Please help me make a plan to Move from Tampa To Chattanooga with shipping containers.

[Freshstart]

We are planning on moving using shipping containers to pack everything in. I have large workshop, household items, tractor and implements. I estimate 6 forty foot containers. We will use the containers to construct the new workshop after the move. A couple of the containers will weigh more than the others (workshop stuff).

My Idea is to buy a 5 ton wrecker and a 40 foot pintle hitch trailer. I want to avoid the CDL/commercial truck complication. It is about 600 miles one way. The wrecker would make clearing land and moving containers a lot easier. I have time on my side but......

1. Will that truck tow a 9000 pound container on a 40 foot trailer + contents
2. How hard will it be to avoid CDL/Commercial regulations. What is the best way to buy the equipment needed

I would really appreciate any guidance to get this done.

Thanx

 

[NDT]

Carefully study the boom loading chart for the wrecker. With the shipper fully extended, you will not be able to pick up 15,000 lbs. Your loaded combination will be deep into CDL territory. Big money and hassle to run legal.

 

[Freshstart]

Carefully study the boom loading chart for the wrecker. With the shipper fully extended, you will not be able to pick up 15,000 lbs. Your loaded combination will be deep into CDL territory. Big money and hassle to run legal.

Thanks.. I realize it will not pick the container up. I am in hopes it will be able to pull/winch the container on to the trailer and adjust position on the ground. Thanx again

 

[simp5782]

It'll pull it but very slowly.

Wrecker weighs in the 36k range. 40ft container is 8200lbs empty. Plus trailer weight in the 9k to 13k range. I've only ever seen a few pintle trailers that could handle a 40ft container and they weighed around 11k each and they were big big triple axle globe trailers. Probably special order for a 38 to 44ft deck and more costly than say putting those containers on a step deck

 

[Ferroequinologist]

Check your state, and the state you are moving to. The state you register the truck in will be the one that matters.

Here in SC, you can get a class F license, 26,000lb and over with 10,000lb and over trailer, and even get endorsements for air brakes, doubles, etc. Basically a non commercial CDL. I can drive anything as long as it is not for commerce and me moving my own junk around for laughs. The second I haul a trailer for a friend and he pays me for my time, buys fuel, or even pays for my lunch, now I am hauling for profit and am illegal on my class F license. So I do a lot for others out of the kindness of my heart...

As Simp said, a wrecker generally has ok power to move itself from A to B, marginally with a truck on the hook, and would be extremely slow and fuel hungry with a trailer that big with a connex on it.

You could buy a landal trailer and a tractor, then sell them later. Would basically make the move for the cost of fuel, repairs, and time. Would be an investment up front however.

I have used my m936 wrecker to move my 45ft high cube around the yard, but it isn't happy about it.

 

[simp5782]

He doesn't have to have a CDL in Tennessee even up to 80k.

 

[Mullaney]

We are planning on moving using shipping containers to pack everything in. I have large workshop, household items, tractor and implements. I estimate 6 forty foot containers. We will use the containers to construct the new workshop after the move. A couple of the containers will weigh more than the others (workshop stuff).

My Idea is to buy a 5 ton wrecker and a 40 foot pintle hitch trailer. I want to avoid the CDL/commercial truck complication. It is about 600 miles one way. The wrecker would make clearing land and moving containers a lot easier. I have time on my side but......

1. Will that truck tow a 9000 pound container on a 40 foot trailer + contents
2. How hard will it be to avoid CDL/Commercial regulations. What is the best way to buy the equipment needed

I would really appreciate any guidance to get this done.

Thanx

.
Well @Freshstart , Everybody else has already covered the wrecker and towing containers. I second or third the weight of the wrecker! 5-Ton wreckers are heavy and not really go-fast vehicles.

You mentioned " The wrecker would make clearing land ....... easier". Have to ask what kind of land clearing you might do with a wrecker? You could use the boom to hold trees while you saw them down, then load them onto a trailer. Again, same deal where you need to be careful with maximum boom extension, it wouldn't be hard for you, the tree and the wrecker to all end up in a pile on the ground.

The M-936 boom elevates to about 45° and there are times where it sure would be nice if it went higher IMO. The M1089 is a little newer and has two winches and hydraulic spades on the back. It isn't a speed demon either for the record and is just as heavy. Both wreckers could drag a container maybe. Depending on the ground you pull them over and how heavily loaded they are.

Would be interesting to see what kind of reply you have on the points made and see if maybe there is some other options that might work better for what you want to do.

 

[Freshstart]

It'll pull it but very slowly.

Wrecker weighs in the 36k range. 40ft container is 8200lbs empty. Plus trailer weight in the 9k to 13k range. I've only ever seen a few pintle trailers that could handle a 40ft container and they weighed around 11k each and they were big big triple axle globe trailers. Probably special order for a 38 to 44ft deck and more costly than say putting those containers on a step deck

Thanks for the information. You are right the pintle hitch HD trailers are expensive. Is there a good way to tow a step deck trailer with the wrecker? or would I have to go with standard 5 ton 6x6 truck. to move the low weight containers. It seems odd seeing the high towing weight numbers on the F350/450 pickup trucks vs the 5 ton 6x6. Is the difference horsepower rating? I know the 5 ton would win the tug of war...lol

I guess I will get estimates to have the "Heavy shop containers" moved the with the traditional semi truck method. (and really load them up. Maybe consolidate the two into one)

I value your input. How would you do it?

This is the inside of one workshop containers

 

[Freshstart]

.
Well @Freshstart , Everybody else has already covered the wrecker and towing containers. I second or third the weight of the wrecker! 5-Ton wreckers are heavy and not really go-fast vehicles.

You mentioned " The wrecker would make clearing land ....... easier". Have to ask what kind of land clearing you might do with a wrecker? You could use the boom to hold trees while you saw them down, then load them onto a trailer. Again, same deal where you need to be careful with maximum boom extension, it wouldn't be hard for you, the tree and the wrecker to all end up in a pile on the ground.

The M-936 boom elevates to about 45° and there are times where it sure would be nice if it went higher IMO. The M1089 is a little newer and has two winches and hydraulic spades on the back. It isn't a speed demon either for the record and is just as heavy. Both wreckers could drag a container maybe. Depending on the ground you pull them over and how heavily loaded they are.

Would be interesting to see what kind of reply you have on the points made and see if maybe there is some other options that might work better for what you want to do.

You got the idea about clearing property. Using the winch boom to get things out of the way to make room. I have used come alongs and pulleys with cables to make sure the the trees fall where they are suppose to. It would be a luxury to have the power and weight of the wrecker to speed things along. I have a tractor with a loader and other implements. I am use to doing it the hard way unfortunately.

I will look up the M1089 I am open to better ideas. Thanx for your help

 

[simp5782]

You can use a dolly unit to tow a stepdeck etc

They are cheap from the LTL freight places or make one from an M200 trailer.

 

[Mullaney]

Thanks for the information. You are right the pintle hitch HD trailers are expensive. Is there a good way to tow a step deck trailer with the wrecker? or would I have to go with standard 5 ton 6x6 truck. to move the low weight containers. It seems odd seeing the high towing weight numbers on the F350/450 pickup trucks vs the 5 ton 6x6. Is the difference horsepower rating? I know the 5 ton would win the tug of war...lol

I guess I will get estimates to have the "Heavy shop containers" moved the with the traditional semi truck method. (and really load them up. Maybe consolidate the two into one)

I value your input. How would you do it?View attachment 844606

This is the inside of one workshop containers

.
I am looking from a distance, but those look like HEAVY little boxes. Maybe nuts and bolts and washers? Sometimes I rain on the parade, but there is something to consider here... Something has to pick up or drag the container. Somebody has to have an idea what the contents will weigh.

Need to consider the DOT man.
- They write big fat tickets and they can park you on the side of the road until the weight is legal.

Something BIG is going to be required to lift a fully loaded Connex.
- If you can get it to slide off a Landoll, you might be able to roll on smooth ground using phone poles for "wheels".
- Remembering that if you slide it off onto the ground - the jig is up.
- On an incline, even an empty 9000# Connex will mow down just about ANYTHING that is in its way.

Nobody wants to do the work - and - it will be a royal pain but knowing what a loaded container really weighs might be really important.

 

[Ferroequinologist]

You could buy a m819...
A wrecker tractor. No rear winch, but has a fifth wheel.

 

[Freshstart]

.
I am looking from a distance, but those look like HEAVY little boxes. Maybe nuts and bolts and washers? Sometimes I rain on the parade, but there is something to consider here... Something has to pick up or drag the container. Somebody has to have an idea what the contents will weigh.

Need to consider the DOT man.
- They write big fat tickets and they can park you on the side of the road until the weight is legal.

Something BIG is going to be required to lift a fully loaded Connex.
- If you can get it to slide off a Landoll, you might be able to roll on smooth ground using phone poles for "wheels".
- Remembering that if you slide it off onto the ground - the jig is up.
- On an incline, even an empty 9000# Connex will mow down just about ANYTHING that is in its way.

Nobody wants to do the work - and - it will be a royal pain but knowing what a loaded container really weighs might be really important.

.
I am looking from a distance, but those look like HEAVY little boxes. Maybe nuts and bolts and washers? Sometimes I rain on the parade, but there is something to consider here... Something has to pick up or drag the container. Somebody has to have an idea what the contents will weigh.

Need to consider the DOT man.
- They write big fat tickets and they can park you on the side of the road until the weight is legal.

Something BIG is going to be required to lift a fully loaded Connex.
- If you can get it to slide off a Landoll, you might be able to roll on smooth ground using phone poles for "wheels".
- Remembering that if you slide it off onto the ground - the jig is up.
- On an incline, even an empty 9000# Connex will mow down just about ANYTHING that is in its way.

Nobody wants to do the work - and - it will be a royal pain but knowing what a loaded container really weighs might be really important.

Everything you said is true. I think they make a portable scale that is used to weigh trucks. It has separate sensors for each tire that link together to get the total weight. I will research it. Thanks for the insight

 

[Mullaney]

Everything you said is true. I think they make a portable scale that is used to weigh trucks. It has separate sensors for each tire that link together to get the total weight. I will research it. Thanks for the insight

.
Don't know who has portable scales - but that is definitely what the DOT man has in the trunk of their car.
That is how they figure out how much to give when you feed his (her?) bubblegum machine on the side of the road.
Maybe there are companies that would rent one. Or maybe offer a remote scale service?

Like I said before, don't want to beat you down. Just trying to make sure you have "other opinions" to consider.

 

[Tow4]

If you can come up with a way to load the containers, I would just pay a trucker(s) to deliver them. You are putting a big load on the wrecker and have to try and avoid the DOT problem. One break down (I can't see you getting 7-8K trouble free miles with that kind of load on a wrecker), or visit with the DOT man could cost more than shipping them and having a crane on each end to load and unload the containers. If you are put out of service, then you have to pay the big $ to a towing company to move the truck/trailer.

If it was one trip I'd probably roll the dice, but at 6 the odds are getting long.

 

[frank8003]

Have to do the math.
Steel shipping containers, if you could get them, are way MORE than expensive right now.
All that shelving I see breaks down to pickup truck loads.
You are going to re-arrange it all anyway.
For all the small heavy stuff you can mail 700lbs of stuff in 10 boxes for $219 bucks in large USPS boxes.
There is four different sizes of the free large and small shipping boxes to mail with tracking at $21.90 each.
Anything up to total 70 pounds each box. Think about that.
If You already have the 40 foot containers You could sell them and have new ones brought into your new place and maybe do good. A smaller trailer from u-haul one way loaded with tractor and such is not all that expensive for 600 miles with no drop off fees. Perhaps at your new place, in time the cost of containers will come down from the huge markup as it is now, buy a used F-350 dually and trailer? Build a nice shop at your destination?
Just a few ideas........... Maybe pay and get it down to two containers for the shop shipping?

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[chucky]

If this delemma was mine i would dig a 40 or 50 foot gradual slopeing ramp 4 ft at the deep end on both properties start looking at load boards (where truck drivers look for freight out of a certain area ) and lucky for you outbound flat bed freight is non existant out of florida so you can usally get stough moved cheap to get the trucks out of florida back into a freight rich enviroment ! either get/barrow 2 tractors or what ever one on each side of the container at the front with the truck backed into the ramp and drag them onto the trailer other end drag them off probably just one tractor at the back to get the unloaded . just make the ramps real compact and pour a little gravel in them so the truck doesent have to work very hard to get out when loaded

 

[DeMilitarized]

You could buy a m819...
A wrecker tractor. No rear winch, but has a fifth wheel.

These are extreamly rare. We have one but with only a ntc250 I don't think towing that much would be fun.

 

[chucky]

.
Don't know who has portable scales - but that is definitely what the DOT man has in the trunk of their car.
That is how they figure out how much to give when you feed his (her?) bubblegum machine on the side of the road.
Maybe there are companies that would rent one. Or maybe offer a remote scale service?

Like I said before, don't want to beat you down. Just trying to make sure you have "other opinions" to consider.

Yea they got portables but theyre usally too lazy to get the heavy things out of the back of their suvs ! Ive had them to ask me to help them get the scales out of their car back then ! sorry ive got a bad back ( help me stick this ticket in your ass?????????) that will be the day ! Back when i first started trucking by myself still a kid i pulled a grain buggy out of Texas and we got paid by the pound so my tempte supper hopper would always be just about running over the sides before i would roll the tarp back over i wasnt happy till i was 130 to 150 thousand pounds so i spent alot of time on the 2 lanes and always at night if possible and didnt know what a scale house looked like back then i never crossed em unless i was empty or legal at the time

 

[Freshstart]

.
Don't know who has portable scales - but that is definitely what the DOT man has in the trunk of their car.
That is how they figure out how much to give when you feed his (her?) bubblegum machine on the side of the road.
Maybe there are companies that would rent one. Or maybe offer a remote scale service?

Like I said before, don't want to beat you down. Just trying to make sure you have "other opinions" to consider.

BEAT ME! BEAT ME!...LOL I won't get butt hurt. I want a plan that will work.

I am getting a feeling that equipment failure is a real concern. I normally would think 8k miles on a low miles diesel truck would not be a concern. Is it because of the age of the truck?