Reefer fuel burn calculator

What the result means

The big number is the gallons of diesel your reefer unit will burn on this load. Below it you get the cost at your fuel price, the cost spread over the loaded miles (useful for comparing against a rate per mile), how long a full tank lasts at this burn rate, and how much of one tank the load uses. If the load needs more than one tank, the calculator tells you how many reefer fuel stops to plan.

None of this shows up on a rate confirmation. A broker quotes the linehaul and fuel surcharge for the tractor; the reefer's fuel comes out of your margin.

How it's calculated

Run hours = loaded miles / average speed + pre-cool and waiting hours

Gallons = run hours x burn rate (gallons per hour)

Cost = gallons x fuel price per gallon

Cost per loaded mile = cost / loaded miles

Share of tank = gallons / tank size

If you already know the run hours, switch to "Hours I know" and the trip math is skipped.

Assumptions and where they come from

• Burn rate. EPRI describes diesel transport refrigeration units as typically 8 to 38 horsepower and burning up to about one gallon an hour. The defaults (1.0 for continuous, 0.6 for cycle) are examples in that range, not measured averages. Replace them with your own.
• Tank size. Thermo King's Precedent S-610DE comes with a 30 or 50 gallon tank; the default is 50.
• Fuel price. An example. Reefer fuel is often dyed diesel sold without on-road tax, because the IRS treats fuel burned by a separate motor that runs a refrigeration unit as an off-highway use, so it can cost less than tractor fuel at the same stop.
• Pre-cool and waiting. Under the FDA's sanitary transportation rule, a carrier responsible for temperature control pre-cools as the shipper specifies. That time, and time at the dock, counts toward run hours.

How to use it before accepting a load

1. Estimate run hours. Trip miles over your realistic average speed, plus pre-cool time, expected wait at the shipper and receiver, and any break where the load stays in the box.
2. Set the mode from the rate con. Continuous or cycle, as the shipper instructs.
3. Use your burn rate. From your own fuel records if you have them.
4. Read the cost per loaded mile. Add it to your cost per mile. If the load's rate per mile minus that number doesn't clear your minimum, counter or pass.
5. Plan the fuel stop. If the load uses most of a tank, plan where you'll fill the reefer so you never run it dry with product on board.

For the full picture of a load, take the reefer fuel figure into the rate per mile and load profit calculator. For what drives burn rate and how long a tank lasts, see reefer temperature settings, pre-cooling and run time. For the tax side of dyed reefer diesel, read what is reefer fuel?.

If you'd rather have someone price this into every load for you, that's part of our reefer dispatch service. Apply here and a dispatcher will call you.