Sfe crossfall for delivery vehicles
Sfe crossfall for delivery vehicles
(OP)
It has been a while since i last posted here, (guess i have been learning!)
I am busy designing the platforms for parking and delivery to a new supermarket. I have searched all about the parking slopes etc and see that the consensus is to not exceed 10% on ramps which is fine, but the delivery area is parallel to a road that slopes at 2%.
The trucks will drive into the loading area with the grade, but to get all my levels to tie in (delivery and parking and FFL) i find that the loading apron will slope towards the road at between 7 and 7.5%. Will this be ok for a crossfall for delivery trucks?
I am busy designing the platforms for parking and delivery to a new supermarket. I have searched all about the parking slopes etc and see that the consensus is to not exceed 10% on ramps which is fine, but the delivery area is parallel to a road that slopes at 2%.
The trucks will drive into the loading area with the grade, but to get all my levels to tie in (delivery and parking and FFL) i find that the loading apron will slope towards the road at between 7 and 7.5%. Will this be ok for a crossfall for delivery trucks?





RE: Sfe crossfall for delivery vehicles
RE: Sfe crossfall for delivery vehicles
I am pretty confident that while it is inconvenient to load and work on a 7% slope the truck will not fall over at that cross-fall
RE: Sfe crossfall for delivery vehicles
RE: Sfe crossfall for delivery vehicles
Also review semi backup movements. You might need full blown AutoTurn for the backup envelopes, the AASHTO radius templates are usually forward sweeps only. First pass rule of thumb is double the length of the tractor-trailer for a working length in front of the dock. Street departments normally do not let you use the public street as part of this, although in older business districts and on alleys they are more tolerant.
RE: Sfe crossfall for delivery vehicles
the more i look into this the less i think the architect has!!
RE: Sfe crossfall for delivery vehicles
B+W Engineering and Design
Los Angeles Civil Engineer and Structural Engineer
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RE: Sfe crossfall for delivery vehicles
RE: Sfe crossfall for delivery vehicles
RE: Sfe crossfall for delivery vehicles
If that is the case, given the width of a truck (about 8.5'), when the truck is sitting at the dock the back left corner will be about 7.5" higher (or lower) than the back right corner. This is not a generally a workable condition. Remember, they'll need to drive a forklift or pallet jack from the dock into the truck and back. If the tail of the truck is not level with the edge of the dock, that will not be possible.
You are probably going to need a retaining wall at one side of the loading berths.
Also, in general, it is best to have the loading berth pitch towards the building, rather than away (in other words, the tail of the truck is lower than the nose). That way, the truck is less likely to roll away from the dock when they drive the forklift onto the trailer.
Also watch out for sharp breaks in grade in truck access areas. If the break in grade is too severe, it is possible for the landing gear on a trailer to catch on the pavement. This can cause the landing gear to break and/or knock the trailer loose from the truck.