Text and photos by Mark Brumley

• Introduction
• Just like home
• Good for truckers and the air
• Praise for Piedmont EMC
• Download the full article as a

Just like home

Jones said company founder A.C. Wilson, a Tellico Plains, Tenn., contractor, conceived the idea for the IdleAire system after listening to his brother, a truck driver, talk about some challenges he faced on the road. They were on vacation in an RV park, and Wilson sat down that night to sketch the first design for an independent, external system that would give truckers some of the same services available in campgrounds.

To get an idea what an IdleAire facility is like, imagine a drive-in theater or restaurant. But, instead of hanging a speaker or food tray from their windows, drivers get a long yellow tube similar to an HVAC duct inserted into the passenger-side window of their rigs. A plastic adapter, which costs drivers $10 and is theirs to keep, is fitted into the truck window to install the tubes. The tubes, which are connected to overhead units on a steel truss, deliver heated and cooled air. In the end of each tube is a hatch that drivers open to find a Service Delivery Module with a touch-screen computer. The computer is the interface for all services, including TV, heating and air conditioning and Internet.

The module consoles have credit card readers that drivers use to pay for services, such as Movie On Demand. The standard service includes 20 TV channels, but drivers can also pay extra and get a premium satellite package. There are USB ports for a keyboard and mouse to use with the computer, as well as outlets where customers can connect their own laptop computer to high-speed Internet service. The IdleAire modules also have phone and power outlets.

Making a stopover at the Mebane IdleAire, truck driver Javier Huerta of El Paso, Tex., said he looks for the facilities, because they make his time on the road more enjoyable. Huerta said he watches ball games and boxing on TV during his breaks, but he can only pick up a few network channels with an aerial antenna.

“When you’re a solo driver, you have to park for 10 hours,” Huerta said. “You know you’re not going to sleep for 10 hours. You’ll sleep maybe seven or eight hours. It’s nice to have TV to look at.”

Huerta said he just wished there were more IdleAire sites. “The only bad thing is that you don’t have too many around,” he said.