Refrigerated truck and food truck manufacturers face a common challenge: maintaining consistent internal temperatures while keeping vehicle weight and long-term maintenance costs under control. Traditional materials often fall short on one or both fronts. FRP sandwich panels are increasingly replacing conventional options for this reason.
The insulation challenge Refrigerated transport bodies need to minimize heat transfer while resisting the wear of daily loading, temperature cycling, and exposure to moisture. Materials that degrade, corrode, or lose insulating performance over time create both food safety risks and rising operating costs.
How FRP sandwich panels perform An FRP sandwich panel consists of a weather-resistant FRP gelcoat outer skin, an insulating core, and an FRP inner skin. This structure is engineered specifically for thermal insulation applications — unlike solid FRP gelcoat panels, which are designed for surface and decorative use rather than insulation.
For refrigerated transport, two core options are most commonly recommended:
- PU Core— delivers the highest insulation efficiency, making it the preferred option where maintaining precise internal temperatures is critical.
- XPS Core— offers strong insulation performance at a more cost-optimized price point, a practical choice for manufacturers balancing performance and budget.
Both options benefit from the FRP gelcoat surface, which resists moisture absorption, corrosion, and the fiber blooming issues associated with lower-grade panel surfaces — an important factor for panels that are cleaned frequently in food-grade transport applications.
Built for the demands of the road Beyond insulation, FRP sandwich panels offer a lightweight yet durable structure that helps manufacturers manage overall vehicle weight without compromising strength — a key consideration for fuel efficiency and payload capacity in refrigerated and food truck bodies.
Learn more about our PU Core and XPS Core sandwich panels, or contact our team to discuss specifications for your refrigerated transport project.
