Pre-Cooling Reefer

Feel for the guy. It’s tough getting a different trailer and not getting to know it. If the reefer won’t do it’s job it’s time to give back the load and fix the unit. Hard spot to be in as a company driver. Used to deal with reefers that wouldn’t hold temp. Got frustrated and decided to buy a new Reefer trailer and big carrier. Things a beast. Every 6 months it goes to Reefer service in Hudsonville and they check it out like it was being launched into orbit.

 

Should take about 30 minutes to precool an empty trailer to -10 on a 90+ degree humid day.

 

As many have said, “ trailers are the most neglected equipment.” Those reefers out there never get the tlc they deserve.

 

Yes this seems to be a prerequisite when picking up from any frozen food warehouse these days, some require you to pre - chill before loading and others after you have loaded, (post - chill ) i guess, I prefer the second option as their less likely to want to take the freight back off. The issue you maybe having is very few trailers are designed for Frozen freight and more likely just built for chilled freight of temps above 32 degrees so its a real issue trying to get it below 32, I found one way to get it down, was by unhooking the prime mover from the trailer and leaving a gap between the truck and trailer seems to help pull the temp down.

 

To be honest the largest amount of time I was doing a drop and hook. They only wanted the reefer tank to be at least 3/4 full. Over the years I lost count of the times I would pick up a preloaded trailer and have the reefer throwing codes. The last time I can remember this happening to me was at Fuji in Greenwood SC. The people at Fuji were really great and I liked going in there. That last time though another company driver had got their shipping dept angry and they were mad because of the junk we had. I was able to salvage the situation and was even allowed to take my 10-hour break there. Had to anyway because the TK guy came down from Greenville that afternoon. I did not have enough hours to get up there.

 

What make and model of reefer is it(Thermo King,Carrier,etc.)?

 

Your cat pushing that burger makes me dizzy.
And hungry. In the same time. Bad cat, bad, bad cat.

 

I've been pulling reefers for a couple of years. When I get a load, it's usually fairly easy to guess the approximate temp range. For frozen stuff, -10, is the normal. Sometimes ice cream loads will want -15. I try to precool my trailer an hour or two before I get there. Usually just turn it on at the last place I am before I get there. And, if I have any questions, I usually precool it to a lower temp. Much easier to warm it up than cool it down.
Also, if you have a frozen load that's suppose to be precooled to -10, it's common that they will start loading you once you get it to at least +10.

 

Yes.
They are satisfied with +10-20F. to start loading you.
At least that's what my frozen fries shippers want.
At minimum.

 

BTW, keep an eye of your fuel level. My experience is that once it gets down to 1/4 tank, it will only last a few more hours. The gauge on those things don't account for the roundness of the tank. So, you'll go from full to 3/4 fairly quickly and from 1/4 to empty quickly also. If you run out of fuel, it's a royal pain to have to prime the fuel to get it running again. Something better to avoid, but not an impossible situation. If you have to prime it, most likely you'll find the 'prime' function buried in the menu system. I looked all over the unit thinking it would be a manual pump type thing and couldn't find it. Took about 10 to 15 minutes to prime and had to do it a second time before the reefer unit fired off again. Much better to not get yourself in that situation. But, I was still fairly new at the time it happened to me.