Loaded trailers. Empty yard.That's when they disappear.
Cold storage yards and food distribution centers run 24/7, stack the yard with loaded reefer trailers, and push heavy legitimate truck traffic through the same gates thieves use to slip in. A single stolen load of protein, seafood, or cold-chain pharma can run six figures — and a reefer trailer itself is a rolling target the moment it's dropped. VDS deploys solar-autonomous surveillance across the yard, reads every plate at the gate, and puts a live SOC operator on every alert — no guard shack, no grid power, no hardwired internet required.
Exposed sites.
High-value targets with no one watching.
Minimal staffing, sprawling ground, and valuable assets in the open — the conditions that turn a site into a soft target the moment everyone goes home.
Dock-door and staging-area cargo theft
High-value perishable loads — protein, seafood, cold-chain pharma — sit staged at the dock or in the yard for hours, an easy target during shift changes and after-hours lulls.
Reefer trailer theft from the yard
A yard full of loaded, fueled reefer trailers is a rolling target — hitch one to a tractor and it's gone, cargo and unit both, before anyone notices it's missing.
Fuel theft from idling reefer units
Reefer units run diesel around the clock to hold temperature, and unattended trailers overnight are routinely siphoned — a slow bleed that adds up across a full yard.
Unauthorized access and food-safety tampering
Anyone who reaches a trailer or dock door unsupervised is a food-safety incident waiting to happen — tampering, contamination claims, and chain-of-custody gaps that are expensive to prove or disprove without footage.
Drop the trailer.
The SOC takes it from here.
Solar-autonomous surveillance with AI analytics and live SOC operators. No power, no internet, no guards required.
Every tractor.
Every trailer, logged.
License plate recognition at the gate ties every tractor and trailer to a plate and a timestamp, exposing fraudulent pickups before a load leaves the property and building the evidence chain if one does.
- Automatic plate capture at gate, day and night
- Entry/exit log tied to time and plate
- Flags mismatched tractor-trailer pairings and fraudulent pickups
- Evidence packages for law enforcement and claims
STEP 01Acres of reefers.
One virtual perimeter.
The MSU establishes camera coverage across the drop lot and staging areas from an elevated mast. AI classifies people versus vehicles and flags after-hours movement between trailers before a hitch ever gets connected.
- Elevated coverage across the full trailer yard
- AI human and vehicle classification
- After-hours movement alerts between trailers
- Works in zero-light across the whole lot
STEP 02No guard shack.
A live operator instead.
Every alert routes to a live SOC operator who verifies it, issues a real-time audio warning through the on-unit speaker, and escalates to law enforcement — a documented, human response instead of a recording reviewed after the load is gone.
- Live operator verification on every alert
- Real-time voice-down warnings through the speaker
- Escalation to law enforcement with footage
- Monthly incident and access reporting
STEP 03No trenching.
No grid power needed.
Solar power and 4G/5G cellular mean coverage goes where the trailers are staged this week — the drop lot, the overflow yard, the corner the fixed cameras never reached — with no trenching, no conduit, and no hardwired internet.
- Solar-autonomous — no grid power required
- 4G/5G cellular backhaul, no hardwired internet
- Covers overflow and seasonal staging areas
- Relocatable as trailer counts and risk shift
STEP 04Every asset on site.
One platform.
The MSU adapts to your yard layout. Here are the scenarios cold storage and food distribution operators deploy for most often.
Reefer trailer drop lots
Yards stacked with loaded, unattended reefer trailers overnight and over weekends — the highest-value, highest-risk ground on the property.
Dock doors & staging areas
Loading dock aprons and staged pallets where perishable cargo sits exposed during shift changes and off-hours.
Gate & access points
Facility entrances where LPR ties every tractor and trailer to a plate and time, exposing fraudulent or mismatched pickups.
Perimeter fence line
Back and side fence lines around the yard where intruders bypass the gate entirely to reach staged trailers.
Cross-dock & 3PL distribution centers
High-throughput reefer operations with constant legitimate truck traffic that makes spotting the one unauthorized move harder.
Multi-site cold-chain portfolios
Operators running distribution centers across regions who need consistent, centrally monitored coverage at every yard.
Real operators.
Real numbers.
Every metric below comes from a real VDS cold storage customer. Names protected per agreement.
Customer-reported outcomes from VDS deployments. Results vary by site conditions, monitoring configuration, and response protocols. How we measure →
We had loaded reefers walking off the back lot before the trailer went up. Now every tractor that touches the gate is logged, and the SOC calls us before a hitch is even connected.
MSU-A · FLAGSHIPLPR + SOC · COLD STORAGEThe Mobile Surveillance Unit.
Built for the reefer yard.
Gate LPR, full-yard trailer coverage, and 24/7 SOC monitoring — all from a single solar-autonomous trailer that covers the drop lot without trenching or a hardwired connection.
From assessment
to covered.
Most cold storage and distribution operators go from initial conversation to a live trailer on the yard inside 7 business days.
Site assessment
We review your yard layout, gate and dock configuration, trailer counts, and incident history. Fast quote turnaround.
Sensor configuration
Camera presets, LPR capture at the gate, detection zones across the trailer yard, and alert rules configured for your specific site.
Delivery & commissioning
Trailer delivered, mast raised, cameras and LPR calibrated. SOC monitoring begins immediately. No trenching, no hardwired internet.
Monitoring & reporting
Monthly incident reports, gate and trailer logs, and system health delivered automatically. Trailer relocated as yard needs shift.
Common questions.
How fast can VDS deploy at a cold storage site?
A mobile surveillance unit is live in under 20 minutes once it arrives — most cold storage sites go from first call to monitored coverage in days, not months. Most cold storage and distribution operators go from initial conversation to a live trailer on the yard inside 7 business days.
Do the units need power or internet at the site?
No. VDS units are solar-autonomous with battery storage and connect over cellular (4G/5G), so there is no trenching, no generator refueling schedule, and no dependence on site IT. That is what makes them practical for sites where fixed infrastructure is missing or still under construction.
What happens when the system detects someone after hours?
AI detection classifies the event and filters routine motion before a person ever sees it. A SOC operator verifies the live feed, challenges intruders by voice through 120 dB speakers with strobes, and — when it escalates — dispatches police with live video of the scene.
Which cold storage security problems does monitored surveillance address?
The most common incidents at cold storage sites are dock-door and staging-area cargo theft, reefer trailer theft from the yard, fuel theft from idling reefer units, unauthorized access and food-safety tampering — the same exposure areas covered in the sections above. Monitored coverage addresses them by making the site actively watched instead of just recorded.
Can VDS work alongside our existing guards or security partner?
Yes — that is the standard model. Monitored surveillance carries the perimeter and after-hours watch, so people — yours or your security partner's — handle verified incidents instead of standing watch over empty hours. The SOC can route verified alerts to your team, your guard provider, or police dispatch.
Cover your yard this week.
Tell us your gate setup, trailer counts, and your biggest loss driver — we'll quote the deployment — fast.