How To Buy Used Reefer Van

Actually I have seen them, and they're not insulated. Take a close look at the door, and think of what a reefer inspection door looks like. That would be an enormous heat sink into the interior of a reefer.

So you're gonna buy a rather expensive reefer trailer that is more or less incapable of pulling seriously cold loads??
 
Actually I have seen them, and they're not insulated. Take a close look at the door, and think of what a reefer inspection door looks like. That would be an enormous heat sink into the interior of a reefer.

So you're gonna buy a rather expensive reefer trailer that is more or less incapable of pulling seriously cold loads??
The ones I've seen on reefers are insulated but are the same thing.

Are we still arguing over whether some produce loads need vented, or are we arguing about whether those things are vents or strictly for inspection?

Has it occurred to you that something could serve more than one purpose? :rolleyes:

Is antifreeze intended to keep your coolant from freezing in cold weather, or is it for raising the boiling point of the water?

It can't possibly be both, right? o_O
 
To tell ya th' truth, I don't really recall. Wasn't it somethin' about puttin' Doors on melons to git to th' other side? Or were we gonna inspect that LA Woman?

Danged Alzheimer's!
 
To tell ya th' truth, I don't really recall. Wasn't it somethin' about puttin' Doors on melons to git to th' other side? Or were we gonna inspect that LA Woman?

Danged Alzheimer's!
No.

It was American Woman.

Nobody mentioned Louisiana. :mad:

 
We have these insulated vent doors front and rear on all reefer trailers, there are certain produce, that doesn't need the cooling system to run, naturally depending on the outside temperature, you can't do inspections through these doors, since right behind the door, there's a very fine masked net. Last time I recall using these doors, was when transporting potted plants.

vent doors 3.jpg
 
That esplains aLOT!

:stirpot:

Still, you walk into Utility Trailer and order a Reefer Trailer with VENTS, you're getting a batch of big holes in the side of the trailer... along with a batch of people lookin' atcha like you have four heads!
My reefer has the inspection door it also has an auto fresh door on the unit. I've seen doors on the front of vans as well. As to reefers with wood floors, in fact the aluminum floor in a reefer is the paving over an oak underlay. It is the oak that distributes the weight amongst the cross frames. Cracks and holes or warping of the aluminum floor indicates the oak is in a state of decay. My reefer is a 97 and the wood is still strong but the insulation is not very good. Even with thus dinosaur i'v not Been reluctant delivering frozen food until the weather gets above 90 degrees. It's very important that the unit be well maintained. The newer units have horse power limitations set by CARB so if it has a young reefer make sure the insulation is in good shape.
 
I've seen doors on the front of vans as well.
Vent doors. Some loads are okay to haul in dry vans as long as there are vents. Nursery stock and melons come to mind. Hauled some of that when I was running with that little mom n pop outfit. Melons paid good coming out of Florida during harvest. Nursery stock from Oregon to the NorthEast, same thing. But they both required vents on dry vans.
 
My reefer has the inspection door it also has an auto fresh door on the unit. I've seen doors on the front of vans as well. As to reefers with wood floors, in fact the aluminum floor in a reefer is the paving over an oak underlay. It is the oak that distributes the weight amongst the cross frames. Cracks and holes or warping of the aluminum floor indicates the oak is in a state of decay. My reefer is a 97 and the wood is still strong but the insulation is not very good. Even with thus dinosaur i'v not Been reluctant delivering frozen food until the weather gets above 90 degrees. It's very important that the unit be well maintained. The newer units have horse power limitations set by CARB so if it has a young reefer make sure the insulation is in good shape.
Oak underlay? Do you pull your wagon with an oxen team or mules??

Not on the trailers I've pulled recently, of course they were manufactured in the 21st century, not the 19th.
 
Oak underlay? Do you pull your wagon with an oxen team or mules??

Not on the trailers I've pulled recently, of course they were manufactured in the 21st century, not the 19th.
As everybody knows, I have issues with keeping up with all this new-fangled wizardry. I will say, unless you've had a tire explode and rip out the floor, I don't know how you would know by looking if you have a wood floor or not on your reefer. The wood is completely out of sight and sealed off. And 1997 is hardly antiquity. I doubt much has improved in materials I innovation since then. Wood is natures carbon fiber. It is made of carbon chains. It has oriented hollow tubes bonded with a carbon based resin. It has tension and compression strength in the direction of the grain that makes concrete look like a pansy. It is 100% renewable, it is weather resistant. When it is passed its use, it goes back into the ground to make new trees. One of the longest serving ships in the US navy is made of wood. Commissioned by president George Washington, the USS Constitution still floats and can sail, although it has too much historical prestige to be subjected to actual passagmaking.
 
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As everybody knows, I have issues with keeping up with all this new-fangled wizardry. I will say, unless you've had a tire explode and rip out the floor, I don't know how you would know by looking if you have a wood floor or not on your reefer.

I've seen them being rebuilt. No wood, just aluminum wizardry.
 

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