reefers - procs and cons

Beautiful rig, bud!

 

Lots of loads cannot be interchanged from van to reefer.. Some loads need a wooden floor to drive nails / bracing into.. weight is a big problem.. 46k-47k on a van is normal.. about all you can get on a reefer is 45k..

Other cons vs pros..

Reefers often have strict delivery and p/u appointments. They also have pallett exchanges, high dollar lumpers, and more cargo claims than vans.. Many shippers want the driver to sign for the load and won't allow shippers load and count on BOL. That means u have to stand by and count the freight, access any damages, and pallett condition.. (Also take pulp temps of the product being loaded)

Vans ... soo much less headache.. Faster unload times, simple run offs.. That's my experiance pulling both...(I've pulled a lot of different types of trailers, you have to find the type of freight you like to haul.. YOUR nitch not someone elses. Only you know if you want to handle freight, or say pull tarps.. Stay hooked to same trailer, vs drop and hook. Operate on a sometimes seemingly impossible schedual, or take your time and be 1st come 1st serve.

There's more to trucking than reefer vs van.. (dry bulk, tanker, flat, steps, double drops, RGN / lowboys, dump trailers, car hauling, household goods, expedited, logging, containers, ammo / explosives, mobile homes, heavy equipment, ect.)

 

Depends on the tractor weight... all that extra metal on some of the Pete's and KW's are a disadvantage here...

Appointment times are only a problem if you can't haul your butt down the road in a timely manner.

Pallet exchange depends on the way the load is quoted. High dollar lumpers are a pain in the butt - what a racket! If you drive your truck like it's a battle tank, then yeah, your probably going to have claims.

That's all called CYA. Then there's enough shipper load/count that's sealed when you hook onto it as well. So sticking a thermometer into a crate of hot lettuce so you don't get hit with a claim is a problem for you? Takes all of 2 minutes, ya know!

On 48's... there are some shippers who require 53' trailers, but you can fit most everything you need to into a 48' trailer. A lot easier to get one of those into some of the docks up in the NE - I see a lot of them up there.