Older Reefers and California

[ATeam]

Keep in mind, that an older reefer unit simply cannot drive into Cali.
regardless if the reefer motor is operated or not.

Here is a link to: TRU Advisory 08-09. It describes how older reefers (trailer and straight truck) must be disabled to move in California. As a practical matter, it leaves owners of older reefers few options.

One option being taken by some is illustrated by paullud in post 19. The trucker mentioned there simply ignores the rules. Those of us who contract with CARB-compliant carriers, do not have that option if we wish to remain so contracted.

That leaves the options of upgrading or replacing our reefers, or opt out of California altogether. It is not practical to disable a reefer as described in the document to make non-reefer runs in and out of that state and then re-enable the reefer to make runs elsewhere.

 

[paullud]

What kind of reefer freight does he haul?

He said he runs cheese down there and brings produce back. He said his carrier does have a mix of old and new trailers but the one he had was his. I am not sure if the carrier knew that his trailer was not CARB compliant but he planned to continue doing it since it was his normal run.

Sent from my ADR6400L using EO Forums

 

[ATeam]

He said he runs cheese down there and brings produce back.

I thought it might be something like that. Expediters who haul TVAL and other high-value or high-security reefer freight don't have the luxury of operating that relaxed. The parameters are tight and there is no way a shipper would knowingly put its California inbound or outbound freight on a reefer truck or trailer that is not CARB compliant.

Yet it is interesting to hear talk in the Open Forum that reefer rates are not high enough to justify reefer upgrades. Other than the one I mentioned above, and other than reefer trailers recently purchased by carriers, are any owner-operator expediters upgrading their reefers or buying new?

 

[zorry]

Phil, Have you every figured out the true cost of ownership,per day,month,or year to have a CR vs a C unit ?
If so,what all went into the figure ? Days lost testing ? Maint ? Depreciation ?
I'm sure there are others that would be curious to compare their figures to a professional bean counter's numbers .
Thanks.

 

[zorry]

In reference to who is buying new reefer's .
The last week of Feb while I was having the unit installed on my new truck two old time fleet owners had new Stoops/Bolt reefer units just about ready for delivery.
I heard one of those guys was taking a second one about 30 days later. I don't know if he picked up the second unit or not.
That'd be three class 8 reefers added at the Fed this spring that I have seen with my own two eyes.

 

[ATeam]

Phil, Have you every figured out the true cost of ownership,per day,month,or year to have a CR vs a C unit.

No. I have not.

 

[ATeam]

In reference to who is buying new reefer's .
The last week of Feb while I was having the unit installed on my new truck two old time fleet owners had new Stoops/Bolt reefer units just about ready for delivery.
I heard one of those guys was taking a second one about 30 days later. I don't know if he picked up the second unit or not.
That'd be three class 8 reefers added at the Fed this spring that I have seen with my own two eyes.

1. I am not familiar with your new truck. Briefly, how is it spec'ed and why did you decide to buy a reefer-equipped truck?

2. If only a tiny handful of new reefer-equipped expediter trucks are being built, and even fewer older reefers are being upgraded, as seems to be the case based on reports made here, what choice will the carriers have but to buy more trailers and run them as their own if they want to continue to compete in this market? Pharmaceutical shipments are projected to increase in volume. More capacity will be needed, not less.

 

[layoutshooter]

1. I am not familiar with your new truck. Briefly, how is it spec'ed and why did you decide to buy a reefer-equipped truck?

2. If only a tiny handful of new reefer-equipped expediter trucks are being built, and even fewer older reefers are being upgraded, as seems to be the case based on reports made here, what choice will the carriers have but to buy more trailers and run them as their own if they want to continue to compete in this market? Pharmaceutical shipments are projected to increase in volume. More capacity will be needed, not less.

Reasons fewer reefer trucks: Government (CA) regs. High cost. Static rates. Company trailers. Fixed rate trucks AND people running for nothing just to roll.

 

[zorry]

2012 Volvo Motorhome Chassis. 40' dbl framed. 20,000 steer axle,16,000# springs. Full twin screw.
D13 @ 500hp
I- Shift
ARI sleeper.
Kidron box
950 Carrier top mount
I could remove liftgate and add pintle hook to pull a pup if the right oppurtunity presented itself.
A lot of what you experienced Phil help me build what I built.
Thanks for publishing your experiences.
Why I did what I did was a long and complex process.
I do not regret it and would do it again.

Note. I have a long history with ICT. Three of their first 100 invoices were jobs for me.
My wife and I were married in an ICT Sleeper at the Las Vegas Truck Show in 2005.
ARI earned my business through Their service dept the last few years.

 

[skyraider]

kind of like cash for clunkers, now it's clunker refers for brand new refers, good way to increase gross national product and goods sold, looks good on gov.records. aww, its a whitehouse thingie, imagine that...................

 

[zorry]

Phil,If your reefer "expired" this year in California what would you do ?
If Landstar said reefers must do ALL states or NO states ?
Is LEA making progress on their reefer fleet ?

 

[ATeam]

2012 Volvo Motorhome Chassis. 40' dbl framed. 20,000 steer axle,16,000# springs. Full twin screw.
D13 @ 500hp
I- Shift
ARI sleeper.
Kidron box

And the reefer? What was the thinking that led you to go with a reefer?

 

[zorry]

I just added 950 Carrier Top Mount to the post.

 

[zorry]

I added the reefer to haul refrigerated freight.
As you stated the demand is growing.

 

[zorry]

To go off topic slightly,people occasionally post they have a three axle truck a 50,000 # gvw or more.
You probably can't scale that. You'll usually be allowed 34,000 # on the tandem and your 12,000 or 13,000 on the steer.
If your tandem is 38,000 to 44,000 thats what it's capable of hauling doing permitted loads.
A scale will not let you weigh that w/o a permit.
The steers are looked at differently. My axle is rated at 20,000 #.
My tires at 18,000+
My front springs are at 16,000# so they allow me 16,000 on the steers .
My next steer tires will probably be rated closer to 16,000#

 

[ATeam]

Phil,If your reefer "expired" this year in California what would you do ?
If Landstar said reefers must do ALL states or NO states ?
Is LEA making progress on their reefer fleet ?

If our reefer became CARB-noncompliant at the end of this year, we would continue to run it and review our options then. That's the plan for next year when the reefer will time out, so to speak. CARB could change. It has before. Landstar is changing and we would know more then.

There is no telling at this point what Landstar will say regarding reefers in all states vs. some states. There is nothing to be gained by speculating about that now.

Hypothetically, if they said all reefers in their future TVAL effort must be CARB compliant, we would likely upgrade or replace the reefer to make it CARB-compliant.

We have done just a handful of reefer loads at Landstar in the year we have been here, but two of them combined paid more to the truck than it would cost to replace our reefer (not upgrade, replace). When just two reefer loads a year will pay for a reefer (one of them went reefer to California and returned dry to the East Coast), it would seem to be the smart choice to keep the reefer alive. Any TVAL work that may come on top of the standard reefer work would be a bonus.

On the other hand, we have lost several good loads because our reefer body is not as wide as as a dry box would be. The insulation in the walls reduces the internal width dimension and prevents us from loading 48"x48" pallets side by side. To have or not have a reefer has never been a cut-and-dried decision.

Regarding Landstar's reefer progress, first note that this is not an LEA project. It is a Landstar project that will have some LEA trucks involved; meaning that it will be no different than it is now when an LEA truck hauls freight for a sister company.

Second, it is a big, big task for a carrier to establish a new service offering, and even more so when customer standards are as stringent and technical as they are with TVAL freight. Progress is being made at the administrative level but nothing has happened yet that BCO's and prospective BCO's can act on.

I am not at liberty to say more.

 

[layoutshooter]

I have NEVER had two loads that combined paid $18-20,000 profit to cover the cost of buying and installing a new reefer. A new one MAY pay for itself, although it would likely require moving it to a new(er) truck in a couple of years.

 

[zorry]

To the truck and profit are two different things.

 

[moose]

Welcome to CARB state, where they just deployed worthless agents, & declared August as
"Gear Up for Clean Truck Month."
i got the message and MIGHT be there once Aug. is over.
how to spell greed !.
Carb to Focus on Compliance in August - Truckinginfo.com

BTW, i do not see any business opportunity here, just like the rest of the freight, it will be relayed at state line.
now if you like to run regional across that state line hauling cheap freight, you WILL have lot of competition....sorry.

 

[layoutshooter]

To the truck and profit are two different things.
I'm confident the numbers you gave me in June are above his YTD.
He got two very good loads this year and I've heard about them four times!
I hope he gets a great load next quarter so we get a new story.

It takes PROFIT to make room for reinvestment. There are a TON of things to consider right now. Taxes, depreciation of new equipment. The entire business outlook, like how the massive tax increases coming in Jan and how they may affect our business. The overall attitude towards small business and small trucking in general.

It is NOT an easy thing to decide. A LOT of study will go into this before the end of the year. With the outlay for an APU this year it may make more sense to put off the reefer till early next year.