A straddle carrier or straddle truck is a freight-carrying vehicle that carries its load underneath by "straddling" it, rather than carrying it on top like a conventional truck. The advantage of the straddle carrier is its ability to load and unload without the assistance of cranes or forklifts. The lifting apparatus under the carrier is operated by the driver without any outside assistance and without leaving the driver's seat.

Lumber carriers

Early_Valmet_straddle_carrier_from_the_1940s_p1

The straddle carrier was invented by H. B. Ross in 1913 as a road-going vehicle that could easily transport lumber around mills and yards. Lumber was stacked on special

pallet A pallet (also called a skid) is a flat transport structure, which supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, a pallet jack, a front loader, a jacking device, or an erect crane. A pallet is the structural founda ...

s known as carrier blocks; the carrier would then straddle the stack, grasp and lift the carrier block, and drive off with the load.Roots of Motive Power, Lumber Carrier, Ross Straddle Carrier
/ref> Because a straddle carrier is open at both front and rear, it can transport lumber much longer than the carrier itself, over in length. The Ross Carrier Company (now Northwest Caster & EquipmentNorthwest Caster & Equipment
/ref> ) was founded in Seattle to manufacture and market the carrier, and similar designs were later manufactured by Gerlinger, Hyster,

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sy ...

, and other companies.Roots of Motive Power, Ross Carrier Company
/ref> These "straddles" or "timber jinkers" were a common sight in seaports around the world until the 1970s, but were phased out as larger and faster conventional trucks came into use. An example of these road-going straddle carriers can be seen in the 1950 comedy film Watch the Birdie.

Industrial straddle carriers

Similar industrial straddle carriers are used in manufacturing and construction, both for handling oversized loads such as steel and pre-cast concrete and where transportation of special loads such as nitrogen tanks is required in restricted spaces not suitable for trucks. A key advantage of industrial straddle carriers and

reach stacker A reach stacker is a vehicle used for handling intermodal cargo containers in small terminals or medium-sized ports. Reach stackers are able to transport a container short distances very quickly and pile them in various rows depending on its acce ...

s over most

forklift A forklift (also called lift truck, jitney, hi-lo, fork truck, fork hoist, and forklift truck) is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances. The forklift was developed in the early 20th century by various ...

s is the ability to load or unload a

semi-trailer A semi-trailer is a trailer without a front axle. In the United States, the term is also used to refer to the combination of a truck and a semi-trailer; a tractor-trailer. A large proportion of a semi-trailer's weight is supported by a trac ...

in a single operation, which can improve efficiency. Straddle carriers are also used for handling boats onshore. These are also often called travel lifts or travelifts.

Shipping container carriers

The most common use of straddle carriers is in port terminals and intermodal yards, where they are used for stacking and moving ISO standard

containers A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The ter ...

. The carrier straddles its load, picking it up and carrying it by connecting to the top lifting points using a container spreader. Some machines have the ability to stack containers up to four high. They travel at relatively low speeds (up to ) with a laden container. Drivers of the carrier sit sideways at the very top and face the middle, so they can see behind and in front of the vehicle. Straddle carriers can lift up to , which equals up to two full containers.

Gallery

Melbourne--swanston-dock-container-carrier.jpg, Straddle carriers at work at the

Port of Melbourne The Port of Melbourne is the largest port for containerised and general cargo in Australia. It is located in Melbourne, Victoria, and covers an area at the mouth of the Yarra River, downstream of Bolte Bridge, which is at the head of Port Ph ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Portalhubwagen.jpg, Straddle carriers at the

Port of Copenhagen The Port of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Havn) is the largest Danish seaport and one of the largest ports in the Baltic Sea basin. It extends from Svanemølle Beach in the north to Hvidovre in the south. Along with Malmö harbour, Copenhagen Por ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. Straddle Carrier Northport Malaysia.jpg, Straddle carriers or SK as known at Northport,

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

. Straddle carrier from Port of Chittagong (05).JPG, Straddle carrier work at Port of Chittagong.

References

External links