Side loader or standard trailer? The question is what your site can lift

Most people asking for a container delivery quote start with the container. The more useful question is what happens at the other end, because that is what decides which trailer we send and what the job costs.

A standard trailer needs you to have equipment

A skeletal trailer is essentially a frame with twist locks. It is the lightest way to carry a container, which means the whole payload allowance goes to your freight rather than to machinery. It is the cheapest option per container, and on heavy loads it is often the only legal one.

The catch is that a skeletal trailer cannot unload itself. You need a forklift rated for the weight, a container handler, a crane, or a dock. If you have those, this is almost always the right answer.

A side loader brings its own equipment

A side loader carries hydraulic cranes on the trailer. It lifts the container off its own deck and sets it on the ground beside the truck. Your site needs no forklift, no crane and no dock — just firm ground and clearance.

That capability costs payload. Because the lifting gear travels with the trailer, the container itself is limited to 22.5 tonnes on our side loaders, against 43.5 tonnes gross on a standard combination. A densely packed 20-foot container will exceed the side loader limit long before it looks full.

How to work out which one you need

• Add the container tare to your cargo weight. The tare is stencilled on the container door.
• Under 22.5 tonnes total and no equipment on site? Side loader.
• Over 22.5 tonnes, with a forklift or crane available? Standard trailer.
• Over 22.5 tonnes with nothing on site? Talk to us before booking — that combination needs a plan, not a trailer.

The weight calculator on this site will do the arithmetic and tell you which side of the line you are on.

The expensive mistake

The costly version of this decision is discovering it on delivery day. A standard trailer arriving at a site with no lifting equipment is a futile delivery: the container goes back, you are charged for the movement, and re-delivery is a new job. Two minutes of conversation at booking avoids it every time.