Hello Recruiters, can any of you tell me how well refer straight trucks do in your company? I am ordering one now with a refer and possibly a lift gate. I know some companies require you to haul the min of 13k lbs, others do not. I would like some feed back on earning potential, versus a regular straight truck with no extra's. The box and refer new are a big investment and I would like to know if you think it is a good investment? How much better would it be with a liftgate also? Thank you in advance.
Straight Truck with Reefer/lift gate opinions plz.
- Thread starter Prarysun
- Start date
RE: Straight Truck with Reefer/lift gate opinions
Exp10yrs;
A reefer and liftgate are crucial if leasing onto a specialty type expedite service, such as "White Glove" with Fed-Ex CC. I do believe that Panther also has a "special-haul" division. Come on Fed-Ex CC and Panther recruiters, need a little help on this one.
As far as "normal" (if anything can be considered "normal" in expediting) expedite carriers are concerned, most of our freight is typical "dry" van freight, only time sensitive.
I'm really unsure how many loads, even if leased to Fed-Ex, really require either the lift gate or reefer unit. Both are quite an expense, and decrease your load carrying capacity.
Wish I could help more,
Thanks,
HotFr8Recruiter
Exp10yrs;
A reefer and liftgate are crucial if leasing onto a specialty type expedite service, such as "White Glove" with Fed-Ex CC. I do believe that Panther also has a "special-haul" division. Come on Fed-Ex CC and Panther recruiters, need a little help on this one.
As far as "normal" (if anything can be considered "normal" in expediting) expedite carriers are concerned, most of our freight is typical "dry" van freight, only time sensitive.
I'm really unsure how many loads, even if leased to Fed-Ex, really require either the lift gate or reefer unit. Both are quite an expense, and decrease your load carrying capacity.
Wish I could help more,
Thanks,
HotFr8Recruiter
RE: Straight Truck with Reefer/lift gate opinions
I can't speak about what goes on with other carriers, but with FedEx reefer loads, lift gates are often used to get the temperature-controlled freight on and off the truck.
Computer servers and other electronic components that are kept at room temperature in the truck are often picked up and delivered in office buildings and loaded in and out of the truck on the sidewalk or street. Another example is frozen pizza dough delivered through a street-level overhead door at a Manhattan movie studio, where it was used in making a pizza TV commercial. Yet another example is the cheese we once hauled to be displayed at a business meeting in a hotel. That was temperature-controlled, liftgated onto the street and wheeled inside.
It may vary from carrier to carrier, but with FedEx, if you had a reefer with no lift gate, you'd significantly reduce the number of reefer loads you could haul.
I can't speak about what goes on with other carriers, but with FedEx reefer loads, lift gates are often used to get the temperature-controlled freight on and off the truck.
Computer servers and other electronic components that are kept at room temperature in the truck are often picked up and delivered in office buildings and loaded in and out of the truck on the sidewalk or street. Another example is frozen pizza dough delivered through a street-level overhead door at a Manhattan movie studio, where it was used in making a pizza TV commercial. Yet another example is the cheese we once hauled to be displayed at a business meeting in a hotel. That was temperature-controlled, liftgated onto the street and wheeled inside.
It may vary from carrier to carrier, but with FedEx, if you had a reefer with no lift gate, you'd significantly reduce the number of reefer loads you could haul.
RE: Straight Truck with Reefer/lift gate opinions
Thanks all for your posts....We are going with the lift-gate, and will probably try special services with one company first and see how we do. They all pay differently and we've heard anywhere from 160k+ up to well over 200k per yr gross. I feel we need to be closer to the 200k side to make it all worth our while....we'll see....thanks again:*
Thanks all for your posts....We are going with the lift-gate, and will probably try special services with one company first and see how we do. They all pay differently and we've heard anywhere from 160k+ up to well over 200k per yr gross. I feel we need to be closer to the 200k side to make it all worth our while....we'll see....thanks again:*
darkunicorn
Seasoned Expediter
RE: Straight Truck with Reefer/lift gate opinions
If I’d known ahead of time Con-Way was going to be no more I’d gone with refer and a lift gate my self even if it meant adding a drop axel the pay off would have been worth it I think. Let me know how it works out no wait maybe I don’t wanna know LOL.
Alvin
If I’d known ahead of time Con-Way was going to be no more I’d gone with refer and a lift gate my self even if it meant adding a drop axel the pay off would have been worth it I think. Let me know how it works out no wait maybe I don’t wanna know LOL.
Alvin
aquawarrior7
Expert Expediter
RE: Straight Truck with Reefer/lift gate opinions
My suggestion is if you are getting a reefer box to make sure you get a good sized one. We didnt do as much research as we should have and thought a box was just a box and pallets are just pallets.
Therefore the capacity of our box is 92 inches wide and a lot of pallets are 48x48 wich means they cant be side by side because of 4 inches.
The length of the inside of ours is 20 ft with a foot taken up by all the stuff that we have to carry (blankets pads straps bars dolly wada wada) So on some loads in our d unit type truck we can only carry 6 skids. And getting dispatchers to ask for the dimensions of freight grrr. We have been to to many that we couldnt take because of that so either they werent asked, no one cared or they lied to try to get a cheaper rate or thought it would be funny or just not matter.
IT MATTERS.
So next truck at least 96 in wide and either a real C-unit size or 24 ft cause this in between is not cool.
And I agree about the reefer and liftgate together. We hauled a fun load that was supposed to be on TV. Guiness book of records as the tallest building made by chocolate. We used a dock at Chicago then took it to FAO swartz in NYC by central park and liftgated it ever so carefully out then took it back after they were done filming. That was actually a UPSEXPEDITE load and was fun and nice to deal with their dispacthers. I was happy with the exp.
My suggestion is if you are getting a reefer box to make sure you get a good sized one. We didnt do as much research as we should have and thought a box was just a box and pallets are just pallets.
Therefore the capacity of our box is 92 inches wide and a lot of pallets are 48x48 wich means they cant be side by side because of 4 inches.
The length of the inside of ours is 20 ft with a foot taken up by all the stuff that we have to carry (blankets pads straps bars dolly wada wada) So on some loads in our d unit type truck we can only carry 6 skids. And getting dispatchers to ask for the dimensions of freight grrr. We have been to to many that we couldnt take because of that so either they werent asked, no one cared or they lied to try to get a cheaper rate or thought it would be funny or just not matter.
IT MATTERS.
So next truck at least 96 in wide and either a real C-unit size or 24 ft cause this in between is not cool.
And I agree about the reefer and liftgate together. We hauled a fun load that was supposed to be on TV. Guiness book of records as the tallest building made by chocolate. We used a dock at Chicago then took it to FAO swartz in NYC by central park and liftgated it ever so carefully out then took it back after they were done filming. That was actually a UPSEXPEDITE load and was fun and nice to deal with their dispacthers. I was happy with the exp.
RE: Straight Truck with Reefer/lift gate opinions
Another thing you need to know is...having a liftgate can be both a blessing and a curse. Not all liftgate loads are temp controlled. Many are large Dewars (gas filled large containers on wheels used in MRI machines) which can weigh as much as 800lbs each. and gas cylinder bottles to be delivered to hospitals, usually from the basement dock up a few floors to the MRI room. Large computer servers (most on wheels) which will need to be stabilized to keep from rolling off the liftgate while in use, as well as being prepared to deliver inside the building to the computer room. Not always an easy thing to do. Sometimes with extra labor i.e. uncrating and removing debris. Not to discourage you from the investment just informing you of the whole story. Best of luck to you.
Another thing you need to know is...having a liftgate can be both a blessing and a curse. Not all liftgate loads are temp controlled. Many are large Dewars (gas filled large containers on wheels used in MRI machines) which can weigh as much as 800lbs each. and gas cylinder bottles to be delivered to hospitals, usually from the basement dock up a few floors to the MRI room. Large computer servers (most on wheels) which will need to be stabilized to keep from rolling off the liftgate while in use, as well as being prepared to deliver inside the building to the computer room. Not always an easy thing to do. Sometimes with extra labor i.e. uncrating and removing debris. Not to discourage you from the investment just informing you of the whole story. Best of luck to you.
RE: Straight Truck with Reefer/lift gate opinions
Regarding inside reefer body width, by law, the outside of the body can be a maximum of 102 inches (8.5 feet). If your insulated side walls are four inches thick, for a total of 8 inches: 102 - 8 = 94 inches interior width. Three-inch walls gives you 96 inches interior width. Two-inch walls gives you 98 inches.
Thus, the thinner the walls the greater the interior width. But the trade off is, the thinner the walls, the more robust your reefer will need to be to maintain temperatures.
It is very important to understand that a reefer body loses efficiency over time. Insulation degrades with age. A reefer body that meets a certain standard today may not years later. If you plan to keep a reefer truck for a long time, it is wise to over-spec the reefer body and reefer.
Regarding inside reefer body width, by law, the outside of the body can be a maximum of 102 inches (8.5 feet). If your insulated side walls are four inches thick, for a total of 8 inches: 102 - 8 = 94 inches interior width. Three-inch walls gives you 96 inches interior width. Two-inch walls gives you 98 inches.
Thus, the thinner the walls the greater the interior width. But the trade off is, the thinner the walls, the more robust your reefer will need to be to maintain temperatures.
It is very important to understand that a reefer body loses efficiency over time. Insulation degrades with age. A reefer body that meets a certain standard today may not years later. If you plan to keep a reefer truck for a long time, it is wise to over-spec the reefer body and reefer.