Dry Van, Reefer,Advantages And Disadvantages

As you know, I pull dry van. Our trucks are well insulted from outside noise. You hear, just slightly muffled. I get plenty of miles. We have to sweep out empty trailers. We do not keep a trailer very long before you drop it somewhere. To me this is the easiest job I have ever had. I bumped a dock on the 2nd and will bump one in the morning on the 9th. The loads in between have been drop/hooks. I love the company, the money and the road.

Flat bed guys are crazy.

You'll get no argument from me on that.

I dont notice my APU nor reefer. BUT...i had one that shut off every 2hours, and like a mother with a newborn, i jumped out of bed to go put it back on.

Honestly, there isnt much to it. Flip the switch and set it when you get the load...the bills tell you the temp and drive. As far as maintenance, my company does a superb job of that. in 3 years i have had 2 trailers that needed any kind if special repair at a Carrier dealer and both were dropped there. A few others i just ran into a terminal and it was fixed by the end of my break. no.biggie. Prime will send us to a customer ti bring the teaiker into the terminal if it knows there are issues. as for sitting in the docks...well i get detention pay for that. so i sleep and get paid and rest up for my run.

Terminal:

A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.

Reefer:

A refrigerated trailer.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

On a windy day, if I am pulling an empty, make it a reefer. I pulled reefer with Swift, and I pull both, at Hummer. I prefer reefer. For some reason, it's probably just in my head, but it seems that a reefer pulls smoother.

On a windy day, if I am pulling an empty, make it a reefer. I pulled reefer with Swift, and I pull both, at Hummer. I prefer reefer. For some reason, it's probably just in my head, but it seems that a reefer pulls smoother.

It makes sense though. The additional weight pushing on the drive tires limits the bounce back from bumps and such

I have pulled both a bunch and I think reefer trailers just pull better than dry vans period. I don't know why....I'm not so sure it's just the reefer weight on the drives, because I find dry vans to bounce around more and drift around more even loaded similarly. But if empty - no question, the reefer is easier to drag around.

On a windy day, if I am pulling an empty, make it a reefer. I pulled reefer with Swift, and I pull both, at Hummer. I prefer reefer. For some reason, it's probably just in my head, but it seems that a reefer pulls smoother.

Interesting thought on reefers. I too pull both. Sometimes a reefer in the morning and a dry van in the afternoon. Variety...

I absolutely agree an empty reefer handles way better than an empty dry van, especially on wet or snow covered roads. It’s all about the weight. But where is the extra weight? Definitely the nose because of the reefer unit itself...but what about the floor? Look at the floor of a reefer, it’s fluted, and thicker than a dry van, thus heavier and at the lowest point on the trailer.

My guess...when loaded a reefer is tighter; doesn’t flex and twist as much perhaps because of beefier construction of the floor, sides and also the door frame. All “beefier”.

I do agree, I think overall they handle slightly better.

Driving for a company that does both, I've pulled both, and I much prefer reefer. As others have mentioned, reefer trailers ride smoother, so there's that. Also (and these are pure nit picking), dry vans seem to rust out and "rot" faster. By rot I mean that nasty black mildewy corroded nastiness around the hinges where they're bolted to the doors, and where the paint on the doors is starting to chip and crack. And I don't like the way the walls of a dry van wibble and flex going down the road. It makes me nervous, because it looks like there either is or is about to be a problem with the structural integrity of the box, and one slight twitch is going to send a pallet flying through the side like it was made of rice paper.

Oh, one more bonus to reefer: extra rewards points. You get points for reefer fuel too. That extra 15 or 20 points every day or two adds up.