Checking and tracking of temperature in trailer

Thee sell wireless thermometers think about getting one of them. I personally only hauled a few reefer loads and just let the trailer do everything

 

The display will show the set point and the 'return air' temperature (this is the temp of air returning from the trailer). You have to make sure your chute is in good repair, otherwise the air might not be making a full trip in your trailer and heating up the end and freezing the nose.

 

If you have a rear vent door you can check a temp there with a small thermometer.
Open the door, if there is not seal on it, insert the thermo, close the door for a few minutes. Then check the temp.

Other wise just rely on the temps shown on the refr.

Mikeeee

 

defrost the unit atleast once a day in hot weather can get a false reading.

 

You can also get a readout that goes above the light outside to show the driver all is well.

 

Today's units are pretty smart with monitoring the units performance with all the sensors. You can feel pretty safe if you have that green or white light back there. When the yellow alarm light comes on you better be finding out what's going on quickly and see what codes are stored. Many units have the codes listed inside the unit's door if the screen don't tell you. It might be a simple fix and you clear the codes and you closely monitor if it returns. If not you better be getting a hold of dispatch and finding a ThermoKing, Carrier or some TA's work on them.

There are many factors that come into play. What are you hauling? Where are you hauling? What is the outside temperature? Is the sun shining on the box or is it cloudy or dark outside?

When you are hauling deep frozen items and the reefer is screaming all day it's a good idea to keep up with the defrost cycle. Better yet run on cycle for deep frozen will help defrosting. Humid states tend to freeze up more. The drain tube on the passenger side can easily get clogged up with debris. Make sure it's clean and dripping. Many times if it's clogged it's right there at the bottom and you can stick a screw driver or stick in there and clean it out.

Produce is what you need to keep a close eye on. 2 degrees can make or break you. But remember there is a lot of product back there and pulp temperatures take hours to change. I've loaded warm fresh harvested before and it take 2 days to get the pulp down to temp. You might see your screen vary up to 10 degrees but don't let that alarm you. It's probably in defrost cycle. Just make sure it comes out of defrost and starts cooling again. As soon as it does you'll see the screen drop quickly. Keep in mind outside temperature extremes. Let's say bananas at 60 degrees. If it's super cold out you want to compensate and run at 62 degrees. 30 degrees out you might run 61 degrees to hold a 60 pulp. Just the opposite in summer heat you might run 58. You get the idea. Night time in the summer I usually run the normal temp because the outside temp drops and the sun isn't baking your box. But when you have sensitive fruit keep them doors closed as much as possible. You want to keep an eye on it but not over do it. Let the reefer do it's job. The less the doors are open the less temperature variations. It's a controlled environment back there. Do your pulping at dawn and dusk if it's hot out. You run enough of one product you'll get the system down and have trust in what you do.

Ice Cream you want below -10 but that doesn't mean 10 degrees will get you in trouble. I've hauled older units that were lucky to hit 0. It's not until you get up to close to 30 the packages will start developing frost on them and the ice cream crystals will become larger. An experienced person can tell if your ice cream got warm. Many dock personnel don't care. They are focused on getting you unloaded. But be aware of temp recorders. They are rats!

Your main concern is being on time, getting the customer to accept what you brought them and that you have no damages. You do that and you know you are a good reefer hauler. Some things are out of your hands like a sealed trailer with loose boxes. That happens in the meat industry when they throw extra boxes on top of a pallet. Make sure leaning pallets lean forward or lean on the one beside it but never backwards. Especially the last two.

If you have a temperature recorder in the box it will be marked on your bills or they give it to you to put in there. It too reacts like a turtle and is slow to show spikes. You really have to mess up a load with a breakdown to get a load rejected. I've seen drivers not pay attention to what a unit is set on or the wrong temp. That will get you in trouble quick.

You asking I'm sure you won't have any problems. It's not rocket science. Just be aware of your product and how to treat it. If you don't know ask shipping, your dispatcher or even the receiver. After all they are the one that says yes or no. They are the ones you want to make happy. You can even get on here and someone will answer you in a few minutes.

 

As always thanks for the detailed advice Condo!

 

I can't help it!