Weather Woes

I didn't get very far today before the weather shut me down. A large thunderstorm was brewing over New Mexico and I was getting blown all over the road. Rather than tempt fate I decided to throw in the towel.

I pulled into a truckstop in Albuquerque only to find every other truck on the road had exactly the same idea. As I drove up and down the rows slowly working my way back and forth I was beginning to lose hope of finding a space. When there on the very back row, the very last last space, I found my spot. It was a bugger to get into, but I made look like I knew what I was doing.

Part of the reason for the severe lack of parking at this particular truckstop is they're installing IdleAire and several spaces are blocked off to accommodate the construction crews and all their equipment.

IdleAire is a unit that mounts in the passenger window of the truck much like an air conditioner mounts in a window of a house, and eliminates the need for drivers to idle their trucks to keep cool or warm. It also has Internet access, satellite t.v. and radio among other features.

I like to use it when I can find it, but with only slightly over 100 truckstops having it installed and running, it's pretty few and far between locations. And right now it exists mostly in the southern and eastern states. So if you're up north or out west you're pretty much out of luck.

More and more locations are popping up all the time, but it's a slow process. Most truckstop owners are reluctant to install it because of the loss of business during construction, the loss of about 10% of their parking spaces and the general overall lack of trust that this isn't just a passing technology that will be outdated before it ever gets off the ground. With more and more trucking companies installing APU's (Auxiliary Power Unit) on their fleets, the need for Idleaire just wont be there in a few years.

Well No sooner than I pull over and start typing the weather breaks. I'm staying put though. It will be dark soon and if I thought I had a hard time finding a parking space the first time, it's even worse when that sun goes down. Besides parking in the dark is a pain. Trucks or rather the trailers dont have back up lights on them and truckstop lighting isn't always the greatest.

Here's some links if you want to know more about APU's or IdleAire