Anyone who has moved chilled product across a Central Asian summer learns the same lesson early: the refrigeration unit is not the hard part, keeping the box cold while the truck sits is. Door openings, ambient heat, a driver who switches the unit off to save fuel at a weigh station — those are what spoil a load. That is why the first question to ask of any "refrigerated truck" listing is not how many horsepower it has, but whether the listing actually names a refrigeration unit and an insulated box. In the Foton range configured for Turkmenistan cold-chain work, that question eliminates two of the three candidates immediately.

This article is about cold chain and refrigerated transport only. It does not cover dry freight, construction or long-haul tractor work. What follows is a reading of three listings in the order a buyer should read them: the one that ships as a reefer, then the two 22-tonne cargo chassis that are marketed for fresh food but are published as box trucks. Every figure quoted comes from the specification table on each listing, and where a table does not contain the number a cold-chain buyer needs, that absence is stated rather than filled in.

1. Only one of these three is a refrigerated truck as delivered

The Foton Aumark S refrigerator truck is the only listing in this set whose upper-body line names both pieces of equipment a cold chain needs: a Carrier (Thermo King) RV589 refrigeration unit and an insulated box measuring 4,170 × 2,100 × 2,100 mm. The other two list "refrigerated truck" and "fresh food transport vehicle" in their application fields, but their published bodies are cargo boxes, not insulated bodies, and no refrigeration unit appears anywhere in their specification tables. That is not a criticism of the trucks; it is the single most important fact on this page, and it changes what you are actually buying.

Under the box, the Aumark S runs a Foton Cummins ISF3.8s3154 of 3,760 ml rated at 115 HP at 2,600 rpm, with 500 N·m spread across 1,200–1,900 rpm. That torque band is worth pausing on: a refrigeration compressor draws power whether the truck is moving or queueing, and a 700 rpm-wide plateau means the engine is not being worked to its limit at idle with the unit cycling. Drive goes through a ZF 6S500 six-speed manual to a final drive of 4.3 — a notably tall ratio for an 8.5-tonner, and consistent with a truck that spends its day on paved urban and intercity routes rather than on sites.

Weight is the number that decides whether this truck works for you. GVW is 8.5 t, split 2.85 t on the front axle and 6 t on the rear. An insulated body and a nose-mounted refrigeration unit both eat into payload, and the listing does not publish a kerb or payload figure, so the 8.5 t plate is the only weight you can plan against until you ask. The chassis measures 5,960 × 2,135 × 2,292 mm on a 3,360 mm wheelbase, rides on six wheels plus a spare in tubeless 7.50R16-14, and carries 120 L of diesel. Braking is air with front and rear drums and ABS + EBD. The standard configuration list includes cruise control, power steering, manual cab tilt, MP3 and knitted standard seats — and states plainly that air conditioning is not equipped. Emission is Euro III, drive is left-hand, the cab is single row for three, and the listing names Turkmenistan as the country of sale.

Refrigerated Truck · Turkmenistan

Aumark S 4×2 Reefer — Thermo King RV589, 18.4 m³ insulated box

Foton Cummins ISF3.8s3154, 3,760 ml · 115 HP @ 2,600 rpm · 500 N·m @ 1,200–1,900 rpm · ZF 6S500 6-speed · final drive 4.3 · GVW 8.5 t · box 4,170 × 2,100 × 2,100 mm · ABS + EBD · Euro III

Listed at $35,792 · Fresh produce, meat and seafood delivery

View full specification →

2. What 18.4 cubic metres of box actually means on a route

Multiply the published box dimensions out and the Aumark S reefer gives you roughly 18.4 cubic metres of insulated volume, on a 3,360 mm wheelbase and a 5,960 mm chassis. That is the whole payload envelope. It is a genuinely useful size for a supermarket or hotel distribution run: large enough to be worth a dedicated trip, small enough to be parked and unloaded without a dock.

Two constraints follow from the numbers that are published. The first is weight, not volume: at 8.5 t GVW with an insulated body and a refrigeration unit fitted, dense product will hit the plate long before it fills the box. Fresh produce usually fills first; meat and seafood usually weigh out first. Work out which regime your product is in before you decide whether this is a one-truck or two-truck route. The second is range: the tank is 120 L, which is a city and near-intercity figure. If your run is regional rather than metropolitan, ask about the tank before you ask about anything else.

The cab specification also deserves a word, because this is a driver-retention issue in cold chain. Air conditioning is listed as not equipped, and the standard configuration is manual windows and mirrors with MP3 only. For a driver doing pre-dawn market deliveries that is tolerable; for a driver doing afternoon transfers in summer heat it is not. Both the refrigeration unit and the driver's working environment are worth raising in the same enquiry, and the cab air conditioning question is far cheaper to settle at the factory than it is to retrofit locally.

3. The two 22-tonners: cold-chain by application, cargo truck by specification

Both remaining listings are 22-tonners, and both are worth understanding properly because they are the natural chassis if you intend to have an insulated body built locally rather than shipped.

The Foton Auman MA5 6×2 is the larger machine in every dimension that matters to a bodybuilder. It is the only 6×2 in the set, running a 5,900 + 1,350 mm wheelbase and an overall chassis length of 11,590 × 2,495 × 2,810 mm. Its Dongfeng Cummins ISD6.7 displaces 6,700 cc and produces 198 PS and 970 Nm through a Fast 8JS118TC-B eight-speed with a 5.286 final drive. Axle ratings are 6.5 T front and 13 T rear, on 11 wheels in 11.00R20 tube-type rubber, and the tank is 260 — the largest here. Emission is Euro IV with an SCR route, the highest standard in this set, and the transmission can be specified with PTO, which is precisely the option a refrigeration compressor driven off the gearbox needs to be quoted with. The cab is an extended cab with flat roof, two seats, central locking with power windows and power mirrors, ABS and air brakes. Note two gaps: the listing publishes no inner cargo box dimension, and its sales country field reads Vietnam rather than Turkmenistan.

The Foton Aumark EST-M 4×2 is the cheaper route to 22 tonnes and the one with the longest published box. It runs a 5,750 mm wheelbase, an overall length of 9,840 × 2,460 × 2,750 mm and an inner cargo box of 7,800 × 2,450 × 600 mm. Two things about that box figure: it is roughly 11.5 cubic metres at the published height, and 600 mm is a deck dimension rather than the height of an insulated body — so treat it as the floor you are building on, not the volume you are buying. The engine is a Yuchai, listed as model YC6A240-33 with a displacement of 7,225 cc, and the power field reads 177 PS with 900 Nm. That power figure sits oddly against the engine code, so get the rating confirmed against the announcement model BJ1226VMPHN-02 in writing before a deposit moves. Transmission is a Fast 8JS105TA eight-speed with a 4.875 final drive, with a flange PTO available as an option. Axles are 5.5 T front and 10 T rear on seven wheels in 11R22.5 tubeless, tank is 200 L, and emission is Euro II — the lowest badge in this set and the one most likely to cause a registration problem. Standard air conditioning is manual with automatic available as an option; the cab is a half-bench seat with flat roof and two seats.

Cargo / Reefer Chassis · 22 T

Auman MA5 6×2 — 198 PS, PTO option, Euro IV SCR

Dongfeng Cummins ISD6.7, 6,700 cc · 198 PS · 970 Nm · Fast 8JS118TC-B 8-speed · final drive 5.286 · GVW 22,000 kg · 6.5 T front / 13 T rear · 260 L tank · Euro IV, SCR

Listed at $34,300 · Warehouse and refrigerated body application

View full specification →

Cargo / Reefer Chassis · 22 T

Aumark EST-M 4×2 — 177 PS Yuchai, 7.8 m box

Yuchai YC6A240-33, 7,225 cc · 177 PS · 900 Nm · Fast 8JS105TA 8-speed · final drive 4.875 · GVW 22,000 kg · box 7,800 × 2,450 × 600 mm · 5.5 T front / 10 T rear · Euro II

Listed at $23,750 · Fresh food transport application

View full specification →

4. The three side by side

Axle-load law and the road reality in Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan follows the post-Soviet weight standard — a single-axle limit around 10 t, a tandem limit up to 24 t and gross combination weight near 36 t — enforced by the Ministry of Motor Transport. Turkmenistan’s freight runs on the Caspian port and the gas-field corridors. The practical catch is that the gross-combination cap is among the lowest in the region, so a tractor rated far above the legal train limit is mostly academic. The core business is gas-sector and transit freight, and a truck that is over on any axle is held at the weighbridge until the excess is shed.

For a reefer the weight discipline matters doubly, because a refrigerated body and the diesel for the unit eat into the legal payload before the first carton goes on, and a breakdown mid-run is spoilage, not just downtime.

What Turkmen fleets already run

In Turkmenistan the fleet is a mix of Russian KamAZ and MAZ, reconditioned European trucks (MAN, Scania, Volvo), and the newer Chinese entrants — Sinotruk, Shacman and Foton — that are winning share on price and a clean bill of health. The Russian and European stock wins on familiarity and parts but loses on age and the rebuild cost that lands within a couple of years. The new Chinese truck wins on warranty, and in a market where a breakdown on a remote corridor is expensive, a fresh truck is often the cheaper bet. Foton’s pitch is that middle ground.

5. Five checks before you sign

Confirm which truck arrives cold. Only the Aumark S listing names a refrigeration unit and an insulated box. If you order the MA5 or the EST-M expecting a reefer, you are ordering a cargo chassis and a bodybuilding project. Get the upper-body scope in writing on the order.

Specify the PTO if the compressor needs one. The MA5 offers a PTO on the 8JS118TC-B and the EST-M offers a flange PTO as an option. Neither is confirmed as standard. A refrigeration unit without a drive is an insulated shed.

Check the emission badge against your import permit. The spread here runs from Euro II on the EST-M, through Euro III on the Aumark S, to Euro IV with SCR on the MA5. If your import permit requires a higher emission standard, confirm this line before ordering.

Get a kerb weight and a payload figure. None of the three listings publishes one. For the 8.5 t Aumark S in particular, an insulated body plus a refrigeration unit against a 2.85 t front and 6 t rear axle pair is the calculation that decides whether the truck is viable for your product mix.

Sort the cab air conditioning before shipment. It is not equipped on the Aumark S reefer, manual as standard with automatic optional on the EST-M, and not stated on the MA5. Retrofitting locally costs more than specifying it at the factory, and in a summer delivery operation your driver will notice.

Two of these three are complete vehicles with a named announcement model and a published status; treat that as the starting point for a realistic per-unit import rather than a kit build. The prices quoted are the figures published on each listing and are an enquiry baseline, not a landed cost — freight, duties, and on two of the three an insulated body and refrigeration unit, all sit on top. Decide first whether you want a reefer or a chassis to build on, and the three listings sort themselves.