6 Easy Ways to Maintain Refrigerated Trailers and the Risks of Neglecting Them

For companies operating in the cold chain logistics sector, refrigerated trailers are essential assets for day-to-day business operations. However, without proper maintenance, these trailers can malfunction, causing transported products to spoil or degrade in quality and potentially resulting in significant financial losses. Consequently, maintaining refrigerated trailers is a top priority to ensure business continuity.

What is a Refrigerated Trailer and How Does It Work?

Ice cream arrives at its destination just as frozen as when it was loaded—exactly as you would expect—because it is transported in refrigerated trailers. A refrigerated trailer is an insulated trailer (attached to a semi-truck) equipped with a built-in cooling unit designed for the transport and storage of temperature-sensitive, perishable products.

So, how do refrigerated trailers work? Interestingly, their function is not to cool the product itself. Instead, they are designed to limit the heat entering the trailer in order to maintain the temperature during transport and storage.

Refrigerated trailers achieve this using three main components—an evaporator coil, a compressor, and a small diesel engine—which work together to keep the air inside the trailer consistently cool by removing heat or moisture through the evaporator coil.

6 Easy Ways to Maintain a Refrigerated Trailer

1. Perform routine vehicle servicing

For a company that relies on refrigerated trailers for its daily operations, maintenance issues—such as unexpected breakdowns, wear and tear, condenser or evaporator problems, temperature sensor malfunctions, and obstructed airflow—can hinder the optimal use of these trailers. Therefore, routine vehicle servicing is essential to prevent breakdowns or operational failures caused by maintenance issues and malfunctions, which could otherwise lead to delivery delays or even failed deliveries.

2. Clean the refrigerated trailer interior

Since the goods transported are perishable, reefer trailers must be cleaned using high-pressure water and detergents specifically designed for cooling units; food residue, dirt, and other debris can obstruct air circulation within the trailer, thereby compromising temperature consistency and putting the products at risk of spoilage and damage.

3. Perform a detailed check after the delivery is completed

Inspect the trailer's interior—checking for clogged drains, cracked or torn walls, and holes in air ducts—and do not overlook the exterior, including checks for oil leaks, damaged hoses and belts, unusual engine noises, trailer body damage, minor malfunctions, and tire pressure.

4. Make sure the fuel tank is full

Before transporting goods, ensure the fuel tank is full to prevent running out of fuel during the journey. If a reefer trailer runs out of fuel, the cooling unit shuts down, putting the cargo at risk of spoilage and causing major problems; this is because, as fuel levels drop, the cooling unit draws out accumulated moisture.

5. Monitor temperature

To ensure appropriate and consistent temperatures during transport, efficient temperature monitoring is necessary to prevent temperature changes that could lead to product spoilage or damage.

6. Follow the loading guidelines

To ensure the product remains well-preserved and fresh, and receives proper airflow, it is important to adhere to the following loading guidelines: – Cargo must be kept at least 2–5 cm away from the sidewalls of the refrigerated trailer – Cargo must be kept 23 cm away from the ceiling of the reefer trailer – Cargo must be kept 10 cm away from the rear doors – The evaporator must not be obstructed by any objects

Dangers of Refrigerated Trailers When Not Properly Maintained

Companies using refrigerated trailers to transport temperature-sensitive products must comply with applicable global standards and regulations to ensure the health and safety of the cargo and protect customer interests. Without proper maintenance of refrigerated trailers, companies cannot effectively monitor temperatures or execute transport operations, thereby risking non-compliance with applicable standards and regulations, such as:

• BPOM permit and import permit authorising the transportation of temperature-sensitive products
• Proper temperature monitoring to ensure food safety
• Hand over the goods to the recipient by including documents stating that the temperature during the operational and transportation processes was monitored in good condition.

Also read the article: 5 Signs Your Fleet Management Is Inefficient

Poorly maintained reefer trailers can compromise product functionality and quality. This disrupts the cold chain, potentially leading to various short- and long-term issues, such as:

• Spoilage, decay, loss of quality, and bacterial growth: These trigger local or global food insecurity due to reduced access to fresh, healthy food (such as fruits, vegetables, proteins, etc.). Furthermore, compromised vaccines and medicines can have a significant impact on public health.
• Business failure: Damaged and spoiled products inevitably lead to waste, stock depletion, a lack of sales, and overall business losses. Beyond financial decline, low product quality and poor delivery processes—resulting from poorly maintained refrigerated trailers—can further damage the company's brand image and reputation.

Optimise Refrigerated Trailer Utilisation with Cartrack Technology 

From monitoring temperatures and ensuring routine maintenance schedules to complying with applicable regulations, managing a business that relies on refrigerated trailers is highly challenging. Rest assured, Cartrack is here to make it easy. With Cartrack’s reefer temperature monitoring software, you can:

Reducing downtime by performing preventive maintenance

Cartrack features—such as reminder alerts, routine service schedules, and engine diagnostics—help identify which vehicles require servicing, thereby reducing vehicle downtime and the need for unplanned repairs. Establishing a preventive maintenance plan boosts productivity and extends the lifespan of your vehicles.

Ensuring product freshness by monitoring temperature in real-time

Utilise Cartrack’s reefer temperature monitoring software, along with GPS tracking and IoT technologies, to monitor the location and temperature conditions of refrigerated trailers. Fleet and transport managers receive alerts regarding temperature fluctuations, enabling them to promptly contact the driver to address the issue or dispatch a replacement trailer (if necessary) to prevent significant losses. This ensures product freshness, minimises product rejections, and fosters strong customer relationships.

Route optimisation for faster delivery and fresher goods

Cartrack’s fleet management platform is highly user-friendly, making it easy for fleet managers to manage and track drivers and their work progress. Managers can view driver status to quickly assign new tasks to the nearest available driver and optimise for the fastest, safest routes—ensuring quicker deliveries so that cargo remains fresh upon handover to the recipient. The ability to track tasks and communicate via the app boosts productivity by eliminating time wasted searching for or trying to contact one another.

Always comply with applicable regulations

By using Cartrack’s software system, your cold chain logistics business will operate smoothly in compliance with applicable regulations while preventing unexpected downtime. Digitise and optimise the processes for temperature monitoring, data recording, and tracking your reefer trailers.

Monitor your refrigerated trailer with Cartrack

Contact 021 3973 0230 now to get a demo of the temperature monitoring software and maintain the quality and freshness of your products.