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Owner-Operator Enjoys Convenience, Comfort and Savings with NITE System
Every time Charlie Jones pulls into a truck stop for the evening, he listens to all the trucks idling the main engine and he shakes his head. The sound brings back memories from years ago when he drove rigs for other trucking companies.
"Everybody just let the trucks run 24 hours a day," Jones recalls. "Idling those units while the drivers slept wasted untold gallons of diesel fuel and added the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of miles to the engines. I can't bring myself to do that to my trucks, especially when it's my money on the line."
For the past 15 of his 30 years in over-the-road trucking, Jones has run his own small firm, C.J. Truck & Trailer Inc., based in Asheboro, N.C. The mainstay of his business is furniture, which he transports to stores mainly along the East Coast, logging about 100,000 miles a year.
To keep warm in winter, Jones used to curl up in a sleeping bag in the sleeper compartment. On summer nights, he "rolled down the windows and suffered."
"There were some summers that were just unbearable," Jones remarks, "but I don't like idling engines, so we did what we had to do."
Conscious of the tradeoff between comfort and burning a gallon or more an hour to idle, this past spring Jones found a happy solution. In June, he outfitted one of his company's two trucks, a 1997 Freightliner Century, with the NITE (No-Idle Thermal Environment) system from Bergstrom Inc.
"I was looking for an onboard system to keep the sleeper comfortable at night, but I didn't want an auxiliary generator," Jones says. "I know people who use generators to run climate-control systems. I don't care for the noise. That's what initially impressed me about the NITE system. It's very quiet."
The NITE system combines light weight, a compact design and incredible efficiency. It consists of a rechargeable battery system that supplies electricity to Bergstrom's patent-pending hermetically sealed air-conditioning unit and an auxiliary heater. The entire system adds only 342 pounds to the truck's weight.
Powered by four 6-volt deep-cycle batteries in series, instead of the truck's electrical system, the NITE air conditioner offers 3,600 BTUs of cooling capacity. The air conditioner draws no energy from the truck's electrical system when the truck engine is off. The diesel fuel-operated heater throws off 3,930 to 7,860 BTUs per hour. The energy requirement to heat the sleeper area is remarkably low, less than one-tenth of a gallon per hour.
The NITE system also includes a smart control system, which features electronic variable functions for optimum comfort and power management. The engineered ductwork efficiently circulates air, providing a low-voltage cutout to safeguard the independent NITE battery and a status indicator to notify the owner when recharging is needed.
"The whole system gets two thumbs up from me," Jones declares. "It has definitely lived up to its promise. On the low setting, the air conditioner keeps the truck perfectly comfortable for up to 10 hours. The power source recharges while the engine is running. The heating is absolutely wonderful. I don't understand why everyone doesn't install an idling reduction system like Bergstrom's. It would cut the usage of millions of gallons of fuel and help reduce air pollution."
About Bergstrom Inc.
Bergstrom Inc. has designed, manufactured, assembled and supplied heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems for the truck, agricultural, off-highway, specialty vehicle and aftermarket industries in North America and Europe for more than 50 years. Headquarters are located at 2390 Blackhawk Road, Rockford, IL 61109. For details about the NITE system, call toll-free NITEline (866) 204-8570, visit the NITE system website at www.NITEsystem.com or contact any of the 2,000-plus Sales and Service Centers. Contact information is available via the online Sales and Service Centers locator found on the NITE website or the toll-free NITEline.
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