[UltraSeven]

Hi all. I am looking into reefer loads. I have never run reefer loads and want to know if it's worth
running reefer loads from load boards. I have question regarding how one gets paid, how hard is
it to get into these reefer docs, how hard is it to deal with brokers.
Also, what kind of Reefer trailer should I look for and how many hours should be on the reefer unit.


Can somene help??

Thanks

UltraSeven

[Peddler]

Get a 53' with therm king unit around 10-15k hours

[golfhobo]

I prefered the Carrier units, but I don't know that much about either.

Can't help you with load boards. Sorry.

As for the docks? MOST produce "sheds" are large facilities with easily accessible docks (though some in Salinas take a bit of maneuvering.) Same goes for the warehouses where you will deliver. If you can't back into a produce shed/warehouse dock... well... you know what I mean.

One more thing. If you are going to drive SOLO.... you will be "pressed" to exceed legal logging limits. Produce goes bad quickly.

Also... get a "manual" for the reefer unit you end up with, and learn it by heart. When it shuts down on you in the middle of the night, or a hot desert, you will have precious little time to get it working again before you "lose" the load!

Oh... and try to learn a little Spanish.

[firebird_1252]

Originally Posted by golfhobo

I prefered the Carrier units, but I don't know that much about either.

Can't help you with load boards. Sorry.

As for the docks? MOST produce "sheds" are large facilities with easily accessible docks (though some in Salinas take a bit of maneuvering.) Same goes for the warehouses where you will deliver. If you can't back into a produce shed/warehouse dock... well... you know what I mean.

One more thing. If you are going to drive SOLO.... you will be "pressed" to exceed legal logging limits. Produce goes bad quickly.

Also... get a "manual" for the reefer unit you end up with, and learn it by heart. When it shuts down on you in the middle of the night, or a hot desert, you will have precious little time to get it working again before you "lose" the load!

Oh... and try to learn a little Spanish.

that is all great advice. i just had this convo before. if i ever went back to doing reefer work under my MC#'s i'd NEVER own a reefer. the only way i would is with a service contract from TK or carrier. i've used both and had good and bad luck with both. now trailers.. on a reefer i prefer a wabash and utility over anything else.

[golfhobo]

Originally Posted by firebird_1252

that is all great advice. i just had this convo before. if i ever went back to doing reefer work under my MC#'s i'd NEVER own a reefer. the only way i would is with a service contract from TK or carrier. i've used both and had good and bad luck with both. now trailers.. on a reefer i prefer a wabash and utility over anything else.

Thanks, firebird. I try not to get "pushy" on the O/O forum, since I am just in the learning stage and not yet ready to take the plunge. I try to help when I THINK I know something of value.

Now, a question for you. You said you wouldn't OWN a reefer (without a contract) even IF you went back to doing reefer work. I assume you mean that you could lease on with only a power unit, and pull THEIR reefer trailers. Does this in some way "indemnify" you against lost loads if it is THEIR reefer unit that fails? And, conversely... if it were YOUR reefer trailer and it failed... you would have to PAY for the lost load?

This could be a REAL big issue. And one that I will want to consider based on your "helpful" advice.

Part of my future plans was to someday own a reefer trailer (after I buy a truck and try my hand as a power only O/O.) I figured I could use it to haul dry freight AND produce/meat. I never thought about the service contract thing... but, will NOW.

Could you elaborate on WHY you wouldn't want to own a reefer trailer?

Thx. Hobo

[firebird_1252]

hobo, while i run vans i used to run a company that was cold storage and frozen transport. a reefer (again.. in my opinion) is nothing but a headache. i love my dry van work. after i get my doors replaced i can not see why i'd need to make a insurance clame.

what i ment was, you can call up thermo king for a matiance contract. they'll remind you when your trailer is up for all its pm's. if there is a problem you call tk and bring it in. kinda like ryder/penskee. also i hear that a reefer 10+ years of age is its weight + some because of something with the walls from always changing temp.

if it was your trailer and failed you are responsable for it. most times it'll go though insurance depending on how much the loss was (kinda like car insurance with the deductable). i was talking today with my dad if we could find one cheap enough at a local auction to have. hell.. with the hurricane and stuff it could have came in handy. i also do a LOT of nursery stock. always getting calls from brokers and what not asking if we have a reefer.

what i do not like about refer loads is the unloading schedual. could be 2am could be 8p. i'm starting to think i'm getting spoiled with my dry van. now what i do not know, who pays the lumpers and what not. i haevnt touched a real reefer load in over 5 years. even then i was just a driver.

you can run dry freight in a reefer. however, a buddy of mine was telling me a few places he's been to refused his trailer for: condensation on the walls/roof/floor, the duct floor and the trailers weight.

i could be wrong but its the way i look at the whole reefer world.

[UltraSeven]

Hi folks.

I really appreciate your replies regarding Reefer. I was a company driver and I guess I was spoiled by running Drop and Hook
load mostly. I really didn't care were I went so long as it wasn't NY. 53' trailers in New York makes me cringe.... I've been to 47 states and didn't really have too much problem with any of them. I've done some pretty tight docking (Paper pulp to paper mills over a river or same material to a paper mill where you have to BACK the truck down a hill so steep, you couldn't run up if you tried and I'm in good shape. In Oregon) Anyway. I heard some of the loads had taddle tales in them where the shipper/receiver can tell if the temp is above what it should be. If it's too warm, the load gets refused. This is something I didn't think about. If that happens, what happens to the load if they refuse it???

Also, if a load of frozen food requires 20 degrees for example, can you keep the load colder with out a problem or does the
shipper specifically want it to be at a certain temp..

I could see liking to run dry van and not Reefer. I've never run Reefer so, I wonder if it's worth the headache??

Team drop and hook dry van as a company drivers was really easy. Waiting for customers for the most part wasn't too bad. We were always on time for pickup and delivery unless we were stuck in snow or had a break down. I think I was stuck in snow 1 time, and had 3 flat tires, 1 coolant leak and that's it in 1.5 years.

[chris1]

Not all the places you PU/DL are easy,more so with produce.
Whether you own the trailer or not,the truck is still held liable for temp damage.(Unless the company told you to go the way it is)
Insurance doesn't cover temp issues unless every effort was made to correct them.(not wanting to pay a after hours call-out will void reefer breakdown)
Whether you have a service contract or not doesn't get you in or out faster. A loaded trailer has priority at TK/Carrier.
The older the trailer the heavier it will get from collecting moisture in the insulation.
You need to run at the temp required by either the shipper or the receiver. A 20 degree load ran at 10 may crystalize the product and ruin it.

[grannygoose]

We ran reefer for 6 years (now run van). With the temp recorders the receiver can see what the temp was the whole trip. If there is a variance of over 8 degrees they will reject the load. They can reject the load for many reasons. We had one load of celery rejected because it was Poofy. The company we worked for at that time didn't get charged for it but had to deal with it. When a load is rejected for whatever reason you have to deal with it.

The company ran only teams on produce (Ca- East coast) this was because of time restrictions and when a reefer throws a code it is panic mode. Get it fix NOW. If you are sleeping and the reefer goes down you will lose the load. With a team there is always someone watching the lights. It's been 8 months and I still look for those lights.

Produce is kept at 34-36 degrees and frozen at -20 to -10. If it gets any warmer the boxes in the middle of your trailer will thaw. If frozen gets below 0 it will be rejected. With those you usually have to find the nearest dump.

And ice cream has to be ran on specific routs because it explodes at higher elevations.

[Mackman]

What do you mean by find the nearest dump?? Like a landfill?? Who un-loads it there?? What do you do when the load is no good?? Where do you take it?? Unless reefer is paying 4/mile sounds like i wouldnt want to mess with it.