How to haul produce?

Thank you for posting this question. I am new in this business and struggling to get good paid loads.

 

I think there is a bit of info already here about it. Some of it might have garbage, or outdated, but it;s here.
site:https://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/ hauling produce at DuckDuckGo

 

If the B?L says a certain temp, pulp it and record what the temp is and run the unit as it states, check often and make sure your unit is working properly before you run the southwest or any hot area.

 

Pack a lunch and dinner. Stand on dock while loading, verify count and condition. Pulp temp run unit on continuous. Hit manual defrost button frequently.

 

drive to shipper. open doors. back in dock. wait until loaders are done. drive to del. repeat all the above.

 

Make sure any produce you're picking up isn't ripe.Each fruit or veggie has to be a certain ripeness. If its too ripe, by the time it gets to market, it will be spoiled. For example, tomatoes should be a little green when you pick them up. I once picked up a load of oranges that were moldy, I had a waiver from the shipper, they were to be used for degreaser. When I got to Hunts Point, they tried to refuse them, till I showed them the waiver. Back in the day Roman tomatoes also needed a waiver, they were coveted by the markets so they didn't mind a little waste(but make sure you have a waiver or you'll be owning a lot of tomato sauce). Loading can be tricky also, it's best to see and talk to other drivers and see how they're loading them. Watch you're 6 well, unscrupulous shippers will try to stick you with a bad load and it's no fun going to the landfill. I once saw a driver bring a load of taters from Oregon, those suckers were ripe when he picked them up, they were mush when he got to Jersey, he had to eat(not literally) the whole load and then pay to dump them, he had a nice truck too(most likely needed a wash job after the dump). Good luck, hope this helps.

 

Friend of mine had a produce place and I used to drive for him once in a while. I hated having to be an inspector of everything that went on the truck. Went to Hunt's Point one night for a load of peppers. After waiting about 4 hours, they started to load me. I checked a few boxes on each pallet and the stuff looked ok to me. Apparently, they had "topped off" most of the pallets, hiding the crap at the bottom. My friend ended up sending the whole load back the next night!

 

Use the load bars at least 4 on hand always. Or E straps.
Keep trailer clean before loading.
Keep jumper cables on hand. At least 2.
Follow shipper temp instructions.
Learn how to prime your reefer.
Learn what anti gel is.

 

Where do you run? All my produce freight pays good