Reefer, shut off while unloading ??

Always pre set and never shut off till the trailer is empty.

 

Another consideration is what type of dock doors do they have.
Do they have seals that conform to your trailer sides when backed in.? Is there no insulating seal between the trailer and the building wall? Is the dock refrigerated and what temp does it seem to be?
The reefer unit will draw air into the trailer via the low air return and that will have a definite effect on the temp inside the trailer. And on a humid day frost will start to appear on the outside of the packaging on the rear pallets if there is no seal at the door.
The best kind of dock doors are the ones where the trailer doors are opened inside of the building. Less cooling loss. But those seem to be few and far between. Mostly at frozen product warehouses, especially ice cream.
And if you are at an open dock with no refrigeration, it's best to shut the unit off. If they can't unload you fairly quickly, I'd pull up, shut the doors and have a word with the foreman letting him know i wouldn't be responsible for out of temp product.

 

I leave my divider up (providing it’s not loaded to the back so the clowns inside don’t destroy it) depends on where i am but I may shut it down or just kick it into defrost once they start unloaded depending on what I’m doing/feel like

 

Well put.

 

you guys say you have reefer experience??? tk and carrier will tell you DOORS OPEN REEFER OFF... the dept of ag will tell you the same.
if its really hot ill set it to cycle 20* while loading thats all it will maintain anyway. winter time that thing is off.
look around at the trls at the docks they WILL NEVER GET DOWN TO 0 WITH THE DOORS OPEN ALL U R DOING IS COOLING THEIR DOCK NOT YOUR TRL.
even if its dead summer guess what my reefer is off when the doors are open while frozen unload and never had a problem...I always precool/heat though. KEEP YOUR DOORS CLOSED UNTIL THEY COME OUT AND GET YOU.
leaving the doors open just makes the box temp higher when it defrost more. guys YOU ARE WASTING YOUR FUEL!!!
it grinds my gears when I see guys abuse their equipment while having it run 2krpm for hours on end. I save AT LEAST 30 GALLONS A WEEK BY DOING THIS.
also don't haul ice cream in the summer not worth it...lmao