Convoy Solutions, LLC, shared the company’s location expansion plans for IdleAir systems and also news about its more diversified suite of idle-reduction options at the Great American Truck Show held in Dallas through last weekend.
Three years after the original “IdleAire” business declared bankruptcy, the now “IdleAir” idle-reduction systems are rolling out again, according to Jeff Maurer, chief listening officer for Convoy Solutions, LLC, which owns and manages IdleAir. Some 40,000 drivers and 550 fleets have already signed up, many of them among the nation’s largest carriers, he told members of the press.
Recent IdleAir installations include Laredo, TX (at a Pilot location on I-35 off exit 13); Orange, TX (at a Pilot location on I-10 off exit 873); and Salt Lake City, UT (at a Sapp Brothers location on I-215 off exit 21). “Laredo is averaging about 100 customers per day for the 70 IdleAir spaces,” said Maurer. IdleAir is also “doing its best” to take reservations and drivers are invited to call.
Additional installations are also planned for Barstow, CA; Austintown, Beaverdam and Seville, OH; and Robinson and Laredo, TX. According to Murer, the company intends to focus primarily in the southern third of the country.
Earlier this year, Convoy introduced the Convoy TV and Power System, which does not include the HVAC that was delivered through the cab window via the signature yellow ducting that became emblematic of the first IdleAire installations. This offering allows drives who may have their own APUs or bunk heaters to enjoy television and AC power access without having to pay for HVAC, Maurer explained.
The company is also installing AC pedestals only in some locations, such as in Port Allen, LA where a new site will open in September. There, half the IdleAir-equipped parking spots will be AC-only. This new offering gives drivers another option at a lower price point. Going forward, the AC pedestals may also be able to provide power to run reefer units, although some modification will be required before this service can be rolled out.
Fleets that want IdleAir-equipped parking spots at their own terminals and facilities are also working with Convoy. We have about 5,000 original "IdleAire" systems that we can redeploy, noted Maurer.
