Idleaire sucks, sucks government funds.

Well, here we go again.  First let me say this, I do appreciate you not deleting my post.  It would have been easy I am sure to simply make anyone that disagrees with you go away, but leaving it up shows a certain amount of character.  I respect that.

That being said, allow me to respond.    You'll excuse me for stealing your bit; for ease of reading I will post your words in red.  It does make for an easier read.

I've heard alot of arguments about our industry looking bad, but nobody's ever approached with, "You truckers are ridiculously paranoid". Yes, they've called us stupid, but they were talking about our driving habits.

Michael Moore has never discussed IdleAire to my knowledge. However, his liberal agenda would love the idea of charging truck drivers for parking spaces. You're simply trying to put the "moonbat" title on an author that has knowledge that you do not agree with.

I now wonder how often you talk to your fellow drivers.  Your upset that I generalized the trucking industry as paranoid, and compared you to someone that is notorious for distorting facts to suit his needs.It's been my own personal experience that the only thing all professional drivers across the country have in common is a fiercly independent spirit.  However we are seen as stupid, lazy, paranoid, right-wing paranoid rednecks.  Media stereotypes of the Snowman and Fred are in many films, shows, and books.  The industry has an image problem, we all know this.

You didn't read the article obviously. Battery powered are low emission. They do have landfill waste with batteries, but it's improving. Now, you think about this hard Roy, is Idleaire solar powered or something. No harmful emissions whatsoever?

Here we go with the chicken and egg arguments.  For the record I did read your article.  Idleaire is not without it's faults, but you haven't done an adequate job of researching or listing those, and you refuse to acknowledge that there is any good whatsoever being done there.  As far as emissions from Idleaire, well it's a system run on shore power.  I.e. the local power source from the local mucipality.  They aren't using generators to run these things.  So is Idleaire causing emissions?  No, racking up a good electricity bill every month?  I would imagine.

College loans have no relevance to the discussion, and neither does OPEC. I wonder if you even understand what OPEC is. Here's a hint, it's not a company and they're not truck drivers looking for a way to stay comfortable.

I made my point very simple, Idleaire is a failing government funded business that taxpayers are subsidizing. Idleaire's competition is a better option for the majority. The taxpayers are suffering due misappropriated funds. My points are backed up with references. How is that a pointless rant?

For one, I didn't say college loan, I said grant.  Free money from the government that does not have to be paid back.  I use that as an example of other government expenses that might seem questionable at first.  As far as OPEC is concerned, yes I am very well aware of what they are.  The organization of petroleum exporting countries, consisting of Middle Eastern, North African and and if memory serves some South American nations that have some power to flux the world, and the United States economies by contributing to oil export pricing.  Now that we've established that, my point was that crying about the U.S. government providing funding to an American based company that could help reduce our depency on foreign oil while contributing to a healthy environment when there are so many more frivalous wastes of taxpayer money is foolhardy. 

The Idleaire kid couldn't figure mine out and I had to wrestle with it. Other options do not require a giant hose at any rate.

I still find myself wondering where you stopped that the employee was not competant enough to perform the basic function of his job.  You've yet to mention exactly which location you had all of these dreadful misfortunes with.  Please tell me, so I can skip that one if I am ever in the neighborhood.  Also, crude jokes about giant hoses aside, I like that idea.  The fact that I can spot them from a distance, and know sometimes from the interstate exactly where I will be parking is a welcome relief after being on the road all day. 

Why didn't they configure the erector set so that this wasn't a problem? I've backed into Idleaire spots many times, no problem and I've seen Swift do it too.  At any rate, yet another hassle that my tax dollars funded

While I can understand your frustration with this, I still understand the logic of the design that they have used with most Idleaire locations I have been to.  Laredo texas Pilot aside.  Also, I would point out that if you require help backing out, they will assist you I believe.  I need to confirm this, but I have seen employees helping poeple in and out of tight spots.  

Only 9 years out here. Wow, that explains alot. Anyhow, they did have something like this 9 years ago. It's called an APU and they were widely used even when I started in 1990. Diesel costs have ALWAYS been a major cost of trucking operations and no matter the price, we have always searched for ways to lower the fuel bill.

There are many ways to sleep in the cold without freezing to death in a truck. Heavy sleeping bags and electric bunk warmers to name a few. When I was a soldier, sleeping in the berth of a truck would have been an extreme luxury.

This government funded business my suit your needs and budget, but it doesn't fit most situations as all the empty Idleaire parking spaces show, not to mention their bankrupt status even with the free money. You want the majority of us that do not utilize Idleaire to make it easier for you to watch TV and pay your taxes? I'm sure you'll argue the numbers of who is the majority, but if Idleaire were a good service for all, why can't they survive without the government propping the up? They should be booming right?

Yes, only 9 years in the industry.  Surely I am still a naive pup to the world.  For the record, good on you for being a veteran.  My stock in you just went up a few points.  I'm a current U.S. Marine Corps reservist.  I have served three combat tours, and I was active duty for 8 years myself.  I understand your anology about sleeping in the cold and the mud, as I have been there myself.  I spent last week in Southern Illinois, where the temperature dipped to the 20's and below.  I am still thankful that there are a few Idleaire locations in that area because I managed to stay warm and entertained without breaking out the old field sleeping bag.  As far as Idleaire booming, well I don't think they are going anywhere like it or not.  Ontario California is now pretty much reservation (that's right you can call them and make reservations) parking only unless you manage to get in there before the sun goes down.  The Petro in Effingham IL is the same way.  While there are a few locations in the country that I have been to that are not as busy as others, I don't think that they are hurting for drivers looking for the service.  Plenty of companies are paying for the service as I understand it.    There must be something to this.

If they don't mind me parking there, why do they bother me all night by knocking on my door?

I got curious about this, so I asked a manager over at the Petro location last week.  She said that all you need to do is pull your curtains.  They won't bother you, and if they do call up the coprorate number or complain to truck stop.  I to this day, have never been bothered by an employee.  Again I ask you to tell us all where exactly this is happening to you. 

Shot myself in the foot? People drive out of the way for free stuff and that doesn't make sense to you. Companies are providing the surface in an attempt to lure drivers. If they are in a financial position to do it, they can lure the company guy in with this to cover up for the other shortcomings. The idea behind Idleaire is to save fuel and money. If a company driver burns fuel and time to get to Idleaire just to watch free tv, that's going to cause him to burn fuel and spend money. Sure it's up to him and his company, but it defies the logic of why Idleaire gets free money from the government. By the way, that was the point of the article, you seemed to have missed that Americans should not be allowing the government to pick and choose which companies succeed and fail.

I didn't miss the point of your article.  To some degree I understand where you are coming from.  However, the U.S. government has always had a stake in American business.  Trust busting, federal grants and contracts, industry regulation.  This is the world we live in.  If we stopped the Idleaire thing, wouldn't we have to stop Boeing execs from receiving kickbacks,  Aerospace Industries received a record setting grant in 2002 for "research", of which nothing was made public.  The current Auto Industry and Wall Street bail out programs, all of these are evidence of the government deciding whether business fail or succeed.  Idleaire is a drop in the bucket, and one I am grateful for. 

In this article, you are claiming that everyone else is stupid and I'm starting to wonder about your thought process. Of course they don't bug you as much, YOU BUY THEIR SERVICE! Wow. Buying their service will get them to stop knocking, at least occassionally, you are correct. If they want to talk to you some more about other things, then their still going to bug you though. They feel free to bother you without regard to your rest.

well. here we go again with the "bugging" thing.  I still fail to notice maybe when the evil Idleaire guy comes slinking up to my truck in the middle of the night and wakes me up, even when I don't have the hose in my window.  I must be a heavy sleeper or something.  For the record, I don't think you're stupid, and as a general rule I don't believe most people are.  However, I have to wonder at your thought process.  You claim that the company is a sinking ship, but then complain that their employees are trying to stir up more business. 

You are breathing exhaust fumes if you are near a truckstop and it doesn't kill you right there. Idleaire intake is right next to the exhaust. Any time an engine is running next to the intake, it is putting a huge amount of exhaust into that intake. The filters do not remove all of the fumes.

Since the air conditioning from Idleaire is so weak, drivers still idle to stay cool, even with the hose in the window.

Well I can't speak for every other driver on the road, and neither can you.  Again my experience comes from being a frequent user.  I've used it in Arizona, and didn't have a problem staying cool.  I did however run into a problem staying warm in North Dakota the other night.  I spoke to the guys about it, and they fiddled with the thing for a bit, then got me in a different spot, apologizing the whole time. Also, as far as your concerns regarding the stacks being next to the filter, I gave this a bit of research.  There's no intake up there.  The system recirculates the air inside of your cab.  The intake for the device is literally inside of the truck.  The thing sitting next to your stacks contains a power breaker and heating coil units. 

I've been everywhere. Yes many truckstops are pay to park. Do you really think that your no-pay status will hold forever with Idleaire?

Good to see you're well travelled friend.  As far as my no-pay status holding, who can predict the future?  It's done alright with me so far.

You wrote all of this because you are mad that there is a large number of people that do not like a service that you do. They're mad that they're tax dollars have added an inconvenience to an already tough job.

Are you one of them? Who are you referring to? The "idiots" you speak of? Perhaps you mean an Idleaire staff member or owner. If so, sure you could be. This post gets alot of hits, and they take note. Usually they're more persuasive and add more crafted lies when they write though. Is "them" a politician that is in alot of trouble with his constituents for pilfering from the Idleaire program? I don't know who you are, you only stated your name was Roy.

The blank stare you get when you ask drivers if they've used it is the stare of amazement that you would ask the question. Anyone who has been to a truckstop knows all about it. They get their doors knocked on and a thorough explanation every time they go to a large truckstop. If the driver has witnessed the ridiculous and comedic hookup of the hose and decides it's not for him, this does not make him foolish. If he speaks to many drivers in Arizona who lost 20 dollars because Idleaire's ineffectiveness left them sweating through the night, he's no fool to keep his $20.

I suppose I should have been a bit more clear on this.  I am not an idleaire employee nor have I ever been.  As far as idiots go, I am referring to people who complain about something that they have never tried.  People that start rumors in this industry about things that they truly know nothing about.  Anyone who's spent a month on the road knows the type of people I am talking about. 

Roy