Refrigerated trailers – Refrigeration Units

November 28, 2014

Refrigerated trailers tend to be used less in long haul and more so in short haul work. If temperature sensitive product is shipped long haul, it is often not in transit for more than two days. The reason for this is that much of the freight shipped on reefer trailers is food products, which have expiration dates.

Hauling a reefer trailer is a lot like hauling a van trailer, except that the driver is responsible for ensuring the safe and correct operation of the reefer unit and setting it to the correct temperature. As well, the driver must take temperature readings inside the trailer during the trip to ensure that the reefer is performing at the required temperatures. During fuelling, the reefer fuel tank also has to be filled – often with colored diesel fuel owing to the fact that diesel burned in the reefer unit is not subject to road taxes.

Much of the freight loaded on reefer trailers is placed on pallets, thus it is loaded onto the trailer with a forklift.

Pros

Owing to the fact that there is a good deal more short haul work with reefer trailers, many drivers will work with these units in exchange for being home every night. As well, because much of the work is short haul, many of the runs involving the transport of food products are dedicated runs, which many drivers prefer. And in reality, the extra work involved with temperature-controlled trailers is manageable for most drivers.

Cons

There are few cons to operating reefer trailers. At some drop-off and pick-up points, the loading docks may prove challenging to back into. At some warehouse locations, drivers are required to knock down the pallets (pull boxes off the top of the pallets and place on other pallets) so that the pallets will fit onto the warehouse shelving. For some driver who are paid piecemeal, and not by the hour, this can feel like free labour.

(Photo by born1945 / CC BY)