Devices Drain Truck Batteries
As an Operations Executive, you face a universal truth: driver comfort and essential equipment like refrigerators, microwaves, and CPAP machines are now a non-negotiable part of life on the road. From gaming systems that keep drivers entertained to critical medical devices that help drivers get improved sleep, electronics help make the cab feel a little more like home. However, these essential accessories draw constant power, and drivers rarely remember to unplug, quietly turning a good night’s rest into a costly, stranded no-start situation.
The chain reaction of a dead battery is predictable:
- Immediate Revenue Halt: The truck is sidelined, missing a delivery, and losing revenue.
- Wasted Maintenance Budget: You incur unexpected and expensive roadside assistance or towing fees.
- Wasted Technician Time: Your already short-staffed team is pulled away for avoidable jump-starts or diagnostics.
You can’t ask drivers to sacrifice comfort, so how do you prevent the power drain that is damaging your bottom line? The answer is an automatic, maintenance-free battery protection system that works regardless if the key is out or off.
Your Hands-Free Battery Safety Net
The most effective way to stop accessory-driven battery drain is to rely on automation, not manual driver effort. Idle Smart eliminates the “forgot to unplug” problem with a powerful solution that automatically protects your batteries from becoming too low during rest periods. That means, even if your drivers leave a TV on overnight, they won’t come back to dead truck batteries.
Here’s how the system eliminates the problem automatically:
- Precise Voltage Monitoring: Idle Smart utilizes a patented technology to monitor precise voltage, which is the most accurate indicator of the power available to turn your starter. Measuring this way ensures consistent performance, even as batteries degrade over time.
- Automatic Proactive Charging: When devices draw power and the precise voltage drops below your fleet’s safe threshold, the system automatically starts the engine. It runs only for the minimum time required to safely recharge the batteries, protecting your fuel budget.
- Uninterrupted Comfort: The engine starts and stops seamlessly, automatically, and quietly. Idle Smart protects the driver’s essential rest period, whether for required sleep or an extended break, by ensuring the batteries are always charged for the next start.
By putting Idle Smart on your trucks, you can say goodbye to those dead-battery calls, even in the extreme heat or cold.
Reliable Starts & Lower Costs
Implementing this hands-free battery protection across your fleet provides tangible advantages for your maintenance team and your bottom line:
- Eliminate Costly Roadside Events: Prevent the emergency service calls and towing costs associated with dead batteries, directly reducing your maintenance costs.
- Free Up Technician Time: By eliminating low-value, repetitive tasks like jump-starts, you allow your technicians to focus on higher-value diagnostics and repairs.
- Protect Your eAPU Investment: For fleets using electric APUs (eAPUs), Idle Smart actively monitors the eAPU battery bank, engaging the main engine when needed to maintain charge. This maximizes your investment by ensuring the eAPU has power for uninterrupted cab comfort.
- Fleet-Wide Consistency: Unlike OEM solutions that only manage the specific truck they came on, Idle Smart works across all truck makes and models in your fleet produced after 2017, ensuring consistent uptime protection everywhere.
“Between the fuel savings and the added battery protection, it’s honestly a no-brainer. The system pays for itself many times over.”
– Director of Customer Accounts, Miller Trans Group (NationaLease Member)
Give your maintenance team the peace of mind that truck batteries are actively managed, and your drivers the confidence and comfort they need to focus on the road.
Talk to an expert today to eliminate no-starts and guarantee uptime.