Sideloader container delivery puts your container straight onto the ground at your site, without a forklift or loading dock. A sideloader sets the container down at ground level, so you can load or unload at your own pace, even when you have no loading equipment of your own.
What does putting a container on the ground mean?
A sideloader loads and unloads a container from the side, straight from or onto the trailer. No separate crane or quay is needed. We set the container down at your place, or lift it back onto the trailer once you are done.
The method works for 20ft and 40ft containers. If you want to save space, the containers can also be stacked. For anyone without a dock or forklift, this is often the quickest way to load or unload a container.
How does a sideloader put a container on the ground?
A sideloader is a trailer with hydraulic lifting arms on the side. The arms lift the container off the chassis, swing it out sideways and set it down next to the truck in a controlled way. The reverse works too: lifting the container from the ground back onto the trailer.
The container stays upright and intact throughout. You open and load it afterwards, or unload it at your own pace. To collect it, the truck returns and the sideloader picks the container up the same way.
How much weight can a sideloader handle?
A sideloader can technically lift up to around 36 tonnes [TO BE CONFIRMED]. The exact maximum differs per type of unit, so the lifting capacity is not a fixed figure.
In practice the sideloader is rarely the limit; the law is. In Belgium a truck-trailer combination may weigh up to 44 tonnes, spread across the axles. Filling a container up to the lifting limit would exceed that total weight. The legal maximum on the road, not the crane, sets how much you can actually send.
What should you keep in mind?
Because a sideloader loads and unloads from the side, you need enough room to manoeuvre next to the vehicle. A level, paved surface is a must for safe work. On soft or sloping ground the container cannot be set down stably.
If your site is not suitable, we advise loading and unloading with a crane instead. So please send a few photos of the surroundings with your request. That way we assess what is possible in advance and give you the right advice before the truck leaves.
How long can the container stay?
As far as we are concerned, the container stays as long as you need. There is no fixed period: you load or unload at your own pace and we collect the container at an agreed moment.
Do watch one thing with a shipping line's container. It usually comes with a free period. Once those days run out, the shipping line charges demurrage and detention. Those costs are separate from ours.
If you want to avoid that clock entirely, we can buy a container for you. A container of your own has no free period and no demurrage. It can stay as long as you like, wherever you like.
Which containers and situations?
Most jobs involve 40ft high cube and 40ft dry containers. A 20ft, or two 20ft together, is no problem either. High cubes are no obstacle.
A 45ft container is longer than standard transport allows. It requires a length permit for exceptional transport. We arrange this through our network, so a 45ft reaches you as well. When several containers are involved, we also lift them off one trailer and onto another. That keeps you flexible, whether you want to store one container temporarily or move a whole series.
Need a container on the ground?
Tell us where the container should go and what you want to load. With a few photos of your site we assess which method fits and arrange the rest, from the port to your location.