A tool for quickly moving containers

Metal shipping containers are used to transport most consumer goods that are shipped by ship or on rail. Their use brought a very large reduction in transport costs and increased the speed of transport over long distances. They can be used many times, and after damage they can be used for various other purposes.

Many farmers and foresters use them as storage for tools or other equipment.

Many use them as weekend cottages in remote rural locations.

In wars, many armies use them as dugouts that can be quickly set up and covered with earth. On dry terrain, they are placed in pre-dug large holes in which the containers are placed. After installation, it is enough to place a row of logs over them, and cover everything with a layer of soil. They can also be set up as dugouts on swampy terrain by placing them on the ground and placing a layer of logs diagonally on all sides. It is enough to throw a few meters of earth on top of that to get a sufficiently solid dugout. A dugout covered with earth like this can easily be seen as a small hill, but this can be disguised by planting evergreen shrubs on and around it.

The biggest problem is delivering the container to a location that is far from hard roads, and moving it from one such location to another.

On a hard surface, it is easy to place the container on the trailer using large forklifts or truck cranes. There are openings on the lower corners of the container to which the cables are attached when the container needs to be lifted or placed on a vehicle. That is why it is easy to lift the container onto a trailer on a hard surface and take it to a location in the forest, and unload it there if the trailer has an unloading crane. However, the problem is when the container needs to be moved from one place to another on uneven terrain where there are neither large forklifts nor truck cranes.

This problem could be solved very easily by using a special tool for this purpose that can be easily made from parts from the car scrap yard.

This kind of tool that consists of an axle on wheels, and a long handle that is connected to the axle, and a connecting assembly that attaches this tool to the container. Such a tool for lifting containers would be placed on the front and back of the container, and would turn the container into a trailer that can be pulled over uneven and muddy terrain using tractors, trucks and animal teams. In this way, the container could be transferred from one place to another very quickly and easily, and this tool could be quickly removed after transferring one container and used again to transfer another container.

Parts of this tool can be seen in the picture.

The container (1) is placed on the ground before placing the tool, and the lifting tool is placed from the front and back. At the same time, the handle (8) is kept in a vertical position, so that the wheels (7) get closer to the container (1). Then the lower part of the holder (2) is placed under the edge of the container (1). When the holder (2) is placed against the lower edge of the container (1), then the supporting screws (3) are pushed through the holes located in the lower corners of the container (1), and the supporting screws (3) are tightened with the nuts, which secures the holder (2) ) tightly connects to the container (1). Two small round tubes are welded to the upper part of the holder (2) in its middle, inside which the upper part of the T element (4) is located, which can rotate freely inside these small tubes. The lower part of the T element (4) is located in the bearing groove (5), which is a tube welded to the shaft (6). There are wheels (7) on the sides of the axle (6) that can rotate freely. When this tool is firmly connected to the container (1) with the supporting screws (3), then the handle (8), which is firmly connected to the shaft (6), is pulled down from the vertical position with the hands to a horizontal position, while the shaft (6) ) turns. By turning the shaft (6), the supporting slot (5) is also turned, which also turns the T element (4) and rises up, together with the holder (2). When the holder (2) is raised, the container (1) is also raised, and the wheels (7) are pulled under the container (1). After that, the same tool, which is on the other side of the container (1), is fixed and placed under the container. After both tools are placed in the driving position, it is determined which side of the container (1) is the front and which is the back. The front side is connected to a tractor, car, truck, or livestock cart with a handle (8). On the back side of the container (1), the handle (8) is placed in a solid position with braces (9) that firmly connect the top of the handle (8) to the upper sides of the container (1). After that, the container (1) can be easily moved on the wheels (7) to the position where it needs to be placed. When the container(1) is placed in place, these tools are separated from it, and can be reused on another container.