Don’t worry about the fridge keeping you awake all night unless your company can remotely monitor the fridge temp or your delivery requires a print out of continuous fridge temps. You can often leave the fridge off on a night out as the core temperature of the goods doesn’t drop that much. Sure, when you turn the fridge back on after a 9 or 11 hour it may say +1 deg C, but that’s just the air temp. Once the freezer is running again it takes about 5 mins to register -16 or so and within half an hour it’s back down to the required -18 and below. The only load I’ve not risked doing this with is ice cream.
Ched:
Don’t worry about the fridge keeping you awake all night unless your company can remotely monitor the fridge temp or your delivery requires a print out of continuous fridge temps. You can often leave the fridge off on a night out as the core temperature of the goods doesn’t drop that much. Sure, when you turn the fridge back on after a 9 or 11 hour it may say +1 deg C, but that’s just the air temp. Once the freezer is running again it takes about 5 mins to register -16 or so and within half an hour it’s back down to the required -18 and below. The only load I’ve not risked doing this with is ice cream.
Bad practice ,your not doin your job right,if you have the bottle to do things like this one day its gunna come back and bite you on the arse 
Not just bad but insane- the core temperature of a product may show little change but the air temperature drop will be enough for bacteria to have a field day, this same bacteria will breed and lay dormant on the peripheral surface of the food until the food reaches a temperature to enable the bacteria to reproduce further.
Sounds like RDC or MMTM BS that you have picked up, please do not do this.
Ever had a barbeque and the meat tastes nice and cooked on the outside but cold and inedible in the middle, its the same concept.
Done both and for me it’s fridge work every time it’s a lot cleaner,easier than curtain side work.
Will never go back to general haulage.
Ched:
Don’t worry about the fridge keeping you awake all night unless your company can remotely monitor the fridge temp or your delivery requires a print out of continuous fridge temps. You can often leave the fridge off on a night out as the core temperature of the goods doesn’t drop that much. Sure, when you turn the fridge back on after a 9 or 11 hour it may say +1 deg C, but that’s just the air temp. Once the freezer is running again it takes about 5 mins to register -16 or so and within half an hour it’s back down to the required -18 and below. The only load I’ve not risked doing this with is ice cream.
The customer has paid for a fridge. That fridge should be turned on.
Do you think a food standards inspector would be happy with a restaurant turning their fridges & freezers off overnight? Honestly if the press learnt that lorry drivers turn fridge & freezers off overnight they would quite rightly have a field day.
Can’t sleep with a fridge on? Don’t do fridge work. Don’t worry about other drivers whinging, all you can do is park as courteously as you can.
Ok, there is a reason for the health and safety guidlines set by people who’s sole purpose at work is to cover the companys backside, but they build in a fairly hefty tolerance. Think of it this way … you have a chest freezer at home packed full of beef or microwave meals etc (dense frozen foods that takes a long time to defrost) and you have a power cut over night. Do you throw away all that beef or do you think “it’s only been off 7 or 8 hours and the door was shut … what’s the problem?”
Ched:
Ok, there is a reason for the health and safety guidlines set by people who’s sole purpose at work is to cover the companys backside, but they build in a fairly hefty tolerance. Think of it this way … you have a chest freezer at home packed full of beef or microwave meals etc (dense frozen foods that takes a long time to defrost) and you have a power cut over night. Do you throw away all that beef or do you think “it’s only been off 7 or 8 hours and the door was shut … what’s the problem?”
More MMTM bollox, the tolerence is built in to the products sell by date for the customer not so the delivery driver who is a bit worried about upseting fellow trucker folk with the noisy woisey fridge has something to play with and can turn it off to get a good nights kip. In fact the hmm of a fridge helps me sleep. You do know that there is a setting so its not on constantly I take it.
Funny how you don’t take the risk with ice cream- perhaps its because there would visable evidence of your shenanigans, do you really think bacteria is that fussy.
Think of it this way, you have a chest freezer full of pork or chicken frozen meals that you are aware at some point during the journey the fridge was turned off allowing bacteria to multiply, combine that with a 7 - 8 hour power cut and chances are it would be binned.
Course consuming lots of bacteria is good for you in a way to build up the old immune system (well certain types not all bacteria) but everybody is not the same… think of the children, oh and old people who rely on easy to prepare meals whose immune system may not be able to cope with the bacteria thats had a good old jolly after coming into contact with a nervous trucker who thought turning off the fridge was OK because he didn’t want to upset anyone.
Anyway keep doing what your doing but let us know who you drive for so they can confirm your logic is sound…But hey what do they know, your the driver.
Clearly I’m not going to say who I work for. I could get the sack! Or more likely my company would pat me on the back and say thanks for saving the fridge fuel … but then they would get bad publicity and THEN I would “regrettably” get the sack. Seriously, it’s no big deal. Yes the hum drowns out other sound. Yes I know you can set it to continuous. However, in the summer when I have to have the sun roof open there is a rattle from the fridge that I don’t much care for. So I switch it off. Nobody died, nobody got sick … that could be traced back to me at least.
I did a load of strawbs from Salerno to Berlin . I switched the fridge off every night. When I got to the fruit market I looked down at the pallets I had unloaded and saw a green mould was covering the top of every pallet. They were too high for the forkie to see,I got a clear sig and got outa there. Lessons had been learnt as the saying goes?
Ched:
. Nobody died, nobody got sick … that could be traced back to me at least.
that you know of
I quite like pulling fridges. Not keen on some of the places you go to with all their rules and waiting rooms but it’s handy work. Downside is self loading empty trays which can be a pain to fit on. I like the load bar system. Very simple.
On tramping I used to like curtain side for variety. Containers were the ultimate for ease and although mega long tips at least with boxes you could walk off into the local town and do as you please rather than stay on a big sainsbury’s site in a canteen.
For day work I don’t fancy boxes or curtains so fridges are the best compromise. I’d never think of turning the fridge off for long periods. I just don’t know anything about food science to guarantee it won’t affect the products and if firm asks for it to stay on then it needs to stay on.
I hate Fridge work. Firstly a truck should only have ONE engine. Also the people working in the food industry are rude by my experience. They always think that you should now absolutely everything even if it’s the first time you visit the place. Worst is driving fresh fish from North Norway, once you finally have the load you should be 2500km south at the unloading place already. It’s always a hurry and nothing that is stated when you load it is correct when you driven half way. Usually it’s added a couple of unloading places and of course those pallets are at the front of the trailer so you have to unload the hole ■■■■■■■ rig to get there.I have also had very bad luck with the cooling units, think it’s 2 or 3 times they have not failed me, even a trailer that was only 3 months with a Thermo King sl400 failed on me, worked for 2h in the night at -24c to get it running again, there are no 24h service in the middle of the forest in the north, you have to do it by your self. It was chilled gods and should absolutely not freeze.
I do like driving a curtainsider. Loads a very varied and often you get to visit some private person also. We also drive a lot of tractors in curtainsider. best thing you can get since the customer will be happy even if you arrive in the middle of the night 
Best thing I know is walking floor, it has to be with side doors, very varied goods, you can load everything in them. + it’s no need for a forklift There are always something to load even when it’s a slow period. Meaning you have something to do. Theres nothing I hate more than to wait.
Icee:
Also the people working in the food industry are rude by my experience. They always think that you should now absolutely everything even if it’s the first time you visit the place
Crikey that’s weird, I was having a conversation only the other day with a driving mate discussing exactly the same thing. They do expect you to know the rules left right centre despite naff all briefing (surely if it’s that important you mention it verbally). Their argument is the gazillions of signs in odd locations, you’re meant to have read scattered about the place as you’re shooed into the rdc in a rush because there’s a que behind you. I don’t know if its a food thing or even just a supermarket rdc thing. Probably just the tiny minds. You give them a small set of rules and they get to know it back to front upside down from doing it everyday then delight in punishing every visitor to the site using all the sarcasm and droll they can muster because it makes them feel knowledgable.
Freight Dog:
Icee:
Also the people working in the food industry are rude by my experience. They always think that you should now absolutely everything even if it’s the first time you visit the placeCrikey that’s weird, I was having a conversation only the other day with a driving mate discussing exactly the same thing. They do expect you to know the rules left right centre despite naff all briefing (surely if it’s that important you mention it verbally). Their argument is the gazillions of signs in odd locations, you’re meant to have read scattered about the place as you’re shooed into the rdc in a rush because there’s a que behind you. I don’t know if its a food thing or even just a supermarket rdc thing. Probably just the tiny minds. You give them a small set of rules and they get to know it back to front upside down from doing it everyday then delight in punishing every visitor to the site using all the sarcasm and droll they can muster because it makes them feel knowledgable.
Well I usually tell them directly when I arrive that this is a new place to me, Can you please explain to me how it works here. That’s fine in every other industry, usually they are happy to show you but in the food businesses you just get rudeness back, my experience are the same in every county I have driven, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden. Yet to visit the uk, maybe it’s better there?
No I understand. I’ve tried the same thing and got the same response at RDCs. In fact I found asking seems to make it worse as they then treat you like a real imbecile. I drive in the UK. It’s probably the same the world over. It’s a people thing. Tiny minds. It’s like a willy waving contest to come across A) quite tough and B) not get on like you weren’t born knowing your small set of rules. It’s quite funny to be honest. Very childish.
Things have changed since I started people and drivers couldn’t have been more helpful
Bloody iPod