Roll up door with reefer
- Thread starter denny2010
- Start date
It has been a while but when I had mine made Morgan told me that roll up doors had a hard time holding the extreme temps that TVAL requires. IF a truck was being built for just normal Pharma temps they would be fine.
zorry
Veteran Expediter
We put a rollup door on. The customers love it.
They cut or install the seal from the dock. The door stays shut until the pallets are ready.
I have even had a customer open and shut door between pallets. This week a cust lowered door while I did securement.
Two very high end C's I know run rollup doors.
My guess is it'll be okay if we maintain the doors and seals.
Also,it will always be better than those swing doors that take the occaisional bump while open.
Once stabilized our probes are often within 1/2 of a degree spread.
Frozen loads have not been a problem. Equipment is only 6 months old and we put a top mount 950 on the box.
They cut or install the seal from the dock. The door stays shut until the pallets are ready.
I have even had a customer open and shut door between pallets. This week a cust lowered door while I did securement.
Two very high end C's I know run rollup doors.
My guess is it'll be okay if we maintain the doors and seals.
Also,it will always be better than those swing doors that take the occaisional bump while open.
Once stabilized our probes are often within 1/2 of a degree spread.
Frozen loads have not been a problem. Equipment is only 6 months old and we put a top mount 950 on the box.
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How much insulation in your doors? The first truck I drove was TVAL with a roll up. I liked it but back then you could use a 'skinny bun' to make up for the door. I did see frost around each joint on the door when running extreme cold. My doors have 4" of insulation. My box is specked to do -20C at +125F with a Carrier 844. IF I replace my reefer for CA I am switching to a 950.
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zorry
Veteran Expediter
How much insulation ? Enough.
I'll have to look at spec's.
After doing swing and rollups I wouldn't even consider swing doors again.
Much less stressful in narrow docks or through dock doorways.
We loaded 6 pallets near Atl last week. The girl said "you'll be back in temp in 45 minutes ?"
I said "No,probably 15." I printed the tape 9 minutes later and called her to come out and get it.
No frost at door joints. Already learning about door maint for when the time comes.
Nice thing about Kidron. Any repair shop is qualified to do warranty work.
Shop calls Kidron,gets authorization and does repair.
I'll have to look at spec's.
After doing swing and rollups I wouldn't even consider swing doors again.
Much less stressful in narrow docks or through dock doorways.
We loaded 6 pallets near Atl last week. The girl said "you'll be back in temp in 45 minutes ?"
I said "No,probably 15." I printed the tape 9 minutes later and called her to come out and get it.
No frost at door joints. Already learning about door maint for when the time comes.
Nice thing about Kidron. Any repair shop is qualified to do warranty work.
Shop calls Kidron,gets authorization and does repair.
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I prefer roll ups but when I had mine box built FDCC STRONGLY suggested that I get barn doors. Back then they claimed they had too many service failures with roll ups and that they tended not to last as long as barn doors. It is a REAL pain with my doors in tight docks. Mine are worse with the extra inch of insulation.
zorry
Veteran Expediter
We have a Whiting 2" Coldsaver with SS ext panels.
We have 4" insulation everywhere else.
I had almost no imput from Fedex. I seldom talk to anyone except to take loads.
I was told they'd like to get away from bellymounts. And they would not allow Kidron to install my decals.
That's about all the input I got. About all I asked for.
We have 4" insulation everywhere else.
I had almost no imput from Fedex. I seldom talk to anyone except to take loads.
I was told they'd like to get away from bellymounts. And they would not allow Kidron to install my decals.
That's about all the input I got. About all I asked for.
IF I change that is my goal, the 950. My box is already 3+ years old and the older it gets the less the insulation works. That is why I went to 4", to extend the useful life. The 950 would help that. More guts. That will help overcome aging insulation.
No bulkheads allowed by FDCC on TVAL loads. Not sure about the curtains.
zorry
Veteran Expediter
Carrier in Fort Wayne.
Curtains are probably prohibited.
Customers are getting pretty pacticular about what may be in your box that could contaminate their product.
Our accessories have been inspected a few times.
No problems. We only keep what is needed in box and we keep it all clean.
Curtains are probably prohibited.
Customers are getting pretty pacticular about what may be in your box that could contaminate their product.
Our accessories have been inspected a few times.
No problems. We only keep what is needed in box and we keep it all clean.
that's true on the bulkheads, I've seen a couple of barn door D units with curtains.
The drive said it helps when we have the doors open and back in the dock
zorry
Veteran Expediter
I would think the curtains would be subject to mold and mildew.
Maybe they don't get put away wet.
We did have a load where the notes said to leave the reefer running while loading.
I was going to ask if I could skip that bacause of rollup door.
I was relieved when loader said they now understand why that is wrong. They had us turn off the reefer .
Maybe they don't get put away wet.
We did have a load where the notes said to leave the reefer running while loading.
I was going to ask if I could skip that bacause of rollup door.
I was relieved when loader said they now understand why that is wrong. They had us turn off the reefer .
What type of freight are you guys carrying that is so sensitive? (honest question, I have no clue about this)
I would think that insulation would be key in determining roll-up door performance on a reefer truck. A well insulated door would perform better than a poorly insulated one.
For the reasons Zorry states, roll-up doors are the way to go.
Diane and I were once on a run from New York to Washington state with a DR-unit with barn doors. After loading, we were quickly back to temp. We waited a long time for the DR-unit to get back to temp. The barn doors had to be opened before bumping the dock and the shipper was slow to load. All the precondition the DR-unit did before arrival was wasted and the freight was loaded into a warm truck body. We bumped the dock with the door closed and opened it just seconds before the freight was loaded. We often close the door behind us when securing reefer freight to preserve temperature. It takes no time at all to get back to temp and the customer's freight is better protected.
With that DR-unit, we ran at the same temp along the same route. Just before the delivery, we parked our trucks side by side and I was able to shoot both doors with our infrared thermometer. The exterior temp of both doors was the same anywhere I shot the painted surfaces (top, bottom, middle, corners, etc.). The temp was also the same anywhere I shot the metal surfaces (hinges on the barn door, frame on the roll-up). The roll-up frame exposes more metal to the outsdie but both trucks held temp just fine. We ordered a high quality door with our truck build.
Once in a while, actually just twice in six years, when the set point is -10 Fahrenheit and we are running cross country on hot, humid days, the roll up door will freeze shut on the inside (no frost on the outside is visible). A single football-style shoulder block on the door loosens it up.
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