What is a refrigerated truck’s fuel requirements?
As you might imagine, a refrigerated truck consumes a good bit more fuel than the equivalent standard truck. There are a few reasons for this.
The first is that the refrigeration machinery is directly driven from the engine in the majority of cases. That means that more energy has to be produced, and more fuel must be consumed. The second is that the refrigeration machinery and the insulation material found in a refrigerated truck is usually fairly heavy, and will add a considerable amount of weight to the truck even when it is empty.
There are some refrigerated trucks that use a secondary battery power supply rather than a direct drive mechanism. These refrigerated trucks are usually a bit older, and they are usually limited to refrigerated rather than frozen temperatures. Of course, this means the truck will use up less fuel when it’s traveling. Another alternative is an eutectic cooling mechanism, which uses columns that are frozen overnight from an external electrical power source. Similarly, this type of refrigerated truck uses less fuel than the traditional kind.
Of course the amount of fuel consumed varies dramatically depending on the type of truck. The size is an important factor. Larger trucks have more weight and will require more fuel to move. The efficiency of the engine is also an influential element of the refrigerated truck’s fuel consumption. Many of the latest refrigerated trucks have some kind of “eco boost technology” to help lower the amount of fuel. All of the major commercial vehicle manufacturers have made some kind of fuel efficiency improvements to their latest engines, and economy is a major selling point for refrigerated trucks these days. Glacier Vehicles sells only the best in refrigerated and freezer vans, be sure to check out our entire stock of new fridge vans here.
