Maintaining a commercial vehicle is essential to running any professional operation properly. For a refrigerated vehicle, maintenance matters even more, because food safety depends on it. You can call in a professional, but you can also check a number of things yourself. So how do you maintain a refrigerated vehicle well? Here are the essentials.
Clean the refrigerated truck
A refrigerated truck is designed to be easy to service and clean. Keeping your vehicle clean is essential, which means degreasing and disinfecting it regularly.
So how do you go about cleaning one? First, note that you must use only soft, lime-free water. The ideal washing temperature is between 35 and 40 °C.
Then proceed as follows:
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- Apply a cleaning product (it also has to meet HACCP standards and be suitable for transporting food).
- Leave it for at least 10 minutes so it can work properly.
- Rinse with water as described above.
- Dry thoroughly, so bacteria cannot form and spread inside the truck.
Switch off the temperature control
While loading and unloading, make sure the refrigeration unit is switched off.
When the doors of the insulated body are open, switch off the temperature as well, to stop warm, damp air getting inside.
Warm air can condense and freeze on the evaporator coil. The result? Airflow is interrupted, which in turn triggers defrost mode. Switching the temperature off also cuts your fuel consumption.
Book regular checks with experts
Maintenance does not stop at washing and switching off the temperature. Booking regular checks to make sure everything is in order is an unavoidable — and mandatory — part of maintaining a refrigerated vehicle.
New vehicles can generally cover around 500 kilometres between checks. In difficult driving conditions, though, more frequent inspections are essential.
Who should check your refrigerated truck?
You can run tests yourself, but it is essential to have your refrigerated vehicle checked regularly by professionals.
Whether they are professional mechanics or specialists in refrigerated vehicles, they must have expertise in this type of vehicle. That is how they spot the problems that could become critical. If your refrigerated truck needs a repair, it is better to deal with it early.
Tackling a problem or a breakdown quickly extends the life of both your vehicle and its refrigeration unit.
On top of that, a technical conformity test is required every 3 years, starting 6 years after purchase. This official check has to take place at one of the approved French testing centres accredited by Cemafroid. There are 220 of them across France.
Check the refrigeration unit before every delivery
Following directly from the previous point, make sure you check the state of your vehicle daily. For that quick walk-round, ask yourself:
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- Are there any cracks in the insulation around the refrigeration unit?
- Is the temperature gauge set correctly, and working properly?
- Do the locks and seals on the refrigeration unit work as they should?
Small daily checks save you nasty surprises. And the sooner you spot and fix a problem, the less long-term damage your vehicle takes.
Work through the refrigerated vehicle’s checkpoints
To keep your vehicle working properly, it is essential to examine a number of crucial points regularly. They fall into three broad groups: the vehicle’s electrical, refrigeration and structural components.
On the electrical side, ask yourself:
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- Does the defrost cycle start and stop correctly?
- Is the thermostat working properly?
- Are the closing circuits protected?
- Has the calibration of the thermostat and thermometer been checked?
- Is the wiring harness in very good condition?
On the refrigeration components, it is essential to:
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- Check the condition of the unit and its hoses
- Check the refrigerant charge
- Check levels and oil changes — compressor oil, the engine, and so on
- Check the fan and the evaporator
- Check the condition of the drier
Finally, the structural parts of the refrigerated vehicle need checking too:
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- Examine the condition of every part of the insulated or refrigerated body
- Check the condition and tension of the belts
- Check the mounting brackets
The mechanical side of refrigerated vehicle maintenance
Checking the parts specific to this type of vehicle is essential, but a refrigerated van is still a vehicle in its own right. Its maintenance therefore has to cover the usual mechanical components as well:
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- Oil changes for the engine, gearbox, axle and so on
- The transmission
- The various filters — air, oil, water and the rest
- The tyres
- The condition of the batteries
- The suspension
- And so on
Careful maintenance of a refrigerated vehicle is essential if food is to be carried safely and well. A refrigerated vehicle is a working tool with technical and structural specifics worth knowing. To understand how it all works, read our guide to the refrigerated vehicle.
