RE: IdleAire is everywhere!!! No room left to par
I'm with LDB on this one... idling costs about a gallon per hour.
Sooo. you figure what it costs (on average) for a gallon of diesel.
Then you multiply that by 4 hours bare minimum... and probably figure for better numbers about 8 to 10 hours.
Lets say that a gallon of diesel costs you $2.50,
that's .65 cents more than IdleAire.
That doesn't sound like very much does it?
2.50 x 4 hours/gallons is 10 bucks of diesel you just burned. That's not 10 gallons, that's 10 dollars... at 2.50 a gallon.
That's 20 bucks if you're gonna idle for 8 hours.
If you're wondering why I'm figuring it this way, it's because I know how Chetjester runs the big roads... Smile Chet!
20 bucks for 8 hours... x 4 times a week...
equals $80 bucks in diesel, a week.
That's $320.00 a month.
$3,840 a year in diesel, at a minimum.
If that don't get you attention as a driver...
I don't know what will.
On average it'll cost a typical tractor the better part of $550 to 600 plus bucks to fill up.
Figuring $3,840.00 a year burned idling a truck at 2.50 a gallon.
Then figure it costs you about 500 bucks to fill up.
$500 divided into $3,840.00 equals...
7.68 tanks a year you're idling away.
You would save $5.20 if you went to IdleAire for 8 hours.
Do that 3 times a months and that's $15.60.
In a year you'd save $187.20 cents... or 74 gallons.
You're saying... that's Not a noticable amount!
Well, let's say you use IdleAire 4 times a month.
For a minimum of 10 hours at each stop.
Figuring 2.50 a gallon...
$25 bucks a stop in diesel - for 10 hours of Idling.
That's $100.00 per month.
I'm idling away $1,200 a year in fuel. That's got my attention!
IdleAire is $18.50 for 10 hours... at 1.85 an hour.
Saving 6.50 in 10 hours.
26.00 a month.
$312.00 a year saved.
That's nearly 1/2 a tank of fuel for a Tractor.
And most everybody (that are drivers) on ExpeditersOnline.com will do atleast one or two 34 hour Re-Starts (a year) somewhere on the road.
I use IdleAire, not every chance I get... but I use it when I have time to kill and want quality rest.
If I know I'm gonna be sitting for atleast 10 hours... and it's unusually hot or cold outside and/or the weather is miserable... then I'm searching for an IdleAire location. I may or may not use it, but typically IdleAire locations are in larger truckstops that offer more ammenities to me as a driver... more resturants, shopping, truck washes, chrome shops, CB shops, barber shops, better laundry facilities and just overall cleaner environments... not to mention most IdleAire locations have roving security as well.
Regarding the comment on the reefer unit. it's not a truck engine, it's there to protect the cargo... so it must idle.
Who cares if there's a reefer unit idling away next door.
You're a truck driver, you're going to hear engines idling in a truck stop. Don't complain about it, just park somewhere else if you don't want to hear it. if there's no place else to park, and you're tired, then you'll sleep regardless of that idling reefer. Those "Quiet zones" in a truck stop are much quieter than a traditionally full truck stop.
I'm not sure, but I would not be surprised if IdleAire is tax deductable. As a driver for an owner I don't know, but regardless - look at what it offers... as opposed to just sitting idle without all those services. You sit for 10 hours, it takes you 10 to 15 minutes to get it set up and get comfy with it... and then you're set - even if you burn 30 minutes total with it...
you still got a nice chunk of time left.
The neat thing I really like about IdleAire is that I've got 110 volt house current I can use, for tools, TV's and entertainment.
And the staff is generally very accomodating and helpful.
Chet, welcome to the world of Very Large Vehicle driving... again.
Regarding your questions about IdleAire,
Can they ask you to move? Possibly? will they? most likely No.
That's a grey area, if you're out of hours - they probably can and can not ask you to move.
Can you park there and use it for an hour... of course. However long you want to use it for, that's how long you'll be charged for.
Are they taking up all the spots at truckstops? Not Hardly.
They lease the spots (usually at larger, more popular t/s's) for a fee, and during the day most of those spots are empty. During the evening and nite time hours it's a different ballgame.
I don't think at all that IdleAire is taking up all the spots. Then again I don't go to IdleAire stops all that much... they're usually at T/A's and Petro's. I frequent Flying J's and Pilot's alot.
And Independant truckstops.
Chet, try it out; but try it out when you find you've got to do a long layover. You'll find it much more cost effective in that case.
You'll find it's services are great if you've got a 34 hour re-start to do, or an abnormally long layover. For example, if you get to an area early and can't drop for another 15 or 20 hours.
and you're an hour out... it's still gonna save you money.
Another angle that perhaps you might consider, is that if the O/O you run for finds indeed that you're saving him money on the trucks bottom line... then perhaps there's some reward due, say a minor bonus of some kind...
be it a Plasma TV or extra monetary bonus a month.
But, if you want to idle and throw away a minimum of about 1,200 a year... that's up to you - but I'd rather use my fuel to make money, and use cash I save doing that to relax comfortably.
I almost confused myself doing all those numbers.
But I think I did it right.
LBD, talk to us more.
