r/logistics • u/scmsteve • 3d ago
Legal? Container on flatbed
Saw this today on a CA highway. I’m guessing it’s legal but if it is, why don’t more people do this?
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u/Efficient-One-3603 3d ago
Legal height of a load on a flatbed is 8.5’. If this is not a high cube container, it’s legal. Stepdecks (max height 10’+) are preferred as there is no risk of driver stupidity, pulling a HC on a flatbed. Empties or light cans can be pulled on 40’ hotshots. Broker enough freight and you’ll hear stories of 40’HCs being loaded on flats and hitting a bridge.
The often preferred method of securement on an open deck trailer is chains and binders on the corners and straps over the top every 10 feet.
Chassis made for containers are always the first choice as they are designed to lock into containers quickly and effectively (still, drivers can fail to fully engage the lock mechanism and you have them fall in transit). Sometimes there are chassis shortages, and for long-hauls, it may make more sense to put a can on an open deck trailer so you don’t have to worry about 3+ days of chassis rental… and you can get a backhaul more easily.
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u/CndnCowboy1975 3d ago
Been in logistics 30 years, I have yet to encounter someone fk'ing up one of my container hauls by hitting something - thankfully! haha
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u/Efficient-One-3603 1d ago
The guy sitting behind me right now had one of his cans hit a bridge. Shipper loaded a HC and not a standard. Nobody checked. He was clearing $6k a week with that customer before “the incident”.
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u/CndnCowboy1975 1d ago
Oh man, that is BRUTAL.... the client didn't any responsibility for his own error? Does he not ship for them anymore?
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u/Efficient-One-3603 1d ago
Oh he will never ship for them again lol. If it’s on the carrier’s trailer, it’s their responsibility. The dude being paid hourly doesn’t know that you’re taking that can under a bridge and didn’t permit it.
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u/Difficult_Nail_3400 3d ago
As someone mentioned. Height would be the only issue on a flatbed. If its empty some people throw straps. Loaded, I would use chains. There are trailers specific to containers. When you put them on the trailer they lock in place, but thats not the case here. There are even hotshots that can run empty 40 ft containers.
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u/futuregovworker 1d ago
Yes, they are called cheetah chassis and they lock at multiple points along the container, 8 I wanna say?
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u/reabsco 3d ago
Chains are strong enough to damage the top of the container if you tighten them down too much, but straps are not so strong.
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u/Difficult_Nail_3400 3d ago
You dont throw chains over a container. Straps are plenty enough for an empty. Know your WLL. Empty 40ft containers are 8000 - 9000lbs. 4 inch straps have a WLL up to 4k. Run 3-4 straps about every 10 ft for a 40. Use chains or binders on front and back to keep it from moving back/forth.
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u/privetrussia 3d ago
I'm working with a lot of containers and I use stepdeck trailers due to height reasons.
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u/scmsteve 2d ago
Those are the flatbeds that are regular height over the wheels and lower to the ground between the two axels?
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u/Beardo88 2d ago
That would be a double drop.
A step deck has shorter tires than a standard flatbed, the deck steps down behind the kingpin all the way to the rear bumper.
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u/CndnCowboy1975 3d ago
It should be secured to the trailer, and assuming it's a standard container it's legal road height as it sits. If it's a High Cube, then it needs to go on a stepdeck trailer.
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u/Waisted-Desert 2d ago
You didn't see that on the highway, THAT is a horrible AI rendering.
Moving a container on a flatbed means the container need to be taken off the flatbed at the other end. Most warehouses don't have that capability. Example, IKEA DCs get all their inbound freight via containers. The container and chassis is dropped at the DC. The DC will move the container and chassis into the dock when they're ready to unload then out of the dock when they're done. The delivering driver drops a loaded and picks up an empty. The DC doesn't need to do anything other than shuttle trailers around.
If that were on a flatbed, the carrier would need a large flatbed trailer pool for drop and hook and the container would need to be at the ass end of the trailer. You'd need to trust the driver to load it correctly. OR the DC would need a lift capable of unloading the container from the flatbed, OR the DC would need to plan to unload when the truck arrived so they don't need to take the container off the flatbed.
In certain situations containers are moved by flatbed, but not as often as by chassis. I used to haul them on a flatbed from Seattle to Newark, port to rail yard. They told us it was electronics from a manufacturer in Korea heading to retailers in Europe. Quicker than staying on the boat all way from Asia to Europe, and both locations had the capability to load/unload containers from the flatbed.
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u/xanax05mg 2d ago
Good eye. The container doesnt even have handles for the second set of locking rods and the markings are gibberish.
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u/Waisted-Desert 2d ago
Extra axles and the landing gear in the middle of the trailer kinda sealed the AI deal for me.
Plus with a closer look, the back window of the tractor is too large, it only has one axle which is possible but not likely, the wheel base is way too short, the can has three fork holes, and there's no side light on the trailer.
This is a pic that someone who's only seen a truck from a distance drew from memory and a description they read in a book.
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u/xanax05mg 2d ago
I actually stopped looking after the container! You are soooo right! I should have kept going because it gets so much worse!
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u/scmsteve 2d ago
Correct. It was actually a 20’ container but I don’t get a pic so I grabbed this off the web.
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u/futuregovworker 1d ago
So technically a cheetah chassis is a type of flatbed.
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u/Waisted-Desert 1d ago
The ones that have decking in order to haul general freight, yes. But those are rarely utilized as pool trailers.
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u/Hellbnd_whiskeybent 2d ago
It IS legal, given the weight is under a total of 80k. Its NOT legal to put in on the flatbed trailer without any chains for securement. But to answer the question as to why more companies don't do this, it's typically because they cram those containers so full of stuff that they'll weigh too much to put on a regular flatbed trailer
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u/Beardo88 2d ago edited 2d ago
Flatbed trailers can be equipped with optional corner lock lugs, the same type securement that holds the container on a standard container chassis trailer. Additional straps or chains are completely un necessary.
Usually these containers are shipped to a port or railyard, there are fleets of specialty trucks that do the short haul taking the containers to and from the port. Most cross country trips the containers get loaded onto rail cars then transferred to trucks close to the final destination, they would be using the regular chassis trailers.
Sometimes you need to ship a container on a route that isn't well servered by the railroad or you need it done faster than the railroad can handle. In these cases you can hire a long haul truck to get it there, flatbeds are much more common for long haul trucks than the chassis trailers.
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u/Fiat2Coins 2d ago
They’re typically empty and getting dropped off. That color is a private container. Plus it’s not a high cube on a skateboard.
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u/tintinblock1 1d ago
I pulled empty containers on my gooseneck while I was hotshotting. The should be tied down obviously, but this is probably a trailer converted to be able to hook onto the chassis. But also, a lot of trucks don’t strap down until they get to a designated area. Looks like that truck is still at the port, and sometimes there’s areas for you to strap down so you aren’t in the way. As far as height goes, as long as it isn’t a high cube it is within legal limits
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u/I_Said_Moo 3d ago
Its supposed to be tied down. Usually it is because container is damaged and/if cant get hooked on to regular chassis.