Reach for a refrigerated truck when what you actually need is somewhere to keep stock cold, and you end up paying road-transport rates for a storage job. It is an easy slip, because both hold temperature — but a refrigerated truck is built to carry perishable goods along a road, and a refrigerated container is built to stand in one spot and store them. In practice the two get muddled all the time. This comparison lines them up so you can tell which one your job is really asking for.
Transport or storage: the line that decides it
A refrigerated truck — a rigid HGV with an insulated body, or a tractor unit pulling a reefer semi-trailer — exists to move goods from A to B. Its fridge unit usually runs off the diesel engine or an auxiliary set, and the vehicle earns its keep on the road. A refrigerated container is an ISO steel box: delivered once by crane lorry (HIAB), set on a level base, plugged into the mains, and left to hold its set point for as long as you need cold in a fixed place.
The confusion costs money in only one direction. A container cannot carry your stock across town, because it does not move once sited — that limit is plain. But a truck pressed into service as a static cold store is an expensive stand-in: a licensed working vehicle, often with its driver, tied up doing what a steel box does for a daily rate.
Head to head
The container brackets below are indicative UK figures observed in 2026, quoted ex VAT (add 20%); they shift with region, season and supplier. Refrigerated-truck costs vary too much by vehicle, driver and operator to bracket honestly, so that side is kept qualitative.
| Criterion | Refrigerated truck | Refrigerated container |
|---|---|---|
| Primary role | Moves goods on the road | Stores goods in one place |
| Mobility | Self-propelled, drives anywhere on the road network | Delivered by crane lorry (HIAB), fixed once sited |
| Volume | A rigid body holds a handful of pallets; a reefer semi-trailer more | 10ft ~15 m³ (4-5 pallets), 20ft ~28 m³ (10-11 pallets), 40ft HC ~67 m³ (23 pallets) |
| Power supply | Fridge unit runs off the engine or an auxiliary diesel set | Three-phase 380/400 V, 32 A CEE five-pin plug, 5 to 12 kW (small formats sometimes 230 V) |
| Driving licence | Category C, or C1 for lighter rigids, plus a driver | None — you do not move it |
| Cost basis | Priced by the day, usually with a driver | From ~£12/day long term ex VAT, degressive; by day or month |
| Tied-up asset | A working vehicle standing idle | Dedicated to storage, nothing else immobilised |
| Temperature | Set for transit runs | -25 °C to +25 °C standard; -60/-70 °C super-freezer (rare, pricier) |
Volume, power and the daily running cost
On volume, the container has standing room the truck cannot match. A 20ft holds 10 to 11 Euro pallets in about 28 m³, up to about 27 tonnes of payload; a 40ft high cube takes 23 pallets in about 67 m³, with 2.55 m of interior height; a 10ft gives around 15 m³ for 4 to 5 pallets. Once you would need a truck shuttling back and forth to hold the load, the container has already won.
Power is where the day-to-day cost splits. A parked truck powers its unit from the diesel engine or an auxiliary set, so it burns fuel to stand still. A container draws from the mains through a three-phase 380/400 V supply on a 32 A CEE plug, typically 5 to 12 kW; reckon on 70 to 170 kWh a day depending on size and set point, billed at your contracted unit rate. Electricity is usually the cheaper way to hold cold in one spot.
Licence, driver and the immobilisation trap
This is the line most people skip. A refrigerated truck is a working asset: it needs a category C — or C1 for lighter rigids — HGV licence, a driver, road tax and insurance, and every hour it spends as a static fridge is an hour it is not on the road earning. A container asks for none of that. It sits on a level, load-bearing base, draws mains power, and holds its set point without a licence-holder anywhere near it.
That gap is the heart of the choice: if your cold has to travel you need a vehicle, and if it has to stay put, using a truck for the job means paying transport rates for storage.
When the truck is the honest answer
To be plain about one thing: we do not run trucks or hire out vehicles. EuroReefer is an editorial comparison site specialised in refrigerated containers, with no fleet of any kind. If your job genuinely means moving perishable goods, the honest answer is to say so and point you towards a refrigerated haulier rather than sell you a box that does not move.
- Goods that must be carried from one place to another → a refrigerated truck or a haulier; a container cannot do it.
- A daily delivery round, chilled multi-drop, anything mobile → a truck, without hesitation.
- Overflow stock, a cold-room breakdown, a seasonal store on one site → a refrigerated container on hire, cheaper per day the longer you commit.
- A permanent, fixed need past roughly 18 to 24 months → buy a used unit, class A or B with a recent PTI (Pre-Trip Inspection). Our for-sale pages walk through grades and checks.
ATP, cost over time and where to go next
One point clears up a common worry. ATP certification concerns refrigerated transport, above all perishable goods carried across borders, so it belongs to the truck’s world; a container standing still on your yard as storage is generally outside its scope. Do not assume a static store needs it, and treat any sanitary or planning rules for storing food as a separate question for the relevant authority.
Over time the sums favour the container for storage. Long-term hire starts around £12 a day ex VAT and falls the longer you commit; short-term hire exists at some suppliers, though a 90-day minimum is common. If the need is permanent, a used unit runs £4,500 to £7,500 ex VAT and a new one-trip £18,995 to £22,500, graded A, B or C, with 10 to 15 years of service life on a sound one. Our price page breaks the bundle down. If you land in the container column, putting suppliers side by side pays off: browse the other comparisons for size, temperature and condition, and when your need is clear, request your quotes — we pass your request to specialist suppliers, who contact you directly if they can meet your requirement.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a refrigerated truck as a cold store?
You can, but it is a costly way to store. A refrigerated truck is a licensed working vehicle; parked as a static fridge it ties up the asset, and often its driver, while the unit burns diesel to stand still. A refrigerated container is built for that job — sited once, plugged into the mains, and hired from around £12 a day ex VAT on longer terms. For cold that stays put, the container almost always costs less.
What is the difference between a refrigerated container and a refrigerated truck?
A refrigerated truck moves perishable goods along a road: it is self-propelled, needs a category C driver, and runs its fridge unit off the engine or an auxiliary set. A refrigerated container stores goods in one place — delivered by crane lorry, fixed on a level base, and plugged into a three-phase mains supply. One transports, the other stores, and that single distinction settles most decisions.
Do I need a licence or ATP for a refrigerated container?
No driving licence: because a container does not move once sited, there is no driver, no vehicle tax and no insurance. You need a level, load-bearing base and usually a three-phase supply on a 32 A CEE plug. ATP concerns refrigerated transport, chiefly perishables carried across borders, so a container standing still on your yard is generally outside its scope — do not assume a static store needs it.
Which is cheaper for keeping goods cold, a truck or a container?
For cold that stays in one place, the container, clearly. Long-term container hire starts around £12 a day ex VAT and falls the longer you commit, drawing mains power rather than diesel. A truck used as a static store pays road-transport rates for a storage job, and its unit burns fuel to hold temperature. Where the cold has to travel, though, only the truck can do it.