When you’re supplying commercial vehicles on lease, there’s more to consider than just the make, model and monthly cost. If your customer needs a fridge van, you’ll also need to think about the temperatures it needs to maintain, how much weight it can carry and whether the finished vehicle will have enough load space for their deliveries.
At CoolVan, we’ve spent over 25 years helping businesses across the UK with their refrigerated vehicle requirements. We also work with commercial vehicle leasing companies nationwide, providing specialist fridge van conversions for customers who need chilled, frozen or dual-temperature vehicles.
The process is straightforward. You supply the base vehicle, we carry out the refrigerated conversion, and you lease the finished van to your customer. With our own in-house conversion facilities and experienced team, we can help you offer refrigerated vehicles to your customers without having to carry out the specialist conversion work yourself.
What specifications should you consider when arranging a fridge van conversion?
Before arranging a refrigerated van conversion, it’s worth looking at exactly what your customer will be using the vehicle for. The products they carry, how much weight they need to transport and the temperatures they need to maintain will all affect which conversion is right for them.
There are five main areas to consider:
- Temperature requirements: Does your customer need to transport chilled products, frozen goods or a combination of both?
- Payload: How much weight will the finished vehicle need to carry once the insulation and refrigeration equipment have been fitted?
- Load space: Will there be enough usable space for the customer’s products, including any pallets, containers or equipment?
- Refrigeration equipment: Is the system suited to the temperatures required and the demands of the customer’s delivery routes?
- Internal layout: Will the customer need a different loading arrangement, easier access or separate temperature compartments?
If you’re arranging conversions for several vehicles at once, it’s also worth thinking about whether they all need the same specification or whether different customers and delivery requirements call for different setups.
At CoolVan, we can help you work through these requirements before the conversion begins, so you can be confident that the base vehicle and proposed conversion are suited to the job.
How does temperature control affect your refrigerated vehicle specification?
When you’re arranging a refrigerated van conversion for a customer, the refrigeration unit needs to be suited to more than just the temperature they’ll be working at. We also need to look at their delivery schedule, how often the doors will be opened and how quickly the load area needs to get back to the right temperature between stops.
These details can make a difference to the equipment we recommend. If your customer is making frequent deliveries throughout the day, for example, we’ll also need to look at ways to reduce temperature loss when the doors are opened, whether that’s through the insulation, internal layout or fitting strip curtains.
If they’re delivering both chilled and frozen products on the same routes, it’s also worth looking at our dual-temperature vans. Depending on what they’re transporting, having two temperature zones in one van could be more practical than running separate vehicles.
We’ll take your customer’s delivery requirements into account when recommending refrigeration equipment, so they’re getting a setup that works for their business without paying for features they don’t need.
Why should you check payload and load space before converting a refrigerated van?
When you’re sourcing a vehicle for refrigerated conversion, don’t just look at the load space and payload figures for the standard van. Once the conversion has been completed, those figures can change.
Insulation, refrigeration equipment and internal fittings all add weight, reducing how much the finished vehicle can legally carry. The conversion also takes up space inside the load area, so the finished internal dimensions will be smaller than those of the original vehicle.
This becomes even more important if your customer regularly transports heavy goods or needs to carry a certain number of pallets, boxes or containers. A van might appear to have enough room for everything they need, but you’ll also need to check that the finished payload is sufficient for the weight of their load.
Vehicle size matters too. If your customer is making deliveries in busy town centres or areas with restricted access, small fridge vans may be easier to work with, provided they have enough load space and payload for the job.
The same applies when choosing larger vehicles for customers making higher-volume deliveries. It’s important to check the finished vehicle specification rather than relying on the manufacturer’s original figures.
We can help you check that the base vehicle is suitable for the conversion before the work begins, so you have a clearer idea of the finished payload and load space.
When should you choose a bespoke fridge van conversion?
Not every customer will need the same fridge van setup. Some businesses may only need a straightforward chilled conversion, while others might need a freezer van, separate temperature compartments or a different internal layout to make their deliveries easier.
That’s where a bespoke refrigerated van conversion can help. With our in-house conversion expertise, we can tailor the insulation, refrigeration equipment and internal configuration around the products your customer transports and how they’ll use the vehicle.
We can carry out chilled conversions for fresh food and temperature-sensitive deliveries, freezer conversions for frozen goods and dual-temperature conversions for businesses that need to transport different products in the same van.
Our dedicated vehicle induction centre and in-house capabilities also help us manage vehicles supplied for conversion, whether you’re arranging work on one van or a larger number of vehicles.
If you’re supplying several refrigerated vehicles, we can also help you establish suitable specifications across the fleet, making it easier to arrange multiple conversions for the same customer.
How does vehicle specification affect refrigerated fleet leasing costs?
When you’re putting together a leasing quote for a customer, the overall cost of the finished vehicle is naturally going to be an important consideration. But you’ll also need to look at what’s included in the refrigerated conversion and whether the specification meets their requirements.
The refrigeration equipment, insulation and any bespoke conversion work will all contribute to the cost. Choosing additional equipment that your customer won’t use could increase what they’re paying, while going for a cheaper conversion that doesn’t meet their needs could create problems once the van is in service.
That’s why we’d recommend establishing the specification before finalising the leasing quote. Once you know what size of vehicle your customer needs, the temperatures it must maintain and the equipment required, you’ll have a clearer idea of what the conversion will involve and how much it will cost.
At CoolVan, we can assess the base vehicle, discuss your customer’s requirements and provide a quotation for the conversion work. This will give you the information you need to factor the conversion into your customer’s refrigerated vehicle leasing arrangements.
You’ll also need to consider when your customer needs the finished vehicle. Conversion timescales will depend on the work required and equipment availability, so we’ll discuss the expected timeframe with you before the work begins. This will help you plan around your customer’s requirements and keep them informed throughout the process.
How can CoolVan help commercial vehicle leasing companies?
When a customer comes to you looking for a refrigerated vehicle, you might already know which base van they want, but still need some guidance on the conversion itself. At CoolVan, we can talk you through the options available and help you work out what’s needed before the conversion begins.
We work with a range of leading vehicle manufacturers, so we can help you establish whether the vehicle you’re supplying is suitable for the conversion your customer needs. We’ll also discuss the refrigeration equipment, insulation and any changes to the internal layout before providing a quotation for the work.
Our experience covers a wide range of vehicles, including diesel refrigerated vans and electric fridge vans. This means we can discuss different vehicle options with you if your customer is still deciding what will work best for their business.
We know that when you’re arranging a conversion on behalf of a customer, you’ll need to keep them informed about the work involved, the costs and when their vehicle is likely to be ready. We’ll work with you throughout the process, from the initial enquiry and specification through to completing the conversion, so you have the information you need to keep things moving.
Whether it’s your first refrigerated vehicle enquiry or you regularly arrange specialist conversions, we’re here to offer guidance and support whenever you need it.
Find the right refrigerated vehicle conversion partner with CoolVan
If you’re a commercial vehicle leasing company looking for a reliable refrigerated conversion partner, CoolVan can help. Whether you’re arranging a single chilled van, a freezer conversion or several vehicles for a larger fleet, we’ll work with you to make sure the finished vehicles meet your customers’ requirements.
You supply the base vehicle, and we’ll take care of the refrigerated conversion. Take a look at our refrigerated van conversions to find out more about what we can offer, or explore our range of fridge and freezer vans right here on our site.
If you’d like to discuss a customer’s requirements or request a conversion quote, simply get in touch with your base vehicle details and the type of refrigerated conversion you’re looking for. You’re more than welcome to call our team on 0161 751 7140 or email us at [email protected]. We’ll be happy to talk you through the options!
