Pros and Cons of Reefers

scurvydog · Feb 4, 2010

reefers break down too

Paddington · Feb 4, 2010

ScooterDawg said: ↑

Few things in life suck as bad as sweeping out a reefer trailer with a ridged floor. Especially when there are large pieces of wood wedged between the ridges, the floors are wet and/or icy, and you are in a hurry.
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It's even worse when you're doing it for free.

ScooterDawg · Feb 4, 2010

Paddington said: ↑

It's even worse when you're doing it for free.
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yup.... yup.... yup....

phroziac · Feb 4, 2010

ScooterDawg said: ↑

Hey there Steph -

I guess the issues of reefer vs dry van have pretty much been addressed. There is one other issue that I hadn't seen mentioned yet. And I can guarantee you that any reefer driver will agree.

Sometimes you will have a reefer hooked to your truck and you get dispatched to pick up a dry load. Typically, shippers sending out a dry load plan on a heavier load that what you would be used to with a reefer load.

Obviously a reefer trailer weighs more than a dry van. And if you are picking up a dry load that weighs 43,000 lbs or more, you could have a problem with exceeding the 80,000 lb gross weight restriction.

I have run both and I couldnt count on both hands and feet the number of times that a dry load, put in my reefer, forced me to run light on my fuel and re-fuel with 50 gallons of fuel every 325 miles. I have lovingly coined it as "the 50 gallon giggle". The advantage is that I can bank a bunch of showers in a short period of time, but the disadvantage is that I have to stop a lot.

Reefers usually have longer unload times (and lumpers.... argh!), and there are maintenance issues as well. But on the flipside, they are somewhat more versatile when it comes to hauling either cold loads or dry loads.

It is good experience to have (for your resume).
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As for maintenance issues, that reminds me...Keep jumper cables in the truck in case you pickup a trailer with a bad battery! it happens!

Also.....What you said is one advantage of pulling reefer for a company that also pulls dry van, like werner (not that im suggesting werner anymore). They can tell you to go pickup a dry van before picking up a load, which can help with the weight issues. I've never actually been a reefer driver so i dont know how often they do that, but ive heard of it before. (i was on a conagra/americold dedicated account for a week that pulled reefer AND dry, all preloaded....never had to do anything with
loading em!)

Trekker1 said: ↑

The pros of a reefer trailer in my experience have been the clearance (13'6") versus a dry van (14ft) and the fact that my company runs 48 state on the reefer side versus western 11 for dry so you can get higher mileage runs without as much stopping on the reefer side.

The cons are of course the noise as already mentioned, but some are quieter than others. Age of the unit has alot to do with it. Another thing that I cant believe no one mentioned is sweeping the #### thing out! Reefers have deep grooves that run the length of the trailer and can be a bear to get all the debris out after unloading.
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well my reefers were 14'0 and my dry vans are 6'6'.

Allow Me. · Feb 4, 2010

Son, you are NOT a full fledged truck driving fool, until you have pulled a refer. It takes a special person to hang out at produce sheds for 12 hours waiting for your load to cool prior to loading. Not anyone can "pulp" a load, get a unit running that ran out of fuel, wake up in hour 3 of your 10 hour break and find your unit has quit running and need to find an open repair shop as in right now. And those 6 pick-ups in Ca./Az. that take 2 days, can you say "fun times"?

jron619 · Feb 4, 2010

Allow Me. said: ↑

Son, you are NOT a full fledged truck driving fool, until you have pulled a refer. It takes a special person to hang out at produce sheds for 12 hours waiting for your load to cool prior to loading. Not anyone can "pulp" a load, get a unit running that ran out of fuel, wake up in hour 3 of your 10 hour break and find your unit has quit running and need to find an open repair shop as in right now. And those 6 pick-ups in Ca./Az. that take 2 days, can you say "fun times"?
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what about those poor souls sitting in the Yuma Desert along I-8 waiting for what seems like days. I swear, I pass those trucks on my way to Phoenix and still see them waiting on my way back to San Diego.

scurvydog · Feb 4, 2010

ah......i miss reefers

Allow Me. · Feb 4, 2010

Ah, yes, the old sitting in a dust bowl for 2-3 days in Yuma along side the Interstate about 2 miles from the nearest fast food joint waiting for the lettuce "to cool". But, hey, doesn't Jose's taco truck stop by every 10 hours?

scurvydog · Feb 4, 2010

lmao. Get the flautas mmmmmm

mustang970 · Feb 4, 2010

Trekker1 said: ↑

The pros of a reefer trailer in my experience have been the clearance (13'6") versus a dry van (14ft) and the fact that my company runs 48 state on the reefer side versus western 11 for dry so you can get higher mileage runs without as much stopping on the reefer side.

The cons are of course the noise as already mentioned, but some are quieter than others. Age of the unit has alot to do with it. Another thing that I cant believe no one mentioned is sweeping the #### thing out! Reefers have deep grooves that run the length of the trailer and can be a bear to get all the debris out after unloading.
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14' dry vans?

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