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

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 Loader (equipment), front loader, a Jack (mechanical), jacking device, or an erect cra ...

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,

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 ...

, 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 stackers over most

forklift A forklift (also called industrial truck, 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 c ...

s is the ability to load or unload a semi-trailer 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 The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Me ...

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 term ...

. 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, Australia, Victoria, and covers an area at the mouth of the Yarra River, downstream of Bolte Bridge, which is at th ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Portalhubwagen.jpg, Straddle carriers at the Port of Copenhagen,

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

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

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

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

Port of Chittagong A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...

. Early_Valmet_straddle_carrier_from_the_1940s_p1.png, Early straddle carrier Demonstratie_met_Amerikaanse_transportwagen-511794.ogv, Video of early straddle carrier StraddleCarrierLiftsContainerFromDoubleStackTrain.webm, left, A straddle carrier in the USA lifting a container from a double-stack train onto a truck trailer.

References

External links