Container ramps are the most oversold and least specified piece of loading equipment we build. Buyers ask for “a 15 ton container ramp” because they assume the ramp has to climb to dock height, and end up either paying for steel they never needed or buying a 6 ton unit that cannot take the forklift already sitting in their yard. The number that matters is not the tonnage on the brochure.
It is the answer to three questions: where is the container sitting, what is climbing onto it, and how many times a day. What follows is the matrix we walk customers through before quoting, with the real deck geometry of each model, the arithmetic behind a capacity rating, and the point at which you should stop looking at container ramps and buy a mobile yard ramp instead.
Start With the Container, Not the Ramp
A container ramp does not span a dock. It spans the gap between the ground and a container that is already sitting on it, and that gap is far smaller than most buyers expect. ISO 668 fixes the external height of a standard 20 ft or 40 ft dry container at 2,591 mm (8’6″), and of a high-cube at 2,896 mm (9’6″). The floor inside is 28–30 mm plywood laid over steel cross members, which puts the walking surface roughly 160 mm (6.3 in) above the ground.
That is the whole job — about six inches of rise. A deck 1,250–1,500 mm (4’1″–4’11”) long handles it at a sane grade, which is why container ramps are light enough to reposition with a forklift and why a “15 ton container ramp” usually means somebody is solving the wrong problem.
The moment the container sits on a chassis or trailer, the geometry changes completely. The floor is then at roughly 1,100–1,300 mm (3’7″–4’3″), the ramp has to be 8–11 m long, and you are buying a yard ramp, not a container ramp. If there is a permanent dock involved, the right product is a dock leveler. Get this first question wrong and no amount of tonnage will rescue the project.
The Range, With Real Deck Numbers
Every container ramp we ship in the ground-level family shares the same 2,100 mm (6’11”) width. That is deliberate: it clears the 2,340 mm (7’8″) door opening with enough room to position the deck without fouling the door frame or the container’s corner castings.
| Model | Rated load | Overall length | Overall width | Deck and features | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HRCN-A container ramp | 6 t / 13,200 lb | 1,250 mm / 4’1″ | 2,100 mm / 6’11” | Checkered anti-slip plate, forklift pockets | Painted steel |
| HRCN-B side-pocket loading board | 6 t / 13,200 lb | 1,500 mm / 4’11” | 2,100 mm / 6’11” | Continuous deck (no joint), side pockets | Galvanized |
| HRCN-C container ramp | 10 t / 22,046 lb | 1,500 mm / 4’11” | 2,100 mm / 6’11” | Checkered plate, integrated lifting eyes | Hot-dip galvanized |
Note what the table does not contain: a 12 ton or 15 ton container ramp. That is not an oversight. A portable deck that long and that heavy stops being portable — it needs a tow bar, wheels and a wider run, at which point it is a different product class. If your duty needs 12 t or more, read the last section of this article before you send an enquiry to anyone.
Capacity Selection Matrix: 6, 8, 10, 12 and 15 Ton
Rated capacity is not the weight of the cargo. It is the heaviest moving load that will cross the deck: truck, battery or counterweight, operator and load, added together, then given margin for the grade and for dynamic loading as the truck rolls on and off. Service weights below are typical for electric counterbalance trucks; a diesel, a long mast, a side-shift or a clamp attachment will add hundreds of kilograms. Read the data plate on your own truck before you rely on this table.
| Equipment crossing the deck | Typical service weight | Load on forks | Gross moving load | Container ramp class needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand pallet truck, 2.5 t | ≈ 100 kg / 220 lb | 2,000 kg / 4,410 lb | ≈ 2,100 kg / 4,630 lb | 6 t — continuous deck |
| Electric pallet truck, 2.0 t | ≈ 600 kg / 1,320 lb | 1,800 kg / 3,970 lb | ≈ 2,400 kg / 5,290 lb | 6 t — continuous deck only |
| Counterbalance forklift, 2.0 t | ≈ 3,200 kg / 7,055 lb | 1,500 kg / 3,310 lb | ≈ 4,800 kg / 10,580 lb | 6 t at light cycles |
| Counterbalance forklift, 2.5 t | ≈ 3,800 kg / 8,380 lb | 2,000 kg / 4,410 lb | ≈ 5,900 kg / 13,000 lb | 6 t light duty, 10 t for daily work |
| Counterbalance forklift, 3.5 t | ≈ 5,000 kg / 11,023 lb | 2,500 kg / 5,510 lb | ≈ 7,600 kg / 16,750 lb | 10 t |
| Counterbalance forklift, 5.0 t | ≈ 7,000 kg / 15,430 lb | 3,000 kg / 6,610 lb | ≈ 10,100 kg / 22,270 lb | Not a container ramp — 15 t yard ramp |
Two things fall out of this. First, a 2.5 t forklift with a modest load already exceeds 6 t gross, which is why the 6 t / 10 t split exists and why the 10 t unit is the one that sells to warehouses. Second, the biggest mistake in container loading is not under-buying a ramp; it is buying a 6 t ramp for a 3.5 t forklift because the cargo itself only weighs a tonne.
Slope and Deck Length: The Arithmetic Behind the Geometry
Grade is rise divided by run, and it is the specification nobody checks and everybody notices. With a container floor sitting 160 mm (6.3 in) above the ground, the 1,250 mm deck sits at about 12.8% (roughly 7.3°), while the 1,500 mm deck brings it down to about 10.7% (roughly 6.1°).
Those figures matter because 12.5% is the practical ceiling the dock equipment industry works to — it is the working range limit set for dock levellers by EN 1398. Past that, you are relying on tire friction and operator nerve rather than on geometry. Published selection guidance puts the comfortable limit at around 7% for a manual pallet truck, roughly 10% for an electric pallet truck, and up to about 15% for a counterbalance forklift, where traction and load stability become the constraint long before engine power does.
Measure your ground before you order. A 40 mm (1.6 in) drainage fall across the door, a soft patch of asphalt or a container sitting on a paving slab changes the effective rise more than switching models does. The fix for uneven ground is a levelling plate under the ramp’s support landings — not a longer ramp.
Deck, Surface and Side Pockets
Deck detail decides cycle time and injury rates more than tonnage does. Four things to check before you sign:
- Anti-slip surface. Checkered plate, not plain sheet. A wet or oiled deck with a laden pallet truck is where most dock injuries actually happen.
- Deck continuity. Hand pallet trucks run on wheels around 80 mm (3.1 in) in diameter. A joint or step in the deck will catch them. If pallet trucks are part of your operation, specify a continuous deck — that is exactly the job the side-pocket loading board was designed for.
- Pockets, and which kind. Forklift pockets let you reposition the ramp with a truck. Side pockets let a pallet truck roll on from the side without climbing a step. They are not the same feature.
- Lifting eyes. If the ramp gets lifted between bays by crane or container spreader, integrated lifting eyes are safer and faster than slinging a chain around the frame.
Steel Grade, Finish and Cold or Coastal Sites
Two details separate a ramp that lasts fifteen years from one that lasts five.
Steel grade and impact testing. Q235B, the default structural steel in most imported ramps, carries a Charpy impact requirement only at +20 °C — it has no guaranteed toughness at −20 °C. If the ramp lives on a freezer apron or in a cold-climate yard, specify Q355D, which is impact-tested at −20 °C, or Q355E at −40 °C. It costs more and it is not negotiable at those temperatures; a brittle fracture under a loaded forklift is not a maintenance item.
Finish. A zinc-rich primer plus two-pack polyurethane at roughly 120 µm dry film is the right answer for dry, inland sites. Salt air, daily washdown, fertilizer or chemical yards change it. Hot-dip galvanizing at 70–100 µm of zinc adds 25–35% to the unit price and, based on the fleet data we see from customers in coastal Queensland and Florida, 7–13 years of service life. On a 10 t unit that is the cheapest money in the whole order.
Indicative Cost Bands: 6 t, 10 t and the Yard Ramp Alternative
| The job | Equipment | Capacity | Rise handled | Indicative EXW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grounded container, pallet trucks and 2–3 t forklifts | Container ramp HRCN-A | 6 t / 13,200 lb | ≈ 160 mm / 6.3 in | USD 900–1,300 |
| Grounded container, hand pallet trucks, no deck gaps | Side-pocket loading board HRCN-B | 6 t / 13,200 lb | ≈ 160 mm / 6.3 in | USD 1,100–1,600 |
| Grounded container, 3.5 t forklifts, coastal or wet site | Galvanized container ramp HRCN-C | 10 t / 22,046 lb | ≈ 160 mm / 6.3 in | USD 1,500–2,100 |
| Container on a chassis or trailer deck | Mobile yard ramp | 8–15 t / 17,600–33,000 lb | 1,100–1,700 mm / 3’7″–5’7″ | USD 3,200–10,500 |
| Fixed dock, variable trailer heights | Hydraulic dock leveler | 10 t / 22,046 lb | Dock height | Quoted per pit |
Indicative planning ranges, EXW Foshan, excluding freight, duty and installation. These are not quotations, and we re-price every 30 days because steel does not sit still. Deck dimensions for each capacity class are listed against the models in our mobile yard ramp range.
When to Stop Looking at Container Ramps
Three signals that a container ramp is the wrong tool for the job:
- Your gross moving load passes about 8 t. A 3.5 t forklift with a load is already at 7.6 t. Above that, move to the yard ramp family, where 10 t, 12 t and 15 t classes exist with twin cylinders and 2,200 mm decks.
- The container is not on the ground. A chassis or trailer deck needs the long run, and no 1.5 m board will ever reach it safely.
- You are working at a dock door. A portable ramp parked in front of a dock is an obstacle for every other vehicle and a trip hazard for your own crew. Fit a leveler.
The reverse mistake costs just as much. Buying a 15 t yard ramp to destuff one grounded container a week means three to five times the capital, a tow tractor, and an apron big enough to swing an 11 m machine. Match the ramp to the frequency of the job.
Specification Checklist Before You Order
- Container type and height — 8’6″ standard, 9’6″ high-cube, reefer, and whether it is ever a flat rack.
- Measured floor height above ground on your own site, not the nominal figure from a spec sheet.
- Heaviest truck, including battery, counterweight, mast and any attachment.
- Weight of the heaviest single load, and whether loads are ever off-centre.
- Daily and peak cycles per hour — this decides capacity class more than weight does.
- Ground surface, fall and drainage, and whether the ramp must move between bays.
- Finish: painted, or hot-dip galvanized for coastal, washdown and chemical exposure.
- Ambient temperature range, including the worst cold snap the site sees.
- How the ramp will be repositioned — forklift pockets, side pockets, lifting eyes or tow bar.
- Door opening width if the ramp will sit inside the container door.
Frequently Asked Questions
What size container ramp do I need for a 2.5 ton forklift?
Work from gross moving load, not cargo weight. A 2.5 t counterbalance truck weighs roughly 3,800 kg empty; add a 2,000 kg load and you are at about 5,900 kg (13,000 lb). A 6 t ramp will take that at light duty, but for daily container work the 10 t galvanized unit is the honest answer — the extra capacity buys structure and finish, not just a higher number.
How long should a container ramp be?
Long enough to keep the grade at or below about 12.5%, which is the working range limit EN 1398 sets for dock levellers. With a grounded container’s floor roughly 160 mm (6.3 in) above the surface, a 1,250 mm deck gives about 12.8% and a 1,500 mm deck about 10.7%. Measure the real floor height first; a paving slab or a drainage fall changes the arithmetic.
Can I use a container ramp for a container on a trailer?
No. Once a container is on a chassis or trailer, its floor sits at roughly 1,100–1,300 mm (3’7″–4’3″) and the required run is 8–11 m. That is a mobile yard ramp, in the 8 t to 15 t classes. Using a short board against a raised deck is one of the most common causes of ramp accidents we see in enquiry photographs.
Should I choose painted steel or hot-dip galvanized?
Inland and dry, painted steel with a zinc-rich primer and two-pack polyurethane at about 120 µm dry film is entirely adequate. Coastal, high-rainfall, washdown or chemical environments should be galvanized: hot-dip zinc at 70–100 µm adds 25–35% to the price and 7–13 years of service life, and it removes repainting from your maintenance calendar permanently.
Send us the container type, your measured floor height, the forklift’s gross weight and the number of cycles per shift, and we will come back with a single recommendation and a drawing rather than a catalogue. Contact our engineers with the site details, or start with the 6 t container ramp, the side-pocket loading board and the 10 t galvanized container ramp.
