High or low temperature recorded for reefer load on recorder

so within 2 weeks you did two runs from ca to nj, pa and back ? edit your post. fmcsa is monitoring this forum.

 

The grape/cabbage issue seems expected and within tolerances if they were loaded "hot"

The first grape issue says to me you may have an issue with the unit either not cooling evenly front to back possibly due to various ducting issues that could be going on, or box temp probe out of calibration or output air temp probe out of calibration.

 

As STxan said temperature in trailer not even from front to back. Front is always hotter so reefer trying to cool and rear is frozen.
You can use thermometer to Multi-Sensor Thermometer with 3 Temperature Sensors the temperature in trailer during transit.
Put sensors front middle and rear.

 

1) Are your air handling chutes properly connected to the unit and the roof of the reefer? The load will not keep the proper temperature if not. The more damage to the chutes, the more likely you are to get produce temperature issues.

2) Did you see where the temperature recorder was placed? You do not want it next to open air on the outside of the main body of the load. Open air changed temperature more rapidly than the spaces between pallets.

3) If the cases are shrink wrapped, make sure the recorder is inside the shrink wrapping - it's not much difference, but, again, protecting the recorder from the air moving in the reefer can make a small difference, which might be significant.

4) Did you pulp/inspect the produce as it was loaded? If it's significantly off-temperature when loaded, you need to call your company and let them know immediately, and note the temperature on the BOL's before you sign. Be nice about it. No cursing, grumbling, whatever, but if you are loading a product that's already off-spec for temperature, you're setting yourself up for failure. (This is for loading precooled produce - if you're picking up right out of the fields, or from a facility that does not refrigerate, then you need to look (and smell) for other potential issues.

5) After the first temp-controlled issue, did you take the reefer to someone to have it serviced and have the electronic logs read for potential issues? As a company driver, paying for this shouldn't be on you, but trying to get your equipment into service to make sure it is operating properly is part of your job. That first load would have had me calling dispatch immediately to find out where the nearest reefer service place was that I could drag my trailer to - both for the electronic logs that might show that the receiver was ############ you, and for a physical inspection.

6) Your company almost certainly can penalize you for bad loads. They should have insurance for such things, but I would be shocked if you did not sign something during orientation agreeing to be responsible for some of the costs involved in lost loads if you could have reasonably prevented the load from being lost.

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I am going to say this last part very carefully, because I do not know who you work for. Who told you about the problems with the load temperatures? Was it the receivers, or your company? Did you get the load status in writing on the BOL's? Does it indicate OSD? It is not unknown for various individuals in the trucking industry to *gasp* lie about load rejections and OSD in order to claw back driver pay.

I am **NOT** suggesting you challenge your company about this without being **VERY** sure, because that could lead to all sorts of nastiness. But if it **IS** happening, and you should be able to figure that out if you really watch your loads closely, then a new employer is in order.

Again, I cannot stress enough that you have to be careful about how you address this if you do suspect that your company is screwing you. Being too aggressive and threatening physical harm to someone, or just being exceptionally potty-mouthed, while you are being recorded on the phone or while you are writing a message or email could lead to you finding it very difficult to find a decent job anywhere.

If a company is screwing you over, they are likely going to be experienced at doing so with other drivers, and will know how to protect themselves legally from you. Simply moving on if the losses are non-crippling may be the safest choice for your career. As an individual, in most cases, you can likely hurt a dishonest company more in the grapevine than in court. If it comes to that, spread the word to ex-co-workers and through forums about what was done and how (after you figure out how they are screwing you over, and have at least some evidence you can show that something fishy was going on) and other drivers will be looking for it, making it much harder for the shady company to fool them.

That's my take on the situation, anyway, but I'm looking at this from the outside, with very little data. I reserve the right to dramatically alter my thoughts on the matter if I learn more about it.

Edited to clean up the post.

 

Great post ^^