Delivery Site Access Guide

Overview

A container or portable building arrives on a heavy vehicle and needs room to be placed. Most delivery problems come down to access, ground or overhead clearance. This guide explains what each delivery method needs, what to check before the truck arrives, and how to tell us about your site. The figures given here are typical and are labelled as such. Every site is different, so confirm your details with our team before dispatch.

Site access is your responsibility under our Shipping & Delivery Policy. A failed delivery due to an inaccessible site incurs a re-delivery or futile trip charge, quoted before rebooking. Ten minutes of preparation avoids that.

The five site checks

1. Ground. Firm and level at the placement spot and along the whole route from the road. A loaded truck can sink into lawn, sand, fresh fill or wet clay. Compacted gravel, concrete or dry hard ground is ideal.
2. Route. Clear access for a heavy vehicle from the street to the placement spot. Move cars, trailers, materials and bins. Check driveway width, sharp bends and steep grades.
3. Turning room. The truck must be able to enter, position and leave without reversing long distances on public roads.
4. Gates and width. Gate openings, fences and structures must be wide enough for the truck and the unit with a working margin.
5. Overheads. Power lines, phone lines, tree branches, eaves and awnings along the route and above the placement spot. A tilt tray raises its tray high, and a crane needs clear air above the unit.

Delivery methods and typical clearances

All figures in this section are typical, confirm with our team. They assume a standard 20 ft or 40 ft container and may differ for portable buildings, high-cube units and specific vehicles.

Tilt tray

The tilt tray is the most common method for 10 ft and 20 ft containers and many portable buildings. The truck reverses to the placement spot, tilts its tray and slides the unit off the back. The unit ends up directly behind where the truck stood, in line with the truck.

• Straight-line access: typically about 2.5 times the container length, plus the length of the truck, in a straight line from the placement spot. For a 20 ft unit that means roughly 15 metres plus the truck, confirm with our team.
• Width: typically about 3.5 metres of clear width along the approach, confirm with our team.
• Overhead: typically about 5 metres of clearance where the tray tilts, because the front of the tray rises, confirm with our team.
• Ground: firm along the full length of the approach and at the placement spot.

The unit can only be placed in line with the truck. If you need the unit turned or placed beside the approach, another method is required.

Side loader

A side loader carries the container on a trailer and lifts it off to one side using its own cranes, placing it parallel to the truck. It suits sites with a long, clear strip beside a driveway or road.

• Side space: clear ground beside the trailer for the unit, typically the container length plus about 3 metres of working room to the side, confirm with our team.
• Width: the truck plus the unit plus the leg outriggers, typically about 6 metres of total width where the lift happens, confirm with our team.
• Ground: firm ground for the outrigger legs, which carry heavy point loads.
• Overhead: clear air above both the trailer and the placement spot for the lifting arms.

Hiab or crane truck

A Hiab or crane truck can lift a unit over a fence, into a corner or onto a prepared base that a tilt tray cannot reach. Reach depends on the crane model and the weight of the unit. Longer reach means less lifting capacity.

• Reach: depends on the crane model. As a guide, a heavier unit must be placed closer to the truck. Tell us the distance from where the truck can stand to the placement spot, confirm with our team.
• Outriggers: typically extend about 2 to 3 metres each side of the truck and need firm ground, confirm with our team.
• Overhead: no power lines or branches within the crane’s swing. Power lines near a lift require a safe distance set by law and may make a crane delivery impossible.

Flatbed or semi trailer

Flatbeds and semi trailers move units over long distances and carry multiple units. They cannot unload themselves. You need your own crane or forklift, or we arrange a crane at the delivery end and quote it. Semi trailers need wide turning circles and firm ground, and are not suitable for tight residential streets.

Customer crane or forklift

If you have your own lifting equipment, tell us when ordering. A 20 ft container typically weighs 2 to 2.5 tonnes empty, and a 40 ft unit 3.5 to 4 tonnes, confirm the listed weight for your unit. Your forklift needs rated capacity above that weight with long tynes or a suitable spreader, and your crane needs a spreader bar and rated slings. A competent operator must be on site at the delivery time.

Preparing the placement spot

A container should sit on its four corner castings, not on its floor. Place it on concrete pads, treated timber sleepers, pavers or a compacted gravel base at each corner so that the frame is level and the floor can breathe. Uneven support twists the frame and makes doors hard to open. Portable buildings have their own footing requirements, noted in their listing. Check local council rules on placement, setbacks and approvals before delivery.

Telling us about your site

When you order or request a quote, give us:

• The exact delivery address and a site contact name and mobile number.
• Where you want the unit placed and which way the doors should face.
• The distance from the road or hardstand to the placement spot.
• Gate widths, driveway surface and any tight bends or steep sections.
• Overhead lines or trees, and any recent rain or soft areas.
• Photos of the approach and the placement spot, or a simple sketch. Our forms accept image uploads.

If you are unsure about anything, email the photos to sales@aadlogisitcsau.com or call +61 2 8310 8053. We would rather spend a few minutes reviewing your site than send the wrong vehicle.

On delivery day

• Have someone aged 18 or over on site for the delivery window.
• Keep pets, children and vehicles clear of the route.
• Stand where the driver can see you and let the driver control the placement.
• Inspect the unit before signing, and note any visible damage on the delivery docket.

The driver decides whether the site is safe. If the driver judges the ground unsafe, the route blocked or the overheads too close, the delivery may be refused and a futile trip charge quoted. Preparation is the best protection against this.

Related pages

Shipping & Delivery Policy, Product Condition Guide and Request a Quote.

Contact

AAD Logistics PTY, 4 Milton Cct, Port Macquarie NSW 2444, Australia. Email sales@aadlogisitcsau.com. Phone +61 2 8310 8053, Monday to Friday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Saturday 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Brisbane time.