Almost every container is delivered by a tilt-bed truck (also called a rollback or roll-off). It's simple, quick and needs no crane, but it does need room. Here's how it goes and what to check beforehand.
How a tilt-bed drop works
- The driver lines the truck up with your drop spot and backs toward it.
- The bed tilts up at the cab end, so the back of the bed meets the ground.
- The container slides down the bed until its rear end rests on the ground.
- The truck drives slowly forward, out from under the container, letting it settle onto the ground or your pad.
A drop usually takes well under an hour once the truck is on site.
How much room the truck needs
This is typical guidance. Every truck, container and site is different, and the driver has the final say on what's safe.
- Straight approach: roughly 60 to 100 ft for a 20ft container, and 100 to 150 ft for a 40ft, which usually comes on a longer trailer. That covers the truck, the container and the distance it pulls forward.
- Width: about 12 ft of clear path, more on bends. Measure gates.
- Overhead: no low power lines, phone lines or branches along the route or above the drop spot. The front of the container rises well above truck height as the bed tilts.
- Ground: firm, dry and fairly level. A loaded truck is heavy. Wet lawns, fresh fill, septic fields and soft dirt can trap it or be damaged.
Which way will the doors face?
You choose when you order. The container slides off the back of the truck, so whichever end faces the cab during transport ends up facing the direction the truck drives away. "Doors toward the cab" means the doors face the way the truck leaves, usually back toward your driveway or road. "Doors toward the rear" means they face the far end of the drop spot. Think about where you'll walk in from and leave room to swing the doors open.
Before delivery day
- Check local rules and HOA requirements for placing a container.
- Prepare the spot: level, firm and ideally a gravel pad or blocks. See site prep.
- Mark the corners where you want it, and move cars, trailers and anything along the route.
- Tell us about gates, slopes, soft ground or tight turns. Photos help.
- Watch the weather. Heavy rain can turn a good approach into a bad one; we'll reschedule rather than risk it.
On the day
Be there if you can, show the driver the spot and confirm the door direction. Once it's down, do a quick check: doors open and close, no daylight through the roof or walls, floor solid. If anything is off, tell us right away.
