Ernie Howe has grown familiar with his routine.

Running from his home in Parma, ID, to Los Angeles and Phoenix, the OOIDA member spends most nights of the week at truck stops equipped with IdleAire plug-ins. Before bed, Howe will plug in his CPAP machine, strap on a mouth and nose-covering mask, and hit the pillow.

Diagnosed with sleep apnea a year ago, Howe says a relatively low amount of pressure from the CPAP machine helps him obtain a healthy eight hours of sleep each night.

“I can sleep without it, but I’d rather use it,” Howe said about the machine, which provides continuous air pressure through a patient’s breathing faculties.

Since IdleAire ceased operations last week, thousands of truckers who have obstructive sleep apnea and who use CPAP machines have been scrambling to find ways to get a peaceful sleep.

Howe – who has driven truck since 1976, said he was preparing to plug in to IdleAire service at a truck stop in Hesperia, CA, last week when he was told IdleAire was shutting down.

Because Howe’s company hasn’t installed APUs on its trucks, IdleAire’s closing will mean trucks will be idling at night to provide heat and hotel power. The realities of work time spent at loading docks and other trucking factors make battery-usage difficult, he said, especially combined with the power needs for eight hours of CPAP use.

“I’ve got an inverter, but I’d much rather use electric-line power – especially if the company is going to pay for it,” Howe said. “If you leave it plugged to the battery power all night long, it will run your batteries dead.”

For more information on CPAP machines and inverters, read this May 2008 Land Line article, and this 2007 article.

As for Howe, he’ll either bunk indoors to use his CPAP or go without using it at all.

“I’m going to stop at my sister’s house tonight,” he said. “I can get by without it, but I’d rather not do without.”