A Swap body is a standard freight container which is usually built too lightly to be stacked, or to be lifted from the top, unlike the more widespread shipping containers. They are normally built with less and/or lighter materials, thus saving on the initial purchase cost and on the long term fuel costs. Containerization is a system of intermodal cargo transport using standard ISO containers (also known as isotainers) that can be loaded sealed and intact onto container ships, railroad cars and trucks. ...

Swap bodies are often built to the same external and internal dimension standards as shipping containers, in order to be placed on the same kinds of trucks, trailers and railroad cars designed for shipping containers. Others are designed to fit the most common truck bed sizes in specific regions. A Trailer is an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. ... A railroad car (or, more briefly, car, not to be confused with railcar), also known as an item of rolling stock, is a vehicle on a railroad (or railway) that is not a locomotive — one that provides another purpose than purely haulage, although some types of car are powered. ...

Many swap bodies are fitted with four collapsible or folding legs under their frame, to make it possible to change or “swap” their body from one truck to another, or to leave the swap body at a destination, without needing to use a crane of some sort.

Swap bodies often have more doors or sliding panels than the standard, heavily built shipping container, making unloading and loading faster and easier in a wide variety of circumstances. In several types of swap bodies there is only a heavy curtain on the sides, to protect the load.

Special steel frames or racks are often available in certain container ships and container marshalling yard to hold swap bodies one atop the other without having them support the weight of those placed above them. Container ship Rita being loaded at Copenhagen; note crew standing on deck, and stacks of containers on shore. ...

See also

• Semi-trailer
• Containerlift
• ULD

semi-trailer truck with sleeper behind the cab. ... A containerlift is a road going truck or semi-trailer used to hoist, stack and transport ISO standard containers. ... ULD Type AKH Unit Load Devices, or ULDs, are pallets and containers used to load luggage, freight, and mail on wide-body aircraft. ...

External links

Combined Transport