Reefer help

You made the right call

 

How old is your reefer trailer? If you have a older unit, it's tough to haul loads that require a temp cooler than 10 below. I hate hauling ice cream man. That's the worst load on earth to haul in my opinion.

 

How come?

 

Because that has the least room for error, especially in the summertime. Its hard to precool a reefer to 20 below in the middle of July. I almost think all ice cream loads should be shipped at night during the summer.

 

Gotcha. I didn’t know if you had a personal bad experience or what. But yea you’re absolutely right. I cut my reefer teeth hauling ice cream and it always baffled me going to Henderson NV. Las Vegas seems like one of the last places I would put an ice cream DC but I guess no one asked me!

 

Right?! Then Breyers has a facility just north of Memphis in Covington, I believe. 2 of the hottest places in America ship ice cream lol...make sense out of that lol.

 

I like that one in Covington, TN. They have a freezer in the shipping office for drivers with free Klondike bars and about a half to dozen or so other different ice cream treats. There's a cold storage in Cartersville, GA that I loaded ice cream out of before too. A whole lotta waiting and no freebies at that hell hole I never went back there lol.

 

I agree, reefer never seemed to pay enough to cover the hassles involved, and why van, tank or dump appealed to me. Not much can harm a load of aXX wipe, until it's used, that is. Dump, flip a switch, unloaded in under a minute, tank, hitch up the hoses, and out comes the can of wax. I did do a couple years with a reefer for Crystal Farms, but that was a company trucks, BY THE HOUR,, and if the reefer didn't handle it, or load rejected, it was no skin off my rear. I think places that require such cold temps, make sure they aren't loading it on a wagon with an old Thermo King rattling away. I believe they would demand newer equipment.

 

One of the guy at our shop told me in the past that they switch out reefer trailers every 10 years. I think he implied it's a regulation but I can't remember. I've seen some pretty old rattlers as you say, but I imagine they won't take loads past a certain temp. I have seen some shippers that won't load a dry van older than 10 years, particularly places that load roll stock. I could see a scenario in which they'd put an hours limit on reefers at some or thee shippers.

 

Always take temp when getting loaded. Precooling to the desired temp is important. Getting loaded quickly and shutting those door doors is also important. It matters what reefer unit you have and that it performs well. If you got a carrier 7500 X it’s not gonna be a bad piece of gear to haul ice cream. If you got a little dinky unit, you might have issues. If your unit isn’t performing tip-top, don’t haul the load. Good call calling for help through your maintenance department. Don’t want to damage the product.