What is dry van?
A dry van is an enclosed trailer with no temperature control, used for freight that needs protection from weather and theft but not refrigeration. It is the most common trailer type on the road.
Standard length is fifty-three feet. Freight is loaded by forklift through rear doors and typically moves on pallets.
Because dry van capacity is the most abundant, its rates are the most exposed to competition and move fastest when the market shifts.
What it means on a dispatch desk
Dry van is the easiest equipment to cover and therefore the hardest to earn on. A desk running only dry van competes with everyone; adding one specialised trailer type changes which loads the carrier can even be offered and usually pays for itself before it pays more per mile.
Related terms
- ReeferA reefer is a temperature-controlled trailer with its own refrigeration unit, used for food, pharmaceuticals and anything else that must stay within a temperature range in transit.
- FlatbedA flatbed is an open trailer with no sides or roof, used for freight that cannot be loaded through the rear doors of an enclosed trailer, such as steel, lumber, machinery and building materials.
- Power onlyPower only is work where the carrier supplies just the tractor and driver, pulling a trailer that belongs to the shipper, broker or another carrier. No trailer of their own is involved.
- TruckloadTruckload freight fills a whole trailer for a single customer and travels directly from origin to destination without being combined with anyone else's goods.
Put dry van in context when researching carrier leads by state, including Texas, California and Illinois.
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