Reefer Truck

Reefer Trucks, a Refrigerator on Wheels

The Reefer as it is commonly known, takes on many shapes and sizes, but all serve one common purpose.  Keep cold stuff cold while it’s being transported from point “a” to point “b”.  In order to be referred to as a “reefer” usually the truck or van  has to weigh in at a ton or better.  The van body is well insulated and maintains it’s cold interior temperatures by means of diesel powered generators and liquid carbon dioxide (co2). Reefer’s can vary from the simple ice cream delivery truck to the long distance tractor trailer units.

Industries that commonly make use of reefers include: meat and poultry processors, food service companies, dairy services and supermarket chains.  Smaller, local deliveries are often made with refrigerated trucks, that use either ice, dry ice, or small air conditioner units as a cooling agent.  Common uses of these types of refrigerator trucks are by florists, frozen food delivery companies, restaurants, and grocery delivery services to name but a few.

In recent years reefers have come under the scrutiny of clean air authorities in many states, especially in California.  The diesel powered refrigeration units have come under fire for emitting air pollution while standing still or parked.  Most states have laws on the books that require truck engines to be shut off while parked at large grocery distribution centers, rather than to remain idling.  The focus has now shifted to include the reefer truck, whose refrigeration systems depend on their diesel powered generators to maintain their desired temperatures.

Portable electric standby power units are now being offered as a solution, however fleet managers who operate the trucks complain that the electric motors that would be required on the trucks are too heavy, not to mention expensive.  The related retrofit equipment can add a couple of hundred pounds of weight, and generates an additional 10% of the cost of a reefer.  

Although “plug in’s” in Europe are pretty much standard at freight terminals and distribution centers, this is not true in the United States, and so the reefer ‘plug-in” debate rages on.