I tried searching for answers to this question already but didn’t find any direct answers. Basically, a couple of guy with diesel Rams and F350s moved into my apartments. They are good neighbors for the most part, but they (and their friends) insist on idling their trucks constantly. I’ve brought it up but they swear you are supposed to idle diesels for 10 minutes before driving. Their friends will stop by and leave their trucks running for half an hour while talking. It’s annoying a lot of people. I’ve hesitated to complain to management because I’m on good terms with these guys, so first I want to get a better understanding. I’ve googled this issue and found a lot of conflicting information.
For context, we live in a climate where the temp rarely drops below freezing, and I’ve never seen any of these guys hauling anything. My knowledge of diesels is limited to the one old truck we had when I was a kid, but we never idled it for extended periods. The most we did is a few minutes of idling after we pulled a trailer. In fact, idling it before driving never moved the temp gauge at all, to my recollection. So who is right? Do they actually need to idle their modern diesel trucks? Or are they needlessly driving their neighbors nuts?
no, especially if the climate doesn’t get cold. If they have turbos, they should probably idle for a few minutes before shutting it off, but that’s usually 2-4 min
Before confronting them directly, the OP should check to see if his municipality/county/state has an ordinance in place regarding how long one can legally idle an engine. In my state, idling either a gas engine or a diesel engine for more than 3 minutes can result in a fine of $250, but things could well be different where the OP resides.
More than likely, the local gendarmes would love to issue a juicy ticket if you drop a dime on the offenders who live in your apartment complex.
See if your state has a regulation similar to NJ’s:
Idling cars, trucks, school buses, public and private transportation buses, and off-road construction vehicles/equipment all contribute to the degradation of local air quality. Current regulations limit engine idling for both diesel and gasoline vehicles to three minutes with limited exceptions. Violations can be issued by NJDEP, County Environmental Health Officers, or local police departments. Call the NJDEP 24-hour, toll-free hotline at (877) 927-6337 or WARN DEP or your local police department to report idling violations (please do not call 911).
I’ve said it before in this forum…but it’s a tragedy to me how so many young (and older) men see their big, lifted, 4WD truck as an extension of…themselves. I’m no tree hugger by any means, but I hate to see all the fuel that’s wasted driving trucks pulling/hauling nothing. It’s just sad.
This morning on my commute into work, there was a lifted, “modified” newer model GMC truck ahead of me. I’m not sure if it was intentional or not, but everytime he hit the gas, blueish/white smoke poured out of the tailpipe. Bless his heart, I bet he paid for that “mod” on his truck.
Rolling Coal? Yeah that’s intentional, and yeah the people that add that are not only compensating for something missed, but are pieces of crap for destroying local air quality. I saw a cop pull over and ticket a local kid who did that to his truck (his ticket was likely more severe as he liked to brag about removing his Cat and other emissions control devices/systems). I sent a dozen donuts to the station the next day.
if a Duramax, that is quite possibly his Indirect injector is stuck, leaking fuel into his exhaust all the time, as opposed to during a regeneration cycle as designed.
This would provide a non confrontational way to confront the idlers by telling them they might get fines for running the engine too long. Just a friendly word to the wise, ya know. It might be a good idea if these Manly Men take such suggestions as an affront to their Manhood.
I don’t think any of the guys Even bothered in our fleet, start it up and go. Now you have a confrontation or an anonymous complaint, I would go for anonymous complaint
