other lines of work had to be in our conditions to work that it would be considered under sweat shop conditions. There is no worker in an office building sitting for long periods of time that would be able to keep up production when it is over 75 or under 45.
At home, people would be considered under slum conditions. Again why do we need to live differently than the rest of the world? Where is our constitutional rights?

you have the right to not work for the company you choose to work for. You have the right to work in a different field. :roll:

your rights are: life, (not quality just the right to be alive and have no one take that from you) liberty (the freedom of choice, you may do anything you choose as long as you don't infringe on another's rights) and the pursuit of happiness. (it is not guaranteed)

[BanditsCousin]

When people idle, I waste fuel too. I crank my truck up to a place where some idiot isn't idling next to me on a breezy 60 degree night.

I laughed at the trucks idling in the parking lot tonight when I walked to my room. Pay to park, then idle all night at a cost exceeding the room and free parking. If they are company drivers, then companies should start allowing a motel allowance for 34 hr breaks because they would come out ahead at these fuel prices.

[Root]

Some notes from the field:

* Every mouth has two sides from which it can speak: Safety Dept sez 'Driver Comfort/ Health is essential to operational safety perameters. Idle your unit when conditions warrant.' Fleet Ops sez 'Your Idling % is killin' us - do something about it.'
* It's already been brought up in this thread about Wait Time being a part of the Idling % and we already know that the "Creep Time" in some waiting lines is short enough that turning the motor on and off in such a short spread is gonna hurt something down the road that's gonna cost somebody a lot o $ and maybe their job.. Idling in Rush Hour Traffic follows the same principles and there doesn't seem to be any current technology that differentiates the Idle Incidents well enough to quantify The Situation at the fleet management level.. Hope someone's working on that..
* This old man may be no different than the thousands of other 'old mans' that currently make up a large percentage of the Commercial Driver Population: I do "sleep hot" and "sleep cold" in order to reduce my Idling Time as much as possible, but boy howdy it's getting to be a problem on old bones.. I'm not letting it wreck my health completely - but with fuel prices escalating I'm getting Dadgum close to it. And for now it's all a voluntary measure. If and when it gets a li'l mandatory, I expect to hear a lot more noise about it.
* There is News that IdleAire Corp is about belly-up. I have already seen several facilities of theirs at Truck Stops where The Shack is denuded and barred and the great overhead trussworks are stripped of the equipment.. as more major metropolitan areas throw No Idle laws at us. What's that old joke about an irresistible force meeting an immovable object? And was it somehow related to Reality vs The Human Condition? Yay verily.
* Was the Government getting involved in grants relating to APUs for O/Os and/or fleets? Is this a good idea - and how many little contractual Hooks do they hide in the Fine Print? Oy.
And how soon will it be until the AirNazis discover that the Real APUs, (the only useful ones), also have an Exhaust Pipe stickin' out of'em?
* Has anyone really considered that now that the EPA/Govt has officially legislated Carbon Dioxide as a noxious Greenhouse Gas - that all human life is illegal... and subject to the whims of The Govt and whatever capricious legislation the Communazis wish to sneak thru into law? HEY hey hey..
* If for any reason we see Fuel Prices actually go back down to a reasonable level, does anyone believe we'll see Idling Restrictions ease up?
* At the Flying Hook in south Dallas, TX I saw a sign the other day: "No Idling after 5 minutes." At a Truck Stop.. NO IdleAire facilitation. There's a time and a place for everything. And it's Time for me to avoid that Place. Perhaps along with a significant number of other Drivers?
* At Your Own Risk: I now carry 2 50' extension cords aboardships, along with a good Honeywell electric heater from Squall Mart and a 120-12V converter. And I now can smell an exposed 120V duplex outlet a mile away with the windows rolled up.
If caught, it's "Energy Theft".
If not caught, I'm not idling - saving my fuel and according to some, saving the gd planet....
Somewhere, Out Here, an irresistible force is moving towards an immovable object at the speed of Human Folly.
Good luck and God Bless :shock:

[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by unclehotte

If they FIRE you for idling the truck......thats a NICE lawsuit waiting to happen. That would be the way I would go, unless you SIGNED something that you are responsible for the idle %.

Please explain under what law you would base that lawsuit. I suggest you read up on At Will Employment, and learn what the exceptions are to it. I think you will find that there would be no recourse for being fired for improperly using a company's equipment, which is the basis the company would likely use to terminate employment.

[BigDiesel]

Originally Posted by BanditsCousin

When people idle, I waste fuel too. I crank my truck up to a place where some idiot isn't idling next to me on a breezy 60 degree night.

I laughed at the trucks idling in the parking lot tonight when I walked to my room. Pay to park, then idle all night at a cost exceeding the room and free parking. If they are company drivers, then companies should start allowing a motel allowance for 34 hr breaks because they would come out ahead at these fuel prices.

I have been getting motel rooms the past year, so my idle time is nearly nothing. And no truckstop showers.....

[bigtimba]

[quote="TomB985"]

100 hours of idling would burn ~150 extra gallons of fuel...which would cost the company something like $600 extra EACH MONTH!

IMHO any idle time even approaching that is downright rediculous. quote]

I, for one, make quite a few sacrafices which benefit my employer financially far more than they benefit me but I knew that going in. A reasonable amount of comfort is a bargain for them and an acceptable trade for me. If they want to change the rules, then let's sit down and revisit the rules.

In the meantime, I don't idle when it's cold until I absolutely have to. I like it like that. On the other hand, when it's hot . . Get my motor runnin'.