Less-than-load runs can be a real pain to manage. Whether you’re picking up or dropping off from several locations (or both), you have to deal with issues like space management, cargo order, and finding all sorts of new ways to secure a load that constantly changes in shape and size.
Something else many LTL runs have to worry about is mixed cargo. While you don’t exactly have to worry about loading raw lumber or oil into a dry van, you may have to mix temperature-sensitive cargo like produce, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals together with cargo that doesn’t care one bit, cargo like paper products, preserved foods, and clothing.
Getting a reefer van or truck for an LTL run is already overkill considering it has to keep a lot of empty air warm or cool despite the weather outside, but when only part of the cargo is affected by temperature you’re wasting a lot of energy and running some complicated machines for very little profit. You also have the problem of blowing out all the cool air every time you open the back. Using a refrigeration unit for a mixed-cargo LTL means putting in a lot of effort for not much reward, but fortunately there are other solutions available.
Protek Cargo offers SureTemp Thermal Pallet Covers for when a whole cargo load doesn’t need thermal protection. Our first-class covers use woven hollow fibers to trap the most air possible in a thick, durable layer that keeps the outside temperature from affecting the cargo beneath, but they stop short of the pallet itself so the lift driver can move the cargo around without taking off the cover.
Cargo that’s very temperature sensitive like frozen products still needs climate control for safe transportation, but goods like produce, pharmaceuticals, and electronics can do just fine stacked next to a pallet of plastic cups when you keep their temperature level with a thermal pallet cover.
Carrying sensitive cargo is tricky under the best circumstances, but it gets trickier when you have to constantly add and remove cargo on an LTL run and when sensitive pallets have to share space with goods that can take the heat. Using thermal pallet covers simply makes sense when you need to carry more than one kind of cargo and a blanket over the whole van would add an extra step at every stop along your route. So instead of renting an expensive reefer to handle mixed cargo, try renting or buying a few pallet covers instead.
