Thinking about making the switch from dry van to reefer...

Don't do it way to much sitting and fifty dollars an hour ain't cutting it. And reefer has gone down sure you get that once in awhile load that pays. There are alot more van loads available then reefer loads which means less deadhead miles. Been pulling reefer 27 years and done no more stopped last week no b.s. like pulling my flatbed more and have less b.s. doing it and going to get rid of reefer and get van to fill in. And don't fall for that well you can hual dry loads in reefer yeah only if they are light enough or you don't have enough room inside. And why would you want to go to comieforinia or florida,southern Texas no thanks been there done that stray dogs get treated better then what they treat you portable cold storage.

 

I have to agree that some warehouses want to use your trailer as cold/warm storage as a previous poster mentioned. Make sure you are comfortable with an hourly detention/layover worked into your pay.

My first job was hauling a reefer and I didn't have a lot of the problems these guys are mentioning. We did some pin to pin work but mostly live loaded and unloaded. I was able to befriend some of our customers who were notoriously slow and I could drop my trailer in a door and they'd call me when it was ready. I got to do a lot of exploring that way and found some pretty awesome chicken wings I never would have otherwise.

Some of our drivers we're compete jackwagons and that was a recurring issue when picking up new trailers. As mentioned, a proper pretrip on there reefer is important but ultimately if some a-hole leaves the thing bond dry or not in running condition - you now have inherited a problem. ALWAYS try to start that thing before you get backed in downtown off a street corner at some vegetable stand and find out that it won't start, and have to trek 25 mi in city traffic to a carrier or tk repair shop. If you'll b hauling the same trailer his hopefully won't be an issue.

We also hauled a lot of dry loads in our reefers, the weight was a little restricted, in my Volvo 670 I could scale 42,000 in a reefer instead of 45,000 in a dry box. This wasn't usually a huge problem, and having that reefer in FL and the North East opened up some opportunities we couldn't haul in a van.

We we also could haul "dry" loads like beer all winter because we could keep it from freezing.


Overall, if I was an o/o or looking to make a % off a load, I know I'd be hauling a multi-temp reefer and loading whatever paid into the box.

 

I bet u like to eat reefer products?? Like meat, produce, veggies and whatever else... U just don't want anyone to haul it, shows how bright u are!!!

 

Wow been pulling an ice box goin on 45 yrs...been around ALL my life&I learned more reason this than I ever knew....thank yall so much....anybody got a spare skateboard I can borrow before I go broke?

 

As a reefer driver my self....LMAO.....at some of these posts..
For me it pays WAY better than dry van!
I agree olhand!

 

I did reefer for 6 years and im glad i switched over to dry van. I hope to never go back. Dry van much better. Drive during the day, sleep at nite. The last lumper i had to deal with was 6 months ago. Life is good!

 

Mmmmm! Solar powered driver?
You know us reefer guys get it done at night!...lol!.....Ya'll have fun stuffed in the truck stop at sundown.......chicken lights rollin by.......

 

I prefer running long, most dry van companies do nothing but wear your ### out pulling 4-600 mile loads, you can have it.

 

If only everyone had common sense, or common decency to check over the equipment after they're done using it so the next guy doesn't have a hassle.... Good on you for being one of the non-lazy ones!

 

I don't miss pulling trailers for a big fleet at all..

I have (1) assigned reefer and (1) assigned dry van, although once in a while I will use someone else's wagon if our warehouse follks load the wrong trailer......which has happened