Helping Customers Make the Most of Their Hooklift Equipment
Stronga believe in sharing our knowledge to help customers succeed in their transport applications. We speak to customers who ask questions about the best dump container choices over a wide scope of heavy material applications. Therefore, we have put together a series of guides by container type to assist customers in making the right decisions around optimal hook lift container specification, features and options, in order to deliver the overall best hooklift trailer outcomes.
This guide covers our knowledge related to low-sided, heavy material dump containers with all the optional features you may want to consider. While Stronga no longer produce standard-type dump containers in-house, we do have many years’ experience in designing them and our knowledge and tips are shared here in this article.
Considering Hook Lift Standards
The first thing we advise the customer to do when specifying a new hooklift dump container is check the local country hooklift chassis standard to ensure you have the correct container standard for your country and hooklift trailer. Stronga manufacture different standards of HookLoada trailer to ensure compatibility with local container standards. These include DIN, CHEM, Swedish standard and AFNOR. The hook-bar size, height, chassis width and locking arrangement can vary between the aforementioned standards.
The trailer in the photo below is a DIN Standard HookLoada with the Hardox dump container matched correctly.
Considering the Length of Your Dump Container
When considering the length of your dump container, we advise customers to consider the overall length of their hooklift trailer. Manufacturers produce different length equipment and the length dimensions need to be checked to ensure compatibility. Datasheets for each model of HookLoada trailer can found on stronga.com. Below is an example datasheet for a HL260DT (DIN Standard) trailer.
Dumper containers are generally shorter than bulk containers as there is no need to optimise the bulk capacity in order to maximise payload. Shorter containers also improve heaping ability which can be important when handling heavy materials. There is a balance; too short a container can mean the rear of the container is close to the roller and heavy materials could fall too close to the rear of the trailer, potentially causing damage. Too long a container tends to overhang the rollers too far; during tipping, the container ends up close to the ground which will affect heaping ability.
Considering the Side Height of Your Dump Container
The calculation of side height starts from the hooklift trailer’s capacity. The tri-axle HL260 hooklift has a capacity of 26 tonnes, including the container weight and payload. 26 tonnes minus the tare weight of the container of circa. 2 tonnes leaves 24 tonnes of payload to consider. Next, the bulk density kg/m³ of the material needs to be considered. If you are handling a soil material at 1500kg per m³, your dump container (including heaping) needs to be circa 16m³. The calculation of capacity = inside length of the container x inside width x inside height + any material heaping.
The main adjustment with dumper containers is the height of the sides. There is a temptation to over-size the container but this can lead to problems on-site where operators over-load the container, leading to all the consequential issues of equipment damage.
The above photo shows a low-sided container with a removable top hung door and flip door. The flip door guides the material well clear of the rear of the trailer to avoid any equipment damage. This is an example of a well-sized, evenly loaded dump container. Even loading is of paramount importance when loading containers to distribute the load evenly across the trailer’s chassis.
Considering Rear Door Arrangements
There are a number of clever, useful rear door arrangements which you may want to consider when specifying your new dumper container. It is important to consider the rear door, especially if you want to drive equipment into the trailer, as certain doors and container types are more suited to this type of application. If you have a hydraulic door fitted, it is not so easy to use the hooklift equipment as a plant transporter.
The photo on the left beneath shows a hydraulic top hung door on a semi half pipe hooklift body. The container on the right side has a lower hydraulic flip door arrangement which allows easy access, in this case, for the excavator to be driven in and secured inside the container. Well-positioned lashing points inside the container are a useful option to secure loads and equipment during transit. Both the dump containers below are a “monocoque” construction – these are generally stronger and more durable than drop-sided equipment.
Notice in the photos below the differences between the door types. The container in the left photo has a top hung door which is totally removable. The container on the right has a double / barn door arrangement; the doors can be manually locked open to both sides of the container during tipping cycles. The absence of the hydraulic flip door on the green container appears to put more risk of hard-core impacting the rear of the hooklift trailer.
Hardox Hook Lift Containers
There are various grades of Hardox wear plates available. Stronga specialise in the area of selecting the best Hardox product for the equipment and application, using various grades in our production. Many dumper containers feature Hardox wear plates in the construction to ensure the best possible service life and overall reliability.
Hardox 500 Tuf
At Stronga, we keep up-to-date with light, strong, modern, high impact resistant materials such as Hardox 500 Tuf.
Dumper containers made of Hardox 500 Tuf are lighter and more durable due to 500 Tuf’s unique combination of hardness and toughness. Not only does it deliver high wear resistance, Hardox 500 Tuf is also tough enough to perform as a structural wear plate in heavy-duty container bodies. This offers opportunities for reducing or eliminating supporting structures, allowing Hardox 500 Tuf to take the load instead. Dumper containers without bracing beams are stronger and lighter. A lower tare weight means more payload, less fuel per ton transported and fewer trips.
The container floor normally receives the most wear, especially when handling heavy, jagged rocks. Hardox is super hard-wearing with high resistance to impact deformation so it is particularly suited for use in container floors; though it can also be used for the sides, too. Hardox generally allows for thinner plates to be used, compared to mild steel, making the container lighter, reducing tare weight and therefore increasing payload.
Notice that the container in the photo above has a raised post, top hung door with a chute. The chute allows the operator to dispense of free flowing materials in a controlled manner. This door’s high pivot position increases the clearance under the door when emptying materials. Also notice the supports in place for a roll-sheet to cover the load during road transit. The low head-board offers good visibility into the container from the tractor cab.
Notice the strong hinges and double locking mechanism below, allowing the doors to be locked together and to the container’s chassis. Combi-doors bring the best of both worlds for transporting plant equipment and much more.
The photo below shows a full hydraulic door on a Hardox, half-pipe, low sided container. Hydraulic doors allow the operator to stay in the cab during emptying cycles. You can see that the hydraulic pipes of the rear door need to be connected to the auxiliary service on the HookLoada trailer before use.
On the container below, notice how the hook type is different to some of the other dumper containers shown in this article. Hooklift standards vary from region to region; this reinforces the importance of receiving the correct advice relating to tower and hook specification to ensure your container correctly matches the trailer’s hook type.
The shorter dumper container shown below can be used on sites where space is limited. The ramps can be seen stowed on the front head-board; ramps can be used for driving wheeled machinery into the container. The drop-sides allow the container to be used as a flatbed, making this a truly universal hooklift solution.
While the floor of the hooklift dumper container is raised around 200mm from ground-level, most tracked machines can be driven in without the need for ramps; however some wheeled equipment is more safely loaded with small ramps such as those shown below. The ramps required are small, light and easily handled. With Stronga hooklift equipment, heavy plant can be safely and securely positioned in the container at ground-level. Working at height has become a major safety consideration over recent years due to the number of accidents that occur even at low heights.
The strong dump container shown below has a tubular top rail with several lashing points arranged to conveniently secure materials, plant and other heavy loads. Notice the several auxiliary services located on the hooklift trailer’s hook tower. These are there for “on-container operations” such as hydraulic doors etc.
The container below is a ‘universal’ drop-sided container with a high head-board. The drop-sides allow operators to load pallets, heavy plant and other materials from the side or back. It is worth noting that high head-boards can affect visibility from the tractor cab. Customers often like to customise container colours to match their corporate brand style.
The photo below is another example of an excavator loaded inside a well-sized dump container. Ground-demounting hooklift containers using HookLoada trailers allow the excavator to be unloaded on the job site. The container can then be used as a useful dumper for transporting soil, mud, aggregate, stone and much more. The digger can be returned home on the same hooklift trailer at the end of the day, removing the need for on-site, overnight security.
Flexible to Innovation
The world of hooklift containers is so open and flexible to innovation that there are specialised containers for every application imaginable. Containers are extremely customisable, allowing you to design a bespoke hooklift solution to suit your unique needs and requirements. The hooklift trailer is the high value equipment which is central to the operation; with the investment in the hooklift, the world is your oyster.
Contact Stronga
The above photos are just examples of various type dumper containers. There are many creative pioneers leading the progress in hooklift applications and there are many different ways to get the job done using a HookLoada trailer, together with correctly-specified hooklift containers.
If you have any questions about any of the information in this article, please don’t hesitate to contact our sales team using the following details. We look forward to hearing from you.
Email – sales@stronga.co.uk
Photo – 01992 519000
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