Legs or skids: compatibility with your forklift and pallet truck

Legs or skids? It's the question we get asked most often when closing a Big Box order, and it almost always comes too late: once the customer has already chosen the size, vented or solid, and assumes the base is a minor detail. It isn't. The base of the bulk bin decides which machine you can move it with, from how many sides you can enter it, and how long it takes to unload a lorry.

The same 1200x1000 Big Box is supplied with legs, with skids or with nothing at all, and the practical difference isn't in the bulk bin: it's on your loading dock. If your warehouse only has a forklift, the decision is one thing. If you work with a pallet truck, or combine both, it's another. Here's the criterion.

Legs and skids: what each one is

Legs are supports that raise the bulk bin so the forklift's forks can slide in underneath. It's the classic, most economical configuration: less plastic, less dead weight, stable stacking. You enter from the sides the design leaves clear, usually the two front sides.

Skids are continuous runners that run under the base and leave a clean entry tunnel. That continuity is what allows a pallet truck in, which needs to rest its wheels and roll through inside the gap, something isolated point supports can't offer. We work with two formats: Contenur-model lateral skids (second-hand) for handling the Big Box with a pallet truck from the sides, and the central skid, which also reinforces the base of the bulk bin and helps with handling and stacking. Both, along with legs for Big Box and lids, are in accessories and are compatible with the standard 1200x1000 models.

The short rule

• Forklift only and static stacking in the cold store or field: legs. Lighter, cheaper, more than enough.

• Pallet truck, alone or combined with a forklift: skids. It's the only way to enter without depending on the forklift.

• Lots of handling and little turning space: lateral skids. Being able to approach the bulk bin from whichever side suits you saves manoeuvres in narrow aisles.

• Floors with rollers or conveyors: skids, for the continuous supporting surface.

If you're unsure, the question that settles the debate is this: will anyone ever need to move that bulk bin without a forklift? If the answer is yes, an operator in the cold store, a customer at their loading dock, an unload at a warehouse with no forklift, fit skids and forget about it.

Compatibility with your forklift and your pallet truck

Compatibility isn't just "the fork fits". Go through these points with the machine in front of you.

• Width and length of your pallet truck's forks. The standard 1150 mm fork length works well on the 1200 dimension; if your equipment is shorter, measure first.

• Which side you're going to enter from. On a 1200x1000, approaching from the 1200 front isn't the same as approaching from the 1000 front. Decide your loading-dock flow and order the base that matches it.

• Clearance under the base. A pallet truck needs to lower fully to pull out; if the bulk bin sits on uneven ground or a drainage grille, allow extra margin.

• What's underneath when you stack. Check that the base of the top bulk bin rests on the reinforced edge of the one below, not on the goods.

• Fleet consistency. Mixing legs and skids in the same circuit forces the operator to check every bulk bin before forking it. A mixed fleet causes more knocks than two separate, well-identified fleets.

Weight, cost and what breaks

Legs weigh less and cost less: in large fleets that difference shows up both in the invoice and in kilos per lorry. Skids add material, and therefore dead weight, but they buy you handling versatility, which in a warehouse with several machines is usually worth more than it costs.

As for breakages, the leg is the part that snaps most often: an isolated point support concentrates the impact of a badly inserted fork. The advantage is that it can be replaced. Don't retire a Big Box over a broken leg; order the spare part or bring it to our workshop. If the body of the bulk bin already has through-cracks, then it's a different conversation: we'll buy it from you or collect it for reuse and recycling.

Can it be changed later?

Yes, and it's more common than it seems. A fleet bought with legs for a forklift-based flow can be converted to skids when the process changes or when you start serving a customer who unloads with a pallet truck. Ask us about the specific model: not every body accepts any base, and the fit of the mounting is what needs checking before you buy fifty sets.

If you're renewing your whole fleet, check the plastic bulk bins datasheets: the vented 1200x1000 Big Box in 580 and 780 heights is supplied in a legs version and a lateral-skids version, so you can see the two configurations side by side.

Tell us which machines you work with and from which side you enter, and we'll tell you which base to order. Call us or request a quote stating model, height and quantity.