Western 11 ((Van) for experience or 48 (reefer) for miles

I've done reefer and dry, W11 and Western 1/2. My miles were a bit higher working Western 1/2 (longer per run) over W11. You'll always find a dock that is a PITA (Pain in the ....) no matter which side you go on. That said, reefer freight will stay steady year round while dry freight can experience more lags and surges. The newer reefer trailers are very quiet. You'll do more dock time in reefers. All told, you can get more miles in a week doing dry with drop/hook, but over the year, I think it balances out.

The one thing that reefer will help you with is driving heavier. Most of my wet (reefer) loads net out in the 75k plus in pounds. Out west here, you'll really get to know your gears and jake brakes. You'll also experience more split loads requiring 2-5 deliveries, so it is good for backing practice.

Hope that helps with your decision.

 

We never ran anything like Western 11, we were alway all 48. We did however run van for a year and then reefer for another 3. At first I wasn't sure about reefer, because like so many people have said, I thought I would not get good sleep because of the reefer turning off and on. It turned out that after a week or so, you don't even notice it. I personally loved when we had a load that had to be on "continuous" because it just lulled me to sleep. It was like white noise in the background that drowned out other annoying noises. I think most people who say they won't run reefers because of the noise haven't pulled one before. And I was in that category until we started pulling them.

 

Depending on your companies preference, reefer is the way to go. Reefers can haul dry or temp product. In the winter, I've hauled a lot of plastic with my reefer temped at like 60 to keep the plastic from freezing and becoming brittle. Plus,freight can get slow, food is always eaten up. Good question to ask knight. "Do you haul dry in your reefers?" Hope that helped

 

Yes! Reefer on continuous for sleep! Even dry vans park next to reefers at the truck stops, so no one is totally immune from the start/stop. (I used to park nose in the back corner)

 

hey cali hawk i just finished orientation in Las vegas last week. i plan to go western 11 dry. let me know how things go with you.