Reefer appointment windows (2026)
Refrigerated freight often has a door time that is tighter than a dry van's "sometime today." The product is waiting on a temperature, and the dock is waiting on a slot. You still cannot invent hours. The hours-of-service guide links the US and Canadian rules. Use it. Do not use this page as a logbook.
The photo is a Freightliner with a refrigerated trailer on I-90 near Spokane. It is a truck on a highway. It is not a picture of an on-time delivery.
Put the rest where the window allows
Read the appointment before you plan the nap.
- If the door is a hard time, the break goes where it still leaves you legal and awake for that door. If it does not, call dispatch while the choice is still a choice. Arriving early and then driving past a limit to "make the window" is not making the window.
- A team can put one person in the bunk and one in the seat. That is a handoff, described on the team schedule page. It is not a shared clock. Each driver follows their own rules.
- Temperature checks the shipper or the carrier requires happen on their instruction. This page does not give you a pulp temperature or a probe method. If you were not trained on that load, ask. Do not invent a reading.
- A missed window is a phone call, not a faster drive. The unit stays at the setpoint. See sleeping beside a reefer for why the unit stays on while you wait.
Waiting at a dock is still time. How that time counts is in the regulation and in your carrier's instructions, not on this page. Bring food and water for a wait you cannot see the end of. The shipper-wait kit is the bag. A reefer wait is the same bag plus a unit you can hear.
Swipe this table sideways. The page stays put, and the first column stays visible.
| Fact | What you do | What you do not do here |
|---|---|---|
| A set door time | Plan rest where the rules still let you make it, or call | Calculate remaining legal hours |
| A team | Handoff while parked | Split one clock |
| A wait | Food, water, unit left at setpoint | Turn the reefer off to rest |
| A probe or pulp check | Follow the training you were given | Invent a temperature method |
Rest, the door, and the phone call
The appointment is a clock the shipper set. Your rest has to fit before or after it, inside the hours rules that apply to you. This page does not add your on-duty lines or tell you that you will make a 06:00 door. That answer is your log, the regulation, and the carrier.
Read the appointment before you plan the night. Write down the door time, the place, and the number they gave you to call. Put that note with the papers you will carry to the shack, not under a jacket. If the window is early, the sleep has to happen before it, in a spot you are allowed to use. The parking checks still apply: sign, slope, door swing, a way out in the morning. Do not park in a banned spot because the door is close.
A missed window is a phone call, not a faster drive. Call before you are late if you can see that the gap is gone. A receiver's clock does not add hours to your day. The hours page points at the FMCSA summary and Canada's SOR/2005-313. It does not calculate a split sleeper or pick your cycle. If a dispatcher and the regulation disagree, stop and sort it with the carrier.
On a team, hand off while you are parked. Do not split one clock between two people. The team schedule note is that rule. Decide who is in the bunk before you are both tired, and leave the exit clear.
The unit stays at the setpoint while you wait. Shutting it off so you can nap is how a load warms up. The sleeping beside a reefer page is earplugs, curtains, and leaving the controls alone. Food and water for a wait you cannot see the end of belong in the shipper bag. A probe or a pulp check follows the training you were given. Do not invent a temperature method from a forum.
Power in the cab is separate from the reefer. Do not tap the unit for a CPAP, a fridge, or a heater unless the truck manual says that connection exists. The cab and reefer page is that line. If you will sit engine-off with a fridge or a CPAP, use the power planner.
| Fact | What you do | What you do not do |
|---|---|---|
| A set door time | Sleep where the rules still let you make it, or call | Invent remaining hours |
| A team | Hand off while parked | Split one clock |
| A wait | Food, water, unit at setpoint | Turn the reefer off |
| A late arrival | Call | Rush the yard |
| Cab loads | Planner, cab battery, or shore power | A tap on the reefer you were not shown |
Conclusion
The appointment is real. The hours rules are real. Put the rest in the gap that satisfies both, and make the phone call when the gap is not there. This page stops before the arithmetic.
FAQ
Can you tell me if I can make a 06:00 door?
No. That depends on your remaining duty time, the country, and any exemption your carrier uses. Read the official texts and your log.
Does a reefer appointment add hours?
No. A receiver's clock does not change a driver's limits.
Should I shut the unit off while I wait for a door?
No. The setpoint stays. Waiting is not a reason to warm the load.