Sleeping with reefer noise

This thread is for drivers who are starting up with reefer companies, and have trouble adapting to sleeping with the noise from the unit running.

Put the reefer on "continuous run" mode so it doesn't wake you up every few minutes when it starts or stops. It's also a courtesy for the non-reefer drivers parked next to you with their windows open.* (Your company will explain how to operate the units during orientation, it's pretty simple) If you still can't sleep with a reefer unit running, whip into a Walmart and get some ear plugs. They'll be over by the pharmacy section. I get the white cylindrical ones, not the orange ones over by the guns. The orange ones always fall out of my ears when I'm sleeping.

In an emergency like you haven't adapted to the noise yet, and can't get to a Walmart for ear plugs, and you know you've got a lot of miles to run the next day and you NEED your sleep, try this:

Put the unit on continuous, then un-hook from the trailer. Dump your air bags and leave the switch in the dump position, pull forward just until the 5th wheel "falls" and drops loose from the king pin on the trailer. But stop, don't go any further than you have to. What you want is to not have any physical contact between the tractor and the trailer, while keeping your tractor frame partially under the trailer so it can't be stolen by hooking to it from the side.

75% of the noise is transmitted through the truck frame, not the air. So by un-hooking, you kill 75% of the noise.

Re-inflate the air ride BEFORE re-hooking in the morning.

One more tip: carriers can set the defrost schedule for their trailers. When the unit it set to run below 32 degrees and frost can form, the unit will go into a defrost cycle periodically. My company's units defrost every 6 hours. A defrost cycle takes about 10-20 minutes, depending on the set temp. What it does is it runs full throttle to quickly HEAT the trailer for a few minutes to melt any frost, then it idles for a minute with the pump disengaged to let the refrigerant pressure drop a bit, then runs full throttle to cool it back down. (You will hear the belts chirp when the pump engages or switches rotational direction. This is normal.) Defrost cycles are noisy and makes it hard to fall asleep. But they usually don't wake you up once you're already asleep.

Let's say you're going to park at a truck stop. Stop on the exit ramp and hit the "manual defrost" button, then hop back in the truck and go park. By the time you get parked, the defrost cycle will be done with and you'll have 6 hours or so til the next one so you'll be sound asleep and it's less likely to wake you up.

If you are hauling something like bananas, they are hauled at 58, 59, or 60 degrees on continuous mode, (bananas need continuous air circulation) you won't have to worry about a defrost cycle making noise because it's not cold enough in the box for frost to form.

* As a courtesy to non-reefer drivers parked next to you, especially if you have ice cream or something that's gotta be kept below zero and you need to sleep during a hot summer day, and that unit will be running full throttle, NOSE-IN to the parking spot so you're "69" to the other trucks.

 

A reefer unit on continuous helps me sleep now, I love that steady monotonous drone that drowns out all the other noise like somebody's malfunctioning air compressor, but it takes some getting used to and can lead to lots of dangerous fatigued driving the next day for someone having trouble adjusting to it.

In cheap junky bottom dollar trucks like Freight-shakers and Peterbilt 386 models, the sleepers are poorly insulated and it's louder than if you were in something nicer like a Volvo or Kenworth.

 

The OP was intended to help guys who are new to reefers adapt to the noise so they're not out there driving with no sleep while they're adapting to it.

I don't drive for Hirshbach or run out of Gulfport. Ice cream loads are rare for me but I CAN'T STAND hauling it in the summer because it has to be kept at -20 and the reefer screams full throttle all day. Plus when you open the doors or are backed into the dock, the unit has to be OFF to avoid sucking warm, humid air in there and getting frost all over the packaging. It'll melt fast, so you have to go inside and horse-whip the dock workers. If there's no forklift activity in 15 minutes after hitting the dock, we have to start making phone calls and pull out of the dock and close the doors and turn the unit back on.

We haul a lot of monkey food back from the east coast. I don't mind the unit running continuous at 59 or so but my problem with bananas isn't temperature-related. It's the fact the loads are heavy and stacked high, so it's a top-heavy load too.

 

The quiet ones vary. There are loud Carriers, and quiet ones. Same with Thermo King. What makes a difference is whether there's automotive insulation on the insides of the access doors on the unit, and if there's a bottom panel on the unit of it it's wide open.