IdleAire Review

Posted on 06-05-2007

Back in 2004 (do you believe this site has been going since 2004? Yeah, me and the other person that reads this doesn’t either!) I wrote about when Idleaire first came out. My first impression without trying it was that the big yellow hose was a vacuum sucking money out of drivers wallets. Now that I’ve actually tried it, I was right. I like parking in an Idleaire space because no one around idles. And during nice weather we like to sleep with the windows and vents open. At least they’ve done one thing right.

I decided to try it because even without idling, the APU makes a lot of noise and I was tired of the attendants coming up and harassing me every time I parked. Now I have the little adapter and can pretend to have it. I don’t remember how much it was in 2004, but now there’s two different plans (gold and silver) and a lot of ways to spend more money. At $2.18 ($1.85 for fleets) an hour you can have hot or cold air, basic cable TV and 110v electric outlets. But for more money you can have high speed internet through their ethernet or wireless connections more TV channels and movies on demand and a land line telephone. (Here for a list of services)

Two bucks an hour doesn’t seem like much, but it adds up if your there for 12 or 24 hours. For $48 sometimes you can get a decent hotel room with a bathroom and more TV channels. When I signed up at the TA in Jessup, MD, I had a long conversation with the attendant the service and the company. I didn’t update my picture of Jessup, but the parking lot seems like there would be fewer spaces, but the attendant said it’s the same number of spaces and it’s safer to pull in and back out at a 45 degree angle instead of backing in a tight space. I’d probably agree with that, after I’ve been driving all night I’m really too tired to be messing with backing in. Pulling in a space is a lot easier and they always have plenty of room to back out. In Jessup there were only about a third of the Idleaire spaces designated as No Idling and they tried to enforce it. The $10 for the window thingy and a little money in my new account counted towards the paid parking at the TA, so it wasn’t a total loss. At least at Jessup, after every truck leaves, the attendants go to the space and run the unit to clean it out because it will pick up the smells like cigarettes from other trucks. That would really turn me off from ever using it!

The factory says my APU burns about .6 gals an hour. It may be more when we have the microwave or skillet plugged in or the A/C or heat on high. You can hear the motor rev up. But lets use .6 just for fun. At 12 hours and the last National Average was $2.811, that’s $1.6866 an hour. My truck says it burns 0.7 gals an hour, (other trucks usually burn more) but there’s wear and tear and your oil change doesn’t last as long etc, etc… Idleaire has a several page list of fleets that pay for your charges. So, it must be worth it for someone.

The final decision will have to be up to the individual truck owner. If I’m going to be stuck for a day or two, I’d rather get a motel room. When the weather is nice, I like the idea of a place where no one idles. I might still use it once in a while and I may switch to the gold plan for the fleet price and discounts on everything else. I’m still checking it out and haven’t really made up my mind completely on it yet. How long did Park ‘n View last? Anyone remember? How often does anyone else use IdleAire and how do you like it?

Comments

Rusty Wade (The 48th Ronin on 8 May, 2007 at 4:09 pm #

Springing up all over the country You see Idle Air.
These installations are designed by someone who not only never drove a truck, but has no idea how to make parking lots safer.

In fact these installations which are being built with GRANTS from the EPA under the idle abatement program make parking lots much more dangerous to walk or drive in.

How is it that the truck stop management didn’t see this when the projects started?

Is it possible that the boards of directors of the truck stop chains also do not understand the very industry they serve?

Pictures in this article were taken yesterday at an open idle air installation.
as usual almost no truck drivers are using the equipment.

Why?

Part of the problem is the unsafe demands of the installations design for pull in parking which is counter to the industry’s practices of backing in.

Part of the problem is that the cost (approximately 2$ an hour) is just barely competitive with the cost of idling and the actions of the designers and the employee operators of the facilities is driving the customer away.

This truck which is show safely parked in the correct manner for safely leaving was ordered to turn around and park pulled in.

As any truck driver knows, when you set up to back in ( the normal action for all loading delivering and customary for all non drive through parking) you begin with clear vision in all directions, and can maintain an image of all dangers while accomplishing the back.

As any truck driver knows, when you back out of a parking space you cannot always see where the back of your trailer is going, and if there is a vehicle beside you you will have no sight of or knowledge of what is approaching the space you are about to back through.

What person decided that the installation should make one of the most dangerous places for damage to your truck we have to endure should be made so much more dangerous?

Is this to save a few dollars on the installation costs? These installation have been built with Government GRANTS!
They are now using the already built network to convince private investors to buy bonds..

You can see the pictures, ( LOL Pages and pages of them) and judge for yourself.. Is this really worth the lost 68 MILLION dollars this year? And ask yourself if Idle Aire Lost 68$ how much of that went to the construction company the same people own? How much was paid to the Internet ISP company contracted to furnish connectivity and content to Idle Aire, and also owned by….. You Guessed it.. can you smell a shell game to feed at the public budget?
Check out the pictures
You decided is this just a BOONDOGGLE?
http://www.marystruck.us/idleair.html

wayne on 8 May, 2007 at 6:59 pm #

I’m the last person to defend these people. But even I have a couple of observations - I’ve wondered how they could be losing money when everything is built with grants.

Truck stop chains are into making money, not understanding the industry. You already knew that from looking at “travel centers” now.

I doubt that pulling in rather than backing up is that more dangerous? I know this is only coming from the attendant, but he said they’ve had no accidents. How many bumpers get ripped off backing in or pulling out. As long as there is plenty of room, nothing wrong with backing out. Backing would be better with that much room, but a lot of truck stops are a lot tighter than that and not at an angle, accidents happen backing in and pulling out. Any accident from backing out would be from some idiot going too fast. Just because it’s an “industry standard” doesn’t make it the best way to do something.

There is something fishy about the whole grant business. And unless diesel goes way up they will go the way of Park ‘n View except with better golden parachutes for the execs.

Phil on 8 May, 2007 at 8:31 pm #

I have to agree. The IdleAire system has received grant money but my understanding is that, although the various grants have been substantial, the majority of investment has been from private funding sources. That aside, the only way I see IdleAire surviving is through government mandates and regulations requiring truck stops to provide this type of facility.

SDub on 11 May, 2007 at 10:35 am #

I’m doing research on the industry and would love to hear comments on why Park N’ View was unsuccessful…

chickenhaulin on 16 May, 2007 at 8:04 pm #

I have used both “park and view” and “Idle Air”. 1st “park and view was ground mounted 4 way hubs that you had to rub a tangled mess of cable and phone lines to. It was only t.v. and phone service. The hubs were subject to not working due to water in the system and after backing in and finding that a hub was dead you just got mad and gave up. It seemed that there was little or no maintenance on the system. what maint. that did get done had to be done by a regional serevice truck that was not on site. They also didn’t take in account that car carriers trailer decks and low boy trailer decks were lower to the ground than their hubs. I personally watched numerous hubs be taken out by these trailers. The company lost copious amounts of money on a bad idea.

As for “Idle Air”? It is barely cost effective. The last company I worked for payed for Idle air through our comdata cards. At first there was no limit to the time you could spend on there. Then drivers would hook up to it and stay hooked up for days and the bills were huge. So we got limited on it. If you find an Idle Air site that cleans every tube after each truck leave its a miracle. I quit using them because of the ciggarette smoke in them among other smells. And I now have a generator and an air card for my p.c. and I don’t watch a lot of t.v. so I’m good now.

By the way, what kind of generator do you have that uses .7 gals an hour? shouldn’t that be .o7 an hour? I have a thermo king tri pac and its consumption is .07 on high.

“Idle Air will survive if the price of fuel stays high and the big fleets keep paying for their drivers to use it. They will tell you about the fleet pricing but the fleet I worked for wass getting a better deal than the regular fleet price. But they hate to see people like me pass them by with a generator on board.

ebtguy on 22 May, 2007 at 5:39 pm #

How about that IdleAire??? They are ripping the customers off. If they get a fleet to sign up the customer gets the discounted rates. What IdleAire tries to do is get the customer to pay the $10.00 for the discounted services when you already get the rate and thus ripping you off.
IdleAire has been charging for reservations, TV rentals and whatever else they can get away with because they have “goverment funding”.
I’m not here to tell you to use them or not but I sure would be aware of the crap they try to pull just to make a quick buck.
The company will crash and burn because they are not honest and have many personel issues that they wont deal with……I say screw IdleAire

bob on 13 June, 2007 at 2:23 pm #

do you people just make all this up because most all of it is so far off you just can’t stand someone trying to do the right thing

Bob Edwards on 25 July, 2007 at 6:19 am #

I think it’s a good idea but not many drivers are using it from what

james mckee jr(ky red devil) on 26 July, 2007 at 6:27 pm #

considering my ac is out on my truck and i dont have a apu generator
im stuck using idle air at times but sometimes it is just as cheap to get a motel room how soon do i hope the guys from trick my truck kiddenap mine and fix it lol

james mckee jr(ky red devil) on 26 July, 2007 at 6:30 pm #

Wayne Weisser on 26 July, 2007 at 6:32 pm #

My APU was down for awhile, I suppose Idleaire isn’t bad for a few hours or even for one night once in a while.

matthew (Pa Hillbilly Ridge Runner on 28 July, 2007 at 5:15 pm #

Well just signed up & have been reading what has been wrote. Cost who knows who realy makes $$$, all I do know from experiance is that this system takes up a lot of truck space for parking. I also do agree that to back up when you can’t see is definitely DANGEROUS. Yes yall said that IF yahoos drove slowly, walkers payed attn then all would be safe (ideal world don’t exist) only in imaginary world would this work well. I have been backing into spots since 1989 no bumps or any thing else. gonna try to do what company wants BUT if gits too wild will back like they(truckers) have done from time of the beginning.

Wayne on 28 July, 2007 at 8:14 pm #

As far as pulling in and backing out - don’t knock it till you try it.

matthew (Pa Hillbilly Ridge Runner on 29 July, 2007 at 8:12 am #

Have pulled in while trying to find a dark spot to sleep only concelation that I had was that I got there late enough that I didn’t have trucks tightly around me when I got up.Will try it though.saw a picture of Knoxville TN where you pull in & drive out liked that don’t know if outher truck stops are that way though

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mentyroper on 18 October, 2008 at 5:27 am #

Доброго времени суток всем!?
Извиняюсь, что возможно не в тему, желал бы разузнать, я не здешний, где у вас в столице классный отдых есть? Ну там сауны, феи, развлечения разные. Может подскажете что-нибудь отличное. Уж более чем хочется сделать себе приятное.