How long should it take to pre-cool a trailer?

I pulled a newer Great Dane about a year back with a Carrier unit and from 63 to -10 it took like 2 hours. Get comfortable. That defrost cycle is a killer man. And that point from about 0 to -10 seemed like the longest part. Good luck. Think cold thoughts!

 

At least 2 hours. I set to minus 20 and let it rip.

Be Safe Out There


Captain Dave

 

i set for a whole day in tx getting trl precooled to -20 for icecream

 

I had just the opposite one time. Needed to pre-heat the trailer to 70 for a paint load. It was about 10 degrees out. I went to bed figuring I would start it in the morning when I woke up. Big mistake. I got my shower and had a cup of coffee and the dang thing was only up to 53 degrees. Luckily by the time I got to the shipper, it was up to 65 and they loaded me.

 

Already over 80 degrees F inside? Older trailer? (Lost R value) Bad door seals? Smaller unit not running at 100%? Hotter day? Lots of moisture in the interior air column? May take 4 hours or more, through several defrost cycles.

There's too many variables to say with any degree of certainty

 

There are many factors involved other than just the outdoor temp. Sometimes the sun can be baking your trailer, your trailer could have air gaps on the bottom to let water out, an older reefer, etc. We have the brand new trailers that are sealed tight that use a diesel motor to power an electric reefer and that thing cools down super fast. Maybe 30 minutes at the most in any circumstance. When I see I have a freezer load I go ahead and precool on the way to the shipper.