Cold Storage & Mobile Refrigeration for Emergencies
Emergency Cold Storage in San Diego, Delivered When Refrigeration Fails
A walk-in cooler doesn't fail at a convenient time. It fails on a Friday afternoon with a weekend's worth of inventory inside, or during a heat wave when every repair tech in the county is booked. When that happens, you have hours, not days, before product losses stack up. Emergency cold storage buys back that time: a refrigerated trailer delivered to your door, pre-chilled and ready to load, so your inventory stays safe while the underlying problem gets fixed.
Ice Cold Storage delivers emergency refrigeration trailers across San Diego County.
Call or text (858) 779-2600 and we'll get a unit moving.
Storage space
416ft³ (11.78³)
Temperature Range
0ºF (-18ºC) - 50ºF (10ºC)
Refrigeration Unit:
KingTech TL20
Amperage:
15 MCA
Electrical Supply:
115v
7' x 12'
Available Model
This compact yet spacious trailer is ideal for your outdoor special event or need for a smaller refrigeration solution.
It provides ample room to store a variety of items at a steady, optimal temperature.
What Counts as a Cold Storage Emergency
Some situations that put businesses on the phone with us:
- Equipment failure. A compressor dies in your walk-in cooler or reach-in freezer and the repair is days out.
- Power outages. Planned PSPS shutoffs or grid failures during heat events. Our trailers run on a standard 115v outlet, so a small generator keeps them cold when your building has no power at all.
- Overflow during repairs or remodels. Your kitchen refrigeration is offline for a scheduled replacement, but the restaurant doesn't close.
- Health inspection findings. An inspector flags your unit's temperature and you need compliant cold holding today, not next week.
- Supply surges. A delivery arrived early, an event doubled in size, or a recall next door sent extra product your way.
The common thread: perishable inventory, a ticking clock, and no spare refrigeration on site.
How Fast Emergency Delivery Works
Speed matters more than anything else in a refrigeration failure, so the process is deliberately short:
- Call or text (858) 779-2600. Tell us what you're storing, roughly how much, and whether you need refrigerator temps, freezer temps, or both.
- We prep the trailer. Every unit goes out sanitized, inspected, and cooled to your set point before it leaves our Poway yard, so it's ready to load the moment it arrives.
- We place and secure it. We position the trailer where it works best for your crew, level it with jacks, chock the wheels, lock the coupler, and hand you locks for the doors.
- You load and breathe. Keep the trailer for three days or three months. When your permanent refrigeration is back, we pick it up.
Delivery is often possible the same day, depending on trailer availability, and units are on the road across San Diego, Chula Vista, Oceanside, Escondido, El Cajon, Carlsbad, and the rest of the county.
Refrigerator, Freezer, or Both
Our 7' x 12' trailers hold 416 cubic feet of product and run anywhere from 0°F to 50°F on a KingTech TL20 refrigeration unit. That range covers the two settings most emergencies call for:
Refrigerated Holding at 36°F
Produce, dairy, prepared foods, floral product, and most medical supplies sit safely in standard refrigerated range. This is the setting most restaurants and grocers need when a walk-in cooler goes down.
Freezer Holding Down to -4°F
Proteins, ice cream, and frozen inventory need a hard freeze, and the trailers hold it. If you're juggling both, dual-temperature units with two separate doors let one trailer handle refrigerated and frozen product at the same time, or we deliver two units.
Power is simple either way: a standard 115v outlet and the 50-foot, 10-gauge cord we provide. No electrician, no special hookup.
🧊 Load-Out Move: Before your trailer arrives, stage product by temperature zone and tape a simple inventory list to each rack or pallet. When the health inspector or your insurance adjuster asks what was saved and when it went into cold holding, that list is your answer.
What an Emergency Rental Costs
Emergency doesn't have to mean emergency pricing. Rentals start with a three-day minimum and flat-rate pricing, with daily, weekly, and monthly terms after that. There are no hidden fees, and long-term arrangements are a phone call away. See current rates on our rental pricing page, or get a number for your exact situation through a free quote.
For context: a single walk-in of spoiled restaurant inventory routinely costs more than a month of trailer rental. The math on acting fast is not close.
🌡️ Worth Sitting With: The businesses that lose the least in a refrigeration failure aren't the luckiest ones. They're the ones who already knew who to call. Save (858) 779-2600 in your phone under "emergency cold storage" today, while nothing is wrong. Future you, standing in front of a warm walk-in, will be glad.
Who Relies on Emergency Cold Storage
Restaurants are the obvious case, and our restaurant refrigerated rentals handle everything from single-location kitchens to franchise groups. But emergencies hit more than kitchens. Pharmacies and clinics use our medical cold storage when vaccine refrigerators fail. Schools, churches, breweries, florists, and caterers have all had a trailer in the parking lot within a day of calling.
Ice Cold Storage has built its reputation across San Diego County on exactly these calls. It's why organizations from national restaurant brands to Naval Base San Diego and La Jolla Country Day School trust us with product they can't afford to lose. We're local, the trailers are ours, and the person who answers the phone is the person who solves the problem.
Keep It From Becoming an Emergency Twice
Once the crisis passes, a few habits keep the next one small:
- Put a standalone thermometer with an alarm in every walk-in, so failures announce themselves before opening staff finds warm product.
- Know your temperature danger window: refrigerated food climbing above 40°F starts a countdown measured in hours, per FDA food code guidance.
- Line up backup cold storage before peak season. Summer heat waves and the holiday rush are when both refrigeration failures and trailer demand spike.
- If outages are a recurring risk at your site, consider keeping a trailer on standby during fire season. Plenty of our long-term rentals started as a one-week emergency.
Frequently asked questions about emergency cold storage:
What's the best emergency cold storage option for a business in San Diego?
A delivered refrigerated trailer is the fastest option for most businesses. Unlike off-site cold storage warehouses, a trailer sits at your door, holds 0°F to 50°F, runs on a standard 115v outlet, and your staff keeps direct access to inventory. Ice Cold Storage delivers across San Diego County with a three-day minimum rental.
Can an emergency refrigeration trailer run during a power outage?
Yes. The trailers draw 15 MCA on a standard 115v circuit, which a mid-size portable generator can supply. If your building has no power at all, pairing a rented or owned generator with the trailer keeps product cold through multi-day outages, including planned PSPS shutoffs.
Cool Heads Prevail
A refrigeration failure is a bad afternoon, not a lost quarter, if cold storage shows up fast. Ice Cold Storage keeps sanitized, pre-chilled trailers ready to roll anywhere in San Diego County. Call or text (858) 779-2600 or start your rental now, and let's get your product back below 40 degrees.
