Knight And Swift Trucks

Looking for some help from Swift and Knight drivers since I think I've narrowed it down to those two companies. Swift, from what I can figure out uses Cascadias. Knight, uses Volvos, Internationals, and Peterbuilts. I also think that neither company uses APUs.

What I am wanting to know is about bunk coolers. Swift told me that their rigs have bunk coolers/heaters. I don't know about Knight. Does Knight have bunk coolers? (I emailed/texted the recruiter but haven't heard back).

I think that it is ridiculous for any company that doesn't allow idling not to have some way to heat/cool the sleeper when the truck is not running, but I am still reading posts about drivers trying to rig up fans or some of way to try to keep cool when trying to take their sleeper time. It is hard to believe that a company would expect drivers to live in conditions like that.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

APUs:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Swift (and most other companies) have a bunk heater that will do the job in Minnesota in February. I have actually used the heater blower to warm up cans of soup & chili for dinner. It runs on diesel, and will be as hot as you want it to be.

In summer I have seen messages that say CUT DOWN ON YOUR IDLING. (My FM likes to use capitals in all his messages, so I wanted to be realistic here.) But he also will say DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO STAY COMFORTABLE OVERNIGHT. I usually skipped the AC for my own reasons. I think I mentioned to you that except for summer ovens like Phoenix the night air actually does get cooler. So, if the truck next to you is not idling (making that RRRRRR noise) open a window and set the heater fan to blower.

My FM likes to use capitals in all his messages, so I wanted to be realistic here.

That's not your FM, that's a function of the Qualcomm itself. It sends all messages both directions in all caps.

I worked for Knight for about a year and a half and just recently left. They have bunk heaters that will keep the truck plenty warm and they will send you messages telling you to idle the truck if you are in an area where its cold enough the fuel could gel.

I idled the truck to stay cool in the warmer months. They will question why only if you idle the truck longer than your 10 hour break. If you were sitting waiting for a dispatch and its hot, just explain why you had to idle longer. No big deal really and they only pay attention to it for a month or so when its really hot. Im sure it costs them a fortune in fuel when you consider they may have 2500 trucks running around the clock.

They pay a fuel mileage bonus quarterly which can be a substantial amount so you will find yourself paying close attention to your idle time on your own. I would rather sleep comfortably and miss the fuel bonus one quarter but if you pay attention and only idle the truck when its necessary, you can be cool when its hot and still make the fuel mileage bonus. So... "Dont Sweat It"