Is a reefer trailer the way to go when purchasing a trialer?

I am relatively new to the trucking industry. I currently have a power agreement with a company and am looking to branch out further by purchasing a trailer in the next couple of months. I know that a reefer trailer can be used as a refrigerated unit or a dry van to transport which gives you the best of both worlds. The question I am asking is what is the average rate on a reefer load nowadays per mile before expenses. I know you cannot put a exact number on it so lets just go with what you average on a load going between 500-600 miles.

 

Just saw that I misspelled trailer. I know.

 

is a reefer trailer the way to go when buying a trailer? not if youre going to pull flatbed.


sorry, i couldnt help it.

but it mat be the best if ya live in florida

 

It depends upon the company and the contracts that they have. The average that O/O haul for is $2 per mile, so a 500-600 mile run would net $1000 to 1200. Then you have to deduct your fuel expenses, tolls, lease payments, insurance, plates, and any other expenses that you may occur.

Maybe someone else can come along and give you better rates, but I know this much...if you live in Florida it is hard to get freight out of there. I have been pricing out refer trailers, and so far the 2007's are going for $23,000. Best of luck to ya.

 

I know where you're going with that, and I had the same thinking. After a few months pulling dry van, I've changed my thinking a bit.

Things to think about:

Many dry van shippers will not load a reefer.

Reefer loads require hours of waiting to load / unload, and also incur lumper fees.

Reefer trailers weigh more, which will limit the dry loads that you can haul because of weight limitations.

So in all honesty, it really depends on what freight you want to focus on. If you're primarily going to be hauling refrigerated freight, then the reefer is a no brainer, not to mention a requirement. If you're wanting to focus on dry van freight, then a reefer will probably be more of a disadvantage to you.

edit: right now, reefer loads are netting about the same as dry van loads when you factor in the fuel and additional maintenance required by the reefer trailer. Dry van is probably netting more when you also factor in the time needed for live load / unload of the reefer loads.

This is only my opinion, YMMV.

 

If you're going to haul refrigerated then haul produce. Its the way to go , west coast baby yeehaa!!

 

Many higher paying dry loads can not be loaded on a reefer. The moisture in the trailer, cant nail to the floor of a reefer, ect...ect. Has never been the best of both worlds. Be safe out there drivers.

 

FYI - cold docks work just like the rest. Although it's usually a good idea to grab a hat and a jacket if you go out there and DIY.

 

Thanks, Red.

Although I have seen more reefers than I care to see loaded floor to ceiling with small white boxes, and one lumper offloading the boxes onto pallets. One at a time.

Hat, jacket and gloves work for me - for about the first 15 minutes. Then the dock folks look at me from under their balaclavas like I'm nuts when the hat and jacket come off because I don't want to start sweating. Of course, they're using the powered equipment and I'm doing it all by hand.

I was surprised to find that shippers put reefer loads on dry vans sometimes.

 

It's really no worse than van freight. You'd be amazed how fast product comes off the truck when it's something their production line needs or the detention clock is about to start. Arrive at a grocery warehouse with produce that's on sale and in short supply, you skip right to the front of the line.

I'll do the same with just a hat if it's just refrigerated. On a frozen load, -10º has a nasty tendency to sneak up on you, usually starting with your feet.