Air Conditioning from the Reefer (fake or real?)

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by albert l, Jul 19, 2017.

  1. woolybully35us

    woolybully35us Medium Load Member

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    my dad told me when I was a kid. that back in the 50s and 60s, that's what they would to keep cool.
     
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  3. OPUS 7

    OPUS 7 Road Train Member

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    Ive never been in any reefer trailer that I wanted to smell in my cab?
    Maybe this driver wasn't too picky with his smeller.
    I cant stand being hot,so I can understand trying to cool off at any cost.
    I would just buy a small window unit,and run some drop cords.
     
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  4. PE_T

    PE_T Road Train Member

    Now that you mention it, one could just place a fan in front of the vent to pull the air into the cab. I think it’s feasible.
     
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  5. Cattleman84

    Cattleman84 Road Train Member

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    I saw a truck with a similar setup last summer at a TS in Indiana... If I could have gotten my hands on all that was needed I would have coppied it as my A/C was out for several days until I could get parts to fix it.
     
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  6. PE_T

    PE_T Road Train Member

    I think it can be done, but companies and customers will be more worried about the condition of the load with a “leak” on the trailer wall. Plus, some reefers, particularly older ones, can barely maintain a -10 temp. A leak on its wall wouldn’t be good. I smell OS&D.
     
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  7. D.Tibbitt

    D.Tibbitt Road Train Member

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    I have to figure out how to do that on a flatbed
     
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  8. PE_T

    PE_T Road Train Member

    Some reefers have vents in the top front. One would need to create some sort of adapter to only have a little bit of air come out as the vents I’ve seen are long.

    For reefers without any vents in the front, I suppose one could drill a small hole—but before any of this, it would be wise to test the idea to see if it even works. I’d start with the rear vent, use some thick plastic, tape it to the wall, then onto the aluminum vent, and check how much air comes out. Now, it’s possible the air will behave differently in the back of the trailer than in the front.
     
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  9. PE_T

    PE_T Road Train Member

    The more I think of it, the more real it seems. Aside from the load odor, the air blower problem can be easily resolved by pushing the aluminum vent into the air chute, so the air flows into the cab at 50 MPH!
     
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  10. PE_T

    PE_T Road Train Member

    Here’s another idea that is even more feasible. Install an inverter on the reefer battery and either use a small 500-watt A/C unit or maybe just an evaporative cooler if the battery can’t handle it.
     
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  11. starmac

    starmac Road Train Member

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    If the reefer engines have enough power to pull it, it would not be hard at all to just mount a regular ac compressor on it and have the rest og the unit on the truck, with some quick connects.
    where there is a will there is a way, and it would beat idling a truck, if the reefer was running anyway.
     
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