Truck Topics

Coming to a Truck Stop or Parking Facility Near You!

Truck drivers of all stripes (including expediters) are becoming increasingly aware of the drawbacks of parking area idling - it's noisy, smelly, generates wear and it costs money. Both owner/operators and fleets have sought relief from the idling issue through gensets, bunk warmers, fuel-fired heaters and other solutions.

Traditionally, the most viable option (besides the rarely-available shore power) has been the truck mounted generator for providing heat, air and electricity. The generator solution is inexpensive to run, especially compared to the operating costs of idling the truck engine.

Owner/Operators and drivers have been satified with the efficiency of the climate control and power the generators provide, but these devices come at a price. A truck mounted generator can range in price from $6500-$7500 or more. The genset can provide the basics, but there is an alternative that might be the wave of the future. One Option

PRESS RELEASE - IdleAire Technologies Corporation has begun construction on an innovative $2.5 million Advanced Travel Center Electrification (ATE) project to provide heating, cooling and a range of communications and entertainment packages to long haul truck drivers who park and rest at the Petro Stopping Center at I-285 and Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway (formerly Bankhead Highway).

“We're extremely pleased to be deploying our system at this Petro location in Atlanta,” said IdleAire President/CEO Michael C. Crabtree. “With the intersection of three interstates in the city, it is a high traffic area and meshes well with our current location in Knoxville, and our upcoming deployment in West Memphis, Arkansas.”

The Technology

Expediters Online.com visitors are possibly familiar with the IdleAire system; the company's technology has been profiled on this site, and the system has been the subject of numerous trucking magazine articles.

For those who have not seen the system, it works this way: A driver pulls into a parking space adjacent to an IdleAire unit and switches off the engine (The IdleAire heating and cooling units are mounted on an overhead truss). The driver first installs a window adapter purchased and carried in the truck.

Outside, the driver then inserts the round IdleAire service delivery console into the window (or into a universal access port built into the truck) and locks the unit in place. (IdleAire says that both driver and passenger have ready access to the cab even with the system's duct work installed).

Back in the cab, the driver opens the console and swipes a fleet card, credit card or an IdleAire charge or debit card through the console's integral card reader. The IdleAire financial network verifies the payment and activates the unit. Using the touch screen, the driver sets the thermostat for temperature and fan speed, plugs in a television and/or phone and selects other desired state-of-the-art services.

Upon leaving, the driver "signs off" and closes the unit, then unlocks and removes the console, removes the adapter and drives away.

Features

In addition to heat and air, the basic service package includes:

High-speed Internet accessibility via the touch screen

USB connections for a keyboard or other computer accessories

E-mail accessibility with personal E-mail accounts

Local and long distance telephone service access

Television connection and access to satellite television

Electrical outlets inside and out for fuel and engine block heaters, and 110-volt appliances inside the cab

On-site IdleAire personnel and help desk available 24/7

Cost of the basic service is $1.25/hr for independent truck owners and fleets that have signed agreements with IdleAire. Payment is made by swiping a fleet card, credit card, or pre-paid IdleAire card through the service module's integral card reader.

IdleAire also offers additional premium services, including a high-speed Internet connection for drivers who carry personal computers, movie and sports television packages, movies on demand, and a computer-based interactive driver training and continuing education curriculum.

IdleAire contends that the hourly service price of the basic services is less than the cost of the diesel fuel used to idle a heavy-duty truck each hour. And it's substantially lower than a night in the average motel (minus the bathroom and shower convenience, of course.)

Locations

The Atlanta location is the first in Georgia and only the second in the Southeast as the 2 ½-year-old Knoxville, TN company begins large-scale deployment of the IdleAire system this year. Work underway is the first phase of the planned installation of 250 Petro parking spaces. Construction on the first phase will be complete within 45 days.

IdleAire systems have already been deployed at Petro in Knoxville, at Hunts Point Cooperative Market in the South Bronx and at a travel plaza on the New York Thruway. Construction is underway at a second Thruway plaza, plans for a third are under review, and the Thruway Authority has announced plans to deploy the system throughout the largest toll road facility in the nation if the pilot program continues to be successful.

In addition to Atlanta, IdleAire is engineering 16 additional sites for new system deployments in Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Texas, New York and California.

IdleAire says that its system can be installed in travel centers, loading facilities, truck terminals, border crossings, port facilities and many other locations.

IdleAire Technologies Corporation was founded in June, 2000. Its corporate headquarters, and research and development center are located in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Phone (865) 342-3600.

Web Information
IdleAire Homepage