Pros and Cons of Reefers

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by sadears, Feb 2, 2010.

  1. phroziac

    phroziac Road Train Member

    3,138
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    Jun 16, 2009
    Gary, IN
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    Grocery warehouses are a nightmare. However, they are also the only customers where you can treat them like dirt and not get fired. Cause thats how they treat you. Treat em just like they treat you. Thats my motto in this business now.

    Reefer motors really dont bother me. I'm a dry van driver and I ran reefer for 3 days for a dedicated conagra account. Had no time whatsoever to adjust to sleeping with them. Slept fine. First of all, if its running most of the time anyway, you can set it to continous mode and it's a lot easier to sleep with it on constantly than stopping and starting itself. Second, in some weather conditions it might only turn on for 20 minutes every 6 hours. Hehehe.

    Just do everyone a favor and if you have a choice, dont park right next to someone that isnt pulling a reefer. That's just the courteous thing to do. Most other drivers will be highly annoyed at you parking next to them. When i ran reefer, if i parked when the lot was mostly empty, i just found somewhere several spots away from others to park. Sure, a dry van still parked next to me, but thats HIS choice. You really cant complain about a reefer if you're the one that parked next to me. To be honest, i have an APU and it sounds like a reefer, except a reefer is 10 times as loud. I think they thought it was a real quiet one...heheheheh. It was mostly refrigerated freight at 29 degrees and it was....30 degrees outside. Didnt run much.

    Also stevens does not allow pets.

    Also, I had some crushed cases of bologna rejected. Was told to "dispose" of them. Thats a pretty vague term. I kept a case to take home and sold the other two at the fuel island when I was getting reefer fuel to drop a trailer (you need to always fill up the trailers fuel tank before droppign a trailer so it doesnt run out. most places require them to be totally full or theyll reject the trailer!). Made $20.

    I can only imagine how often that kind of thing happens to people running conagra dedicated in the northeast. Those cases were quite obviously damaged before they were even put on the skids.
     
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  3. sadears

    sadears Bobtail Member

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    Jan 24, 2010
    Colorado Springs, CO
    0
    Thanks ALL!!!

    I heard yes and no about Steven's pet policy. Last time I talked to a recruiter (several years ago), the brochure said yes, he said no. Recently I read a small dog was ok. I'm not too concerned about the noise…you learn to tolerate a lot of stuff in the Navy…and the neighbor's dogs bark ALL THE TIME. Not all dogs tear things up. My Josie is a well-behaved rescue. She knows better…she would rather sit in the car and wait for me than sit in the house and wait. Boggles my mind as waiting is waiting. It's just her and me, so leaving her at home is not an option. Have a friend who will watch her during training for a few weeks, but really, for someone like me, what's the point of having a pet if you're gone all the time. ALSO, people bother single women less when there's a dog present. She and I have travelled all over this country and I never once felt threatened.

    The bit about reefer noise and parking is excellent to know. I'm guessing when you're around it enough you don't notice it as much. Grocery endorsement? The blond in me stopped for just a second and thought, "I don't remember reading about that…"

    Well, I looked at some of the Stevens info and am still going to talk to the recruiter and see what he says anyway. Recruiters by definition lie. I know that. Most companies say "we don't guarantee a job after you get here." But Stevens does. We will see.

    Wish me luck today.

    Steph
    (a blond :biggrin_25522:)
     
  4. Winchester Magnum

    Winchester Magnum Road Train Member

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    Jan 4, 2009
    Alaska highway
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    Steph, I was kiddin about the endorsement. Good luck.
     
  5. RAMPAGE

    RAMPAGE Light Load Member

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    May 26, 2009
    Everywhere, U.S.A.
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    dude, did i say there isn't produce being brought in????
     
  6. Big Don

    Big Don "Old Fart"

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    Sep 8, 2007
    Utah's DIXIE!
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    Oh, I'm sorry Rampage. Last time I checked most folks thought of produce as food. DUDE.
     
  7. Trekker1

    Trekker1 Light Load Member

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    Aug 16, 2009
    Castle Rock, CO
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    The pros of a reefer trailer in my experience have been the clearance (13'6") versus a dry van (14ft) and the fact that my company runs 48 state on the reefer side versus western 11 for dry so you can get higher mileage runs without as much stopping on the reefer side.

    The cons are of course the noise as already mentioned, but some are quieter than others. Age of the unit has alot to do with it. Another thing that I cant believe no one mentioned is sweeping the #### thing out! Reefers have deep grooves that run the length of the trailer and can be a bear to get all the debris out after unloading.
     
  8. jron619

    jron619 Medium Load Member

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    Mar 26, 2007
    San Diego, CA
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    14ft? huh.....
     
  9. ScooterDawg

    ScooterDawg <strong>"The Blue Tick Lab"</strong>

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    Nov 23, 2008
    Trinity, NC
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    Hey there Steph -

    I guess the issues of reefer vs dry van have pretty much been addressed. There is one other issue that I hadn't seen mentioned yet. And I can guarantee you that any reefer driver will agree.

    Sometimes you will have a reefer hooked to your truck and you get dispatched to pick up a dry load. Typically, shippers sending out a dry load plan on a heavier load that what you would be used to with a reefer load.

    Obviously a reefer trailer weighs more than a dry van. And if you are picking up a dry load that weighs 43,000 lbs or more, you could have a problem with exceeding the 80,000 lb gross weight restriction.

    I have run both and I couldnt count on both hands and feet the number of times that a dry load, put in my reefer, forced me to run light on my fuel and re-fuel with 50 gallons of fuel every 325 miles. I have lovingly coined it as "the 50 gallon giggle". The advantage is that I can bank a bunch of showers in a short period of time, but the disadvantage is that I have to stop a lot.

    Reefers usually have longer unload times (and lumpers.... argh!), and there are maintenance issues as well. But on the flipside, they are somewhat more versatile when it comes to hauling either cold loads or dry loads.

    It is good experience to have (for your resume).
     
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  10. Scuby

    Scuby Heavy Load Member

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    Mar 10, 2007
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    The only time the newer Reefers get loud is when they go into defrost mode. Most of the produce loads I've pulled usually take a couple of hours to load or unload. IMO nursey(sp) loads are the worse. As far as cleaning out the trailer companies like Stevens usually have charge accounts with Beacon and such. Also many companies have someone at yard to do trailer washouts.
     
  11. ScooterDawg

    ScooterDawg <strong>"The Blue Tick Lab"</strong>

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    Nov 23, 2008
    Trinity, NC
    0
    Few things in life suck as bad as sweeping out a reefer trailer with a ridged floor. Especially when there are large pieces of wood wedged between the ridges, the floors are wet and/or icy, and you are in a hurry.
     
    The Challenger Thanks this.
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