- Location
- Cirencester, Gloucestershire
- Main postcode district
- GL7
- Nearby (straight line)
- Stroud (10 miles), Cheltenham (13 miles) and Swindon (14 miles)
- Survey and quote
- Free, with a fixed written quote
A swing-lip dock leveller is a hydraulic ramp set into a pit at the dock edge, with a hinged steel lip along its front. When a trailer is docked the platform rises, the lip swings out, and the platform lowers until the lip rests on the trailer bed, forming a bridge for forklifts and pallet trucks. The lip is typically about 400 to 500 mm long.
Is this right for your site in Cirencester?
Fitting out a new warehouse in Cirencester with pre-formed pits makes swing-lip levellers a straightforward choice for most general loading from day one. Ageing levellers in older docks around Cirencester can often be replaced like for like in the existing pit, avoiding new concrete work if the pit is sound.
Every leveller recommendation we make for a dock in Cirencester follows a measured survey of the pit, dock height and the trailers you actually receive.
Any project involving swing-lip dock levellers at a working site in Cirencester takes planning. We survey free of charge, quote a fixed price in writing, and then agree a programme that keeps as much of the dock running as possible. Specialist installation engineers carry out the work under our management, out of hours if that suits you better. On completion we test each item, show your team how it operates and leave the documentation with you.
How long should a dock leveller platform be?
A leveller platform should be long enough to keep the slope gentle across the full range of trailer heights you load, because the steepest gradient decides which handling equipment can use it safely. A longer platform spreads the same height difference over a greater distance.
- Know your trailer mix: with a dock typically around 1,200 mm high and trailer beds ranging from roughly 900 to 1,600 mm, the height difference can be considerable.
- Check your equipment: low-clearance electric pallet trucks cope with less gradient than a counterbalance forklift with good ground clearance.
- Common lengths: platforms are commonly made from around 2 to 3.5 m long, with longer units where trailers sit very low or very high.
- Width: a wider platform gives more room when pallets sit close to the trailer sides.
When replacing a unit, the pit size limits what can be fitted, so we measure the pit and record your trailer heights at survey before recommending a length.
What wears out on a swing-lip dock leveller?
The lip hinge, hydraulic hoses and seals are usually the first parts to wear on a swing-lip leveller, and planned servicing finds most of these problems before they stop a bay.
- Lip hinge: takes an impact every time the lip lands, and suffers badly if trailers reverse into a lip that has not been stored.
- Hydraulics: hoses, cylinder seals and power pack oil age and can leak.
- Velocity fuse: the safety valve that stops the platform dropping if a trailer pulls away must be tested.
- Toe guards and maintenance strut: must be intact and working. HSE guidance notes guards or skirting may be needed where something could be caught.
- Dock bumpers: worn bumpers let trailers strike the leveller and dock edge.
A leveller with a cracked lip hinge, a bent platform or repeated hydraulic leaks may be better replaced than repaired. Service and repair visits are chargeable and agreed before anyone attends.
The same published guide range applies across England; access, out-of-hours working and site conditions are confirmed at the free survey.
What we look at on site
- Temperature requirements for chilled, frozen or ambient goods
- Lighting inside trailers and at the dock face
- Yard gradient and the slope of the approach to the dock
- Whether planning, building control or a building warrant may be needed
- Power supply at each bay, including three-phase availability
- How drivers are prevented from pulling away too early
Options to discuss
Long-platform leveller
A longer platform that keeps gradients gentle where trailer heights vary widely or low-clearance electric pallet trucks are used across the bay.
Insulated leveller
An insulated platform with perimeter seals around the pit that reduces cold loss through the floor of the bay at chilled and frozen docks.
Which rules apply in England?
Lift tables and dock lifts in Cirencester may fall under LOLER, with thorough examination at least every 12 months, or every 6 months where people are lifted. It depends on the equipment and how it is used, and your insurer or competent person will confirm. Dock levellers are usually treated as work equipment under PUWER. We check what applies at survey.
Questions about swing-lip dock levellers in Cirencester
Do you cover Cirencester for swing-lip dock levellers?
Yes. We take on swing-lip dock levellers for businesses in Cirencester and across Gloucestershire. We survey the site, provide a fixed written quote and manage the installation, with specialist installation engineers working under our management. Visits are arranged in advance at a time that suits your operation, and the same single contact stays with the job through to handover.
How long does installation take at a site in Cirencester?
It depends on the equipment, the number of bays, the condition of the dock and whether any building or electrical work is needed. We agree a programme with you after the survey, setting out which bays are out of use and when. Larger jobs are usually phased so that part of the dock stays open, and out-of-hours working can be arranged.
Is VAT included in your guide prices for swing-lip dock levellers?
No. Our customers are businesses, so guide prices exclude VAT, which is added at the standard rate. The same guide range applies in Gloucestershire as everywhere else: for swing-lip dock levellers, it is £5,200 to £8,800 per leveller, excluding VAT. It covers supply and fit for a typical installation. Your fixed written quote after the free survey shows the net price, the VAT and exactly what is included.
Can a new leveller fit our old pit?
Usually, yes. Levellers are made in standard sizes and many can be supplied to suit an existing pit, but the pit must be square, sound and deep enough. We measure the pit and check the edge steel at survey, and if adjustment or repair is needed we price it separately.
Do levellers need a three-phase supply?
Most hydraulic dock levellers use a three-phase supply, although some smaller units run on single phase. When replacing like for like, the existing supply can often be reused if it is in good order. We check the supply at survey and include any electrical work in the quote.
Swing-lip dock levellers near Cirencester
The same survey, quote and repair service is available in towns around Cirencester, such as Stroud (10 miles), Cheltenham (13 miles) and Swindon (14 miles).
Other loading bay services in Cirencester
Full guide to swing-lip dock levellers · Everything we do in Cirencester
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