Move 20ft ocean container on car trailer

   / Move 20ft ocean container on car trailer #1  

Sodo

Elite Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2012
Messages
3,197
Location
Cascade Mtns of WA state
Tractor
Kubota B-series & Mini Excavator
I'm planning to get two ocean containers to store my tractor and other things. I can get a couple container for a reasonable price, 2fer1 delivery. I highly doubt the standard container delivery guy will deliver two containers to the remote location that I have to go. I think for that part I'm on my own.

The plan is to have the containers dropped at a friend's log yard. Where my friend then uses a log loader to set the container on my car trailer. I have a pretty good plan how to get it off the car trailer. The car trailer is 8x20 feet, same as the container. I have to haul it about 15 miles on major public roadways, then 5 miles on forest roads. There will be 10" blocks, so the container is sitting 30 inches above ground. Trailer top is then 30"+102"= 132" high = 11 feet.

Setting the container on 10 x 10 x 10ft beams, at an angle. To clear the 8" high fenders. And then I will rotate the beams straight and jack the container off the trailer. Or maybe like this fella did it on YouTube. He doesn't have fenders to worry about.

Container weight is 5200 lbs. My car trailer is rated for 5700lbs payload.

My question: The placement on the trailer will produce 400 lbs tongue weight + 50 lbs existing = 450lbs. This is a 46/54% bias.

Does this sound like it's OK? Other ideas?

Thanks!!

(my notes)
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   / Move 20ft ocean container on car trailer #2  
You could add about 400 pounds of concrete blocks on the tongue if you think it is too light.
 
   / Move 20ft ocean container on car trailer #3  
They are very intimidating to move without the proper equipment, also sometimes on older used "cans" the bottom edge (where your diag.blocks will go) are damaged or not there. They will be also hard to tie down and actually keep still IMO with your proposed set up. It might be worth looking for a local junkyard or scrap guy with a med duty roll back truck and do what it takes to your woods roads to allow him to get through. Have the containers delivered as close as you can. I am speaking from experiance, I have 4 containers for jobsite storage and have been jockeying them around for years. A 20' rollback is the most common (easy to find) equipment to load & move a 20' container. One thing to consider if your storage site is not huge; load the container doors front, or doors back:thumbsup:
Once there, block them up at the corners, that is the only spot with any stregnth and where they are designed to be supported.
 
   / Move 20ft ocean container on car trailer #4  
Rent a med size track hoe. Remove the bucket and chain it up lift and walk it were ever you want it. Crane capacities for most medium size track hoes are 10,000 lbs pluss.

My friend with a 75hp Case (AG size) tractor with loader just picked his up (again chained to the bucket) and moved it around. his rated loader capacity was like 5000lbs so he was right at the limit of what it could pick up but it did it.

Once there, block them up at the corners, that is the only spot with any stregnth and where they are designed to be supported.

not entirely true. Most have notches in the bottom were you can fork them with a large fork lift, meaning they have several locations that are designed to take the full weight of a loaded container (all 67,000lbs) so blocking it up on the "Beam" on the bottom for an emtpy container is plenty strong for the 5K empty weight.

20-foot-ground-storage-and-shipping-container-20ft-one-trip-single-use-container.jpg


If you dont like the idea of renting a trackhoe and crane it, rent a telehandler instead. The JCB shown has a 6800lb capacity
CC115-JCB-Telehandler-500x375.jpg
 
   / Move 20ft ocean container on car trailer #5  
Convert the container to a temporary trailer. :)

https://www.farmshow.com/a_article.php?aid=27616

Or use 2 wide mobile home axles mounted on a large angle, placed about the center of the container, and a hitch to fasten to the front corners.

Bruce
 
   / Move 20ft ocean container on car trailer #6  
I would want a few more 10x10 timbers under it to spread out the weight on the floor of the trailer.
 
   / Move 20ft ocean container on car trailer
  • Thread Starter
#7  
The trailer can hold 5700 lbs on 4 wheel-points, timbers out to the frame rails is the easiest load the trailer ever imagined.

Big track hoe is a good way if there's other work, but it's a $1000 method, maybe more. I may have access to a bulldozer to push it around but don't want to chop up the driveway, its a picturesque little 2-track road and I like it as it is.

Convert the container to a temporary trailer. :)
https://www.farmshow.com/a_article.php?aid=27616
Or use 2 wide mobile home axles mounted on a large angle, placed about the center of the container, and a hitch to fasten to the front corners.


Bruce you always deliver! And that's more my style! Current plan is based on a dropoff location near a log loader, and it's 20 miles.


- 10 miles on public roadways
- 10 miles on logging roads
- 1/2 mile on a narrow 2-track uphill forest road (to the site).


If I don't need the log loader to set it on my car-trailer I can choose a site much closer.
This device ----- will work for the last 10 1/2 miles. I can build it myself (and much stronger, as it has to go 10 miles (twice) on a forest road. If I can get the cans delivered to the end of the public road then it gets easier. Pretty sure I could sell the unit on craigslist when done.

30877_l.jpg 30878_l.jpg
 
   / Move 20ft ocean container on car trailer #8  
I have moved many dozens of 20' and 40' containers but I was driving a KW Tractor with a 48' Landall trailer picking up and delivering them.
Also a 4 high packer/stacker in the yard.
They are only designed to be supported at the corner pockets and can be stacked 8 high on the pockets. The fork pockets are for lifting empty.
It sounds like your biggest problem is going to be trying to haul the trailer on unpaved roads.
I had my 45'er delivered (I put it in the wrong place) and then I had to move it 90* and 60' because it was where I was putting up a 40' X 60' red iron building.
In the pic I chained the 3 pt to a pocket, lifted and dragged it. I had to scrap the dirt pile at the side rail occasionally.
 

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   / Move 20ft ocean container on car trailer #9  
This is how I moved one of mine up the mountain from the drop off point at the state road.
Loader dozer and 3/8" chains.
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   / Move 20ft ocean container on car trailer #10  
The next one I no longer had the loader dozer on site and built some axles that bolted to the container corner pockets and winched it up the access road.
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