To reefer or not to reefer?
 

Well...

I'm looking for a bit of a change of pace, something a bit more interesting than making the highlight of my day opening and closing a set of doors. I really want to try flatbedding, but since I had major back surgery 9 months ago, I can't wrestle those tarps every day yet.

My dispatcher suggested I try switching to the refridgerated division. Of course, with my back my number one concern was unloading trailers, and he told me I shouldn't have to do that any more than I do now...which is almost never! I spoke with a guy who's been pullying reefers for my company yesterday, and he said he has yet to unload one himself. This sounds good...

But still, every dry van driver I speak with says they wouldn't touch a reefer with a 10 foot pole! What is it about reefers? Why not?

The pay is a bit more, and it would be a nice change of pace...

Am I missing something? :idea:

more motors to break, sit in the shop not paid. the noise is unbelievable, got to fuel an extra tank, CO pumping steady at your sleeper, heavy loads and on and on.....

The exhaust on the reefer units discharge out the top of the unit. Since heat rises how exactly does this "pump steady" into the sleeper ?

You must be running some real raggedy reefers. Aside from regular maintenance and the occasional water pump most newer reefers are rather dependable and quiet, especially Thermokings. As far as reefer being more challenging than van I don't think it's that much more in my opinion. There's a little more attention needed and an increase in visits to grocery warehouses but other than that it's not much more challenging at all when compared to van in my opinion. 8) 8)

Just be careful which Reefer Carrier you get with-- i.e. if they run junk equipment then that usually goes hand-n-hand with crappy garbage hauling to grocery warehouses--- those are your main pit falls to pulling reefer-- do your best and pick carefully(do some homework)-- other than than- not much more than closing those doors just like the dry van-- only more freight possibilities less chance of "setting" for lack of freight-

A quiet refer???? I haven't had one quiet refer (new or old) yet park next to me unless it was shut off. Didn't know they made anything with a motor on it quiet. Even the APUs can be a bit irritating at times.

My first company was a reefer ... that's all I knew for the longest time,. so I had/have no problem with them. The advantage I see pulling a reefer is ... if there's nothing to haul that must be cooled down, then you can run it regular and pull anything else. I hauled food, frozen meat, Tyson, then in the slow season I hauled paper and etc.. :wink: It's all what you get use to ... some drivers don't want you parked next to them because of the sound of your reefer running all night, but they also don't want to park next to a bull hauler either ..... so go figure :roll: ... it all comes down to what you want. ......... I actually got to where I couldn't sleep if my reefer wasn't running .... lol

When I used to drag a reefer it never really bothered me when it would fire up at night, but for some reason I could hear a reefer start up easier on a truck parked next to me.

Reefers made today are a lot quieter than those made even 10 years ago which are a heck of a lot quieter than those used 20 years ago.

The single biggest advantage of pulling a reefer over a van is that you can haul both dry and temp controlled products which means a less likelihood of sitting waiting on your company to find you a load.

As far as the grocery warehouse bit goes, I never really sat for very long when pulling a temp controlled load waiting to be loaded or unloaded. It is the dry loads going into them that seem to sit forever.

With that said though, how good of an experience you will have pulling a reefer depends on the company you work for. If you choose to give them a try find a company that uses new equipment (as in not over 5-6 years old), that pays detention pay, and that has 24/7 support and dispatch.

its called wind. when i stop my truck i never idle..but reefer is always going even when your not going forward. I am willing to bet a reefer guy is inhaling more emissions than a dry van driver.

you haven't heard of "cycle sentry"? the reefer can be set to start up/shut down just like your "opti-idle"-- so reefer are not "always" going-- his odds are not any greater than anyone else outdoors 24/7.

your right the new technology the reefer may not always be going, but it must run sometimes, so were does the emissions go on a damp fogging night?