Why a container chassis?

For a one truck outfit, I couldn't see it being worthwhile to purchase your own intermodal chassis. Not really sure there would be any advantage. Not to mention all the different sizes.

Most chassis's belong to the container pool you pull from, and most are used and abused junk.

Would be kind of difficult to back a container up to a dock and load/unload it if it were on a step deck

 

Most of the time you see a container on a flatbed is one of 2 reasons. First, they've been terminated in an out of town intermodal yard, like Container Port Group, and there are not enough being loaded. They will send them on flatbed back to a railyard to get them to a port to send them back from whence they came, or the lock box is damaged, and the box cannot be secured to a chassis. I have done both of these.

Securing a box on a flatbed takes time. Turning 4 twistlocks takes less than 1 minute.

High cubes can not go on a flatbed, 20' need to be centered, which means you are not driving straight into the box from the loading dock. 53' can never be put on a flatbed, except as permit load or in States where the statutory height is 14' 6".

Shall I go on? Chassis are made for hauling containers, and nothing else. It makes the most sense to use the best tool, right?

 

When you see a container on a beavrrtail, usually it used and being put into place as storage.

I wish I had an idea for you that would allow you to multifunction your trailer, but I am unable to. Remember, that due to the ports "providing" a chassis, buying a multiple use trailer may not be necessary.

 

In the can biz it only makes sense to buy a chassis if you don't get paid detention and you know you can do a turn around in less than hour. You'd need a 20-40 expandable and a 40-45 expandable then a place to park (more money) both unless you do day rental.

1 truck op makes more sense to use port/rail chassis pool. Just get freight that pays detention. The ports and rails always have some monkey wrench somewhere be it lack of chassis, closed lanes, high traffic or union tactics.

The difference is if you are working with a group of other truckers to pool resources.

 

Most ports are getting away from providing free chassis. Motor carriers rent them, pier diem, from the pier pools -or- lease a number of them direct from a supplier at a drastically cheaper long term rate.

Our latest are spread axle multiple configuration chassis that can do a 20 w/ the tandem slid out the back to meet the bridge formula -or- be slid up to dock a 20. then there is another position for a 40 and one more for a 45 AND in the 40' position have a stand up double pin that allows you to move two empty 20's...something we did w/ tank containers where we popped them onto a yard chassis for the cleaning rack and then doubled them up to return the cleaned tanks to the port...

 

One time saw on the load board asking for step decks to haul containers 700 miles at $3 bucks a mile, evidently they were unloaded at the wrong port and I guess the port did not want to lose their chassis.

 

This thread had me thinking and after some research there are some chassis that can be purchased at a premium like $20-30k that will do 20-40-45' and slide enough to make both 20' and 40' road legal on a tandem axle or split. I've seen Bridgeport use them and know that Pratt is the maker. I think Chassis King and Cheetah might build them too. This would make sense if only doing 20' and 40' cans though which works for pier and ocean side ramps. Finding used ones is a serious pain the rear though as they get snatched up quick.

The key for direct import/export is being able to put the end of the freight between the back wheels to get under 34k. If just pulling cans to a forwarder/XPL with no scale crossing this shift won't matter and neither will the amount of axles under it be it tridum or quad.