Moving and Stacking 20' Containers
Container forklift picks up the container from the top two corners
In the container yards and depots, container forklifts are the most common way to move them around, like pictured above. The forklift picks up the container by the two corner castings on the top of the container that the forklift can reach when picking it up from the side. These forklifts can also extend the arms out to pick up a 40' container as well.
Pictured Right: 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.
A more standard style forklift can do the job. However, a few considerations to make that go smoothly:
20' containers with forklift pockets.
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20' containers come with forklift pockets. However, they measure 69" from the inside of one pocket to the inside of the other pocket. This is noticeably wider than what most standard forklifts can handle. If yours can do that great!
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If your forklift can't spread out that much, the other option is fork extensions. If you have forks that are at least 8' long (you may need extensions to get to that 8’), then you 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 good.
Be sure to inspect your container before picking it up with a forklift to make sure that there are no cracked welds or dents that would make using the forklift dangerous.
Additional options for moving your 20’ container
There are plenty of other types of equipment that can move a 20' container: backhoes, cranes, tractors, or really anything else that can move 5,000 pounds. Containers have corner castings on all 8 corners of the container. You can chain to those castings by running the chain 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 there, depending on the capabilities of your equipment.
Delivery of Container
If you are having your container delivered to you, an easy way to have it moved to the right spot is by having it delivered on a tilt-bed truck. The truck backs into the spot where the container will go, the back of the trailer tips down. There 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 finish setting it on the ground. However, to do this, we need enough room for the truck to maneuver.
Stacking 20’ containers
If you want to stack your container, you can use any of the different types of equipment listed above. Standard 20' containers are 8'6" high, so you will need to have equipment that can lift 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 floor are where all the strength is. The walls and roof are not as strong. Also, the corner castings drop a little lower than the rest of the floor and a little higher than the rest of the roof. When you stack containers corner post to corner post, you can see a space between the containers. It is a good way to know you have them lined up right.
No matter how you move and/or stack your containers, please make sure you check out that the equipment you are using is rated to handle the weight of the container. That includes chains. If you are moving it with anything in it, be sure to include the weight of that load in your calculations. Also, be very careful that no one is in a location where they can be hurt by the container if your calculations are not 100% correct. Five thousand pounds of steel is very heavy.
Edited 11/5/21.