what happens if your reefer breaks down while you're loaded?

I had a reefer break down on me.. they had me take the load to the closes cold storage..

 

its gonna take more than a handshake for me to bust my ### and drive a 1000 miles to save a load

 

If breaks, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

 

You Must carry enuff cargo ins......Now in reality only the Most temp sensitive produce--some floral products will really b a problem in the short term--get on horn (toot sweet)w/nearest TK or Carrier shop in route(most can do either)Describe problem tell em where ya r describe problem best ya can--put that ##### in the big hole&ride•-99% of shops will pull someone off as soon as you ck in if your loaded--& get to work on it---jus understand it ain't cheap--But neither r freight claims disposals--etc--& remember they r all available 24/7/365--but even if they r open anything other than 9-5 is typically charged as OT---
Its all part of the deal dragging an ice box---
Good luck--Have fun........

 

Ind. Owner-op ... hope you made that insurance (cargo) premium payment on time
co driver .... hope you caught it in time and be glad you don't have to make the required decisions that have to be made ad hope the company pays for your wait time.

 

Had it happen once.

Sent message.

They had me go through the fuel priming procedure. Wasted an hour doing that.

This is at the start of my 10 hour break with about 1 hour left on my 14.

When the priming procedure didn't work I recommended a mobile company come fix it.

This was a load that was suppose to be frozen and at that point it was at +15 degrees. In summer, 80+ degrees outside.

It would have been so easy to get a mobile company to come to me and fix it but the otrm guy wanted me to head to a TA.

I knew the TA couldn't fix it. It's a reefer. Their oil and tire changers. Plus, I didn't have the dot hours to get there.

I figured if it wasn't that important to the company I was going to sleep.

The next morning I headed to that TA. The TA said they couldn't fix it. Go figure.

The reefer temp at that point was at +27 if I can remember.

I called the company from the TA and said they can't fix and recommended again that they send a mobile mechanic.

Nope. They send me 60 miles off-route to thermal-king into Chicago. Outside temp is about 100 degrees at that point.

By the time I go there the reefer temp is around 35 degrees. This load is food. Suppose to be frozen.

It took the Thermal-King mechanic about 2 hours to fix it. Clogged fuel filter and fuel line.

I never looked at the temp again because I was disgusted that the situation could have been dealt with properly but wasn't.

The Thermal-King mechanic couldn't believe it either.

He said he was glad that he wasn't going to be eating any of that food.

My respect for the otrm department was forever lost.

 

Back around '91 I was dot inspected in Indiana and the cop asked me if I turned the reefer off would it start and I said I don't see why not. I turned it off during the inspection and passed but now the reefer would not restart, called the company, had a load of frozen on and got to a Thermo King dealer, they dropped everything and got to work on it right away, so ya, Thermo King gives preference to loaded trl's.....

 

That's that thermal sensor that reads the box temp. That's one of the most common problems. It's up top, he could of stood on the freight. It takes just a few minutes to replace. I guess he was scared he'd crush a box but they are pretty tough.

 

stories like these are the reason why temp recorders are hidden in various loads .even though i have had problems i agree with recorders .FOOD safety should be top priority with reefer haulers ,as a long time driver i have found a lot of codes can be reset if you shut reefer off for a few minutes and restart unit then the code may clear .it seems that in my experiences that most occur after a defrost cycle due to hot gases keeping a valve stuck by shutting it down the pressure bleeds off then it returns to normal but needs service . another thing is fuel filters i swap it out and refill with with fuel conditioner to prevent dirty diesel damaging injectors .. PS if you have access to a air nozzle a trick i like to do is apply air to the reefer tank vent hose which pressurizes tank just remember to crack cap to release after it starts

 

I have spent a fair share of nights sitting in Riverside at TK watching them fart around at $200 an hour.