Delivery Guidelines
Shipping Container Delivery
What To Avoid For A Stress-Free Delivery?
Rough Roads
Due to their weight restrictions, the possibility of becoming stuck, resulting in harm to the road and equipment, or being ecologically harmful, roads constructed of dirt, gravel, or with damaged pavement could not be appropriate for shipping container delivery.
Steep Road Inclines and Declines
While steep declines might provide safety risks to the delivery team and the surrounding area, steep inclines can make it hard to move a cargo uphill. Please get in contact if you’d want your delivery route evaluated to see if your neighborhood’s road conditions are suitable for a shipping container delivery.
Tight Turns
For safety reasons as well as to prevent becoming caught, inflicting damage, and other issues, shipping containers need to have enough turning clearance. A 20-foot shipping container must be delivered with at least 60 feet of straight-line clearance, and a 40-foot container must turn safely and effectively with at least 125 feet of straight-line space. For these reasons, shipping container delivery may be difficult on highways in metropolitan areas with congested buildings and parked cars as well as small lanes in rural settings surrounded by trees and ditches.
Height Restrictions such as Overhanging Trees, Power Lines, and Low Bridges
For shipping container delivery, any obstruction that does not provide at least 14 feet of vertical clearance is deemed to have a height limitation. Power lines, trees, tree branches, gates, arches, building eaves, and low bridges are a few examples. To prevent delivery risks and delays, it’s crucial to make sure there is enough vertical clearance along all stretches of your local roads.
Width Restrictions
A minimum of 14 feet of horizontal clearance is needed for shipping containers to pass through without becoming caught or creating delays. A shipping container delivery may not be possible on narrow roads that are less than 14 feet wide, and cancellation may be necessary due to a lack of suitable alternatives. Any roads going to your area should ideally be at least a normal 2-lane signed road.
Weather-Affected Roadways
Delivery of shipping containers may be unsafe and unfeasible due to weather-affected roads. These circumstances include snowy roads that have not yet been plowed, ice roads, flooded roads, muddy roads, and highways covered in debris from severe weather. We are always delighted to work with our clients to arrange a shipping container delivery that fits their timetable and makes the entire procedure easy and secure.
Not sure if local roads can support a successful delivery of a shipping container to your location? Before acquiring your shipping container from Shipping Conex, get in touch with us to obtain a free delivery guideline assessment and analysis of your neighborhood’s characteristics and roadways.
Tilt Bed Shipping Container Delivery
They are perfect for homes, small enterprises, and other places that lack specialized cranes or forklifts for moving containers or unloading them from delivery vehicles. The location, area, and conditions in which the container will be put are all considered in the planning for container delivery when using a tilt bed trailer. The surface and location must be appropriate for a storage container drop-off because it won’t be feasible to relocate the container once it is down without special equipment.
Shipping Conex works with you to determine if a tilt bed container delivery suits your needs. Tilt beds can haul 20ft and 40ft shipping containers. Because tilt bed delivery involves pulling the trailer out from underneath the container, this delivery method requires a minimum of 125ft straight line clearance. You will also need to decide which ways the doors will face before delivery, as this will determine how the container is loaded onto the trailer.
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Flatbed Shipping Container Delivery
Unlike tilt bed trailers, Flatbed trailers do not have their own off-loading feature. This requires any storage container delivered on a flatbed to be off-loaded manually using a crane, forklift, or another heavy lifting method. Flatbed storage container delivery is intended for business locations or properties with dedicated heavy lifting equipment on site. Because you will be responsible for off-loading the shipping container, preparation of drop-off is relatively straightforward compared to tilt bed delivery.
Another benefit of flatbed storage container delivery is that it requires significantly less clearance space than a tilt bed trailer. Instead of the trailer having to be removed from underneath the container, which typically requires at least 100ft straight-line clearance, the container will be lifted directly off the flatbed trailer and placed at the target location with dedicated equipment. Our flatbed trailers can haul 20ft containers and 40ft shipping containers of all available variations to your business or private property.
Shipping Conex delivery planning specialists are here to help you determine the most cost-effective and best-suited delivery option
for your goals. For additional information, please review our Space Clearance and Drop-Site Preparation guidelines or contact us to learn about our shipping containers for sale and why Shipping Conex is your #1 choice for shipping containers.
Shipping Container Delivery Space Clearance
Before buying new or used shipping containers, it’s important to ensure the drop-off site is adequately equipped to accommodate a container delivery. This includes having enough space to store a 20ft container or a 40ft container and enough area for delivery vehicles and other equipment to perform their duties safely and securely. You’ll also need to ensure that any limited-access locations have minimum height and width clearance for the truck, trailer, and shipping container before placing your order. Roads leading to your business location or private property will also need to accommodate truck and trailer clearance. They must be suited for heavy vehicles regarding road weight limits, road conditions, road grades, overhanging objects, and turning radiuses.
At Shipping Conex, we’re here to help you prevent any delays or setbacks in your shipping container goals by being fully prepared ahead of time. From consultation to site inspection, we offer a range of services to help you determine the optimal site and schedule for your storage container delivery.
Minimum Clearance
A shipping container will require a specific minimum clearance depending on its length and the delivery trailer type.
20ft Shipping Container
- 100ft Straight Line Clearance: This applies to roads leading to the drop site and at the drop site itself. With a 20ft shipping container, our truck and trailer will require at least 80ft straight line clearance to be able to unload the unit.
- 14ft Vertical Clearance on the Road: Roadways leading to the drop-off site should be free of any overhanging obstacles with a minimum of 14ft vertical clearance at all times.
- 12-14ft Width Clearance.
- 16ft Vertical Clearance at Drop-Off Site
40ft Shipping Container
- 125ft Straight Line Clearance
- 14ft Vertical Clearance on the Road: This includes all sections of the road leading to and at the drop-off location.
- 12-14ft Width Clearance.
- 16ft Vertical Clearance at Drop-Off Site
Shipping Container Drop Site Preparation
Avoid Difficulties and Delays by Preparing for Shipping Container Delivery with this Simple Checklist.
A big part of the work involved with shipping container drop-offs is being prepared. When your location is well-suited for drop-offs, storage, or transfer of shipping containers, the process can be completed in just 1 hour or less. Having a suitable drop site will also ensure that the container is not damaged or compromised during storage. It also makes its removal much more efficient in the case of future transfers, alternative uses, and resale.
Here’s what to consider before ordering a shipping container to help save time and avoid safety risks, equipment damage, or delivery cancellation.
Short-Term or Long-Term Site Preparation?
Depending on your goals, your site may require short-term or long-term container storage preparation. Long-term storage or permanent use typically requires additional steps to ensure the container is not damaged or compromised over time while being conducive to your goals. Please get in touch for more information on the difference between long-term and short-term site preparation.
Delivery Vehicle & Trailer Clearance
Drop sites without sufficient clearance can make it difficult or impossible to perform container drop-offs. For successful delivery and future logistics, ensure that your drop site offers enough clearance to maneuver the vehicle, trailer, and shipping container into place. Learn more about shipping container delivery clearance.
Level Ground
The drop site and surrounding area should be on level ground to ensure secure delivery vehicle access and container placement. It is also necessary to create even weight distribution across all four corners of the shipping container. Land that is not level can make it difficult for delivery vehicles to get into position and lead to container damage due to uneven weight distribution resulting in pinched doors, bent corners, and other defects.
If the ground is not naturally-level, it can be modified with stone pavers, blocks of wood, gravel, or railroad ties under the corners to create even weight distribution.
Drop Site Ground Surfaces
Shipping containers can be dropped off on any surface that is firm, level, and dry. Drop sites will ideally have an asphalt or concrete space prepared for shipping container drop-off. However, surfaces such as compact dirt, gravel, and even grass may be suitable — provided that they are level, safe from weather, and offer even weight distribution and support. This will ensure that the shipping container does not sink or move when in position. Surfaces such as sand, soft dirt and muddy grounds are not recommended as it may result in container shifting, sinking and damage.
Drop Site is Free of Debris and Obstacles
Make sure your storage container drop site is free of rocks, tree stumps, branches, or any debris that can cause an inconvenience or equipment damage during your storage container drop off.
Drop Site is Free of Safety Hazards
Apart from sufficient vertical and horizontal clearance, the drop site should also be free of any safety hazards such as low-hanging wires, cables, branches, and equipment that may pose risks during drop off. In the case of limited visibility, crews can rely on spotters to help them navigate the vehicles and container into position.
Drop Site is Free of Safety Hazards
From transportation to drop-off, a big part of successful delivery is keeping ground surface conditions in mind. To prevent difficulties and delays, it’s important to plan your shipping container delivery around weather forecasts that may suggest suitable surface conditions.
Bad weather may result in snowy or icy roads and surfaces, muddy roadways and grounds, flooding and soft soil that may lead to difficulties and delivery cancellation.
We’re here to work with you and determine the quickest, safest and most optimized delivery schedule for your location and needs.
Being Ready
Another important step to not overlook is simply being ready for delivery day. Make sure that your neighbor residents or businesses are informed about your delivery and that no vehicles, equipment, or other obstacles are in the way. You’ll also want to ensure that you or a representative is onsite at the time of arrival to avoid delay fees. Your contact phone number should be available at all times before and during delivery to prevent miscommunication or other complications.
If you are unsure about your shipping container drop site, it may be wise to have a backup drop site just in case. If the delivery crew considers your drop site unsafe or otherwise unsuitable, they may request that your shipping container be dropped off elsewhere. If you insist on an unsuitable drop-off location, you may be asked to sign a waiver for any damage or other setbacks that may be incurred during unloading.
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How to place railroad ties under a shipping container
