Need Some Help

bump ...........

free no less !!

 

Reefer will offer more consistency (can load both dry and refrigerated) overall but will also require longer unload times (usually) due to grocery warehouses.

Reefer also requires a bit more attention to temperature settings and monitoring the reefer in transit. It takes some time to get used to hearing a reefer cycle on and off as well especially when you are trying to sleep.

Other than that reefers will require washouts fairly regularly while a dry van only needs to be swept out.

 

You will need to do for both...
Delivery times and schedules are what they are....
But from talking to folks, wait times for reefer tends to be longer...mostly at loads, but also some unloads....dry van could be more drop and hook=more miles, but reefer usually pays more per mile.....

 

With reefer times, you will load or unload any time durning the 24 hour cycle.
Reefer loads often have more 'picks' and 'drops'. It is not uncommon to spend a day or more getting loaded over three or more picks and maybe only 50 miles during that loading time. Multiple unloads can stretch over two...sometimes three days.
You rarely touch the load with reefers.
You need to monitor your temps closely, but that's not hard or time consuming.
Not unusual to spend hours in the dock for either loading or unloading.
My experience with dry van was the load/unload was more rapid, but I waited longer between loads.
I pull a reefer now. I get more consistant miles and loads and my earnings are a bit higher.
If you can't sleep during the day and drive at night, don't think about reefers.
save yourself the trouble.

 

From my experience grocery warehouses usually schedule their deliveries for early mornings. 3 am to 4 am is pretty common. As for not handling the frieght? Depends on the warehouse. Many are driver unload facilites. Of course there are usually "lumper services" available to offload the freight for a price ($100.00 to $300.00 per truck is pretty common).

Heck some older warehouses still make drivers switch pallets from big wood to small wood to fit in the customers antiquated rack system.

Typically, the driver that elects to unload his own trailer will be given a ti/hi sheet telling how the rcvr expects the product to be assembled before they will accept the freight. Broken or damaged pallets will have to be totally restacked.

Then you may have to wait for the rcvr to move product from the staging area so you can offload your freight. Need more pallets to continue offloading? Again you will have to wait for the rcvr to bring you some more pallets. Once you are done unloading then the checker will come around (eventually) to count the freight and put stickers on the pallets before they sign your bills and let you go you will have lost several hours.

In some cases the product will be inspected for temperature as well as condition. If the temp is not right or the product "looks" bad the rcvr may refuse the load entirely and then you have to find a third party vendor willing to accept the rejected load. This will take even more time from the driver.

Reefer has many pitfalls that dry van operations dont. As for the comment about reefers paying more? Again it depends on the company. In my experience company drivers for reefers seem to make less than their dry van counterparts. Feel free to check several different companies and compare the pay structures. Then factor in the time wasted at grocery warehouses and you will soon realize their is a significant difference.

All depends on the customers. Delays at the shipper may require you to run through the night to make the delivery on time. Otherwise you may have to reset the delivery appointment and sit on the load until you can get it offloaded which means you just lost money on the deal. As a rule of thumb you should be making/earning around 200.00 per day for each day you work on the road. For every day you sit "waiting" you are losing money.

 

I prefer Dry.. No reefer noise

 

It doesn't matter what you are hauling your sleep schedule is always going to be different unless you are on a dedicated or something.

Drivers that have never pulled reefer really make a big stink about nothing. Throughout most of my driving career I have pulled mostly reefer and have never had problems or noise bother me or what not. If you pull reefer you are doubling your load options. There's no tier building in reefer trailers so that's a plus. Unless you want to you will never have to touch anything in the back of that trailer.

To each is to own though and every driver has a preference as to what will best suit them.

 

Dry van able to drop and hook more be careful at knight