Spare Parts for the First Container
The parts that stop a reefer working are rarely the ones buyers think of. A short list of what belongs in the first container.
Buyer Guides
Buyer Guides
Practical buying guides for importers of refrigerated trucks and insulated bodies from China: how to read a MIIT announcement number, why right-hand-drive reefers are hard to source, what Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania actually ask for at the port, how panel thickness and refrigeration capacity have to be matched, and whether CKD or a complete unit suits your market. Every guide comes from jobs we have quoted, built and shipped rather than from a template — the inspection photos we take before loading, the setpoints operators run in West African heat, and the cost lines that move a Chinese quotation. Start with the announcement-number guide for a first import; the documents and shipping pieces are the ones buyers come back to before every order.
Buyer Guides
Pre-Shipment Inspection Photos: What Good Looks Like
What a useful pre-shipment photo set contains, and how to read it so problems surface before the container leaves.
Buyer Guides
Refrigerated Body or Complete Truck?
A body on a locally bought chassis is cheaper; a complete unit is faster to register. The trade-off sits in registration rules and warranty structure.
Buyer Guides
Importing a Refrigerated Truck into Nigeria: Documents
Form M, PAAR, SONCAP and the rest: the document sequence for a reefer entering Nigeria, in the order it has to happen.
Buyer Guides
Importing a Refrigerated Truck into Kenya: Documents
KEBS PVoC, IDF and the entry sequence for a refrigerated truck entering Kenya.
Buyer Guides
Importing a Refrigerated Truck into Tanzania: Documents
TBS pre-shipment verification and the clearance sequence for a reefer entering Tanzania.
Buyer Guides
Insulated Panel Thickness and Unit Matching
Panel thickness sets the heat load; the refrigeration unit has to remove it at your ambient temperature. A mismatch in either direction costs money.
Buyer Guides
CKD or Complete Unit: Which Should You Import?
A CKD reefer arrives as panels and a refrigeration kit; a complete unit arrives ready to plate. The deciding factor is usually the duty rate, not the freight saving.
Buyer Guides
Reefer Setpoint: -18 C or -25 C?
Most frozen cargo holds at -18 C. Going to -25 C costs payload, fuel and pull-down time. How to decide by product, dwell time and ambient temperature.
Buyer Guides
China VI and Export: What Your Market Accepts
China VI is the domestic standard. Whether an export market accepts it depends on local rules, fuel sulphur and after-treatment support. Check before you specify.