Best Reefer Company

Great question Marine! I too would like to know. I am not a reefer driver but I have been offered some attractive offers to drive for a few different companies. Just a little hesitant about reefer...with all the negativity that has been posted. You say you like reefer,...maybe you could tell me some of the things you like about it, and who is your favorite reefer co.?

 

I think I've only seen Lisa out west. I live in Ohio and kinda like to get home once every couple of weeks. Great thread though...interesting to see what others think about reefer and reefer companies.

 

Hauling reefer isn't as bad as some make it out to be. The only difference between van's and reefer's is you have one more dipstick to check and one more tank to fill. Set the thing and go. If the little idiot light is flashing, look at the code and call maintenance.
A lot of people complain about the noise, but with the new units, the truck idling is louder than the reefer running. Most use the same engine as the APU's on the side of the truck, so if you can stand to park next to one of those guys (or are lucky enough to be one of them) you can sleep with the reefer behind you.
Having said that, Roehl Refrigerated isn't the place to be. I am talking to way too many brokers for back hauls. They don't have enough freight at times and other times they have too much freight. I think it's mostly poor planning on Roehl's part, but what else is new.

 

I've heard it said that Marten was decent.

 

Thats all?

What about all the overnight delivery's you do since most grocery whses are 24/7 operations? What about trying to squeeze your truck between 2 crooked trucks at night in the rain or snow in the narrow outdated docks many of them have? What about the long wait times at the dock because the last load is still on the dock and the checker is MIA? What about getting to them at your appointment time and then having to sit by the CB waiting for your truck number to be called for hours on end?

Most dry freight I hauled was welcomed by the receiver and unloaded free of charge after I was rested, not while I was trying to sleep. And they don't have a hundred trucks trying to cram into 10 docks with the same appt time either.

What about the shabby way that most of these places treat a driver that busted their butt getting the load to them on time so they could sit for hours because they are always behind schedule?

With dry I usually delivered during normal working hours and got unloaded faster because their was space on the dock to put my freight. Places like Costco stores, Safeway, Supervalue, Albertsons, Campbell's, Fred Meyers and others are some of the worst places I have ever been abused as a driver hauling their refer freight.

The only thing I liked about hauling refer was getting the occasional case of grocery's they would refuse. Other then that I have not seen a advantage to getting abused and treated like carp and having to hire someone to unload your trailer at 2 in the am. Nor having a extra piece of machinery that can break down or having your load refused because your strawberries weren't big enough for the customer or they didn't like the pallets they came on.

 

I work for Prime Inc, and could not imagine working for anyone else. I searched for a while and to move from here would be cutting my check. The on;y reason that I would leave is to start my own fleet. I average $1350-$2000 per week.

 

Check out Artic express. They look like a decent outfit as long as you have experience with reefers.

Hunter