Truck Stops Get Wireless Internet

Makarand writes "According to SFGate.com, a company called IdleAire Technologies are building high-tech truck stops to provide drivers with air-conditioning, television, Internet access and phone service in truck cabs, so that they can turn off their engines. Trucks will pull into bays, where flexible tubes ending in vents for hot or cold air, and touch sensitive screens for Internet access can be pulled inside the truck's cab. There's also a separate wireless Internet option, where drivers don't have to pull into the bays. The basic services provided cost less than the fuel spent in idling a truck."

Convoy!

[spector30]

So with the wireless access can you use all the trucks on the road as a rolling wireless relay system? If so that would be cool. Sure puts the old CB system to shame.

I wonder

[geekoid]

how much it costs to run one of those engines per hour? fuel wise, obviously the real cost would depend on the cost of fuel.

Re:I could think of better places...

[RevMike]

Actually, I'm not surprised.

1. More and more truckers are using satelite based tracking and communication systems. (Mostly trucking companies, not individual owner/operators, I think). Theses systems tend to be laptop based.

2. Cheap and easy way to keep in touch with your loved ones and manage your life while on the road.

Re:I could think of better places...

[chill]

Many truckers keep in touch with family by e-mail. It is also a way to get traffic information, etc.

You don't have to be a geek to read e-mail, use IM or browse the web in your off time. Just look at how many people AOL has signed up.

Re:Wireless at Truckstops

[Anonymous Coward]

...are there really that many truckers hauling around laptops?

You'd be surprised. A single application such as Map Point might well justify the cost of a laptop, if it can show a driver a more efficient route to his destination. Considering how much fuel a big rig burns per mile, it's not hard to imagine at all.

SVM, ERGO MONSTRO

Great Idea..

[RyanK]

.. but with 22 locations listed on their website, only 6 of them are active. I suppose its great for truckers who have to drive through those areas, but it is far from being a widely accepted thing. For this to expand across the country, there are enormous costs involved in purchasing/leasing land, buildings, and the networking equipment.

I'm sure cisco and intel would be more then happy to throw in some discounted equipment, but just building out each location can be very expensive, all to make $1.25 an hour? You'll need at least 4 people staying there all night just to be able to staff the location with a minimum wage employee.

Sounds great in theory, but where does the profit come from?

You know, we're not all 16 years old

[beavis88]

Some of us are *gasp* old enough to have actually attended a drive-in movie! :)

I got that reference, but it is odd to think that there are probably millions of people out there now who never would, and probably never will...

Re:truck idling

[Anonymous Coward]

You have got to be kidding me. I seriously doubt it takes the equivalent of 2k miles of driving to start the damn truck. Got any facts to back this up?

A few still exist in CO

[zapp]

A few drive ins still exist in colorado, one in my hometown (Montrose) and one here in my school town (Fort Collins). I'm sure there are a few others.

Oh, and both do the radio thing, and the speaker-on-a-wire thing.

My gf from chicago is always excited to go to the drive in... they do provide a pretty neat environment.

And I'm (only?) 22, so don't feel too old, I concider myself young and still remember them well.

Re:truck idling

[Lxy]

Since people are questioning my numbers, I've done some research to back up my statements.

According to a bulletin published by the EPA in 2002, newer diesel engines consume significantly less fuel on startup. When I was told of the startup problems many years ago, starting an engine was absolute hell on it so truckers avoided it whenever possible. With the newer engines, idling is actually worse for it. According to the EPA starting a modern diesel engine consumes as much fuel as 30 seconds of idling.

I'm trying to find when this changed, because older engines (older being the word in question) were better off idling all night than being turned off and restarted. If I can dig up the documentation I'm looking for, I'll post links here.

Re:Top 10 Uses

[jellomizer]

This may be an attempt to be funny. But some truck drivers actually get decent pay I have seen up to 60k a year. Depending on what you carry. Most truck drivers arnt actually the typical Red Necks that they are normally portraid. A lot of them are indepent buisness owners and take care of their buisness on the road. If you actually looked at some of the Tractors Trailers out their some of them are really nice with sleeping quarters and tables fridge and microwave. A person can actually live comfortable in these tractors.

Truck facts

[Anonymous Coward]

1. Many on-highway heavy duty vehicles already have wireless email. The big trucking companies rely on a Qualcomm satellite system to track and communicate with vehicles (they can even run remote diagnostics.)

2. The average idle time for a heavy duty diesel vehicle in the U.S. is right around 40%. Not kidding.

3. Said vehicle consumes about 1 gal/hr while idling.

3. May OTR vehicles have a device known as optimized idle (OI). Say you want to sleep in your deluxe 84 inch Peterbilt cab with the TV, microwave, and deluxe sound system. OI will start the engine everytime your cab temp drops below 68 degrees, everytime your engine temp (oil or coolant, you pick) drops below a set parameter and warms up the cab or engine etc.

4. Most trucking companies not involved in long haul limit idle time, engine will shut off after a specified idle interval (usually 5 - 10 minutes). This prevents drivers from leaving the engine running while eating dinner, visiting that out of state girlfriend etc.

5. Big trucking companies are all about FUEL ECONOMY. Saving .1 mpg per truck doesn't sound like much; try going from 6.0 mpg to 5.9 mpg with 3000 trucks, each truck drives 150,000 miles per year, diesel fuel is 1.50/gal.

1. Reduce Idle time.
2. Save fuel.
3. ????
4. Profit!!!

I'm surprised it hasn't been emphasized...

[andreMA]

... that a major advantage of this (aside from the internet access/geek factor) is the fact that warm and cool air is provided at a cost less than idling the engine.

A big benefit in pollution reduction there, I'd think...

Re:truck idling

[nothingtodo]

ALL diesel engines have glowplugs to help warm the combustion chamber when the engine is cold. In cold climates, block heaters are used. I've never seen a large diesel truck have problems starting up. It's not like you have to pump the accelerator to get it to start! Special fuel blend is also used in cold areas.

Cold startup of any engine with the lack of oil pressure causes the most wear. Idling a diesel means it's always at operating temperature and you eliminate the thermal cycling which causes wear. Its also means that heat and AC is available and with the cost per hour of idling, I'd say most truckers just leave it running for that reason.

I think you are the one who is mistaken

[SaDan]

True, older diesels had problems running at their low idle setting for extended periods of time. That's why people retrofit a "high idle" switch for extended idling (kept cylinder pressure higher, heat higher, no unburnt fuel issues, no wasted fuel either) on the older diesel engines.

Newer diesel engines either perform the "high idle" automatically via computer monitoring, and/or come with the manual switch.

500,000 miles IS a freshly broken in semi engine. My brother just finished hauling freight for a company, using a company truck. His vehicle had over 800,000 miles on it, ran like a champ. My father purchased a semi with just under one million miles on it for use on the farm (hauls grain over the road to elevators/barges).

Speed limiters are for insurance purposes, nothing more, nothing less. Fast trucks are a liability, especially for a company that hires rookie drivers. They are not there to save fuel, they are not there to prevent idling.

Also, if you are a company driver (not owner-operator), you aren't going to give a rat's ass about fuel costs, period. You just turn in receipts.