Main thing is KEEP Ur Reefer Fuel Level Up,

There trailers & Units are reasonably new, So reliability should be HY, they will most likely show you how to prime the unit in the advent U should run out of Fuel ! 8) :idea: & A set of Jumper Cables is always Helpful to have on Board !

 

I swear trucking companies call me just to confuse me lol, central just called and they are wanting to know when i'm ready to come to slc. Told her to call back in the morning. Dang it, i see them both in my area alot so hometime should not be an issue. I think i need a drink lol

 

The running of the actual reefer itself is no big deal. Jumper cables are a good idea like was said. Use the truck to jump the reefer or the other way around. Last time I was home I left something on and jumped the APU off the reefer then got the truck started after running the APU for a while. I also carry a small fuel can and one of those magic siphons in case I encounter a empty trailer and I'm not near a fuel stop. I'll throw a few gallons or more in it, prime it up and get it running so I can go pick up a load. Sometimes at places we drop loaded trailers at the yard guys are too lazy or something to shut the reefers off when they put the empty trailers out in the yard. Nothing like wasting $200 in fuel for no reason. It doesnt happen that often though. 8) 8)

 

ive ran for central and theres no comparisiion with marten. marten ive got to tell f/m no i dont have hours to run or she would run me 24/7.i do think new fuel book is a joke but thats really only bad thing .been here since feb thank to tk and his post. finally a company were i can make $ and not drive junk except tranny in 387. im thinkin of going general mills dedicated in kalamazoo mi . running to carson ca then 2 tx and back 2 mich thanks again tk

 

it's amazing that mondovi can track a trailer and keep upt to date on the temps
status of the refer on the rail. and then call the rr if theres a problem. Yet they can't track the same trailer in a drop yrd running but mty.
I too have found 4 trailers in the last month in various drop yrds running , not loaded, the drop yards, why can't they check and see for sure if the trailer is mty , when they do thier yrd check. The only ones to do this, is the new drop yrd in Stockton.

 

How are they tracking Trailers ?

I know the trucks are tracked by whats called 'Geo Fencing'

I see no device mounted on my reefer trailer

:?: :?: :?:

 

hey zip not sure how they track but i know that every now and then i would get a message to ck reefer temp and call in from modovi. now i also know they cant track all trailers i have had drivers tell me if i was running low on fuel to turm up the temp till i got to a place to fuel i just cant remember what that driver looked at on that trl i had maybe tk can tell you

 

I'm not sure either what trailers they can track and what ones they don't when they are unhooked from the truck. I don't think they are big on the satellite tracking of the trailers. As long as it's with a truck the driver's going to be keeping an eye on everything. I doubt that they are going to put anything on the rail that needs special attention and is really sensitive, they'll put it with a driver. As long as it's running when they put fuel in at the rail yards that's all they really need. I'm not sure they spend the money on satellite tracking when if something did happen with the reefer on the rail the load is screwed anyway. Who knows how many hours on end it will be before they can get to the trailer. To me it's the same whether they know right away with the satellite or the fuel service company let's them know when their fueling it when the train is stopped. This is just my thinking though, I haven't dealt with the rail much at all, which is just fine by me. On the other hand maybe if the trailers did have their own satellite tracking I wouldn't have to do yard checks all the time.

Changing the temp because of fuel level is probably not a good idea. Most of the reefers have "Cargo Watch". If there was ever a big claims issue they are going to download the data to figure out what happened. If the driver changed the temp in route it's going to show up and now the company can be liable for the load. If you really need reefer fuel or any fuel for that matter just go to any truckstop and send in a fuel macro and buy fuel with a t-chek. If your really in a pinch just go anywhere that has diesel and throw a twenty in to get you by and send in the fuel macro for a po for reimbursement like we do for lumpers and tolls. If I get in a pinch I just whip out my little.........fuel can and siphon and throw some fuel in the trailer. I haven't had much of a problem running out of reefer fuel. All the newer trailers have 75 gallon tanks and the rest have 50 gallon tanks. Thankfully the 30 gallon tanks are long gone. Those were a real pain in the ass. You'd fuel up and then by the time you got to your delivery the same day and got unloaded it would be below 3/4 and you'd have to pick up some place that wanted 3/4 in the tank so you'd have to go find a fuel stop again, then go get your load. 8) 8)

 

Glad to see you're doing well over here. Usually with the right attitude/work ethic and a decent fleet manger it can be pretty good. If you do go dedicated or regional I hope it works out for you. The past two weeks I've happen to run into 3 or 4 regional/dedicated drivers and they were pretty bent about the change in the pay scale. It sounds like they made a big mistake by changing the pay that drastically for the worse. But if they are setting you up on nice dedicated run like that and you know what the pay is going in maybe it will be alright. 8) 8)

 

How often do you guys get out west...

I was told by some guy that western runs are on a 8 month rotation.

U go once or twice every 8 months as he put it.

I been there (Az) once...now all i do is eastern USA runs