hi,
can any one give me some useful tips on container work ive got my first start next week, and i know absolutely zilch about container work. other than take a good book with me. thanks for your help kev .
As you say take a good book - when swopping boxes three tips - make sure you undo all the twist locks & check which way the box is facing when you load it i.e.door to the rear, be carefull when opening the doors the loaders could have stacked stuff to lean against the doors and when opened will fall on you!!
The main thing to watch is your speed when cornering particularly on roundabouts. They can be top heavy and will roll over easily, one of ours went over at 12 mph.
If you have a 20 ft box on that is heavily loaded don’t shorten the skelly until you are lined up with the bay. They don’t manouver when there’s a lot of weight in them
Ask how to shorten the skelly as there are different methods depending on the trailer.
A hammer or persuader of some sort is a useful tool to have, for opening and closing doors and for getting the pins on the older trailers to retract. Also for ■■■■■■■■ a banksman when they get you to reverse into things. 
The most important thing you will need is patience.
Welcome to the world of the Box Jockey 
Hi squannogs, Here are some pics that might help:
knight mentioned about sliding skellies, here’s one in the extended position:
I’d echo his tip about shortening them 
This next trailer is a 20’ skelly, which can take either 1 x 20’ box, or 2 x 10’ boxes. BTW, it’s quite an old one
As The Biker said, you do need to take care with your twistlocks.
The two pics below are from the 20’ skelly trailer above.
This twistlock is in position ready to receive the container:
Once the container has been lowered into position, “close” your twistlocks like this:
Here’s a different type of twistlock, just in case
I hope this helps.
Please say whether it did
Last Saturday a container waggon rolled on the Woodhead pass, cab hit a stonewall but luckily no one was hurt and he left just enough room for 1 lane of traffic to squeeze through too, it was a Gems truck from Trafford Park.
container trucks always rolling over on felixstowe trimley roundabout and usually close calls every week.the roundabout leans the wrong way and there s a 20mph speed limit on it…but who sticks to it???i know the hanbury truck on friday wasnt and dont look in his mirrors as he cuts me up after
and DONT ever get in the back to help them tip it, unless they pay you up front.
That only applies on Deep Sea work. On Short Sea it’s in the contract to get in the back. That’s why I can’t help him without more info. 
Lucy:
That only applies on Deep Sea work. On Short Sea it’s in the contract to get in the back. That’s why I can’t help him without more info.
Do they not use 40’ boxes on Short Sea then ?
Cause bugger if I’d handball 20+ ton off
No way no how do I get in the back, but I might open the doors
We use everything from 20ft flats, solid and tilt-siders through all your 40fts up to a maximum of 45 footers which can be open curtain or solid-sided. We tip and load our own flatracks, so you need to know how to chain etc. for shipping - we do everything from plant to steel to timber to you name it on those jobs. We strip our own open-side and open-top boxes. A 45ft full strip is a three hour job - they are worse even than tilts as everything is much heavier gauge to cope with being lifted about. We carry ladders for height work. We regularly get in the back both with and without a pump truck. Handballs are usually done by the customer, but we will get in and tip those with them if they are short-staffed. We also do multidrop sofa deliveries to stores, and you are expected to get in and shift those yourself as and when the customer requires. It’s a knack rather than strength thing, though, to be honest. We do some regular tautliner work too. In fact, the only thing we don’t do any more is tanks.
As a driver employed directly by the Shipping Line, it is in my contract to do this stuff. I have certain dispensations that I can invoke when I need to because of my disability, but I rarely do - I have learnt the hard way how much better I actually feel keeping fitter by doing the graft.
All our subbies are also expected to do the same. It’s simply part of the contract - remember that Short Sea shipping of this kind is in direct competition with the unaccompanied trailer market, so needs to be just as flexible.
We are by no means the only Short Sea line, nor are we the only ones to work on these terms. All container work is NOT the same.