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I have a project I am working on but not sure this is the right place. Guess with the brilliant minds around, sure something will come up.
I have to move 40Ft containers within a large complex. Raise them on to a vehicle, transport them and offload them. Dont want to use forklift since the containers are all moving to different unspecified locations.
Looked at using Hydraulic long-floor jacks and long-arm jacks of 10 tons (the containers will not carry up to 3 tons each) but was worried about the risk of damage in lowering and loading. Any suggestions on a simple way with something that can be loaded in the vehicles as they go.
Also, what will be the best for the transportation. saw a tri-axle flat bed trailer. thought if I could use that hooked up to a powerful 4x4.
Any assistance will be most helpful. not my field so elementary knowledge still required. Thanks,
are you talking real life or modeling here. Im getting the feeling that you are talking about moving containers in real life rather then moving them on a train layout lol. If this is the case, im not sure this is the best place to ask for help for moving real life 40' containers, although there may be a modeler that works in the intermodal field....
Thanks. actually real life.
You want to move 40 foot containers with pallet jacks? If you got a goose neck trailer with a low loading height, I guess you could do it but you'd really need an electric pallet jack to move the conatiners around and those ain't cheap. Once you get them on the trailer, how do you propose to haul the pallet jack around to get get them off again? You'd need another trailer for the pallet jack. Why are you doing this?
What about gettitng a couple of 5 ton Craftsman (or other home company) floor jacks and welding a steel pipe cage over top of them similar to a large pallet mover. Then, slide one under each end of the container and jack it up. Not the best way maybe, but cheap and it will work. If you have a trailer, just about any pickup truck will be able to pull them. I bet (but don't know for sure) that a mini-van could pull them on a trailer. Most modern medium-duty pick-ups can haul 5 tons dead weight. Yours is on a trailer, so it is not going to be hard to move from there. I bet you don't use 700 pounds of force witht he load on a trailer.
Get one lift and bunch of dollies. You put a container on a dolly and then use a foklift to tow it to wherever it goes. Don't take it off the dolly until its is empty or it is being lined up to leave the facility. One lift on, one lift off.
Question? Since an empty 40 ft container weighs more than 3 tons itself, and you say the contents weighs less than 3 tons, why are you moving the containers around. Keep the containers stationary and move the contents.
I used to buy and sell containers before the competition got crazy.
Your best bet is a truck / trailer with tilt deck and a winch. Jacking can be very dangerous, but will not damage the container if lifted in the right areas.
A forklift with spread forks can safely lift an empty container with the right operator.
wow, surely knew I was in the right place.
Ok, let me be opened. we are using the containers for some housing projects and cant see the full weight with of the finished work and the containers going more than 7 Tons.
Some ideas are great but dont know what some of the items listed are. drawings or pictures would have been great:
electric pallet jack
5 ton Craftsman
bunch of dollies
tilt deck and a winch
we cant use forklift as we cant take them along to each locations for loading and off loading. Thanks. Most grateful for all the responses and learning plenty
You need a tilt trailer like the ones shown at
http://www.bri-mar.com/newproducts.htm. You mount a ten ton winch on the forward base plate of the trailer, tilt down the bed, and basically drag the container up on the trailer. The tricky part is containers don't have wheels and you'll tear up the container and the trailer dragging it on and off. You'll have to rig up some pallet forks to attach to the winch so the container can be lifted slight off the ground. Once the container is on the ground, do you have to move it? if so, you now have another problem.
You say you are using these containers at housing projects but have never heard of a pallet jack or tilt deck trailer and winch? What exactly do you do at these housing project sites and how much experience do you have? Meaning no disrespect, almost anyone with any experience in construction knows a tilt bed trailer or a pallet jack. Also, why did you decide to post this on a model railroad forum? A construction forum would seem to be the more logical choice.
20 footers can be done with most 21 foot tilt deck towtrucks.( I own one myself). For fourty footers, if you are just yard moving you can probably get away with a tandem axle tilt deck tow truck with a 28 foot bed, but you are looking at a lot of overhang. The two pictures above are how to do it properly, and yes if you had a cab/chassis of a 4500 plus with a fifth wheel plate, you could haul it around with ease.
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