Pros & Cons of Reefer as Company Driver

Wider spot? Why do you need a wider spot?

 

You missed the very long waits frequent to reefer customers. I've waited 10 plus hours, or had loads where there were 4 or more stops and each stop was spending 2 plus hours of waiting. Depending on how the trucking company "Detention Pay" policy works I could get paid nothing for all of the waiting because the first customer made me late for all other stops and showing up late means no possibility of detention pay.

Reefer customers typically use Lumper services and those services will require you pay them $200 or more to get loaded/unloaded, plus take hours to unload you, hours to inform you that you have been unloaded, hours to tell you what the fee is, and hours to tell you the fee has been paid and you can now get you paperwork.

Reefers equal LOTS of waiting and high probability of having some or all of your freight rejected because one part of it looks funny or the temp monitor shows wrong temps while you were sitting waiting at the dock for some drug addict to tell you they finished loading you 3 hours ago in 110 F heat and your trailer doors were open.

 

There is no "extra fueling" with a reefer, only Fueling SEPARATELY like two fueling maneuvers (yet one doesn't need to wait in a line twice).
I pulled very few reefers and did such locally. I didn't know then that Truck and Trailer were separate fuel experiences, separate tickets/receipts, so I just added the Reefer amount to the ONE fuel receipt.
Orally received a profanity laced proper technique procedure back at yard, "Okay, no one mentioned BEFORE I departed yard. Not Every Driver Knows About EVERYTHING Trucking".

I got lucky with the few times on Roads with Reefers.
NO: breakdowns, temperature flux, washout, late p/u - dlvry, or excessive waiting to load/unload.
CHEERS!!

 

I say the pro are long run like cross country. So you get to spend time just drive and see USA. Usually heavy loads so wind and snow is not a big problem unless you're in chain up mountains in winter.

Cons are long loading and unloading and dealing with pallet exchange. Dealing with lumpers.

 

Right now, the biggest pro is the stability when the rest of the market is going to crap. I love this time in the cycle, because my job becomes easier... my phone is ringing, and the unsolicited apps are flowing in, so I can be choosy as to whom I put in a truck (yes, those with stable job histories are given the nod over job-hoppers). I technically don't really have any more trucks for drivers, that's how stable it is.

More PROS:

Pay is generally higher than dry van for almost the same amount of work
Usually no-touch freight
Great job for those who prefer night driving
Sometimes get a bunch of free food from OS&D

CONS:

Reefer unit can be loud, annoying
One more responsibility to undertake
Washouts can be quick, or can waste hours of your time
Lumpers take their sweet time unloading, breaking, counting, and restacking while you wait.
Many customers treat the drivers like scum of the earth (unless you get with a good contract carrier that has steady freight to the same places, they get to know you and treat you a little better than the rest)

Hope that helps.

 

I see way more pros than cons. As far as the long wait times for deliveries, you better learn how to deliver on a 10 hour break or split your breaks. That way, the long waits don't stress you out. I love reefer hauling. I love when it runs constantly. I get the best sleep ever.

 

I ran on a Reefer account with JB hunt but I had to help unload my trailer then when that account shut down I tried a different Reefer account 1 wk in I told them nope find me a different account i can adjust to the weird hours but lumpers and lumper fees? Heck no I despise them takes them forever to unload then you have to wait for them to tell you the amount then you have to wait even more for payments to clear. It’s just too long and drawn out when I get the green light I want to leave having a green light but still being forced to wait starts to feel like I’m a hostage

 

I actually don't mind the really long waits because I will stretch 7 hours into 10. Ready to roll again, and paid to get my clock back. The ones I hate are the 5-6 hour waits because then the best I can do is try to stretch it out for a 7/3 split. I also like the longer waits, if it's not going to be in and out, because then I can get real sleep. Anything under 7 and I am not actually getting any sleep due to being interrupted as soon as I get settled after a couple of hours.