Dry van or reefer?

What have you seen that makes you conclude Dry is the place to be for drivers (more friendly) compared to Reefer?

 

More drop and hook, no produce warehouses, no 10hr wait to load beef tongues, you can sweep out rather than find a trailer wash, less weight for when you scale, etc. Reefer probably pays a few cents more, normally has longer runs, etc.

 

Ahhh... I've been looking at running Western 11 mostly -- was looking at Salt Lake Dry or Idaho Falls Reefer. It's sux that the Dry loads average about 250mi less than Reefer, but if it's mostly drop-n-hook, that makes up for it.

Anyone know how fast the Dry trucks are catching up to the Reefers with that small refrigerator added to the tractors?

 

Knight Ref side had lots of drop and hook when I was there. Once in a blue moon I would get held up on a load. All meat loads I picked up with them were drop and hook and nomally ready before the appt time. Once i a while it could be a hour or 2 after if there was a delay.

Produce I never really had a issue with I was in and out 99% of the places. As for sweaping I did that also only washed if the tlr was to dirty to sweep or the load needed it.

 

I cut my teeth in Reefer work with seafood and hunts point produce etc with Food Loads regional on the east coast. The advantage of Reefer is to shut off unit and haul as a dry van, and occasionally paints keeping warm in the dead of winter, something dry vans might not be able to do.

I have gloried in everything except Heavy Haul and Radioactive. Especially a Ravens Covered Wagon for it's mental satisfaction in doing the weights etc right and staying in shape. The Reefer ultimately was my bread and butter. As long that trailer is filled up at half tank and humming at the set temperature (Behind a password so no one will shut it off at the truckstop...) and all is in order, you are going to find certain benefits to Reefer work.

Example.

Hauled a meat load priority out of Garden City, it was a meat plant then. Straight to San Francisco to a Distribution for Food Stores in the area surrounded by hundreds of trucks, Due at 9 am or earlier monday. At 0845 I am on the radio identifying myself "as that *&^% meat truck" I drive past 500 trucks waiting to unload and was empty in 20 minutes on time. A cell phone to broker and dispatch plus satellite enabled everyone to follow my hot priority load.

I do not sleep much with a reefer and like it that way. If it is humming contently I can maybe sleep. But the moment it snorts, chokes or fails on the high range and starts the racket of hells bells wailing from a failing load there is a problem usually 300 miles from someone who can fix it proper out west on this side of a winter storm on chain.

I have hauled dry van, but got bored to tears to sleep alot. Im one of those people who NEED to have a constant flow of decisions, input (Number 5, input...) and so forth to be doing well. Anything like a boring load of toilet paper due 500 miles away tomorrow does not do it for me as a 2500 mile haul of prioity aluminum, steel or meat etc. You might not see that paycheck for a week or two, but that is what you have savings for... right? A few thousand dollars you can keep yourself decent, clean, fed and rolling. Right?