Used Refrigerated Trucks for Sale — Reefer & Freezer Trucks Sourced to Order

Chilled vs Frozen: Choosing the Right Temperature Range

Not all cold cargo is the same, and the refrigeration unit fitted to your truck must match what you carry.

• Chilled (+2 °C to +8 °C): Fresh produce, dairy, beverages, cut flowers, some pharmaceuticals. A standard single-temperature chiller unit is sufficient. Insulation thickness of 75–100 mm polyurethane foam is typical.
• Frozen (−18 °C to −25 °C): Fish, meat, ice cream, frozen meals. Requires a heavier-duty refrigeration unit with higher BTU output and thicker insulation (100–150 mm). Door seals and floor drainage become critical.
• Dual-temperature / multi-compartment: Some buyers need a split box — one section chilled, one frozen. This adds body cost but removes the need for a second vehicle.

Tell us your cargo type and the ambient temperature at your destination. A HOWO-based reefer truck that works in Nairobi (cool highlands) needs different spec from one running coastal routes in Lagos or the UAE summer.

What Is a Refrigerated Truck — and What Makes the Body

A refrigerated truck — also called a reefer truck, cold chain truck, freezer truck, or chiller truck — combines three elements:

• Insulated box body: Aluminium or fibreglass panels bonded around a core of polyurethane or polystyrene foam. The foam is the thermal barrier; thicker foam holds temperature longer when the unit cycles off.
• Refrigeration unit (reefer unit): Mounted on the front wall of the box. Either engine-powered (a PTO off the truck engine — simpler, fewer moving parts) or independent diesel (runs its own small diesel engine, maintains temperature even when the truck is parked or the engine is off). Independent units are preferred for long-haul and overnight standing.
• Chassis: Our reefer trucks are sourced on HOWO chassis (Sinotruk), which are widely supported across East Africa, West Africa, and the Middle East. Parts availability, service networks, and resale value are established in these markets.

The body is fabricated to order — length, internal height, door configuration (rear swing doors or roll-up), floor type (aluminium T-bar, easy to hose down), and drain plugs are all specified at the time of sourcing.

Payload Classes and Common Configurations

We source used refrigerated trucks across three broad payload classes:

• Light 4×2 reefer (3–8 tonne payload): Urban distribution, small retail delivery, pharma last-mile. Box length typically 4–6 m. LHD or RHD available. Suitable for narrow city streets in Accra, Kampala, or Amman.
• Medium 4×2 or 6×2 reefer (8–15 tonne payload): Regional distribution, fish and meat haulage between processing plant and central markets. Box length 6–8 m.
• Heavy 6×4 reefer (15–20 tonne payload): Long-haul cold chain, cross-border runs (Kenya–Uganda, South Africa–Zimbabwe), large supermarket chain resupply. HOWO 6×4 chassis with independent refrigeration unit. This is the workhorse for serious cold chain operators.

All configurations can be quoted LHD (UAE, Iraq, most of West Africa) or RHD (South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Ghana). Conversion is handled in-house before export.

What to Inspect on a Used Refrigerated Truck

A used reefer is more complex than a standard cargo truck. Before accepting any unit, these are the points that matter:

• Insulation integrity: Probe the walls and floor for soft spots — foam saturated with moisture loses its R-value and can collapse. Check corners and door frame edges where delamination starts.
• Refrigeration unit hours: Reefer units track engine hours separately from the truck engine. A unit with 15,000+ hours is near end-of-life. Ask for the unit's service history and brand (Thermo King and Carrier are the two benchmark brands; others exist but parts can be harder to source in Africa).
• Door seals: The rubber gasket around rear doors must be continuous, supple, and airtight. A simple test: close the door on a piece of paper — you should feel resistance when pulling it out. A broken seal dumps cold air and the unit runs continuously, burning fuel and wearing out faster.
• Drainage: The floor must drain completely. Standing water freezes in frozen units and causes floor panel rot in chilled units.
• Pre-cool time: A healthy unit should pull a loaded box from +30 °C ambient to target temperature within a defined time. We run a functional test on the refrigeration unit before export.
• Chassis condition: Same as any used truck — frame, suspension, brakes, tyres, engine hours, and transmission. The refrigeration body adds weight, so axle load ratings matter.

All units we source are inspected before shipping. We provide an inspection report with photos.

Cold Chain Demand in Africa and the Middle East

The business case for refrigerated trucks is straightforward in our markets:

• East Africa: Lake Victoria fish (tilapia, Nile perch) moves from lakeside processors in Uganda and Kenya to inland markets and export. Without cold chain, losses run 30–40% post-harvest. Kenya's floriculture industry (cut flowers to Europe) also depends on reefer vehicles at the farm gate.
• West Africa: Nigeria and Ghana import frozen fish and poultry at scale. Importers who can distribute temperature-controlled have a price and quality advantage over those relying on ice and open trucks.
• Southern Africa: South Africa has the most developed cold chain on the continent, with formal retail (supermarket chains) requiring supplier compliance with temperature logs. Zambia and Zimbabwe are growing fast as formal retail expands.
• Gulf / Middle East: UAE and Iraq operate in extreme summer heat (+45 °C ambient). A reefer truck that can hold −18 °C in those conditions needs a properly sized independent unit — engine-powered units typically cannot keep up. Pharma cold chain is also tightly regulated, requiring temperature data loggers.

Demand is outpacing local supply of serviceable used reefers. Importing from China on a HOWO chassis fills that gap at a landed cost significantly below buying locally refurbished units or new trucks.

How to Order — Sourced to Order, CIF Delivery

We do not maintain a fixed reefer inventory because refrigerated trucks are highly specification-sensitive — the right unit depends on your temperature requirement, payload, road conditions, and port of arrival. Instead, we work sourced-to-order:

1. Send your requirement: Cargo type, temperature range (chilled or frozen), payload class, LHD or RHD, destination port.
2. We source and inspect: We locate a unit matching your spec, inspect it (chassis + body + refrigeration unit), and send you photos and the inspection report.
3. Confirm and proceed: Once you approve the unit, we handle pre-shipment preparation, LHD/RHD conversion if needed, and documentation for your country's import process.
4. CIF shipment: We ship CIF to your nominated port — Mombasa, Lagos, Durban, Dar es Salaam, Tema, Jebel Ali, Umm Qasr, and others. CIF means cost, insurance, and freight are included; you handle port clearance and local duties.

Lead time depends on the specification. Simple units can move in 4–6 weeks. Complex dual-temperature or heavy 6×4 units may take 6–10 weeks. We keep you updated throughout. Reefer truck pricing depends on the unit sourced, refrigeration unit brand and hours, body condition, and current freight rates — contact us for a quote.