Yes, We Really Tried Piping AC, DirecTV, and Internet Into Semi Trucks Through Giant Tubes

Some ideas are great in theory but bad in practice. You could argue that’s the case for many innovations, like algorithms that should show me more cool car videos but instead flood my feed with targeted ads for questionable men’s hygiene products. I’m not here to talk about that, though—I’m here to talk about IdleAir, a company that set out to deliver hotel luxuries to truckers in the comfort of their sleeper cabs. It was one of those ideas that might sound great in your head, but was doomed to fail in the real world.

If you had a driver’s license in the 2000s, there’s a chance you saw IdleAir stations at truck stops across the U.S. They featured additional semi parking with metal structures overhead and yellow tubes hanging down. They looked a little like HVAC ducts, and that’s partially what they were. IdleAir’s services included in-cab heating and air, along with a pair of 110-volt electrical outlets, DirecTV, a phone connection, and an ethernet hookup. That was pretty snazzy for the time.

This up-close photo of the IdleAir interface shows everything they offered to truckers. You can see the electrical outlets on the right-hand panel, with the ethernet port just above and the phone connection below. The majority of that space was taken up by the HVAC vent, which was controlled by the screen on the lefthand panel. That’s where you adjusted the thermostat, viewed 45 channels or so via satellite TV, and apparently searched the web.

The entire point was to provide drivers with amenities so they didn’t have to leave their trucks or abandon their loads. It also served an environmental purpose as truckers didn’t have to idle their trucks overnight (or whenever they slept) to have heat and air. This was IdleAir’s biggest promotional point, and the company claims that its stations saved millions of gallons of diesel from being burned over the years.

IdleAir’s website says that its services used only 10% as much energy as an idling diesel engine. In turn, the company says its stations have “saved millions of tons of dangerous emissions from polluting our environment and contributing to climate change.” And unlike an auxiliary power unit, or APU, commonly used by truckers, IdleAir equipment ran on “American energy resources like coal, gas, and wind” instead of “foreign diesel.”

But there was a problem. Actually, there were a few, but the number one complaint from folks who have talked about IdleAir online is this: They made your truck stink.

It would be unfair to say that most truckers are lacking in the hygiene department, but it would be untrue to say that they’re all sparkling clean. All it took was one less-than-fresh driver to pollute the IdleAir system with their smelly cabs and cigarette smoke to ruin it for the next trucker. The company’s FAQ page attempted to address this by saying, “IdleAir now uses hotel-grade smoke elimination technology at each of our locations. Frequent cleaning and maintenance give you fresh, clean air each time you hook up.” That implies that they once did not feature such smoke elimination tech, and still, I’m not so sure it worked based on the testimonials.

Costs varied by location, but a pricing sheet from 2018 lists fees between $2.30 and $2.40 per hour at each of its 32 stations that were open at the time. That price included HVAC, electricity, DIRECTV, and basic internet. You could also purchase accessories like a wireless keyboard for $35, a wireless mouse for $13, and a 12-foot indoor extension cord for $10. Whether or not that’s worth paying to avoid sleeping in a dirty motel was subjective, but from the sounds of it, most people couldn’t get past the smell. 2016-08-13-IdleAir-Broadband-and-Ancillary-Products

IdleAir’s history is a rocky one that was more or less defined by a bankruptcy filing in 2010. It was later bought by Convoy Solutions, which went on to add more locations around 2013. However, the IdleAir website seems to have gone dormant in March 2020 when the company announced the launch of its new phone app. The timing couldn’t have been worse with the COVID pandemic hitting full force at exactly the same time, disrupting supply chains and making travel a serious headache, even for truckers.

There’s nothing online that says IdleAir is closed for good—nothing I could find, at least. But the official website has been quiet for five years at this point, and nothing has been posted on its social channels since 2019. The “find locations” feature is broken and reports from 2018 claimed at least two stations had been closed in Tennessee and Georgia. I called the listed number for customer support as well as the one for Convoy Solutions’ corporate office during the claimed business hours but got no response.

I left my name and number in case there’s anyone on the other side of the line, but if everything is as it seems, I’ll be waiting the rest of my life to hear back.

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