Pallet deliveries and hills

I've pulled a ton on a warehouse floor. Would I **** even consider half that on any gradient with no brakes or assistance.

A Palletline driver writes...

All our vehicles carry electric pallet trucks now. I drive the night trunk, not deliveries, so I don't normally use pallet trucks and don't know how steep an electric one will climb.
As Squirrelking says, the hand powered ones are just about impossible to move up hill with a load.
If you can arrange it so the lorry is facing up hill, it may be possible for the driver to roll it onto the tail lift without losing it off the end, then off the tail lift onto the ground. Depends how daring and cooperative they are feeling.

Even on the slightest of inclines it’ll be impossible on your own to shift it. If there’s no other option then get at least 3 others to help push.
As MTG says, get driver to park in a way to let gravity assist unloading.

(Speaking from experience from unloading and moving 5 x 1 tonne pallets of bagged grit using manual pallet truck)

Can you get a HIAB/crane delivery instead?

Like folks said, trying to get a pallet truck off a tail lift and up or down a slope is not easy or fun. Tried it in the past on slight slopes with a powered pallet truck. It can get exciting very quickly.

I think a bit more info in the OP might be useful, not least how steep you think it is.

- do you need the unloaded bag to go uphill or downhill

- what surface

- what's the worst that could happen; a load of tiles toppling off the front = a load of broken tiles; a bulk bag ends up either being where you didn't want it, or at worst you have to shovel and barrow it off the floor. But they're pretty robust, would likely survive a small topple (built to survive reasonable drops)

Suspect most will come down to the driver. If the delivery details say level they might refuse to do anything but unload. If they're helpful (induced, or otherwise) they might try it, at your risk.

As MTG points out above both our pallet deliveries of bulk cobbles were delivered by a lgv carrying an electrically powered pallet truck. It coped with the ridged driveway cut-out no problem.
With my old H&S cap on they use a powered truck as manual handling risk wouldn't permit a single chap to pull a 1 tonne load on his own.

To add to the above, I have done multidrop in the past.
The T&C might say kerbside and level only, but if I've got collections to do in the afternoon, I'll do everything possible to get the deliveries off the lorry in the morning. I really don't want to phone the office and get them to reschedule things because there's one pallet left on the lorry in the way.
Is there any level ground within wheelbarrow distance?

Whenever we've had patio slabs or bulk bags delivered they've always come on the back of a truck with a lifting arm, not a pallet truck in sight.

Heh once again agree with MTG, aforementioned grit delivery was in way of the drivers full day of drops, he was extremely grumpy…. oh reminds me, wear steel toe cap boots, as grumpy drivers can lower pallets without warning onto people’s feet. (Thankfully was and I don’t walk with a limp).

Depends what you're buying and where from.
Builders' merchants tend to deliver locally with a grab lorry.
I see a lot of turf, topsoil and firewood briquettes going through the Palletline depot on it's way from one end of the country to the other to be delivered by a curtainsider with a tail lift and pallet truck.

Thanks all. I hadn’t thought about the getting the thing off the lorry rather manoeuvres on the ground. I’m not sure how I assess the Gradient easily. Is a bag of sand so not a massive issue if it falls. But I assume the driver will refuse to do anything before this happens.

At least sand will be easy to shovel and wheelbarrow to where you want it if it ends up dropped in the wrong place. As above, all our bulk sack deliveries have been craned off the lorry with a built in HIAB.

I’m not sure how I assess the Gradient easily

Create a Strava segment?

750kg of sand isn't that big a bag in reality - probably about 1/2 a cubic metre. So the likelihood of actually toppling off a 1m^2 pallet (give or take) is pretty small, if it's 50-60cm high the CoG will be halfway up so for that to pass the pivot point, you'd be trying to push it up or down a cliff.

What's the surface it's on?

It’s a tarmac surface driveway /road. Driveway dropped curb is flag stone and lower than the curb but not flush with road.

Think to be on the safe side I’ll go for builders merchant with a grab!

750kg of sand isn’t that big a bag in reality – probably about 1/2 a cubic metre. So the likelihood of actually toppling off a 1m^2 pallet (give or take) is pretty small, if it’s 50-60cm high the CoG will be halfway up so for that to pass the pivot point, you’d be trying to push it up or down a cliff.

What about the tail lift? That's a lot of momentum to try and stop.

Think to be on the safe side I’ll go for builders merchant with a grab!

That sounds a lot more sensible.

I move pallets weighing 500-800kg all day on my truck and any incline over 5 degrees is a struggle with a manual pump truck. Powered ones generally only work up to 10 degrees when loaded too. For a bag of sand a HIAB-equipped lorry is the correct solution.

So the likelihood of actually toppling off a 1m^2 pallet (give or take) is pretty small, if it’s 50-60cm high the CoG will be halfway up so for that to pass the pivot point, you’d be trying to push it up or down a cliff.

Sand moves. All it takes is a wobble over a bump (the transition from the truck bed onto the tail lift is a prime example) and it'll easily spill out the sides Sand, gravel etc comes in a bag with grab handles for a reason: to be hooked up and moved. Any driver with any experience knows how each load acts and that it's best to work on flat ground with a clear straight run at any obstacles or surface changes.