There are more than 44,000 semi-trucks on the highways in the United States daily. Every one of them is transporting goods or returning from a delivery. Nearly every item in your home probably spent some time in a trailer. Temperature-sensitive items like produce, other foods, make-up, medications, chemicals, and other things, were transported in a refrigerated trailer or otherwise known as a reefer trailer.
Some History
Ice-cream transporters started using reefer trailers around 1925, but they were nothing like what is used today. In 1939 Fred Jones introduced the original portable air cooling unit. Then, technology figured out how to use them in insulated trailers.
Why Bother With A Reefer Trailer?
If you were looking for a new reefer trailer for sale, it can be used for any load, but because of the reefer unit and insulation, space will be somewhat smaller. Fresh and safe delivery of products will always be in demand no matter what is going on with the economy. There is always a high demand for reefer trailers and they bring in the most money per load.
The Importance between The Points
Point A will start with wherever a reefer takes on its load. Point B could be a loading dock across town or across the country, an airport, or a train or shipping dock. The transfer of refrigerated loads is called the Cold Chain. Reefers are the foundation of this chain and delivering their products in the agreement of the laws and food safety requirements by the FDA is very important to them. Their equipment and their responsibilities for the care of their loads are their livelihoods.
Accountability For Transportation
A temperature data logger or temperature monitor is important for accountability and safety. It can be accessed, studied, and assessed after it has been recorded. In a cold chain, it provides documentation for the operator’s load that will stay with the load until the end of its journey. The data can help determine at what point in the chain of a load there may have been a temperature-related problem. All the driver needs to be concerned with is their link in the chain. The monitor can provide the driver with an alarm if there is a concern with the temperature so that the problem can possibly be corrected before the load is lost or compromised. A temperature data logger is a necessity.
Diesel-Powered Refrigeration Units
At the front of a reefer trailer, there is at least one diesel-powered refrigeration unit. The temperature can be set for each loads’ needs. There are different ways to deliver the refrigeration, but this is the most commonly used with reefer trailers. These units may be the most important aspect of a reefer trailer and the important thing to keep up with and know is the expected number of hours it can be used. A reliable expectation of how many hours to expect to get out of the diesel-powered refrigeration unit is given when the unit is first purchased. Once those hours have elapsed, you will have to expect either having to get maintenance or replacing it. This is a very good reason for having more than one unit. If one experiences trouble, the extra unit can simply be switched on. Having one unit puts your load at risk.
Getting sensitive goods from point A to point B safely very much relies on a good reefer trailer. Now you will know some of the things to be on the look-out for.
