Your customer has no dock for your delivery. That means that you are limited in what you can load onto your haulage company’s truck without relying on the customer to unload. Crane vans can help you with that, even if your own company has no loading dock.
With no dock yourself, even if you have a fork lift truck to load up with, you are reliant on a pallet truck being available on the van to properly locate your load. Loading from ground level is not ideal, and with no dock you will likely face some issues. Here is how crane vans can help you overcome such problems.
Customer Has No Dock
If your customer has no unloading dock, then as the supplier such a problem is ultimately yours, and it is you who has to solve it. They are not obliged to provide fork lift trucks and pallet tucks to unload your products onto their premises. As the vendor or supplier that is your obligation, unless previously agreed otherwise. It is up to you to choose the most appropriate delivery service to meet that obligation.
So what do you do if you have a heavy or bulky item to load and deliver and your customer has no dock to facilitate unloading? One solution may be a crane van. By using a haulage service that offers a truck or van fitted with a gantry crane it is possible to deliver any size or weight of item that fits the truck or van.
Using Crane Vans
The van itself will be fitted with a gantry crane in the form of a wheeled crane running on rails. These rails run from the back of the van to the front, and there is an extension that can be pulled out to unload the item onto the ground.
No need for fork trucks or pallet trucks when loading, because the crane can position the item within the van or truck to lie over the axles or in the best position for transit. It can unload to ground level, either onto a pallet for easy removal or into a box – which would be next to impossible using a lift truck.
By using crane trucks, having no dock is no longer a problem, either for the supplier or the customer. As a supplier, all you need do is to order such as service when you have the appropriate goods to deliver. You can then avoid issues with your customers, or even your drivers who might be tempted to unload manually – with consequent potential of claims for injury!
As a customer, you can insist on such a crane van service, making it clear to your supplier that you have no dock and that you require on-board lifting equipment to unload safely and without any damage to your order. That might be a batch of crystal glasses that needs careful handling, a delivery of furniture or even a load of cakes, none of which can withstand rough handling or being dropped.
Crane vans can solve problems such as these, particularly when you have no dock for loading or your customer can only accept unloading to ground level. Few non-industrial premises have loading/unloading bays other than the larger retail stores. Keep that in mind when deciding on the haulage service for your goods.
