Have you ever seen a big truck with food inside? These cold trucks keep food fresh. But how do they stay cold? Let’s find out how refrigerated trucks get power!

What Are Refrigerated Trucks?

Refrigerated trucks, or reefers, are special vehicles that keep things cold. They move:

• Food that needs to stay cold
• Medicine that must not get hot
• Vaccines that need a cold place

These trucks have a cooling unit. This unit needs power to work. Over 4 million refrigerated trucks are on roads around the world! They grow in number by about 2.5% each year.

Main Ways Refrigerated Trucks Get Power

Let’s look at how these cold chain trucks stay cool:

1. Diesel Engine Power

Most refrigerated trucks use their main engine to run the cooling part. The truck engine:

• Turns a belt or drive
• Makes the cooling unit work
• Keeps working when driving

This is the old way many reefer trucks work. It uses more gas but is very strong for long trips.

2. Auxiliary Power Units (APUs)

When the truck stops, it needs a way to keep things cold. That’s what APUs do!

• Small extra engine (often diesel)
• Works when main truck engine is off
• Helps save the truck’s main power
• Keeps food or medicine safe when parked

An APU makes sure your ice cream stays frozen even when the driver takes a nap!

3. Electric and Hybrid Systems

New refrigerated trucks can use electric power! This is better for our air.

• Battery power runs the cooling unit
• Carrier Transicold’s Supra eCool and other models help trucks use less gas
• Electric TRUs cost 30-50% less to run than diesel ones
• Truck companies like Wabash National now use about 150 electric refrigeration units

Check out these Semi-Trailer Tractor Trucks that can pull refrigerated trailers!

Real World Examples: Who Uses These Trucks?

Companies all over use refrigerated trucks:

Company Name	Number of Trucks	Type Used
Hill Brothers	500 refrigerated trailers	Traditional diesel
KLLM Transport	“Lean” 1.4 truck-to-trailer ratio	Mixed fleet
Leonard’s Express	650 reefers (after cutting 75)	Optimized fleet
Performance Food Group	Testing with Carrier eCool	Electric TRU
Wabash National	~150 units	Electric TRUs

Great Dane company now puts Thermo King’s tracking system in their trucks to watch temperatures from far away.

How Much Power Do These Cooling Systems Use?

Refrigerated trucks need lots of power! The cold chain (all the cold trucks and places) uses about 15-20% of all the world’s energy problems. That’s why many trucks are trying new ways to save power.

Electric TRUs and Their Range

When a truck uses a battery-powered cooling system:

• It might go 15-20 miles less before needing more power
• It costs much less money to run
• It makes less noise in neighborhoods
• It helps meet zero-emission goals in places like California

Learn about Electric Mobile Sales Vans that sometimes include refrigeration!

New Technology Making Refrigerated Trucks Better

Truck companies are making big changes to how refrigeration units get power:

Smart Monitoring Systems

New tools watch how cold your food stays:

• Webfleet Cold Chain watches all cooling trucks at once
• Great Dane’s FleetPulse and Thermo King’s TracKing work together
• Truck owners can see temperatures on their phones

High-Power Charging

For electric refrigerated trucks, we need good places to charge:

• Solar panels can help power truck charging stations
• Smart software figures out the best way to charge
• Battery storage helps when many trucks need power

Vector System by Carrier

The Vector 8700 and Vector 8800MT by Carrier Transicold use new E-Drive technology. These systems:

• Cut down smoke and gas use by 40%
• Use less fuel
• Keep working better

Discover Refrigerated Lorry options for your transport needs!

Challenges With Refrigerated Truck Power

Keeping food cold while moving it has some hard parts:

Temperature Problems

Sometimes the cooling units can’t keep the right cold level during the whole trip. This can make:

• Food not as fresh
• Medicine not work right
• Vaccines get too warm

Cost Issues

New electric TRUs cost more money at first. But they save money over time by:

• Using less fuel (30-50% less costs)
• Needing less fixing
• Lasting longer

Rules That Must Be Followed

More and more places have rules about smoke from trucks. California is making new rules that say refrigerated trucks need to make less smoke. This is why companies like Carrier Transicold are making new electric units.

What’s Next for Refrigerated Truck Power?

The way cold trucks get power is changing fast:

• More electric refrigeration
• Solar power helping charge trucks
• Better ways to watch temperatures
• Hydrogen fuel cells might power trucks someday

Southern California Edison, a power company, is helping more trucks use electric power for both driving and cooling.

Quick Questions About Refrigerated Truck Power

Ending Thoughts

Refrigerated trucks keep our food fresh and our medicine safe as they move around. They use power in many ways – from old diesel engines to new electric batteries.

As more trucks move to electric power, we’ll see less smoke, less noise, and better ways to keep an eye on cold food. With over 4 million refrigerated trucks on roads today, these changes will help our world stay clean while keeping our ice cream frozen!

Find out about Vaccine Cold Chain Vehicles designed specifically for temperature-sensitive medical transport!