5 Mistakes to Avoid When Specifying Refrigerated Truck Bodies

Refrigerated trucks serve the same purpose whether the product is poultry, meat, seafood, produce, ice cream, or flowers — to keep the product at the precise temperature that’s acceptable for the recipient. To do otherwise would be disastrous, both to the trucking company and its client.

“If you deliver to a fast-food restaurant, for example, and its signature chicken patties need to be kept at, say, 5-degrees Celsius, and they arrive at the store at 7 degrees Celsius, the manager can reject that load. The result: unhappy customers, wasted products, and extra trips to the warehouse — all of which drive up operational costs.

With so much at stake, how can fleet managers protect their organization’s reputation and bottom line? Avoid making these five mistakes when ordering new refrigerated trucks:

1. Underestimating the impact of insulation on interior dimensions.

“A standard, plywood-lined 7-meter van body might be closer to 7.7m on the inside, but a refrigerated truck might only be 7m, depending on the insulation package, the doors, and other various features of that specific truck. So, if a client is looking for a truck that can accommodate forklift-pallet loading and is looking to be able to load two pallets side-by-side inside the box, you might not make it with a 100mm insulation wall. But, if you reduce the insulation 50mm to accommodate the pallets side-by-side, you might not have enough insulation to keep a product frozen. TRS has tackled this problem by using Thermaxx Advantage this is the only truck body built in Australia that has compliance with EU standards DIN EN 12682

These standards relate to load security and strength of vehicle superstructures giving you confidence that the Thermaxx Advantage body is built tough for Australian conditions.

2. Selecting the wrong type of rear door for the application.

A fleet manager may choose roll-up doors versus hinged doors for ease of use but may not properly consider the loss of insulation value over time with the roll-up doors. This can mean higher operating costs or temperature control problems if the refrigeration unit isn’t properly sized to accommodate the loss of insulation value. An alternative would be to consider hinged doors that will better maintain their insulation performance over time.”

Major considerations on the delivery method should be taken into account, such as multiple stops, diminishing load throughout the day, versus full load/unload delivery when specifying the rear door.

If you’re specifying you want to carry ice cream, but want a roll-up door, let’s consider your operation. If you’re making multiple stops delivering ice cream, a roll-up door would not be suitable because it allows too much cold air to escape, putting excessive stress on the refrigeration unit to keep the product at a proper temperature between stops. But, if you’re hauling ice cream from point A to point B and unloading the whole thing at one time, then a roll-up door could work.

When specifying a tailgate, keep the rear door type in mind as well. If you do a lot of dock loading, you’ll want a tuckaway tailgate. If you spec a Cantilever tailgate, it might not work too well with barn doors, which means you might be stuck with a roll-up rear door.

You can rest assured that the team at TRS are ready to answer all your questions, using the latest computer-aided technology, we can specify any mix of body and doors from our standard range or if you prefer, we can custom build a tailored solution to meet your needs

3. Mismatching chassis specs to the body requirements.

“A critical mistake to avoid is ordering the chassis without verifying frame height at the rear of the truck and not realizing there’s a problem until it arrives at TRS. We then cannot install the body because the box as originally spec’d and built, exceeds the truck’s overall height or length requirements. Also, you may run into issues with the tailgate range, for example, if the chassis is too high, the liftgate might not touch the ground when lowered, making it impossible to roll pallet jacks and food carts on and off the platform.”

Best practice for fleet managers is to work closely with both the chassis manufacturer and our team of professionals at TRS to ensure compatibility with the specs before signing off on the vehicle order.

4. Overlooking the importance of airflow.

Specifying a box with inadequate airflow when loaded can result in uneven cooling and cargo damage. It’s important to specify the body to ensure proper airflow around the product for uniform cooling.

A key to achieving proper airflow is floor selection. How the product is loaded — whether on a pallet, in milk-type crates, or boxes — will dictate the best floor. Consult with our sales team to determine the optimal floor spec for the application.

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5. Under-specifying body and equipment to keep costs down.

“There are several factors that can result in an inappropriate specified refrigerated body, including an emphasis on a lower up-front cost. This can lead to selecting a less-insulated box to save money but will almost certainly result in greater operating and lifecycle costs over the life of the box. At TRS we have found that sweet spot in transport refrigeration with the joining of the Thermaxx and Thermo King products. Not always the cheapest but definitely the longest lasting team in the Australian marketplace. Thermaxx Advantage offers more legal payload, more deliveries, lower fuel bills and lower vehicle maintenance costs.?With features such as recessed load track, recessed stainless steel hardware and multiple side door options. The Thermo King product Better by design means a lower cost of ownership. Superior reliability, less maintenance, greater efficiency and a higher resale value. Since inventing transport temperature control 80 years ago, Thermo King has continued innovating and remains a world leader in the industry. The Advantage is to your bottom line.

The Bottom Line

The key to avoiding these five mistakes, is to continually increase knowledge of the full array of options available for refrigerated trucks and then challenge the fleet’s existing specs.?

The truck buying process should not be a once-a-year event. Instead, gather information all year long. Ask yourself, Has anything changed in our operations since the last time we purchased a refrigerated truck? If so, how should we adjust our specs to accommodate those changes? Has there been new technology developments that impact chassis, body, or refrigeration unit specs that could add value to our fleet operation

This way, when it comes time to make a decision on refrigerated truck specs, you’re informed and have a good knowledge of what’s available and to select what’s most appropriate for the application and your budget.?