Reefer Truck History

Refrigerated trucks, often called reefer trucks, have revolutionized the transport of perishable goods. It’s hard to appreciate just how much more difficult it used to be to transport things like meat or medical supplies. If you’d like to understand more about the history and development of the modern reefer truck, check out this guide from DTI Trucks. 

Before Reefer Trucks

Before reefer trucks were invented, most perishable goods that needed to travel long distances were put into mechanically refrigerated railcars. When these railcars were invented during the 1880s, they were the easiest way to get perishable goods to where they needed to go without the risk of them spoiling. However, these train cars were expensive to operate and maintain. Eventually, this problem was solved through the invention of van trucks cooled by huge blocks of ice. Fans inside the truck circulated the cool air to keep the goods below a certain temperature. However, there were a few problems with this system. Not only did it make it difficult to precisely set the temperature inside the truck, but these trucks had to stop every 200-300 miles to replace the ice block. In the end, these ice cooled trucks were nearly as expensive and inefficient as the train cars that they were supposed to replace. 

The Invention of the First Reefer Trucks

1925 saw the invention of the very first reefer truck. These mechanically refrigerated trucks quickly proved more efficient and economical than prior methods, and by 1930 they were being used to transport even the most temperature-sensitive goods, including ice cream. This in turn led to the development of specialized reefer truck variants such as milk trucks and meat trucks. Today, reefer trucks are by far the most popular and common way to transport refrigerated goods.

Shop reefer trucks at DTI Trucks. We hope you’ll visit us online or at our dealerships in Wheat Ridge and Denver, Colorado. We also offer parts, service, rentals, and towing services. We hope to see you soon!