TORONTO, (Oct. 25, 2005) — Shore power is coming to one of the largest truckstop chains in the U.S. in a big way.

IdleAire Technology Corp. of Tennessee recently signed a contract with Travel Centers of America to outfit all 150 TA locations with its proprietary AC plug-in shore-power system.

Here’s how it works: if your truck is outfitted with an appropriate power inverter/charger, you’ll be able to park at one of the designated spots and connect your power cord into the mainland electrical grid, just like boats do at marinas and RVs at campgrounds.

Drivers can also hook up to IdleAire’s overhead high-capacity HVAC unit. You just fasten a module to your passenger window. The module is connected to the thermostatically controlled HVAC system, so voila! Your sleeper berth gets filtered heating and air conditioning, without having to idle the engine or run a generator. The window adaptor will set you back the not-so-princely sum of $10.

The service module has a credit-card reader, temperature controls and a laptop-type computer with a 10-inch colour, touch-sensitive screen. It also provides satellite TV, free local telephone and free high-speed access to the Internet, wired and wireless.

The sole Canadian TA truckstop, located in Woodstock, Ont., will probably be outfitted with the system some time in 2005. IdleAire is also installed at a few Pilot and Petro truckstops on trials, successful by all accounts, with more bound to follow.

However, don’t feel bad if you haven’t tricked out your iron with the necessary gear yet. First, to even get access to shore power, you have to install a power inverter. They’re readily available as retrofit items and as databook options on some new trucks.

David Everhart, the chief operating officer of IdleAire, says his company’s own research shows only about 15,000 trucks in the U.S. are outfitted with shore-power connections, and there are approximately 4.2 million heavy-duty diesels on the road.

Switching over is going to be a colossal undertaking. Brent Weary, vice-president of sales and marketing for Volvo Trucks Canada, says while the number of Volvo tractors outfitted with a shore-power option has more than doubled in the last four years, the company predicts only about 12 per cent of their trucks will be sold with inverters in Canada this year.

And then there’s the business of where’re you’re going to stop.

“I get the feeling from the U.S. that truckstops aren’t exactly running over themselves to be the first one with the option to provide shore power,” says Weary. No kidding. Some truckstop operators contacted for this story hadn’t even heard of the concept for big rigs.

In the long run, shore power has the potential to change the very nature of the truckstop, proponents say. With or without the IdleAire answer, a suitably equipped truck could just plug in the AC lead from the hook-up and run a heater or air conditioner, various appliances, and even keep the batteries charged for start-up in the morning.