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Moving/rolling a 20' shipping container

MrBreeze

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 1, 2014
Messages
329
Location
Scottsdale, AZ
For those of you who have a shipping container (either 40' or 20') and have moved it within your property, what have you found to be the best way to do so? If were to go straight forward/backward, I'd jack it up (empty) use round timbers/poles and use a truck or winch to roll it. I'd imagine if given enough room, one can also turn it while on the timbers - easier with a 20' over a 40'

I'm planning ahead - going to be getting a 20' container (weighs 5k empty) and will need to move it a 100' or so when I get around to building the shop, and I really don't want to have to hire someone with a tilt-bed truck/trailer just for a small relocation.

Thanks!
 
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gearhead1

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 14, 2013
Messages
1,935
Location
NC
When I was in the Army, we moved them with the trucks that have either a crane or winch. I never moved any at home, but subscribed to the thread as I want to get two and do this for storage.


https://www.podroof.com
 

A_Pmech

Well-known member
Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
8,002
Location
IL
They're very easy to move with a 10' section of utility pole and a hi-lift jack.
 

TurnipTruck

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 28, 2005
Messages
1,567
Location
Southcentral Alaska
I wasn’t there to see it, but a local acquaintance with a 454-powered hunting buggy on Rockwell’s and 44” ags drug his 20’ connex 13 miles into the woods for his cabin. It was all cleared seismic trails, so he didn’t have to log his way in, but I would’ve guessed it would require a bulldozer at least.
I have shoved an empty 40’ unit 8 feet over with an unballasted 40-hp tractor without any trouble, but I haven’t tried to drag it lengthwise yet.
 
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sstec

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
45
You can use HP, brain power or a combination of each. Rollers like wooden fence post and HP will work and not tear up the ground. just take your time and plan it out. This has worked for me moving things by myself. sstec
 

BukitCase

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 11, 2017
Messages
1,075
Location
Oregon
This guy's from your neck of the woods -

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

I tweaked my 2 40's into an 80' straight line using 2 20 ton air/hydraulic jacks, 2 toe jack attachments (that I built) and my Case backhoe, but one container only needed to be nudged and the second needed BIGGER nudges and a fair amount of leveling. I did use the rotary laser to get the pads ballparked BEFORE the first one got here.

I planned ahead and was ready when the containers got here, took about 2 hours working alone to get them straight within 1/4" and parallel to the back side of my shop - there's a 12' alley way between shop and containers, and next year I hope to get a roof over ALL of it. That'll turn that alley into an implement storage area dry enough to work on tractors/dump truck/manlift, etc, with enough width to make it feasible.

One of the containers is just storage so I can make more room in the shop, the other is in the process of becoming a weld/machine shop and will have its own bridge crane inside... Steve
 
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LXCam

ALLIANCE MEMBER
Joined
Apr 23, 2013
Messages
19,139
Location
AZ
I used sticks of 4" rigid conduit and onconcrete could push both my 20 n 40 by hand. Once I got into the dirt the skid steer made short work of positioning them.
 
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