Moving and Stacking xx' Containers

Container forklift picks up the container from the top two corners

Container forklift picks upwards the container from the superlative two corners

The container floor is made up of steel cross-members with a wood floor over it. The underside of the flooring is coated to make it moisture and bug resistant.

The container flooring is made upwardly of steel cross-members with a wood floor over it. The underside of the floor is coated to make it moisture and issues resistant.

We often get asked about moving and stacking xx' containers. 20's are perfect for moving around and being more flexible than the twoscore's, especially on structure sites or other places where you lot need temporary, secure storage. 20' containers are flexible and durable, so they can be moved in a multifariousness of ways.

Using a forklifts

In the container yards and depots, container forklifts are the virtually common mode to move them around, similar pictured to a higher place. The forklift picks up the container by the ii corner castings on the meridian of the container that the forklift tin accomplish when picking it upwards from the side. These forklifts tin besides extend the arms out to pick up a 40' container as well.

A more than standard way forklift can do the job. Notwithstanding, a few considerations to make that go smoothly:

20' containers with forklift pockets.

20' containers with forklift pockets.

  1. 20' containers come with forklift pockets. However, they mensurate 69" from the inside of ane pocket to the inside of the other pocket. This is noticeably wider than what most standard forklifts tin can handle. If yours tin can do that great!

  2. If your forklift can't spread out that much, the other option is fork extensions. If yous have forks that are at least 8' long (you may need extensions to get to that 8'), then y'all can pick up the container from underneath it. If your forks are less than 8' long, the forks will come up through the floor of the container, and that would not be adept.

Be sure to audit your container earlier picking it up with a forklift to make certain that there are no cracked welds or dents that would make using the forklift unsafe.

Additional options for moving your xx' container

There are plenty of other types of equipment that can move a 20' container: backhoes, cranes, tractors, or really anything else that can motion 5,000 pounds. Containers take corner castings on all 8 corners of the container. You can chain to those castings by running the concatenation through the holes on either side of the casting and/or the hole on the top of the castings on the top of the container or the bottom of the bottom castings. From there, you can lift or drag the container around from at that place, depending on the capabilities of your equipment.

Delivery of Container

Bottom corner casting (with some ice)

Lesser corner casting (with some water ice)

If you are having your container delivered to you, an easy way to take it moved to the right spot is past having information technology delivered on a tilt-bed truck. The truck backs into the spot where the container will go, the back of the trailer tips down. In that location is a winch that lowers the first end of the container off the truck. Then the driver pulls the truck forward and uses the winch to stop setting it on the ground. However, to do this, we need enough room for the truck to maneuver.

Stacking 20' containers

Top corner casting

Top corner casting

If you lot want to stack your container, you lot tin can use whatsoever of the unlike types of equipment listed above. Standard 20' containers are viii'vi" high, so you will need to have equipment that can elevator that high. When you are placing them on top of each other, stack them corner to corner. The corner posts of the container and the flooring are where all the strength is. The walls and roof are not as potent. Too, the corner castings drop a little lower than the rest of the flooring and a little higher than the residuum of the roof. When you stack containers corner postal service to corner post, you tin can see a space between the containers. Information technology is a practiced way to know you lot have them lined up right.

One-trip 20's stacked up. Notice the space between the containers since they are stacked corner post to corner post.

1-trip xx's stacked upwards. Notice the space betwixt the containers since they are stacked corner post to corner post.

No matter how you movement and/or stack your containers, please brand certain you check out that the equipment y'all are using is rated to handle the weight of the container. That includes bondage. If you are moving it with anything in it, be certain to include the weight of that load in your calculations. Too, be very careful that no 1 is in a location where they can exist hurt past the container if your calculations are not 100% right. Five g pounds of steel is very heavy.

Edited 11/v/21.