12 ft Refrigerated Trailer
Starting from $1,895 / month
The smallest trailer in the lineup. It fits tight lots and loading areas when a small walk-in cooler or freezer goes down.
Madison, Wisconsin Walk-In Cooler Trailer Rentals
Madison is a city in Dane County, and HHrefrigeration serves it with refrigeration trailer rentals, mobile kitchen rentals, and dishwashing trailers. Service is nationwide, which means Madison is covered from your first call.
Madison is a city in Dane County with about 280,305 residents (2023 Census Bureau estimate), and it is the county seat. Customers who rent in a place like this include health systems, school districts and campuses, hotel and banquet kitchens, grocery chains, cold-storage and distribution operators, and large events. Rent for a few days to cover a repair, or lease for months through a renovation, a harvest, a construction project, or a seasonal peak.
Emergency? Call (888) 385-5513, open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For planned work, send the quote form below with the address in Madison and the dates you need.
Madison, WI at a glance
Numbers for Madison that matter when planning a rental: how big it is, how spread out it is, and how far the next larger place sits.
Winter storms in Wisconsin (November to March) can slow or close roads, so tell us your start date early and we plan the trip with the forecast in mind.
- Place: city in Dane County, Wisconsin.
- Population: 280,305 (2023 Census Bureau estimate), number 2 of 20 Wisconsin places on our list.
- Land area: 80 square miles, about 3,523 people per square mile.
- Elevation: about 873 feet.
- Madison is the county seat of Dane County.
- Nearest larger place we list: Milwaukee, 74 miles east.
- Other places we list within 50 miles: 1.
How we plan getting a trailer to Madison
Every rental in Madison starts with the address, not a warehouse. Here is how a request for Madison, WI moves from call to cold storage:
- Call or send the form. Tell us the street address in Madison, what failed or what you are planning, and the temperature you need. Emergencies go to (888) 385-5513.
- We match the unit. A 12 ft refrigerated trailer suits tight lots and small kitchens, a 20 ft trailer holds more, and a refrigerated container is for bulk storage over longer jobs.
- Madison is reached by county and state roads, and Wisconsin's main corridors include I-94, I-90, and I-43. Tell us the street address and we confirm the approach, the final turn, and the room the truck needs.
- Madison is roughly 74 straight-line miles west of Milwaukee, Wisconsin's largest city on our list. A longer trip means we plan routes, weather, and delivery timing with more care, and we confirm both in your quote.
- We confirm power and placement. The 20 ft trailers list 220V, single phase, 40 to 60 amps with a NEMA plug, so have an electrician confirm your service. Pick a firm, level spot with room for the door to open and for the truck to reach it.
- Delivery and setup. On site, setup takes about 1 hour for a refrigeration unit, plus 4 to 6 hours if a ramp is needed or 5 to 15 minutes for stairs. Delivery timing, servicing, and minimum terms are written into your quote, and an inquiry does not reserve equipment.
Emergency refrigeration support in Madison
When cold storage fails in Madison, speed of information matters most. Call (888) 385-5513 any hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and tell us:
In Wisconsin, calls like this often follow heat wave and tornado. When summer heat pushes a compressor past its limit, a 12 ft refrigerated trailer or 20 ft refrigerated trailer can take over cold storage while the walk-in is repaired.
For official emergency information in Wisconsin, see Wisconsin Emergency Management (Ready Wisconsin). We are not an emergency agency; for danger to life, call 911.
- The address in Madison (and the Dane County location if it is outside town limits).
- What failed: a walk-in cooler, a freezer, a compressor, or the power itself.
- How much product is at risk, and whether it must stay at 32°F (cooler) or near -5°F (freezer).
- The power available at the site and whether a truck can reach the spot.
- Keep doors closed until the unit arrives so the product holds its temperature as long as possible.
What drives cold-storage demand around Madison
Wisconsin has warm summers (statewide July highs average about 80 F) and long, cold, snowy winters (January highs average about 24 F and lows near 4 F). Statewide snowfall averages roughly 49 inches a year, with far more in the Lake Superior snowbelt. Processors, distributors, school districts, and hospital systems commonly need added cold storage during repairs and seasonal peaks.
UW-Madison, UW Health and state government are the largest employers, and Epic Systems in nearby Verona is the largest private employer. Large institutions and hospitals often have heavy dining and catering needs that depend on commercial refrigeration.
The Dane County Farmers' Market, Art Fair on the Square and Concerts on the Square are major annual downtown events. Event food vendors can often use temporary cold storage and mobile kitchens.
Heavy rain on August 20-21, 2018 caused flash flooding and evacuations in the Madison area and cut power to about 6,000 MG&E customers. Flood damage and outages can often create a need for temporary cold storage or kitchens.
Heat wave risk in Wisconsin (June to August): The state record high is 114 F, set at Wisconsin Dells on July 13, 1936, and heat waves are listed among Milwaukee's climate-related risks. Extreme heat can often overload coolers and walk-in refrigeration, raising demand for added cold storage at events and food businesses.
Tornado risk in Wisconsin (May to August (peak in June)): Wisconsin averages about 23 tornadoes a year, with the peak season running May through August and June the busiest month. Tornado and severe-thunderstorm damage to power lines can often leave restaurants, grocers and event sites without refrigeration or kitchen capacity.
Storms on August 20, 2018 knocked out power to about 6,000 Madison Gas and Electric customers, and flooded roads delayed some repairs. Flood-related outages can often last long enough to threaten refrigerated food in commercial kitchens and stores.
Food service and business in Madison
The kinds of operations that rent refrigeration in a city like Madison are health systems, school districts and campuses, hotel and banquet kitchens, grocery chains, cold-storage and distribution operators, and large events.
Wisconsin is the nation's largest cheese-producing state, with about 25 percent of U.S. cheese production, and ranks second in milk output with more than 7,000 dairy farms. Dairy processing and distribution depend on continuous cold chains, so temporary refrigerated capacity can help during equipment failures or peak seasons.
Wisconsin's economy includes dairy, cranberries and ginseng, with manufacturing, healthcare and tourism, and a long-standing beer industry centered in Milwaukee. Brewing, cranberry and specialty crop handling often need refrigerated storage during harvest and packing peaks.
Madison customers use refrigeration trailers in three common ways: as emergency cover for a failed walk-in, as extra capacity during a peak (a harvest, a festival, a holiday week), and as temporary cold storage during a renovation. See rental prices for what each unit costs, or how to plan your site before delivery.
Demand also rises around events in Wisconsin: Gary Con (March); Summerfest (Late June to early July). Resort conventions can often bring short-term spikes in catering needs.
Equipment you can rent in Madison
Refrigeration is our focus, and Madison customers rent the same four units as the rest of Wisconsin:
If the kitchen itself is down, add a mobile kitchen and a dishwashing trailer so Madison operators can keep serving while cold storage is covered.
20 ft Refrigerated Trailer
Starting from $1,895 / month
The workhorse. A 20 ft trailer comes as a 32°F cooler or as a low-temperature freezer configuration, so you can match what failed.
20 ft Refrigerated Container
Starting from $2,995 / month
A stationary cold storage box for bulk product, built for longer projects, seasonal peaks, and renovations.
40 ft Refrigerated Container
Starting from $3,995 / month
The largest cold storage option. It takes pallets and bulk product for food distribution, disaster response, and large facilities.
Requirements for renting a refrigerated trailer in Madison
Renting a refrigerated trailer in Madison is simple, but a few items decide whether it runs smoothly on the first day.
A Wisconsin mobile retail food establishment must have a licensed base, and the regulatory authority performs a plan review before licensing a mobile unit. Mobile kitchen use in Wisconsin can often involve both a base license and plan review.
Vernon County defines a transient (temporary) retail food establishment as one operating at a fixed location in connection with a special event for no more than 14 consecutive days. Event caterers using temporary kitchens often need a transient license, and rules and fees vary by licensing agency.
- Customer type: commercial or industrial only (restaurants, grocers, healthcare, schools, hospitality, distributors, government). We do not rent to residential customers.
- Power: 220V, single phase, 40 to 60 amps for the 20 ft trailers, with a NEMA plug. Ask your electrician to confirm the circuit at your Madison site before delivery.
- Placement: a firm, level surface with room for the trailer, its door swing, and the delivery truck. Soft ground, steep slopes, and overhead lines are the usual problems.
- Access: send the gate or door width, any low clearances, and the best approach into the property.
- Permission: if you rent the property, get the owner or manager's approval to place a trailer. For food-safety questions, contact Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), Division of Food and Recreational Safety.
- Paperwork: your quote lists the unit, the rental length, delivery, setup, servicing, and minimum terms. An inquiry does not reserve equipment.
Roads, routes, and access around Madison
Madison's road access comes from county and state routes in Dane County. For planning, here are the main corridors that cross Wisconsin:
Madison sits at about 873 feet above sea level.
Nearby places we also serve: Jefferson (32 miles east), Ripon (60 miles northeast), Rockford, IL (60 miles south), Harvard, IL (61 miles southeast), Lake Geneva (62 miles southeast).
- I-94: Runs from Hudson at the Minnesota line through Madison and Milwaukee to the Illinois line near Kenosha.
- I-90: Runs from La Crosse at the Minnesota line to Beloit, passing Sparta and the Madison area.
- I-43: Runs from Beloit through Milwaukee to Howard near Green Bay.
- I-41: Runs from the Illinois line near Russell north through Milwaukee-area suburbs to Howard near Green Bay.
Rental prices for Madison at a glance
Rates are the same nationwide. Rentals start from $1,895 / month for a 12 ft trailer, and the price sheet prints a separate rate for 1-6 days, 8-14 days, 15 days to 1 month, and more than 3 months. See every rate. Delivery to Madison, setup, servicing, and minimum terms are confirmed in your quote.
More of Wisconsin and the Midwest
Madison is one of the places we list in Wisconsin, and Wisconsin is part of our Midwest service area. Browse the Wisconsin service area for every city page in the state, or the full service-area map.
Rental terms at a glance
Rentals run by the week or by the month, with short-term and long-term options, and we answer calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Setup on site takes about 1 hour for a refrigeration unit and about 5 hours for a kitchen or dishwashing trailer; a ramp adds 4 to 6 hours and stairs add 5 to 15 minutes. GPS tracking is possible on request. Delivery, setup, servicing, and minimum terms are confirmed in your quote, and an inquiry does not reserve equipment.
Cold storage down? Call now.
Emergency refrigeration rentals in Madison, WI.
If a walk-in cooler or freezer has stopped holding temperature, call now. Tell us your city and state, what failed, how much product is at risk, and what power is on site. Keep doors closed to hold the cold while we work out the right trailer or container for you.
Madison rental questions
Do you rent refrigerated trailers in Madison, Wisconsin?
Yes. HHrefrigeration rents refrigerated trailers, refrigerated containers, mobile kitchens, and dishwashing trailers to commercial and industrial customers in Madison and Dane County. Call (888) 385-5513 or send the quote form with your address. An inquiry does not reserve equipment; availability, delivery, and terms are confirmed in your quote.
How do I get a trailer if Madison is far from a major city?
We plan the delivery from your street address, not from a fixed point on the map. Madison is about 74 miles west of Milwaukee, so we confirm the route, the final approach, and the timing with you in the quote.
What power does a refrigerated trailer need in Madison?
The 20 ft refrigerated trailers list 220V, single phase, 40 to 60 amps, with a NEMA plug. Have a licensed electrician confirm your service at the Madison site before delivery, and send the voltage, phase, and amps with your request.
Who do I contact about food safety rules in Dane County?
Start with Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), Division of Food and Recreational Safety (https://datcp.wi.gov). Rules vary by jurisdiction, so check with them before you place temporary refrigeration or a temporary kitchen.
Can I rent a mobile kitchen or dishwashing trailer in Madison too?
Yes. When a kitchen is down, we rent mobile kitchens from 24 ft to 40 ft and dishwashing trailers from 22 ft to 38 ft. Many Madison customers pair them with a refrigerated trailer so they can cook, serve, and clean up while permanent equipment is repaired.
What should I do before heat wave season in Wisconsin?
Know your site's power and placement details, keep our number ((888) 385-5513) handy, and call early if a forecast puts your walk-in at risk. Heat wave risk in Wisconsin is highest June to August.
Sources for local facts
Sources
Local facts on this page come from public sources. Population is the Census Bureau's 2023 estimate.
What to send for a fast quote
- The city and state where the unit will sit
- What failed and how much product is at risk
- Cooler (32°F) or freezer temperature needed
- Power available at the site: voltage, phase, and amps
- Access: gate or door width, surface, and where the unit will be placed
- How long you expect to need it
Prefer to talk? Call (888) 385-5513 any time.