Reefer Fuel Burn and Run Time
Estimated run time and fuel burned from manufacturer GPH benchmarks.
Example
You enter
- Reefer unit / mode thermo_king_continuous
- Tank capacity (gal) 50
- Haul duration (hr) 24
- Ambient band moderate
- Haul distance (mi, optional) 1200
- Average speed (mph) 55
You get
- GPH (corrected) 0.65
- Fuel burned 15.6
- Haul hr effective 21.82
- Fuel burned 14.2 gal
- Fuel reserve at end of haul 35.8 gal remaining
- Refuel required no
Checked against published worked examples from: Thermo King published technical bulletin (project bundled SB-series continuous typical).
Details, formula, and sources
Formula or tableFuel burn (gal/hr) × ambient factor × hours = total fuel. Ambient factor 0.85 (cold) / 1.0 (moderate) / 1.20 (hot). Continuous vs. cycle-sentry / start-stop modes use different baseline GPH.
Source and editionManufacturer technical bulletins (Thermo King SB-series, Carrier Transicold Vector). Each entry attributes the publishing manufacturer.
Free accessFree at thermoking.com and carriertransicold.com technical literature pages.
What governsMath aid for personal verification. The ELD on the truck and the carrier tariff are the legal record. State limits may be lower than federal.
API field namesunit, tank_gal, haul_hr, ambient_band, haul_miles, average_mph, gph, fuel_burned, haul_hr_effective, fuel_burned_effective, reserve_gal, refuel_required
- Mode baselines Thermo King continuous 0.65 / cycle 0.40; Carrier continuous 0.70 / cycle 0.45 (gph)data/trucking/reefer-burn.json