A mobile cold room for sale or hire is a small insulated room built onto a trailer, with its own cooling unit, that plugs into a normal power supply wherever you park it. Caterers use them at weddings, families hire them for funerals and large gatherings, farmers use them at harvest time and shops use them when a fixed cold room breaks down. Tell us whether you want to buy or hire, the size and the dates, and suppliers near you quote directly. Asking is free and you need not accept any offer.
Hire or buy
Hire suits occasional needs: a weekend event, a funeral, a short harvest or cover while a cold room repair is done. Suppliers' rates put hire at about R1,500 to R2,000 a day, plus delivery and collection. Buying makes sense if you need cold storage often or in different places, such as a caterer, a game farm or a mobile butcher. Price lists put a mobile cold room at about R43,000 to R65,000 to buy, depending on size, build and whether it is a chiller or freezer. If you only ever park it in one place, a fixed cold room may give more space for the money.
What to check on a trailer cold room
A mobile room is both a trailer and a fridge, so look at both sides:
- The chassis, axle, tyres, lights and coupling, and whether it is licensed and roadworthy for the roads you will use.
- Panel thickness and the floor, which must take the weight of crates and meat.
- The door seal, lock and inside release.
- The cooling unit: chiller only or able to freeze, and how fast it pulls down.
- Shelving, meat rails and hooks if you need them.
Power on site
Most mobile rooms run off a standard plug point, but ask the supplier what supply the unit needs and how long an extension cable can be. At remote venues, a generator or solar setup has to be sized for the compressor's starting current, not only its running load. Park in shade where you can, on level ground, with space around the cooling unit for airflow.
Buying a used mobile cold room
Used units come up for sale often. Ask a refrigeration technician to check that it reaches temperature, that the panels are dry and the compressor sounds healthy, and have the trailer itself checked as you would any trailer. Ask which refrigerant it uses and whether the paperwork for the trailer is in order.
What to include in your request
- Buy or hire, and for which dates
- Chiller or freezer, and what you will store
- The size or how many crates it must hold
- Where it will stand and the power available
- Whether you need delivery and collection
Mobile Cold Rooms for different clients
- Households: a hired chiller for a family wedding, funeral, umembeso or big braai
- Landlords, guest houses and B&Bs: extra cold storage for a venue, lodge or guest farm on busy weekends
- Shops, cafes and supermarkets: overflow storage for stock over the festive season or during a breakdown
- Restaurants, butcheries and caterers: on-site cold storage for caterers, food stalls and mobile butchers at events
- Farms, packhouses and dairies: a cold room that moves to the harvest, the abattoir or the market
- Factories and cold stores: temporary cold storage while a fixed cold room is repaired or replaced
- Schools, clinics and public buildings: temporary food storage for community events, schools and relief kitchens
- Technicians and repairers: a unit to hire out to clients or use while repairing their cold rooms
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to hire a mobile cold room?
What does a mobile cold room cost to buy?
Can a mobile cold room keep meat frozen?
Do you hire out mobile cold rooms?
Mobile Cold Rooms by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg