A Complete Guide to Selecting a Refrigerated Truck

13 June 2022
 Categories: Automotive, Blog

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Are you looking for cold chain transportation? Pharmaceuticals, flowers, floral arrangements and produce like vegetables, fruits, meat and milk require special attention during transport. Because they are perishables, you must transport them in temperature-controlled environments to avoid spoilage. And that's why temperature-controlled or refrigerated transport services are crucial for transporting such cargo.

However, before shipping your perishable goods, you must use the proper refrigerated transport mode or medium. Usually, this would mean selecting a refrigerated truck for your goods. They come in several options, so finding the right one will require you to pay attention to some details.

Here is a list of 4 critical components to remember when selecting a refrigerated delivery service.

Your Products

Having a clear picture of what you are transporting is the first step to getting the right refrigerated truck. Generally, strict regulations exist around the transportation of goods. For instance, some products like pharmaceuticals and other medical goods must be transported alone. You may also have to transport fish and meat in separate containers.

In addition, some goods will call for more intense options to maintain their temperature. For instance, sea products like fish require large volumes of ice to stay cool. Others like meat may require such intense solutions to preserve them at the optimum temperatures. All these factors play a critical role in selecting the right refrigerated truck.

Temperature Range

Perishable items typically have unique temperature requirements. Therefore, the slightest difference in temperature can make all the difference in your shipment's shelf life and quality. For this reason, selecting a refrigerated truck with the proper temperature range for your cargo is critical. For instance, some items will require chilled storage. For others, you may need frozen storage. Therefore, understanding what you intend to transport will help you know the temperature range required to preserve them in their optimum condition.

Temperature Monitoring System

Does the truck have a temperature monitoring system? Your perishables must be transported in the ideal temperature environment from pickup to delivery to prevent spoilage. Generally, temperatures can get significantly high when transporting goods in trucks. Therefore, without a temperature monitoring system, you won't be able to track and control the temperatures in the storage units.

Storage Capacity

Like standard trucks, refrigerated trucks can only accommodate cargo up to a specific capacity. Therefore, it would help to determine the size and volume of goods you intend to transport to find the right truck. Generally, larger trucks will be costlier. That means you need to select the size properly to ensure you don't spend your money on extra space that will end up being unused.