Good Day Big Strappers. Hope you get some benefit from today's video (I know not all of you are produce haulers but we have had a ton of requests for this!) What are your thoughts on refrigerated hauling? Like it if you've done it, or do you stay away from it?!!! Love to hear from you.
@@hardipusa EXACTLY... not uncommon for receivers to check your reefer fuel... if it's FULL they make you wait... if it's not full, they put you on their preferred attention list for unloading... best to go in there with about half a tank in the reefer, scare 'em into unloading you fast
I've been doing it for about a month now. I kinda hate this mess. These companies won't let you on the Doc a lot of times and won't brace anything. They give different temps to haul the produce then the brokers. Usually you're always heavy and that wait time is ridiculous. I waited 15 hours in Laredo. They held another guy there for the same amount of time because they didn't know his Seal #. Ridiculous
Here is another trouble shooting tip. On an unfamiliar reefer trailer, never trust the gauge on the fuel tank! Just because it says the tank is 1/2 full does not mean it actually is. A lot of these trailers are rentals and the maintenance can be sketchy. Top up the tank before you hit the road. This can save you a lot of grief. Don't ask me how I know this! :)
Reefer is terrible. Everyone hates you at the truck stop. You will literally spend so many hours waiting at certain places. Be ready to get reworked alot. Everything he says it's so true. Be ready to do wash outs also. Certain places won't accept you without it. Walmart is very picky. But if you're a owner operator you can do dry van also. Never forget that. Yes also turn your reefer off when unloading you will burn 1/4 a tank very fast. Only experienced people will know that. They won't tell you. These are built to hold the temperature.
Funny this video comes on my recommendation feed. Just hauled a load of potatoes from Florida to Louisiana, for Walmart. Air temp was 87° in Florida when loading. Due to the food hoarding from COVID-19, this farm was swamped. Not much precool time, as they were bagging as fast as they could unload from the fields. Shipping clerk stated to maintain 42° and I laughed. I told them there was no way those things would get to 42° since they were just under 70° at loading. They amended the BOL and Walmart accepted the freight.
Dave, just came off a long and hard overtime day making hand sanitizer and anti-viral cleaners (yep - we're busy at work right now). Grabbed a beer, ate the lunch I didn't have time to eat, and fired up the RUclips for a quick fix before I crash. Clicked on your video because I knew, I just knew, that there would be a Lettuce King story on this one. As tired as I am, I watched all the way through (great tutorial by the way) and was not disappointed. I am grateful that in these trying times I can at least count on you to deliver the goods. Cheers.
I ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS run my reefer on Continuous. Sure it burns an eighth of a tank of fuel more a day than Start/Stop, but it's less wear and tear on the batteries, starter, ignition system, and fuel system. Also - when your reefer just idles up and down all day as needed, it becomes like "white noise"; you don't even notice it's there.
I hauled reefer when I first started trucking 27 years ago. Got into heavy haul a couple years after that and been hauling Oversize ever since. It has its own headaches but you learn the tricks like anything else.
benjamin cuevas not to mention the pay is a lot better. I pull a stretch flatbed and those 20k lbs 90 ft beams from Houston to Cali or Vegas pay at least $6 a mile.
Oh my goodness....... I drove for an LTL Carrier for a year that had me do LTL freight during the day in refer boxes then turn the refer on at night an pick up produce at night from Yuma to La..... they didn’t tell me all the tricks to working refer and produce ...... I figured if they did they would acknowledge that they were double dipping work with the same driver on the same shift...... seeing everything you pointed out and my experiences..... I was doing everything wrong. I NOW after watching this video understand the does and don’ts if I ever haul...produce. Never again .....LTL by day and Produce at night. You guys are super awesome..... best wishes always
In new TK units and Carrier if doors are open engine shuts off itself. In winter try battery charging mode(like APU) to not loose 12 volt it's in menu. Keep good 10-15 feet copper wire 8 gauge for Boost or trickle charger for truck or trailer. Keep 4-5 gallons of diesel in container to top up reefer tank while dropping full of fuel , u do the need to run to truck stop, once I drove 30miles one way to fill-up ,had 3/4 to 7/8 diesel in tank but security at Cargill demanded full tank (Milwaukee). Infrared temp guns are handy to check product temp or brake pads at brake check ,does not replace probe but still.
Good morning Load has to be Pre- Cooled However let me say this Some lemon comes straight from the tree into the pallet to the reefer And Yes it will cool down while traveling to the market warehouse
Thanks for the video Dave. Another video with quality content that answers a lot of questions I’ve always had. I’m doing P&D for an LTL carrier right now and my route has a couple of produce warehouses that I stop at periodically. Some of the wasteful practices and rules just baffle the mind. And there is no reasoning with these warehouse people. I’m usually in and out in less than 45min and by then my patience is about used up so I don’t know how guys that do reefer can put up with long wait times and other b.s. I will say that I see a lot more nice O/O reefer truck/trailer setups than any other truck/trailer type (flatbed, tanker, dry van, etc.) so there must be some good money in it.
Look at the difference of a an old school trucker who was paid well and took his trade serious. Imagine all the food safety issues of today just from ignorant underpaid truckers and wherehouse workers. Great job. I am not a trucker but love trucks. I am an HVAC/R tech and you know more about refers than some idiots in my trade.
SLC is what I’d sign. Shipper Load and Count. Driver not on dock. I bet I’ve met The Lettuce King around King City and Salinas. Running up and down the 101 or I5 corridor.
Another great video. Something else to watch out for, produce pick ups when the farm is running behind or JIT. Especially when the DC is a short distance from the farm. Load shows up and the receiver pulps the load and it’s too high. Perfectly good product being refused…so as a driver it’s good to watch for this. On the point of trailers and weight - one of the major trailer manufacturers is building a new plant in Minn. with new composite walls that will greatly reduce their absorbing moisture vs current insulation.
I DID REFRIGERATE FREIGHT FOR 35 YEARS NOW AND I DOING DRY FREIGHT I PICK I DROP AND I LOVE IT MAKING MORE MONEY LESS WORRIERS YOU HAVE TO TAKE A LOT OF SHIT WENT YOU DO REEFER LOADS AND IS NOT WORTHY
Our trailers have multiple "bulkheads", with insulated removable seperators. Main reefer unit runs at the front of the trailer, and an auxiliary unit mounted to ceiling of the trailer in the rear. Usually freezer in the front bulkhead, chiller in the 2nd, and ambient produce in the rear.
I'm contracted to walmart. Ours are like that but all three sections have a unit. Usually zone 1 and 3 are the same. Zone 2 is different. Sometimes 1 and 2 are the same and 3 is different. It's so that the first couple of store's product is generally towards the back and the last couple of store's product is generally towards the front. Unfortunatly its not always as simple though. Also we're not allowed on the dock but we are expected to collect stickers from the pallets to prove they got their product but they don't alway have the right stickers. Been with them for a year now and haven't got in any trouble yet. It has its downsides here but the pros outweigh the cons. Love it here. A lot better than my last company, Swift
Dave didn't mention 1 thing - alarm codes. When something goes wrong a code number pops up on the screen. It may or may not shut down the unit completely.
Dave, I've hauled things so fresh they didn't have time to cool it in the warehouse first - sea-food where I was on the dock waiting for boats to bring the catch. Or produce. It will eventually cool down, but it takes a very long time.
pro tip, it doesnt matter if it is a single temp or multi you should have a bulkhead so when pre cooling your trailer put your bulkhead head up half way so when you open your doors you dont lose all that cold
I love pulling a reefer. Everyone has to eat and if produce rates slow I can turn it off and run dry. Or find a nice short dry run to get me back to a place where produce loads are abundant.
Good info! I will stick to hauling auto parts. Simple man, simple load, good pay! Respect for the men that haul the reefers as well as the tanker bunch.
I've told the story where I had a missing door for almost two days with a 26 F LTL meat load with five stops. The last stop arrived two days late, yet there was no claim. The outside temperature remained at 26 degrees the whole time.
I got thrown to the wolves with the reefer 😟didn’t even know how to slide the tandems because they were the kind where you push the button, then use a BFH to get the pins to pop in. 🤣🤣🤣
When the shipper uses a temp recorder make sure they stick it on the freight, not on the trailer wall. Especially in the summer, the walls can be several degrees warmer than the air and the load. The temp recorder may show the temps were out of range when they actually were good.
Been a reefer hauler for 3 years now, gotta love when you get code 17 and its 80 degrees out and miles away from a Thermal King and your appt is in 2 hours. Shit happens.
When I was otr I hauled produce I hated it, hauling meat was cool tho especially the national beef loads got to see some killer looking cow trucks in both dodge city and liberal kansas. Excited to go back.
Yup hauled hanging beef ( now all boxed beef) but NO one had told me should have had the reefer on " continous" to make sure no bacteria would form on the hanging beef. So now driver needs to buy another expensive item. And the co's ussually fail to pay for anything. 4 or 5 ft at back Really? Insulating ability of walls. Maybe that's another reason the seed pototoes froze on the walls. I was the only trailer that wasnt froze. Was very cold in Cdn -40 . So put temp up a few degrees. And yes was on continues. The temp at the wall was too close to freezing. The walls ahould help contain some cold temp or some heat ( in the winter) Back many yrs ago. While sleeping heard reefer trying to start ( learnt to wear ear plugs now even when home) Got trailet into a truck wash. Finally got reffer started. Produce was ok. It was -40 outside. No claim on that load. Now i let reefer run continuous when real cold out. Yup a little more fuel. But less troubles and yes sleep better on continuos too. Dispatch will NOT tell u that. And best to NOT even say anythng. ( they likely want to save " some fuel" BS ) 1 403 830 4124
Damn!!!!! Is this ever a fortuitous time for this topic.... With the supply chain issues COVID 19 is causing, I've been asked to start pulling reefer freight. I've been stewing about it for three (3) days because I've never hauled perishables before. This video is of critical importance to me. I'll wait until your next post on loading this freight before I decide whether to get involved with moving it. My wife's suggested I don't move it. Says I'm getting too long in the tooth to take on the added stress & worry. Been hauling medical stockpiles for the military for 2 weeks with an armed escort riding along. I like having some company along for the ride. Feels like I'm in an old western, driving a stagecoach with someone really riding "shotgun"!!!!👍👍👍
Ya...it is. We're given military ration packs to eat and to my surprise, they are really good. The young corporal who's been assigned to me says he picked out the best ones for our trips. They come with a sleeve that you add a little water to and put the food pouch into it and thats it up "hot". Required to stop every 2-2 1/2 hours to circle check the truck and stretch. Wish I could move these kinds of loads all the time.
Hi Dave, n Kat!! Your timing is perfect!! I'm back doing otr after getting released to go back to work with limit's, I can't climb ladders, or flatbed anymore. Ended up with a great job pulling a reefer! I've never pulled a reefer before in the 43yrs I've been behind the wheel! But , I got a great run, Oklahoma to the Northwest, all frozen products, a round a week with 2-4 day's off, pays not what I made in the oilfield, but 22-2400 a week take home is doable, good trucks, mine is a Fitzgerald kit, freightliner bubble nose Tupperware truck, but it's set up right ,525 Cummins, 13speed 3:73 rears. So I appreciate this video greatly. on another subject,Dave, has anyone thought about maybe HOW much driver's are really risking their lives, especially us older guys, running in and out of some of these (hot zone) area's?? And the closing of the truckstop facilities(showers) May be making thing's worse? And probably a bunch of other things I'm too tired to think about. anyway, what do you think? Stay safe out there brothers!
Great information. Thanks for the video. You should do a video on continuous and start and stop operations on the difference and when to use either one.
I always get on the dock, it's my damn equipment truck and trailer, especially I got 10 hydraulic load locks, bulkheads and an electric pallet jack, I'll leave empty if they won't let me on the dock or at very least take a look inside before it gets sealed!
Hi I was thinking about the insulation problem. (1) Would leaving the doors open for a week or so in the summer during slack times help out. (2) How about a powerful wet/dry vacuum to suck moisture out. (3) Replace the insulation, that would be a messy job that will require assistance and likely take a couple of days and cost a few bucks. But there are plenty of videos out there showing people doing it to convert You Haul type trailers into campers. At any rate it sure beats buying a new reefer.
Anything to dry the trailer out is good. I used to leave the doors on mine open for days if I could and the weather was dry. Sadly, once you break the seal on a reefer wall between the kemlite and the insulation the wall never seals properly again so replacing the insulation never works very well.
All this a wonderful ideas, but only 1 problem. Shippers will not allow you on the docks. Shipper load - shipper count- was denied access on the dock to plup temps. Driver need to write this on your bills.
Sorry I kno it's off topic but its important but you are very well watched and respected by me and lots of others can you please put something out there for drivers to be cautious.thank you for all your knowledge.keep the rubber side down👍
I pull dry van. Hardware. Within the last few years our paint mfg. Has changed the formula of our pain and it can not be allowed to go below the freezing point. So we get introduced to the refer trailer. No training. Just hit the button, set the temperature and roll. At some point, there was an issue with the refer and the refer sent an email to my boss. He knew there was an issue before I did. I was impressed with that. Just wish I could have had some training on the equipment
It's not just the carriers who don't want to train people - it's drivers too. I was at this carrier and a brand new guy came on who never drove reefers before so I thought I'd give the run-down - he declined - didn't think he needed it. What's the big deal, easy as pie, nothing to it..
I've had some produce loads . Were talking 30 years ago. Old carrier units and the loads were iced. Had to stop and get more ice blown in because I Always seemed to get them when it was 100 degrees F. I decided that was not my gig. Let the big strappers handle those loads. Never had a claim, but the USDA inspectors had to check it a couple of times. Those guys will make a mess in your trailer, but can save your a _ _ also. It dose take a real Pro to do that job right!!
I always preferred thermo king over carrier they were quitter used less fuel and more reliable I found. We just built a new home and I almost kicked the heating and ventilation company off the sight when I came home to find a carrier heat pump at the back of the house but they reassured me the one of the better ones on the market I guess time will tell.
MOST SHIPPERS DONT ALLOW YOU ON DOCK, BUT THEY DONT SEAL IT DRIVER DOES, MOST OF THE TIME! YOU SHOULD CHECK ITS NOT AT LEAST LEANING AND PUSHED AGAINST THE CHUTE😠WHICH YOU SAID, 😉GREAT VIDEO THANKS 😉❤️
The most temperature-sensitive thing I ever hauled is ice scream. 10 to 20 below - must be pre-cooled - trailer locked-up tight so the trap door can't be opened.
I loaded out of Salinas, 3 pics, then 2 in Bakersfield, had precooled reefer b4 1st 3 pic in Salinas,an maintained temp to last 2 pics. But all skids loaded were hot as in fresh from field to warehouse,no claims on me but no cooling down on dock at all
The only times I had a trucker run the refri when loading is when he wanted to run the fuel out of the the tank. I was loading dry goods he didn't need the refri. Loading to adjust for the refri. can be a headache. We had a trucker with a huge sleeper. He seemed to lower his max weight it was a pain.
I always thought the pre-cooling was so that the aluminum floor would be pre-cooled and that would help with the stabilizing the temperature after you close the doors when you're loaded. I never realized it's just that they think the air stays cool . See what happens when you think 😂
We had a driver recently where the Temp. wasnt coming down to set temp. of 3%C So they changed the unit to -10deg. C .....and forgot about it.. Dropping the temp to cool faster doesnt work.... The Claim was $70,000
I'm a bit confused on the moisture point. If the trailer is refrigerated, would the evaporator not pull the moisture out? Its basically a dehumidifier and they usually have a drain.
Trailer are sealed air tight. Temperature adjust only. Local 5 - 15 Ton 20 - 35 ft box truck and smaller 3ton 16 ft comes with water drainage each side at the nose. Refer no freezer Trailer designed to keep cold Freezer or Cooler and dry air tight ensure no air pollution gets in sand dirty. Long distance. I have done: Local 5 Ton food delivery driver for 3 year + 2 years 3ton food.
Good question! On top of what Raymond mentioned here, the older reefers did have a tendency to dry out certain produce crops like romaine to the point that Thermo-King introduced what they called Thermo-Fresh as an option for produce haulers. It would help maintain the moisture level in the trailer by cooling or heating less rapidly with less temperature fluctuation in the box. Great option, I had them on my units but it did leave the trailer even more damp inside.
I've hauled "frozen" french fries out of Maine where my reefer was expected to do the freezing. The load pulped at 60 F, so my yellow reefer warning light would be on for half the trip.
I used to operate a multizone reefer unit that would allow up to three different areas to be cool at different temperatures. This was done by inserting bulkhead between sections of freight. By the way produce loading is the worst type of loaded free because you have the longest wait time in the industry. I have waited up to 14 hours for one pallet of strawberries! Dispatch can you load that haven’t even left the field yet when you get there.
Good Day Big Strappers. Hope you get some benefit from today's video (I know not all of you are produce haulers but we have had a ton of requests for this!) What are your thoughts on refrigerated hauling? Like it if you've done it, or do you stay away from it?!!! Love to hear from you.
I do it for my summer job, when not in school. I love it but hate waiting at docks, they treat it as free cold storage!
@@hardipusa EXACTLY... not uncommon for receivers to check your reefer fuel... if it's FULL they make you wait... if it's not full, they put you on their preferred attention list for unloading... best to go in there with about half a tank in the reefer, scare 'em into unloading you fast
Long live the Lattice King 🤴
I've been doing it for about a month now. I kinda hate this mess. These companies won't let you on the Doc a lot of times and won't brace anything. They give different temps to haul the produce then the brokers. Usually you're always heavy and that wait time is ridiculous. I waited 15 hours in Laredo. They held another guy there for the same amount of time because they didn't know his Seal #. Ridiculous
When will you make Part 2??
As a reefer tech this guy knows what he is talking about. Thank you
Rule number one. Cruise the truck stop and find a spot between two dry vans, back in, set reefer to continuous and have a good night sleep.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂👌👌👌👌
That’s funny c’mon
Here is another trouble shooting tip. On an unfamiliar reefer trailer, never trust the gauge on the fuel tank! Just because it says the tank is 1/2 full does not mean it actually is. A lot of these trailers are rentals and the maintenance can be sketchy. Top up the tank before you hit the road. This can save you a lot of grief. Don't ask me how I know this! :)
As a lumper I used to love when reefer units came in, most guys didn’t mind running it while we loaded them, it was great in the summer time
Reefer is terrible. Everyone hates you at the truck stop. You will literally spend so many hours waiting at certain places. Be ready to get reworked alot. Everything he says it's so true. Be ready to do wash outs also. Certain places won't accept you without it. Walmart is very picky. But if you're a owner operator you can do dry van also. Never forget that. Yes also turn your reefer off when unloading you will burn 1/4 a tank very fast. Only experienced people will know that. They won't tell you. These are built to hold the temperature.
Funny this video comes on my recommendation feed. Just hauled a load of potatoes from Florida to Louisiana, for Walmart. Air temp was 87° in Florida when loading. Due to the food hoarding from COVID-19, this farm was swamped. Not much precool time, as they were bagging as fast as they could unload from the fields. Shipping clerk stated to maintain 42° and I laughed. I told them there was no way those things would get to 42° since they were just under 70° at loading. They amended the BOL and Walmart accepted the freight.
Dave, just came off a long and hard overtime day making hand sanitizer and anti-viral cleaners (yep - we're busy at work right now). Grabbed a beer, ate the lunch I didn't have time to eat, and fired up the RUclips for a quick fix before I crash. Clicked on your video because I knew, I just knew, that there would be a Lettuce King story on this one. As tired as I am, I watched all the way through (great tutorial by the way) and was not disappointed. I am grateful that in these trying times I can at least count on you to deliver the goods. Cheers.
SLSC (shipper load shipper count) on the bills has saved my butt more than once! Thanks for your videos. Stay safe and be well.
I ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS run my reefer on Continuous. Sure it burns an eighth of a tank of fuel more a day than Start/Stop, but it's less wear and tear on the batteries, starter, ignition system, and fuel system. Also - when your reefer just idles up and down all day as needed, it becomes like "white noise"; you don't even notice it's there.
It's May 2022
Can't afford to do that anymore
Unless the broker or BOL states continuous, I'm always putting it on cycle
Ding ding good video i did reefer for a few days I had no idea what I was doing
Thank you for the edifying advice. I was offered a job to haul reefer. This gives me an opportunity to research the pros and cons.
We call the temperature grafting units "tattletales." The temperature the load is hauled at, is set by the shipper or receiver.
I hauled reefer when I first started trucking 27 years ago. Got into heavy haul a couple years after that and been hauling Oversize ever since. It has its own headaches but you learn the tricks like anything else.
benjamin cuevas not to mention the pay is a lot better. I pull a stretch flatbed and those 20k lbs 90 ft beams from Houston to Cali or Vegas pay at least $6 a mile.
itzrobertho you got that 100% right.
Oh my goodness....... I drove for an LTL Carrier for a year that had me do LTL freight during the day in refer boxes then turn the refer on at night an pick up produce at night from Yuma to La..... they didn’t tell me all the tricks to working refer and produce ...... I figured if they did they would acknowledge that they were double dipping work with the same driver on the same shift...... seeing everything you pointed out and my experiences..... I was doing everything wrong. I NOW after watching this video understand the does and don’ts if I ever haul...produce. Never again .....LTL by day and Produce at night. You guys are super awesome..... best wishes always
Thanks for watching Ruben! Take care!
Our new reefers have door sensors to alleviate the issue with leaving it running, still good advice.
In new TK units and Carrier if doors are open engine shuts off itself.
In winter try battery charging mode(like APU) to not loose 12 volt it's in menu.
Keep good 10-15 feet copper wire 8 gauge for Boost or trickle charger for truck or trailer.
Keep 4-5 gallons of diesel in container to top up reefer tank while dropping full of fuel , u do the need to run to truck stop, once I drove 30miles one way to fill-up ,had 3/4 to 7/8 diesel in tank but security at Cargill demanded full tank (Milwaukee).
Infrared temp guns are handy to check product temp or brake pads at brake check ,does not replace probe but still.
Good talk on reefers. Im leaving out tomorrow with a small company and this helped. Thank you.
Good morning
Load has to be Pre- Cooled
However let me say this
Some lemon comes straight from the tree into the pallet to the reefer
And Yes it will cool down while traveling to the market warehouse
Thanks for the video Dave. Another video with quality content that answers a lot of questions I’ve always had. I’m doing P&D for an LTL carrier right now and my route has a couple of produce warehouses that I stop at periodically. Some of the wasteful practices and rules just baffle the mind. And there is no reasoning with these warehouse people. I’m usually in and out in less than 45min and by then my patience is about used up so I don’t know how guys that do reefer can put up with long wait times and other b.s. I will say that I see a lot more nice O/O reefer truck/trailer setups than any other truck/trailer type (flatbed, tanker, dry van, etc.) so there must be some good money in it.
Look at the difference of a an old school trucker who was paid well and took his trade serious. Imagine all the food safety issues of today just from ignorant underpaid truckers and wherehouse workers. Great job. I am not a trucker but love trucks. I am an HVAC/R tech and you know more about refers than some idiots in my trade.
SLC is what I’d sign. Shipper Load and Count. Driver not on dock.
I bet I’ve met The Lettuce King around King City and Salinas. Running up and down the 101 or I5 corridor.
@0:30 I see you have a spread axle on that thing 😂
I thought those were only on flatbeds.
23' spread 😂😭😂
I've found the spread axles really nice for produce. Never a problem with axle weights.
Another great video.
Something else to watch out for, produce pick ups when the farm is running behind or JIT. Especially when the DC is a short distance from the farm.
Load shows up and the receiver pulps the load and it’s too high. Perfectly good product being refused…so as a driver it’s good to watch for this.
On the point of trailers and weight - one of the major trailer manufacturers is building a new plant in Minn. with new composite walls that will greatly reduce their absorbing moisture vs current insulation.
Finally an interesting video I don't pull a reefer so I learned a lot.
I DID REFRIGERATE FREIGHT FOR 35 YEARS NOW AND I DOING DRY FREIGHT I PICK I DROP AND I LOVE IT MAKING MORE MONEY LESS WORRIERS YOU HAVE TO TAKE A LOT OF SHIT WENT YOU DO REEFER LOADS AND IS NOT WORTHY
I did refer for a year what a pain in the but
Always run the reefer as bill of lading states.
That's right!
This is very interesting. And I drive a flatbed.
Our trailers have multiple "bulkheads", with insulated removable seperators. Main reefer unit runs at the front of the trailer, and an auxiliary unit mounted to ceiling of the trailer in the rear. Usually freezer in the front bulkhead, chiller in the 2nd, and ambient produce in the rear.
I'm contracted to walmart. Ours are like that but all three sections have a unit. Usually zone 1 and 3 are the same. Zone 2 is different. Sometimes 1 and 2 are the same and 3 is different. It's so that the first couple of store's product is generally towards the back and the last couple of store's product is generally towards the front. Unfortunatly its not always as simple though. Also we're not allowed on the dock but we are expected to collect stickers from the pallets to prove they got their product but they don't alway have the right stickers. Been with them for a year now and haven't got in any trouble yet. It has its downsides here but the pros outweigh the cons. Love it here. A lot better than my last company, Swift
This is typical in the foodservice industry
Good stuff! So many shippers and receivers insist you leave unit running-period! I used to hate that, especially when it’s 110 degrees in parking lot
Dave didn't mention 1 thing - alarm codes. When something goes wrong a code number pops up on the screen. It may or may not shut down the unit completely.
Dave, I've hauled things so fresh they didn't have time to cool it in the warehouse first - sea-food where I was on the dock waiting for boats to bring the catch. Or produce. It will eventually cool down, but it takes a very long time.
pro tip, it doesnt matter if it is a single temp or multi you should have a bulkhead so when pre cooling your trailer put your bulkhead head up half way so when you open your doors you dont lose all that cold
I love pulling a reefer. Everyone has to eat and if produce rates slow I can turn it off and run dry. Or find a nice short dry run to get me back to a place where produce loads are abundant.
Good info! I will stick to hauling auto parts. Simple man, simple load, good pay!
Respect for the men that haul the reefers as well as the tanker bunch.
As always. Great, great valuable information.
Thank you.
I've told the story where I had a missing door for almost two days with a 26 F LTL meat load with five stops. The last stop arrived two days late, yet there was no claim. The outside temperature remained at 26 degrees the whole time.
Thank for sharing your knowledge I'm fairly new in the business and after your video I must tell you that I'm gonna avoid reefers
Thank you for this, I'm trying to become a tech fixing this kind
It's not just the air in the trailer that holds the temperature. The aluminum floor also radiates.
Fav things to put on my Mal-wart bills as a contractor .... SLC & STC heheh
I got thrown to the wolves with the reefer 😟didn’t even know how to slide the tandems because they were the kind where you push the button, then use a BFH to get the pins to pop in. 🤣🤣🤣
When the shipper uses a temp recorder make sure they stick it on the freight, not on the trailer wall. Especially in the summer, the walls can be several degrees warmer than the air and the load. The temp recorder may show the temps were out of range when they actually were good.
Best thing I ever did GOT OUT OF REEFERS. 20 years of rude BS
I’m out in a couple days. Good riddance, no more ridiculous unpaid loading/unloading.
Been a reefer hauler for 3 years now, gotta love when you get code 17 and its 80 degrees out and miles away from a Thermal King and your appt is in 2 hours. Shit happens.
Yup! Run like the wind and call ahead!
When I was otr I hauled produce I hated it, hauling meat was cool tho especially the national beef loads got to see some killer looking cow trucks in both dodge city and liberal kansas. Excited to go back.
Yeah, hear that! There are some cool looking cow trucks out there!
Wow Dave. I haul with a reefer and this was very informative
Good to know! Thanks for saying so!
I think ive heard you tell that same story before but it was in reference to how fast the Lettuce King could run his truck. Still a great story!
Yup hauled hanging beef ( now all boxed beef) but NO one had told me should have had the reefer on " continous" to make sure no bacteria would form on the hanging beef. So now driver needs to buy another expensive item. And the co's ussually fail to pay for anything. 4 or 5 ft at back Really? Insulating ability of walls. Maybe that's another reason the seed pototoes froze on the walls. I was the only trailer that wasnt froze. Was very cold in Cdn -40 . So put temp up a few degrees. And yes was on continues. The temp at the wall was too close to freezing. The walls ahould help contain some cold temp or some heat ( in the winter) Back many yrs ago. While sleeping heard reefer trying to start ( learnt to wear ear plugs now even when home) Got trailet into a truck wash. Finally got reffer started. Produce was ok. It was -40 outside. No claim on that load. Now i let reefer run continuous when real cold out. Yup a little more fuel. But less troubles and yes sleep better on continuos too. Dispatch will NOT tell u that. And best to NOT even say anythng. ( they likely want to save " some fuel" BS ) 1 403 830 4124
Do you have a video on how to properly set the trailer and 5th wheel to the proper weight distribution spot
Damn!!!!! Is this ever a fortuitous time for this topic.... With the supply chain issues COVID 19 is causing, I've been asked to start pulling reefer freight. I've been stewing about it for three (3) days because I've never hauled perishables before. This video is of critical importance to me. I'll wait until your next post on loading this freight before I decide whether to get involved with moving it. My wife's suggested I don't move it. Says I'm getting too long in the tooth to take on the added stress & worry. Been hauling medical stockpiles for the military for 2 weeks with an armed escort riding along. I like having some company along for the ride. Feels like I'm in an old western, driving a stagecoach with someone really riding "shotgun"!!!!👍👍👍
Military escort, kinda cool!
Ya...it is. We're given military ration packs to eat and to my surprise, they are really good. The young corporal who's been assigned to me says he picked out the best ones for our trips. They come with a sleeve that you add a little water to and put the food pouch into it and thats it up "hot". Required to stop every 2-2 1/2 hours to circle check the truck and stretch. Wish I could move these kinds of loads all the time.
Hi Dave, n Kat!!
Your timing is perfect!!
I'm back doing otr after getting released to go back to work with limit's, I can't climb ladders, or flatbed anymore.
Ended up with a great job pulling a reefer!
I've never pulled a reefer before in the 43yrs I've been behind the wheel!
But , I got a great run, Oklahoma to the Northwest, all frozen products, a round a week with 2-4 day's off, pays not what I made in the oilfield, but 22-2400 a week take home is doable, good trucks, mine is a Fitzgerald kit, freightliner bubble nose Tupperware truck, but it's set up right ,525 Cummins, 13speed 3:73 rears.
So I appreciate this video greatly.
on another subject,Dave, has anyone thought about maybe HOW much driver's are really risking their lives, especially us older guys, running in and out of some of these (hot zone) area's??
And the closing of the truckstop facilities(showers)
May be making thing's worse?
And probably a bunch of other things I'm too tired to think about.
anyway, what do you think?
Stay safe out there brothers!
Good to hear from you Kelly! Be careful out there and welcome back!
Great information. Thanks for the video. You should do a video on continuous and start and stop operations on the difference and when to use either one.
Excellent idea, thank you!
I always get on the dock, it's my damn equipment truck and trailer, especially I got 10 hydraulic load locks, bulkheads and an electric pallet jack, I'll leave empty if they won't let me on the dock or at very least take a look inside before it gets sealed!
Its changing because of covid
Hi I was thinking about the insulation problem. (1) Would leaving the doors open for a week or so in the summer during slack times help out. (2) How about a powerful wet/dry vacuum to suck moisture out. (3) Replace the insulation, that would be a messy job that will require assistance and likely take a couple of days and cost a few bucks. But there are plenty of videos out there showing people doing it to convert You Haul type trailers into campers. At any rate it sure beats buying a new reefer.
I forgot to add (1) have several good fans on 24 hours a day. They do that after flooding to help dry out buildings quicker.
Anything to dry the trailer out is good. I used to leave the doors on mine open for days if I could and the weather was dry. Sadly, once you break the seal on a reefer wall between the kemlite and the insulation the wall never seals properly again so replacing the insulation never works very well.
Tnx a lot for educating noobs like me. I am a mechanic and a wanna be trucker, as I can see it is easier to operate flatbed compared to reefer.
As long as the load doesn't fall off or get wet!
Thank you so much for this video. I learned alot
Learned a great message with this one.. thank you
Thanks! Thank you so much for such an instructive lecture. Blessings.
Glad it was helpful!
All this a wonderful ideas, but only 1 problem. Shippers will not allow you on the docks. Shipper load - shipper count- was denied access on the dock to plup temps. Driver need to write this on your bills.
fantastic and useful information sir, thank you
Wow learned a lot, thanks Dave.
This is a great video. I needed this when I started running reefer. I learned some of these things the hard way.
Sorry I kno it's off topic but its important but you are very well watched and respected by me and lots of others can you please put something out there for drivers to be cautious.thank you for all your knowledge.keep the rubber side down👍
Being cautious is never off topic around here! Thank you for your post and we will pass on it's message! Be safe!
I pull dry van. Hardware. Within the last few years our paint mfg. Has changed the formula of our pain and it can not be allowed to go below the freezing point. So we get introduced to the refer trailer. No training. Just hit the button, set the temperature and roll. At some point, there was an issue with the refer and the refer sent an email to my boss. He knew there was an issue before I did. I was impressed with that. Just wish I could have had some training on the equipment
The tracking from Thermo King to the office is pretty cool!
Please upload video on all necessary info on trucking through this whole Coronavirus thing, thank You!!
It's not just the carriers who don't want to train people - it's drivers too. I was at this carrier and a brand new guy came on who never drove reefers before so I thought I'd give the run-down - he declined - didn't think he needed it. What's the big deal, easy as pie, nothing to it..
I've had some produce loads . Were talking 30 years ago. Old carrier units and the loads were iced. Had to stop and get more ice blown in because I Always seemed to get them when it was 100 degrees F. I decided that was not my gig. Let the big strappers handle those loads. Never had a claim, but the USDA inspectors had to check it a couple of times. Those guys will make a mess in your trailer, but can save your a _ _ also. It dose take a real Pro to do that job right!!
Thank you for all of your advice
Thank you Jerod!
Thank you for the content. I'm thinking about getting a reefer box truck. Can you please tell me how many hours is too many when purchasing a reefer?
I always preferred thermo king over carrier they were quitter used less fuel and more reliable I found. We just built a new home and I almost kicked the heating and ventilation company off the sight when I came home to find a carrier heat pump at the back of the house but they reassured me the one of the better ones on the market I guess time will tell.
An other great tips.
Keep rubber down N'chrome shine up 🤘🤘
great info , thanks Dave
Thanks for watching Ivo!
MOST SHIPPERS DONT ALLOW YOU ON DOCK, BUT THEY DONT SEAL IT DRIVER DOES, MOST OF THE TIME! YOU SHOULD CHECK ITS NOT AT LEAST LEANING AND PUSHED AGAINST THE CHUTE😠WHICH YOU SAID, 😉GREAT VIDEO THANKS 😉❤️
Thank you!
The most temperature-sensitive thing I ever hauled is ice scream. 10 to 20 below - must be pre-cooled - trailer locked-up tight so the trap door can't be opened.
The refer helps me sleep better
Great way to get my attention, is to include a Lettuce King story! Love the videos, keep em comin!
Glad to hear that you like the stories! I like sharing them!
Set the temperature for what the BOL says.
I loaded out of Salinas, 3 pics, then 2 in Bakersfield, had precooled reefer b4 1st 3 pic in Salinas,an maintained temp to last 2 pics. But all skids loaded were hot as in fresh from field to warehouse,no claims on me but no cooling down on dock at all
The only times I had a trucker run the refri when loading is when he wanted to run the fuel out of the the tank. I was loading dry goods he didn't need the refri.
Loading to adjust for the refri. can be a headache. We had a trucker with a huge sleeper. He seemed to lower his max weight it was a pain.
are there books for produc temperatures and running reach briefers we enjoy you keep it up thank you
I always thought the pre-cooling was so that the aluminum floor would be pre-cooled and that would help with the stabilizing the temperature after you close the doors when you're loaded. I never realized it's just that they think the air stays cool . See what happens when you think 😂
Thanks for all the great info!
Our pleasure Pamela, thank you!
Thanks for the great advice keep it up
Thank you Eugene!
Reefer screen door in back is also usually to dry moisture of empty trailer out I thought also used a lot with hauling spuds
We had a driver recently where the Temp. wasnt coming down to set temp. of 3%C
So they changed the unit to -10deg. C .....and forgot about it..
Dropping the temp to cool faster doesnt work....
The Claim was $70,000
Wow! Now there's a claim amount that just stops your heart!! They're probably still out behind the dispatch office beating that guy into the ground!
I have always wanted know the anatomy of a refer.
Another reefer video is on the way soon! stay tuned!
Drove reefer for Stevens transport alot of hurry up and wait and 2 or 3 am appointments and tons of sending in reefer temps,fuel gage to DMs
I'm a bit confused on the moisture point. If the trailer is refrigerated, would the evaporator not pull the moisture out? Its basically a dehumidifier and they usually have a drain.
Trailer are sealed air tight. Temperature adjust only. Local 5 - 15 Ton 20 - 35 ft box truck and smaller 3ton 16 ft comes with water drainage each side at the nose.
Refer no freezer
Trailer designed to keep cold Freezer or Cooler and dry air tight ensure no air pollution gets in sand dirty. Long distance.
I have done:
Local 5 Ton food delivery driver for 3 year + 2 years 3ton food.
Good question! On top of what Raymond mentioned here, the older reefers did have a tendency to dry out certain produce crops like romaine to the point that Thermo-King introduced what they called Thermo-Fresh as an option for produce haulers. It would help maintain the moisture level in the trailer by cooling or heating less rapidly with less temperature fluctuation in the box. Great option, I had them on my units but it did leave the trailer even more damp inside.
I've been pulling a refer for a year now and knew almost none of this
Nice video sar ji 👍
Thanks!
Excellent info.
Thank you!
Dairy and meat are also hauled fresh!
Great video thanks lot for the informative is very helpful
Thanks for saying so Diaz!
I've hauled "frozen" french fries out of Maine where my reefer was expected to do the freezing. The load pulped at 60 F, so my yellow reefer warning light would be on for half the trip.
Great video, so informative,
Thank you!
I used to operate a multizone reefer unit that would allow up to three different areas to be cool at different temperatures. This was done by inserting bulkhead between sections of freight. By the way produce loading is the worst type of loaded free because you have the longest wait time in the industry. I have waited up to 14 hours for one pallet of strawberries! Dispatch can you load that haven’t even left the field yet when you get there.
Yup, I know all about the wait time, but back then the revenue from the trip home more than made up for it!
Love you guys
Thank you!
Another way to cover your butt. For all us drop and hook guys, i make sure the check in guard puts preloaded trailer and sign next to it.
Yup, good!
Hey Dave, have you ever pulled tankers? Specifically smooth bore liquid chemical tankers? Or lowboy or flatbed freight?
I pulled smooth bores for four years and A and B train gas tankers for about seven. Did a little flatbed but mostly reefer work.