Pop-Out Legs Let These Shipping Containers Lift Themselves Onto Trucks

Pop-Out Legs Let These Shipping Containers Lift Themselves Onto Trucks

Shipping containers are a cornerstone of the world’s economy, but they’re also very, very heavy and completely dependent on cranes to be moved about. Except the SL-Tainer, which is the first container to be blessed with built-in legs so that it can actually lift itself.

The SL-Tainer obviously isn’t able to lift itself on or off a giant container ship, it would still need to enlist the help of dock crane for that. But it can easily lift itself off the ground, using a set of four hydraulicly-powered legs, allowing a tractor trailer to back in underneath it and haul it away.

The container does require a power source to operate those four legs, whether from a truck or a portable generator. But it’s estimated that it ends up costing about a dollar every time it’s loaded or unloaded off a truck, which takes about 15 minutes. Compared to the cost of renting a crane to do the same job, a buck is a bargain.

Pop-Out Legs Let These Shipping Containers Lift Themselves Onto Trucks

And besides making it easier to move cargo in locations where cranes aren’t available, or simply can’t be used due to limited overhead clearance, the SL-Tainer also makes it easier to use shipping containers for temporary storage, or even as temporary structures. Shipping container pop-up stores and restaurants are becoming more and more popular, and with the ability to unload itself at its destination, the SL-Tainer seems like a far better solution than just putting up a tent.

[Excalibur Shelters via Gizmag]


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

It’s the most popular NBN speed in Australia for a reason. Here are the cheapest plans available.

At Gizmodo, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.