the nodding donkey:
Yawn…when did you last drive a truck?
Few years ago now, is it bs? I’ve never driven a truck with stop/start.
Pimpdaddy:
the nodding donkey:
Yawn…when did you last drive a truck?
Few years ago now, is it bs? I’ve never driven a truck with stop/start.
As usual, you get in a quick comment, without any real knowledge.
Yawn…
Bluey Circles:
working on using 3 litres per hour idling (14 litre V8) = 4.6p per minute, so on a 300 mile day using £150 diesel + 30 minutes idling adds another £1.30. (less than 1%) I guess if companies are worried about vehicles standing idling it must be more to do with blocking the DPF up.cost of new starter fitted & downtime = £600 life span of 50,000 starts = 1.2p per start, so worthwhile threshold could be as little as engine being off for 16 seconds (surprisingly short)
You’ve not taken into account that starting an engine has a high fuel demand. Many years ago I crunched some numbers and came up with a figure of approx. two minutes (for a petrol car).
red7jase:
Lots of the bigger fleets have idling monitoring software. Traffic light scenario red Amber green. 2 minute or more and warning signals are sent back to some numpty in glass office miles away.
Apparently it costs the large fleets thousands and thousands are year
Same here, its called mix-telematics. It monitors harsh accelleration, harsh braking, excessive idling, and it seems that we are the flag ship branch.
Must admit that wearing out the starter motor was the first thing I thought of, except if you can see you’re gunna be there for ages.
I switch off, comes from living in Germany for ten years. Idle for too long and plod can issue a fine. Plus the way I see it I don’t want to sit in queue breathing in all the fumes and as for the starter motor… Its a company vehicle, cost of maintenance and repairs will be costed into the price of the job.
Captain Caveman 76:
Bluey Circles:
working on using 3 litres per hour idling (14 litre V8) = 4.6p per minute, so on a 300 mile day using £150 diesel + 30 minutes idling adds another £1.30. (less than 1%) I guess if companies are worried about vehicles standing idling it must be more to do with blocking the DPF up.cost of new starter fitted & downtime = £600 life span of 50,000 starts = 1.2p per start, so worthwhile threshold could be as little as engine being off for 16 seconds (surprisingly short)
You’ve not taken into account that starting an engine has a high fuel demand. Many years ago I crunched some numbers and came up with a figure of approx. two minutes (for a petrol car).
You’re correct I haven’t accounted for a higher demand at start up, I guessed that simillar to electric use for the starter that it would be negligible … I must experiment, don’t have a truck now but will figure something out with the wife’s motor, its a 2 litre commonrail.
parkus:
Not sure if it’s standard but one of our 15 plate volvo’s cuts out after 2 minutes of idling
Its standard on the FH4s. 
Mine does its sitting at some bloody red lights 
Most of the fuel efficient driving courses say that if you know you’ll stationary for more than 3 minutes turn it off now.
If you don’t know how long - leave it running.
There is a trade off between money/fuel saved and maintenance cost for starter and battery without a doubt but apparently using the 3 minute rule makes financial sense.
I seem to remember ■■■■■■■ is developing (or has developed) some kind of stop/start technology that doesn’t cause maintenance issues … Designed for 60 to 80 stops per hour on buses and coaches with the starter supposed to be good for 200,000 starts and claiming 4 - 7% fuel saving.
I cut the engine if I’m gonna be left stationary for for any length of time, we are monitored by fleetboard so anything over 1 min idling starts to affect the idling percentage, we were informed of the potential savings by doing this but I can’t remember what they were but with a big fleet the figures were substantial, we get a weekly bonus with idling being part of it so it pays to switch off while idling
A few of the manual rigids where I work have stop/start, they cut out after about 30seconds of idling and the restart when the clutch is engaged.
The newer actros units we’ve got in the fleet cut out after 5 mins if left idling
rambo19:
I’m a bus driver.
The buses switch themselves off after 5 minutes at my place.
How often do you take it on the M1.
109LWB:
Some of our vehicles spend up to 2 hours at a time idling to run the pto pump, so a few minutes in traffic is here nor there.I would guess a good 4 hours every day is spent idling.
I leave my lorry on when getting loaded with scrap as if you didn’t you would have no mud flaps left after the crane driver pounds every last ton into the trailer. That can be up to 30mins for some loads but normally 10-15mins just idling.
It on takes seconds to unload with the pto on though 
All this crap was moniterd in my last job by a system called microlise.
I didn’t mind it at first and my results were good but then got quizzed about a harsh brake incident when a little lass shot out of the street on her bike.
I was told that I should of been able to avoid a harsh brake in that situation,he even had a Google Earth map of the road on screen to show me it was a straight road with no potential hazard 
I just couldn’t get through to the idiot and the who,R system was one of the main factors in me leaving to be honest as I’m not been told how to drive when I know my driving is ok.
Bluey Circles:
working on using 3 litres per hour idling (14 litre V8)
Is yours a really old Scania? They don’t make 14-litre V8 engines anymore, only 16-litre ones.
IndigoJo:
Bluey Circles:
working on using 3 litres per hour idling (14 litre V8)Is yours a really old Scania? They don’t make 14-litre V8 engines anymore, only 16-litre ones.
Indeed it was … 143 450 (best truck ever) it was also a long time ago (late 90s)when i worked out the 3l per hour, cab heater wasn’t working and as I am a cold sole I was just leaving the engine chugging away, most of the night sometimes, I was curious what it was costing me in fuel.
dozy:
My planner rang me up and said I’d got loads of excessive idling , harsh braking and hardly any use of cruise control, just said its a good job we don’t have a fuel bonus anymore then, none to impressed and said is that the best reply you can come up with , no try all week in centre of London, bbbbbbbbbbbb oh look he’s hung up again
robroy:
parkus:
Not sure if it’s standard but one of our 15 plate volvo’s cuts out after 2 minutes of idlingMy Actros is the same, but I do switch off in jams etc anyway, because I’m professional,… in fact too good to be true and perfect
papermonkey:
red7jase:
Lots of the bigger fleets have idling monitoring software. Traffic light scenario red Amber green. 2 minute or more and warning signals are sent back to some numpty in glass office miles away.
Apparently it costs the large fleets thousands and thousands are yearSame here, its called mix-telematics. It monitors harsh accelleration, harsh braking, excessive idling, and it seems that we are the flag ship branch.
Ditto but with tacho infringements and route-compliance taken into account as well. Screw the nut and it’s worth 175 smackers a month (non-contractual) bonus at our place. Can be a bloody nightmare as it’s paid hourly but effectively job & knock.
I’ve always been excessively idle,any turn it off now after 34 years 