Posted on 01/29/2010 10:55:20 PM PST by tlb
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- IdleAire Inc., the company that provided truckstops with no-idle electrification, is pulling the plug on its operations after a nine-year run.
The company, which was saved from Chapter 11 in 2008 after being bought by a coalition of investment firms for $10 million, said it decided to close up shop when it couldn't find a buyer for its assets.
"The company had made great strides toward profitability in the midst of a very challenging operating environment," the firm said in a statement. "We believe IdleAire had strong growth potential and was well positioned to capitalize on the recovering economy. IdleAire had been operating 131 locations in 34 states -- mostly Pilot, Petro and Travel Centers of America facilities -- and was looking to move into Canada, although expansion targets were repeatedly missed over the years.
The company provided truckstops with a ready supply of plug-in, 110-volt AC power.
Drivers pulled into a parking space, hooked up an apparatus to the window, and got temperature-controlled air, along with TV and Internet connections, movies, and electricity to run things like small space heaters, dehumidifiers, and small appliances for about $1.25 an hour -- all without idling.
The problem though, is that even with government grants, it was terribly expensive to set up and maintain. It costs about $1 million to install the system at an average size travel center -- about $15,000 per parking space.
On top of that, interest among truck drivers was hit and miss.
The company reported a $13.9 million loss in 2006, which escalated to a $67 million loss in 2007 before filing for bankruptcy in May 2008.
An entity made up of company bondholders bought the firm in hopes that it could return it to profitability. "Due to the economy, our customers had less freight to haul, resulting in reduced truck traffic and we have had extremely mild weather across the nation, reducing the demand for our climate control service. We continued to stay ahead of the financial issues and make adjustments as needed, but time and operating capital simply ran out."
I've seen IdleAire demonstrated (Modern Marvels?) and really it didn't seem like a bad idea. The trucker saves room rental by spending the night in his cab's sleeper and the IdleAire unit hooks to the truck providing electricity, air conditioning or heat, communications, and entertainment at less cost then keeping the truck motor rumbling all night.
Guess not.
what? no federal bailout? No massive subsidies? I thought Obama was going to create 100,000 “green” jobs or something like that. That’s what I recall from his campaign at least. Oh well, no green jobs here.
FYI........:o)
Not a trucker, but a customer of mine is one. If you work for a trucking firm, you do not pay for the gas. So running the engine was the cheapest out of pocket solution for the trucker trying to get some rest. The concept needed high gas prices.
Those units would get pretty grody before long, I would expect. Why can’t cabs be set up simply to accept 120 or 240 volt feeds, running the A/C compressor off of a built in electric motor or using resistance heating in that mode? Sinking an extra 15 grand into a semi cab is almost nothing.
Man, it just seems like it ought to have been possible to do it for less money. $15K a space?
Their problem is that the big rigs are going to APU’s rather than allowing the main engine to idle all night. The APU provides heat or cooling, 120VAC and 12VDC power for a pittance of diesel - much of the same idea as the IdleAire equipped truck stops.
Truck owners have an array of tax breaks, grants, loans, etc to induce them to add an APU to their rigs.
For a fleet owner, it isn’t much of a contest which way to go. The IdleAire system was available at only a few truckstops across the nation. The APU goes with the truck where ever it goes - and so helps save on fuel costs regardless of whether the trucker is pulled off in a truck stop or on a rest stop in the middle of the weeds.
Wal-Mart is an example of a huge fleet operator that is pushing APU’s into their fleet to reduce diesel consumption.
It’s a more complicated situation that one might like to think.
First, the power requirements: You need a big more than a simple 120V/20A circuit. In winter, you need at least 10 amps for the block heater on a big engine - often more like 15 amps. To carry that more than 25 to 30 feet to the truck, you’ll need #12 AWG wire. That’s JUST for the block heater.
Now we need to talk about cab heat in the winter, plus 120v aux power. Substitute power for an AC compressor in hot weather instead of heat in the winter - probably about the same current requirements. Truckers will have a TV, microwave, little fridge, etc in the sleeper. 10 to 12 amps oughta be enough for them.
I’d reckon that you’d need a 240V, 30A circuit to really supply competent shore power to a big rig, especially in colder climates.
Now you need to engineer a break-away connector, it needs to be weatherproof, it needs to automatically retract, there will be lots of discussion about how to bill this service (eg, for the trucks who just stop and plug in, as opposed to buy fuel), you need to have the SAE and NEC at a minimum working in co-ordination to standardize this situation, and the loads need to be standardized, there need to be breakers or other overload protection on the truck, there needs to be a GFI involved somewhere in this...
suddenly you see why we’ve been idling engines for so long.
From the automotive side, the truck should not be able to reel out its cord unless it is parked, or to get out of park (neutral and latched transmission) unless its cord is reeled back in. The standard household 240v, 40/50A, 4 prong electric stove socket configuration in a suitable weatherproof box would be easy enough to plug in and the GFCI would be on the supply side. “Breakaway” would just be pulling the plug straight out.
I'm not a trucker, but I listen to channel 19 a lot. Plus Willy's Place on the XM.
Right - those are all good starting points.
Now you need to get that through a standards organization, you need to take comments, get it ratified by members, then promulgated to all the truck manufactures, with compliance testing suites, etc, etc.
Then you’ll have to deal with the push-back from the truck manufactures and owners who don’t want the excess weight of the cable, reel, connector, etc, and then you get into government mandates....
All this hairball paperwork is why truckers have idled their engines for so long.
Promulgating standards on the stationary side, at least, is easy. It’s called the “National Electrical Code.”
Not exactly. What is becoming more commonplace are “no idling” laws, where the main engine cannot be idled for more than X minutes in the period that the truck is parked. These are imposed by states, cities, counties, etc. Some of them have exemptions for high or low outside temps (typically < 32F or > 80F) or for recharging the air system.
The Feds are just after a reduction in NOx, soot, the usual diesel emissions stuff. There’s several ways to meet these mandates - shore power, APU’s, aux heaters like the Espar units, etc.
The legislative and regulatory skids appear greased for APU’s tho - there are the tax, loan, grants, etc available from the Feds that I mentioned earlier, there are more and more states putting in a weight waiver for about 400 lbs of APU weight on a truck (so that the trucker isn’t being penalized with a reduction in net cargo capacity).
I’m not a trucker either - I just used to get an earful of the upcoming regs from the hay truckers that came to our farm in Nevada from California. All the draconian laws that will be imposed nationwide on trucks got their start in California.
Yes, as I mentioned. Still, since they’re a standards organization, there is a mountain of paperwork, meetings, etc to draw up the code, get it reviewed, get public input on it, etc. Until there’s a push to get it done, it won’t happen.
I forgot to add:
The NFPA (who writes, promulgates, etc the NEC) is an international standards organization. That greatly amplifies the complexity of getting a standard out there.
For truck shore power, they’d want to write specs that will be used in Mexico, Canada and the US, because truck commerce crosses all these borders.
Long haul truckers know more about what makes America go than anybody I can think of. Too bad they have to work so hard to make a living. We could use more of their input.
My wife and I have driven across the country innumerable times. The last place you want to park in the rest areas is next to an idling 18-wheeler. Other than that, you won’t find a nicer group of people, as long as you don’t cut them off.
Let the techies talk and chatter ... after pushing the logbook a little, all I want to do is set the brake, lower the radio and collapse .
What? ... Get outside and secure a tube to the window? It's friggin' minus 3F !
Lee me alone ... I got a delivery in 6 hrs.
Simple rule #1 ... when we use our directionals ... we're not asking permission.
Somewhat dated, but it claims to be able to get rid of the truck batteries using this unit. Weight would be offset. I know nothing about these, but was intrigued by APU’s.
Willis Auxiliary Power Unit
http://bulktransporter.com/mag/transportation_apu_takes_main/
Idle Aire was a stupid, ineffective solution with a short life. The proper solution is an on-board, APU system that also can receive direct electrical, utility based power, much similar to an RV. All you need is 30amp outlet at the parking space.
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