ThermoGuard

Introducing ThermoGuard from Great Dane - the most revolutionary innovation in the trailer industry since Great Dane pioneered the first cooled produce van in the 1940s. ThermoGuard is the only liner that helps maintain insulation performance for the life of the trailer. ThermoGuard is a glass-reinforced, thermoplastic liner exclusively made for use as original equipment on Great Dane refrigerated trailers. This strong, yet lightweight lining is superior to the traditional liners that are used in the majority of reefers because ThermoGuard helps maintain the thermal efficiency of the trailer. ThermoGuard is available as an option on all Great Dane refrigerated trailer models.


ThermoGuard contains a revolutionary composite layer that seals the trailer's insulation and significantly reduces "out gassing" effects that cause foam insulation to degrade over time. As a result, ThermoGuard allows a trailer's insulation to perform effectively year after year.

The advantages of ThermoGuard:
  • Helps maintain excess cooling capacity
  • Reduces operational costs by helping reduce cooling unit run-time, reducing cooling unit maintenance, and saving cooling unit fuel
  • Helps maintain insulation performance as the trailer ages
  • Lightweight - saves up to 200 additional pounds
  • Strong, durable, and puncture resistant
  • ThermoGuard can potentially reduce cooling unit run time more than 1,000 hours over the course of five years.
  • Helps to extend the useful life of the trailer, increasing trailer productivity, and improving resale value

The value of a refrigerated trailer is directly related to its thermal performance. It is imperative that a reefer insulate efficiently not only today, but for the life of the trailer. As refrigerated trailers with traditional liners age, they will experience insulation degradation, largely due to the normal aging of the trailer, which is not addressed by traditional FRP liners. These liners do not completely seal the insulation and allow an "out gassing" effect as the trailer ages. As a result, the following occurs:

  • Loss of insulation performance because of trailer damage, moisture intrusion, or air loss.
  • Longer cooling unit run-times, to make up for this loss of thermal efficiency.
  • Increased cooling unit fuel costs since the unit has to work harder.
  • Inability to maintain interior temperature
  • Loss of excess cooling capacity
  • Eventually the insulation will degrade so much that the unit cannot properly pull down or have enough cooling capacity to get the job done.



ThermoGuard's revolutionary construction combats the loss in insulation performance as the trailer ages. Testing shows traditional liners allow rapid thermal degradation. By contrast, trailers originally equipped with ThermoGuard show significantly improved insulation performance and longevity.




Refrigerated trailers are insulated with polyurethane foam, which provides excellent insulation performance, is lightweight, and allows for a wide variety of applications. When used in refrigerated trailers, polyurethane foam is injected into the walls, floor and ceiling, etc. A chemical reaction then takes place, during this process; the "insulating gas" in foam or the "blowing agent" expands the foam and is retained in the cell structure of the polyurethane matrix. A lightweight polyurethane foam insulation, with a highly thermally efficient cell gas is the goal of the insulating process. However, over time, some of the cell gas escapes from the foam and air migrates into the cells. As more of the insulating cell gas escapes and air gets into the cells, the polyurethane foam loses its insulation capacity. This is called thermal degradation and happens to the polyurethane foam insulation in all traditionally lined refrigerated trailers.






ThermoGuard helps extend the useful life of the trailers:
  • Until now, the only way to compensate for the decreasing insulation performance has been to make sure the cooling unit has enough excess capacity to maintain temperatures over the course of time.


  • But a refrigerated trailer lined with ThermoGuard dramatically slows down the loss in insulation performance, extending the useful life, and increasing the effectiveness of the trailer.


  • ThermoGuard helps trailers continue to insulate significantly better than traditional liners, improving utilization of your fleet with more options for specific temperature-controlled hauls.


  • ThermoGuard helps to keep a refrigerated trailer on the road and generating revenue by maintaining excess cooling capacity, decreasing unit maintenance downtime, and expanding its productivity.


  • With its uniform surface, ThermoGuard also helps to maintain a like new appearance on the interior walls, which helps to increase a trailer's resale value.