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Concept
Refrigerator truck
Summary
A refrigerator truck or chiller lorry (also called a reefer), is a van or truck designed to carry perishable freight at low temperatures. Most long-distance refrigerated transport by truck is done in articulated trucks pulling refrigerated hardside (box) semi-trailers, although insulated curtainsiders are common in some countries. Occasionally, refrigerated trailers have been used as temporary morgues, and second-hand refrigerated trailers are frequently sold for use in tiny home conversions due to their insulation and existing status as a vehicle.
The first successful mechanically refrigerated trucks were made for the ice cream industry in 1925. African American inventor Frederick McKinley Jones is known to be the first person to invent a refrigerated truck. There were around 4 million refrigerated road vehicles in use in 2010 worldwide.
Like refrigerator cars, refrigerated trucks differ from simple insulated and ventilated vans (commonly used for transporting fruit), neither of which are fitted with cooling apparatus.
Refrigerator trucks can be ice-cooled, equipped with any one of a variety of mechanical refrigeration systems powered by small displacement diesel engines, or utilize carbon dioxide (either as dry ice or in liquid form) as a cooling agent. They are often equipped with small "vent doors" at the rear and front of the trailer. The purpose of these doors is to be kept open while hauling non-refrigerated cargo (often "backhaul"), so as to air out the trailer.
Prentice, B. E., & Benell, D. (1992). "Determinants of empty returns by US refrigerated trucks: conjoint analysis approach". Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, 40(1), 109-127. (abstract).
Official source
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