Been around the trucking industry almost 48 years. And unfortunately, drivers still leave their keys in their tractors running at truck stops. Why do they do it? Nobody knows. But in those 48 years I’ve seen three tractor trailers stolen from truckstops.
It’s pretty friggen hard to drive one of those rigs and keeping them running keeps the fuel warm.
Just my guess.
To keep the cab either warm or cool so when the driver gets back from eating he has a comfortable bed to sleep in. Of course most drivers I knew would lock the doors before they went inside the truck stop.
My kid had his spare in his semi cab. Good thing. His pickup burned up a few weeks ago and melted his keys. Locksmith got into the semi and off he went.
Here's a reader comment from a different article on this same incident:
Just about every semi truck driver in the world! A little known fact to people that don't operate or drive big diesel powered vehicles is that in the long run leaving the engine running actually saves money!(depending on circumstances) You see, with engines (especially big diesels) upon starting the engine a relatively large amount of fuel is delivered to help the engine start, often the same amount used in 30 or more seconds of idling! So stopping the engine for every little thing wastes fuel. But where the savings REALLY add up in these engines that often run 1,000,000+ miles and/or thousands of hours, is in maintenance and repair costs as they relate to consumables and the overall longevity of the engine before rebuilding becomes necessary. Every start up requires ignition switches to be turned, solenoids to engage and starter motors to spin. These are consumables and the engine will hopefully see many replacements before it itself needs an overhaul. Replacing these things also results in downtime which is pure lost profit! Also, the engine oil pressure especially at first start of the day, is at zero. This means that for the first 500-1000+ revolutions of the engine, no oil is flowing to moving parts! This is the biggest cause of core engine wear in a well maintained engine and adds up = money lost! Lastly, although there are more reasons, big diesels especially, are best left running (such as cold weather operation as diesels HATE cold) another BIG reason semi truck drivers especially leave their trucks running especially for short stops is the time it takes to recharge the air supply for the brakes. Time is money! Many companies have no problem paying for fuel to keep their diesels running nonstop as much as possible. Now you know!