AC At Truck Stops

Sorry this idea didn't work out for Annie and Tom's family.

Thanks, Steppenwolf; great to see you around!! It was more my brother's dealio; he was an R & D guy at Hoftstra in NY, in the HVAC world; Tom dabbled and happened to be a driver. Wish they could've worked closer, honestly.

Anne, look at the pictures you linked us to. It shows all the trucks nose in and barriers in front, which would mean they all had to back out whenever they were done.

I did this once at a truck stop. That is nose first. There was only one spot left and It was not a hard back, but I was super tired. I had to do a few backups to get in straight, but it worked. I pulled in nose first, I hit the bunk and was asleep in ten minutes. When I woke up, almost everybody was gone so it was easy to back up and go. Wouldn’t recommend this as a regular practice but I was so new to backing I just did it the easy way. I know, I’m a chicken s##t.

True, Bruce ... Tom saw them in the pull thru's to his recollection. He called 'me' for cash approval ONCE, and before I could say "yeah, try it!" it was sold.

He's never gotten the experience. He's spoken with my brother about the technology and concept throughout the years; it never really 'launched' as they'd hoped it to.

Pull through was in PA, to his recollection; he ran a lot of Midwest with T/A ... back then.

~ Anne ~

Granted I don't frequent truck stops often but the only place I've seen them in the radius I run (Minneapolis, Sioux Falls SD, Lincoln NE,Kansas City, Aurora Illinois, and Madison WI) is at the Petro just off I35 in Albert Lea MN marker 12 or so. I've never seen anybody using them or even know If they're still operable but they're all definitely nose in at a diagonal.

I been at that Carlisle PA spot, BUT they wanna charge you $15 to park in those spots.

Was it recently or a while back? I had no clue these spots cost money, they were not marked with "reserved" letters or any other signage. Anyway, I parked, hit the bunk, and left at sunrise without being bothered by anyone. If they do charge for these spots, I guess I saved $15 :-)

Anne, thank you for the info!

I been at that Carlisle PA spot, BUT they wanna charge you $15 to park in those spots.

Was it recently or a while back? I had no clue these spots cost money, they were not marked with "reserved" letters or any other signage. Anyway, I parked, hit the bunk, and left at sunrise without being bothered by anyone. If they do charge for these spots, I guess I saved $15 :-)

Anne, thank you for the info!

Most welcome, Andrey! Dug up a LOT of fun, trivia, and yip yap today; I needed a lightened mood this weekend, haha!

Gotta ask: WAS it operable? Yeah, it sure did to seem to be 'nose in' to operate.

Great thread, man!

Thanks BACK!

~ Anne ~

Anne, I don't think it was operable. Some hoses were hanging, some attached to the poles to make more rooms. Most trucks backed into the holes, but two or three nosed in, probably they didn't want to back in the darkness (there were no lights there) and the angle was weird. It took me several pull ups and a walk to the back to check how far I can go. I looked at the end of that hose, there was a hole and nothing more.

I remember using these and it seemed that the air's circulation wasn't maintained and dirty filters. Air coming through would smell like cigarettes or whatever the other nasty trucks were smoking. Reminded me of the air on airplanes.

Was like 2 years ago Andrey, the gas station wanted to charge, the shack for that was boarded up lol

They were called "Idle Aire" and very convenient back when a lot of states were enforcing the no idle laws. The idea was great but never really took off nationwide. You would buy a window adapter to fit your particular model truck, install it in passenger door window, they would hook up hose with the control panel and presto you had ac, heat and tv for around $10 a night when I used them. Problems were drivers parking in the spots without their service and hardly any cleaning of the system which resulted in very unclean and unhealthy air entering the cab. If you changed truck brands you could exchange you window adapter for the proper one.

Looking at the superstructure needed for that system, it would be a very expensive installation. Then there is the expense of an attendant and the maintenance. At $10 to $15 per 10 hours of use, they would have to be constantly in use to just break even , that would be my guess.

Think about the CAT scales. I’d like to know how much each one costs to install. But after installation, operating costs are not that much. Then they are a $12.50 cash machine. ($2.50 for a re-weigh. I always start with a re-weigh. Lol)

Someone could probably make some money by going around and doing the demolition and salvage of those unused superstructures. Lots of scrap metal to be had there.