Thanks for all your help people.
I have to move an 8’6" trailer around europe on tour.
The container is 40 foot long and, as said, 8 foot 6 inches tall.
Am I right in thinking I’d be best off using a fixed standard UK skelly?
As long as my 5th wheel height is low enough!
A 1250mm 5th wheel, plus 220 mm for an average neck depth puts the locks at 1470mm.
8’ 6" is 2591mm giving an overall height of 4061mm.
If you have a flat 5th wheel base plate, that will get you at least the 61mm; if not as long as the box that you are carrying has the dog kennel, ie a gap down the centre of the cross bearers, all ISO boxes have them, but this could be a special; assuming it does then a goose neck standard skelly, will be best giving you around 3.85m on a 1250mm coupling.
Whilst these trailers are not widely used in the UK most large hire fleets will have a few on fleet.
If you want to buy a new one PM me.
acd1202:
A 1250mm 5th wheel, plus 220 mm for an average neck depth puts the locks at 1470mm.8’ 6" is 2591mm giving an overall height of 4061mm.
If you have a flat 5th wheel base plate, that will get you at least the 61mm; if not as long as the box that you are carrying has the dog kennel, ie a gap down the centre of the cross bearers, all ISO boxes have them, but this could be a special; assuming it does then a goose neck standard skelly, will be best giving you around 3.85m on a 1250mm coupling.
Whilst these trailers are not widely used in the UK most large hire fleets will have a few on fleet.
If you want to buy a new one PM me.
Someone else agrees that its to do with the 5th wheel height of the truck, just waiting for smee’s interpritation of the 
he obviously doesnt agree… go to Holland mate and you will see all manor of heights of containers around Europort and i will gaurantee none of them are running over 4 metres.
all 20" containers run at 13-6
The vast majority of our 20fts are 9ft hicubes, running at 14ft.
It’s wise to allow 14ft 9 for a 45ft, as the angle most skellys sit on makes the overhang at the front stick up an extra few inches.
Whilst these trailers are not widely used in the UK most large hire fleets will have a few on fleet.
Agreed. Again, we had half a fleet of goosenecks until recently. Our Russian end still use them, and convert them for 45s (see previous posts I’ve made on goosenecks “with wings”, and the headaches I’ve had getting them loaded at UK ports other than Tees. )
Cardo:
Thanks for all your help people.I have to move an 8’6" trailer around europe on tour.
The container is 40 foot long and, as said, 8 foot 6 inches tall.
Am I right in thinking I’d be best off using a fixed standard UK skelly?
As long as my 5th wheel height is low enough!
Are you working for TransAm by any chance??, if so the containers will be CAT Generators and will run at 4metres no problem.
carry a 16 foot tape to be on the safe side,if you cant reach the top just measure to bottom of box add together,there you go height of trailer. 
Use a measuring stick! Then you will know exactly how high it is. Then you will not run into any problems!!! Sorted
Up until some time in the 90’s,(or it might have been late 80’s) for some strange reason to do with C&U regs, you couldn’t pull a high cube box at 14’6" if it grossed you above 32t - the only way round it was to use a goose neck trailer which supposedly brought your overall height down to 13’6
Hows that for a piece of completely useless and obsolete information to do with container heights 
If you put a box on then hit a bridge then it is too tall.
you will know if you have hit a bridge as you will hear teenagers laughing at you, it’s quite simple really.
Smee:
Its all quite simple.
Standard containers and all 20" containers run at 13-6…Then you have 40" High Cubes run at 14-6 as do all 40" reefers…Watch out for open top box’s they may have the load sticking out the top.
You do occasionally see 20 foot high cubes.
In edit
Note to self - read all the thread
I was on the quay this week when I noticed some 20s in the stacks with the “high cube” flashes. I mentioned it to a mate that’s been on boxes years and years. He laughed at me and said there are a few.