40' container trailer axle placement

[pmsmechanic]

Sounds like you have the whole setup mostly figured. What you could also do is add a ramp to the front of the trailer to enable the container to sit over the deck of the truck. It would be easy enough to balance the load then.

 

[Loonshotfarm]

I don’t think that’s the OP in post#11 ...

Not me, I wish I had that trailer lol

Ill hopefully have it loaded tomorrow evening and will report back. I have already noted a few design modifications I need to do before I move the next one to make the loading go a little more smoothly; ramp leading edge needs to come to sharper point so the container doesn't get hung up on it, there were a few rivets proud on the dovetail that I forgot to grind flay/weld that the container hung up on, need to add side/edge rails on the dove for the container to run/guide on more smoothly, and finally I want to add about a 1' 1/8" plate side to side at the very back of the dove so it slides along the ground when backing under the trailer instead of it trying to dig into the ground. All little things but it will make loading go much more smoothly.

 

[aczlan]

On the side and end rails, if you have enough width a lot of the guys I see who deliver those containers on a tilt deck or sliding axle trailer behind a semi truck will stick a couple of one or two foot pieces of 2 in steel pipe in the stake pockets on the sides of their trailer to help guide the container up onto the trailer.

Aaron Z

 

[Loonshotfarm]

Sounds like you have the whole setup mostly figured. What you could also do is add a ramp to the front of the trailer to enable the container to sit over the deck of the truck. It would be easy enough to balance the load then.

Over the truck would honestly be too far, I considered just adding a removable 4' tongue extension and pulling the containers to the front of the tongue but that created complications with winch mounting, jack placement, and I would have had to cut off some of the hitch plate that stuck up above the frame. I think with added weight at this point I should be ok. Also, the bed height is pretty tall on my truck and these are high cube containers(9.5' tall), it would put me really close to being over 13.5'.

 

[Loonshotfarm]

On the side and end rails, if you have enough width a lot of the guys I see who deliver those containers on a tilt deck or sliding axle trailer behind a semi truck will stick a couple of one or two foot pieces of 2 in steel pipe in the stake pockets on the sides of their trailer to help guide the container up onto the trailer.

Aaron Z

I plan on putting a flared "mouth" at the end of the ramp, when i add the side rails this weekend, that will help guide it up. Once it hits the main deck, there is 2" angle side rails that stick up, down the length of the trailer, that it will slide between.

 

[Loonshotfarm]

Here's some pics for those interested in this project. The last pic show the "hydraulic dovetail" assembly I added. It is pretty crude right now but works good, it was built with a bunch of random parts I had laying around like the 8 ton air/hydraulic bottle jack and truck frame rails. Eventually I will finish the tail and add 2 proper hydraulic cylinders with electric hyd pump but for now this will suffice. Tomorrow I will finish loading the container and hopefully get it to my property.

 

[Loonshotfarm]

WE FINALLY GOT IT LOADED AND ON THE ROAD!

The biggest issue we had was with the hydraulic dovetail. When we tried to let the truck/trailer back under the container while winching, it did not slide nicely along the ground. Instead it started to dig in and eventually went about 16" deep before we realized, and we had to use bottle jacks to lift the container, and jack up the dovetail. To solve this I plan to finish the tail by adding the outside rails, some bracing, a sharper leading edge, and most importantly, about a 12" deep, sided to side piece of 1/8" plate on the bottom of the leading edge so it will slide smoothly on the ground.

Honestly, if the dovetail wasn't a problem, the loading probably would have taken less than 10 minutes. The 12k winch with a snatch block was more than enough to pull the container onto the trailer. Once it finally teetered down onto the trailer, it was smooth sailing. The container fit perfectly between the side rails and slid to the front in just a few minutes of winching.

After this we chained and strapped everything down, gave the whole rig a once-over, and took it down the road. It pulled great with no sway and feels secure and stable. I was even able to get the self-adjusting trailer brakes to actually self adjust by manually braking the trailer in reverse about 80 times. The trailer brakes work amazing now and I took the time to properly set up the P3. I pulled it about 25 miles tonight, highway and country roads both. I am now confident the rig is secure, legal and most importantly safe. I will make some improvement to the tail before moving the next container and look forward to easier loading for the next 2 runs.

Let me know what you guys think!

 

[pmsmechanic]

The rig movers around here just use an 8" roller on the back of the trailer and they run the chain/cable over the roller. The load rolls onto the deck of the trailer. I'm not suggesting that you change what you have. I'm just pointing out an alternative to your ramps at the rear of the trailer.

Looks good btw.

 

[Loonshotfarm]

The rig movers around here just use an 8" roller on the back of the trailer and they run the chain/cable over the roller. The load rolls onto the deck of the trailer. I'm not suggesting that you change what you have. I'm just pointing out an alternative to your ramps at the rear of the trailer.

Looks good btw.

My winch is not strong enough to pick the container up while also dragging it. We ran into this and even had to jack the container up with bottle jacks to get it to clear the deck. Also the hydraulic dove will make it easy loading other things in the future like tractors, cars, etc.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[3Ts]

Looks like you've got a good set-up there. :thumbsup:

 

[Redlands Okie]

Nice work

 

[sandman2234]

A little late to this discussion...
I have a 40 foot container that I have moved 3 times over the years. First time, I borrowed a 48 foot flatbed and dragged it off with a wrecker. (wouldn't slide off, truck couldn't get traction). Second time, I used a Simplex (railroad?) jack to jack it up in the front, put reinforced wooded reels on each side and a 10" I-beam across to set the front down on, then backed a 65 foot Mobile home that I cut to 40 foot (using the extra steel to reinforce it)under it as far as it would go, then jacked up the back end. (You way is a lot easier, but I was on a extremely low budget.) When I moved it the second time, it was loaded with a lot of "stuff" so basically and unknown weight. I was concerned the mobile home tires wouldn't handle the weight, so I placed them at the rear of the trailer. Turns out, I miscalculated the tongue weight. I had a local wrecker company tow it about 50 miles for me. They hooked to it, pulled forward about 10 feet and the tongue around the ball sheared itself. The driver just grabbed the nose of the trailer with his cable and off he went. I then jacked the container up, and pulled the trailer out, then jacked it back down again. The third time, I called a wrecker company with a Landoll trailer, and they winched it up the slick deck and was on their way. I do have one thing in my favor over your containers, as mine is all aluminum. The only parts not aluminum is the two end caps.
Hindsight is 20/20... but I agreed with the poster that said raise the nose of the container enough to clear the rear of your tow vehicle. Since you have pictures now, it really wouldn't have been that much. Maybe a railroad crosstie across the trailer 10 foot back would have done it. All about the angle...
I was really surprised that the jack on your ramp would pick up the container (or did it?) It just doesn't seem to be large enough for that mechanical advantage needed to pick up that nose weight.
The mention of the overhang had me wondering. Most places allow 4 foot, but a container is a little bit of a different animal, since it supports itself. My original thoughts were to use a pole trailer with the axles chained nicely to the box. However, you managed quite well.
David from jax