Open Forum

We completed a 14 hour exclusive-use tractor trailer truck shipment late last week during the very cold weather.  Although the truck was able to maintain an interior temp of 66 degrees, I could see from the tracker in the crate that the interior temp of the crate lowered about one degree an hour from a high of 70 degrees to a low of 56 degrees. This was well below the ambient temp in the truck. It appears that the crate was picking up cold from being strapped to the exterior wall (and/or the truck floor?). Recently I participated in an exc-use truck from Canada to the US with a number of museum loans on it. Through the group chat of registrars monitoring their crates I noticed that the crates that were on the exterior wall were getting colder than the crates that were strapped to another crate. 

Has anyone experimented with ways to mitigate the cold (or heat) getting into the crates from the truck walls and/or floors?  I am wondering about 4" x 4" strips of etha foam between the crate and the truck walls as a way of getting air flow around the crate, but I do want to be sure that we are not increasing vibration or movement.  We draped a blanket around the crate to add a little protection.  

CRATE: Wooden crate with 2" xps insulation lining and 2" polyethylene foam cushion pads/strips, gasketed lid, skids, polyglaze water based clear exterior lacquer.

TRAVEL FRAME: Painting secured with Oz clips in an interior travel frame with foam core lids and pine structure.  

DATA TRACKER PLACEMENT - the tracker was placed inside the crate between the travel frame and the interior of the crate on a side wall. 

Thanks!

Tara