Moving 20' containers

[Grandad4]

I am thinking of building container based cabins and moving them with a forklift into and out of flood plain based on season (over using trailer based cabins).

Depending on what you plan to add when making it into a "cabin", you could end up doubling the bare weight of the container. I would be thinking of fabbing up some kind of transport dolly for one end of the container, possibly making it towable to give more maneuverability, stability and flotation.

 

[OldMasterTech]

Google Quickloadz

 

[holeycow]

SeaCans are engineered to be slung from a crane. You can get away with supporting/moving them otherwise, or you can easily bend them...

A winch trailer with a live roll works pretty good for empty 20 footers. Longer seacans have a greater risk of folding up (seen it happen. Oops!).
The correct way to haul a seacan not by a crane is to weld steel skids under them from end to end and use those as the supports for any bottom point loads. Big forklifts/loaders with forks do work well for short trips.

I like the dolly idea. A well made dolly with integral hitch NOT using the can as the frame would be excellent.

 

[kencunningham]

Forklifts are rated at 2ft from the heel of the forks. You will have to take that into account when using a forklift to move anything. Our warehouse lift is rated 8500 pounds at 24 inches and 7600 at 30 inches, that's 900 pounds less for just 6 inches more lead center from the mast. If that container is 8ft then you will need to figure for a 48 inch load center.

 

[Komrade]

Forklifts are rated at 2ft from the heel of the forks. You will have to take that into account when using a forklift to move anything. Our warehouse lift is rated 8500 pounds at 24 inches and 7600 at 30 inches, that's 900 pounds less for just 6 inches more lead center from the mast. If that container is 8ft then you will need to figure for a 48 inch load center.

That was really useful info. Someone earlier said "at tip of forks" which didn't make that much sense, as tips can be of any length.

Forklift Safety: How Much Weight Can My Forklift Carry? - Lion Technology

Basically, at double the length (48 inches vs 24 inches), forklift loses half the load capacity. I am guessing the only way to compensate is with weights on the back (it may still be able to lift, but would run a risk of flipping fwd).

Which means that w/o a 20000lbs forklift my idea is relatively useless. 20K rated forklifts are even more expensive and heavier. The other ideas outlined here are probably cheaper alternatives.

Thanks.

P.S.
Quickloadz looks cool. Would probably cost the same as used all-terrain forklift.

 

[ishiboo]

That was really useful info. Someone earlier said "at tip of forks" which didn't make that much sense, as tips can be of any length.

Forklift Safety: How Much Weight Can My Forklift Carry? - Lion Technology

Basically, at double the length (48 inches vs 24 inches), forklift loses half the load capacity. I am guessing the only way to compensate is with weights on the back (it may still be able to lift, but would run a risk of flipping fwd).

Which means that w/o a 20000lbs forklift my idea is relatively useless. 20K rated forklifts are even more expensive and heavier. The other ideas outlined here are probably cheaper alternatives.

Thanks.

P.S.
Quickloadz looks cool. Would probably cost the same as used all-terrain forklift.

Yes, I would forget about picking them up with a forklift. A 5k container is 8'6" wide and would require a very heavy duty forklift. And that's empty. Not to mention being 20' wide, it has a TON of side-to-side leverage on the forklift even if you could safely pick it up. And that's empty. Fill them with cabin crap and you're in for a good surprise.

Plenty of ways to safely DIY this though with a tractor. I would plan on building a simple axle that connects to the ISO points on the tail end of the container and lifts it up, and then on the other end you could build the same thing that has a tongue to connect to the back of your tractor, or even a lift like a Mule shed mover.

 

[ishiboo]

Here's an overly complex example of what you could do:

Wing Lift™ Container Carrier - Instructions - YouTube

Since all containers are 8'6, you could easily make something that's simply an axle on two pivots with a hydraulic jack in the middle of the crossbars... slide it on, put two pins in it and jack it up. The front needs to turn so it's slightly more complex, but still very doable.

 

[Dadnatron]

Another option, depending upon distance to move would be something along these lines. If you have a tractor and limited move distance, the plans would be significantly more simple.

Homemade Container Hauler - YouTube