Reefer / Produce hauling tips

Rollover the newer Reefer Units have an automatic defrost and they take less time to cool down. Hunts2much its a good idea to precool your trailer while on your 10 hour break. That way you can solve any problems that might come up. Also check the oil in the Reefer on a regular basis.

 

All units for the past 10-15 years have auto defrost BUT it's still best to hit the button every couple of hours! In fact watch the unit when you're parked and when you see or hear it go to defrost get out and watch the tubes. When the unit goes back to cool wait a few minutes for the temp to get to the set point and then hit the defrost again. Watch all the water pour out! Even the manuals for the new units tell you to do a manual defrost! That's why there is a dedicated button for it (on most Thermo King units) and not having to go through the menu button.

One very good reason to use defrost especially after getting loaded and on humid days is so your boxes don't start to collapse from the moisture in the box! That turns into OS&D! Not a fun way to end a trip!

 

yessir mr. roll over , found the forum and ive got all finger and toes crossed in getting a new job pulling reefs and my only experience with them was short haul,chickens , back in the the wax card board filled with ice and 30 birds each, and that was in 1978 , Starting and stopping one was about the extent of cold air trucking for me.My experience in our industry has been mostly in hiway construction/ Dumps/dbls /Timber/Lumbere/etc. mixed sparingly with electronics, steel pipe, metal s, , and some dry van . The butt has fell slap off our little cash cow here in las vegas as constr. has hit a block wall.After much of 09 unemployed except for some jobs that I d been better off not doing regarding saftey/equip./tax/ issues Not to mention the user /pay you under the table types that may or may not have a bit of pill and drink problem. I just will say Hard to wake em up if needed before 10 a.m.
i have a good bite on a job out of Phoenix and any of your knowledge you have time to send our way will be greatly appreciated . I got the call yesterday and was up front with my lack of reefer skills but it didnt seem to bother him too much.But Id really like to make a good showing if I get the chance to work for him . As well as study up on the tips you gave Hunts 2 Much. As he quoted you've been there. And didnt studder 1 bit when laying it out.Every aspect of the trucking field definitely has its own little trade secrets that only reveal themselves after mucho windshield and customer time . And # 53 time is a big factor and I really need this Job . Thank you sir for your info as well as the other gentlemans input im sure you both could have been doing something else. Any other tips regarding paperwork, customer relations etc . would be icing.... Never to old to learn new things ,,and you'll never be old enough to know it all. Thanks again

 

You have a right to be on the dock, watching the shipper load your product. You have a right to pulp the product to make sure they aren't loading it too hot or too cold. If the shipper or anyone else tells you that you can't do this, get that in writing before you load the product, either on your bills or over fax/email from whoever you got the load from. As Rollover suggested, count the cases and check the pulp temps. Produce is different than other types of product because it is perishable. Rules and guidelines are subject to the PACA (Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act), a federal law regulating the produce industry.

There are certain types of items that should not be on the trailer together because of temperature differences or ethylene gas. You may come across an inexperience broker or buyer who is just trying to save money on the freight and wants to load apples with lettuce, for example. By the time that load delivers, that lettuce is going to be ruined. Likewise, loading a sensitive product like strawberries with hot product such as oranges is also an invitation for trouble. http://www.ba.ars.usda.gov/hb66/016wholesale.pdf

Strawberries & tomatoes are probably the most sensitive produce items out there, be extremely careful when hauling this type of product and I would ask for more money than a typical load. Try to avoid putting either of these items on the tail. Green onions, lettuce, pretty much anything leafy green is temperature sensitive as well.

Sometimes you do everything you can and still get stuck with a claim, or it's a small claim not worthy of filing with your insurance. One thing you can do is to call (or have your broker call) a federal inspection. Though, they are only available during certain hours of the day, typically not on weekends. Even if a federal inspection comes out "clean", the receiver is still not required to take the load if the ryan recorder shows the truck ran hot or cold. A lot of large receivers won't even unload the truck if they see the ryan recorder doesn't match, others will work with you. At this point it might be a good idea to call your insurance agent and ask them how they would like you to handle it.

If your load is rejected, some receivers will try to work with you and salvage as much as they can, though you are at their mercy when it comes to being honest. This is typical of foodservice distributors who deal with a lot of proprietary packaging, which cannot be sold on the open market unless you want to get sued. Another option, typically with retail wholesalers, is to make calls yourself and sell the rejected product at a discount to another wholesaler. The drawback of this is you have no idea what that box of lettuce is going for that week so again you are really at their mercy. Finally, you can take it to the food bank and write it off. Sometimes that is the best and easiest solution, though I would definitely check with your insurance agent before you get to this point.

When it comes down to it, you are responsible for what is on your trailer. Pay attention how it is loaded and what temperature and condition it is loaded in. Once you sign those BOL's, that product is yours until it is delivered in satisfactory condition.

 

Two of us loaded apples in Washington state for Chicago...my buddies TK quit and it was about -10F... we took my buddies 'Ryan' thermometer out of his trailer and put it in mine... delivered without a problem in Chicago despite his trailer temp being 20F...whew!

 

NauticalStar & Rollover: very interesting reading, but i know for a fact that TYSON in DAKOTA CITY, NEBR. will not let you on the dock when the trailer is being loaded. Nor do they pre-cool the trailers before they are loaded.
I worked on the dock as a hourly & Q/A . I loaded trucks there for 15 yrs, did a lot of floor loads, combo's & pallets. Now they do mostly all pallet loads. When i became a Q/A, my job was to make sure that the units were working & running right, that the trailers were loaded with air-flow running down the trailer, on floor loads.

 

Yes, there are places that don't let driver's go on the dock, in which case you need to have on your bills and/or your rate confirmation "Shipper Load and Count" or you are opening yourself up to get shafted. Also, I was just referring to fresh produce, which is regulated by PACA. Poultry and meat products have other regulations & requirements which I am not as familiar with.

 

sorry about the confusion

 

Please do not mix meat house and produce docks--especially any farm p/u's--Never loaded produce ANYWHERE I couldn't be on dock. Meats different--Back to produce--pay attention to all us ol ######## with the fancy trucks--not being arrogant but you can learn alot and you will find most of em will help you any way we can as long as you act like you have some sense! Another trick not mentioned is TASTE--old saying--If you wouldn't put it on your families table don't haul it! Stay at back of trailer--pulp at least every 4th pallet--and open a box and smell and taste it!
But most of all while you are new watch what is going on around you--you are going to be seeing the same people again and again. Most all the loaders in Yuma right now for example--come down from Salinas for winter season--most all are good guys that know how to load and don't f*** around. Once YOUR load is ready and they put you in a door-the bang it out. As for loading 75% of the leaf type of product and berries--among others you can fill the trailer 30 palletts on a 53'--not alot to worry about when all sideways--just check front-they may have to loose a layer on the front 2 pallets to accomadate your chute(depends on how yours is set up) if so put a load bar across the front. Other than that take your time--be patient--it will get easier and easier over time--and the shippers will get to know you and you just might find yourself likin it LOL--But what do I know--Im just an ol worn out farm kid who doesn't know any better
Ain't no feelin like chicken mobilin!

 

btw--if you do have less than 30 for whatever reason--still turn last 2 pallets side ways--so they ride better--if you are just streching out load with single or 2--turn the singles sideways! Turning palletts is no big deal at almost any produce barn--they are used to it--and out west you will notice most have 2 big steel doors angled at dock that just slide into back edge of trailer--they are there so the loader can line up 2 sidways palletts so they are even as the go in--because you are going to find most of the bigger western barns are set up with forklifts to do 2 at a time anyway.
Another thing to remember is most produce does not ship until 2d shift--no one goes out to pick until late morning--then product starts to arrive between noon and 3--into the tube etc. so usually after 2--if not later before anything starts---rarley keep anything in cooler over nite if they can help it--Morning loadin is very rare except for a couple of very large outfits--keep this in mind and see what happens to the next newbie who shows up @8AM and say my dispatcher said! LOL
Good luck and have FUN