- Location
- Sittingbourne, Kent
- Main postcode district
- ME10
- Nearby (straight line)
- Faversham (7 miles), Gillingham (9 miles) and Chatham (9 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.
Where does this fit at a dock in Sittingbourne?
Should a recent insurance inspection at a site in Sittingbourne have flagged leveller defects, a survey can show whether repair or replacement makes more sense. Mixed bays at a site in Sittingbourne, where some trailers have tail lifts and others do not, may suit a combination of swing-lip and telescopic levellers.
Ageing levellers in older docks around Sittingbourne can often be replaced like for like in the existing pit, avoiding new concrete work if the pit is sound.
We never ask you to commit before you have a fixed price. A free survey at your Sittingbourne site comes first, followed by a written quote. When the order goes ahead, we plan the installation around your operation, book any out-of-hours working you need and manage the specialist installation engineers on site. The job ends with a full test, a run-through for the people who will use the equipment and a set of handover documents.
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.
Which trailers and loads suit a swing-lip leveller?
A swing-lip leveller suits everyday loading of standard trailers, where pallets sit a little way back from the rear of the trailer and the lip has room to land on the bed. It is a common choice for general distribution.
- Good fit: curtain-siders and box trailers loaded by forklift or pallet truck, with the lip landing behind the first row of pallets.
- Less suited: trailers loaded right up to the rear doors, because the lip needs clear bed space to rest on.
- Tail-lift vehicles: a folded tail lift can stop the lip reaching the bed.
- End loading: loading the last row of pallets at the very rear is awkward with a fixed-length lip.
Where these situations are common, a telescopic-lip dock leveller places its lip exactly where it is needed. Many sites fit both types across their bays, matching each bay to the vehicles it receives.
The same published guide range applies across England; access, out-of-hours working and site conditions are confirmed at the free survey.
What do we check at the survey?
- Control positions, isolators and any existing interlocks
- Age and condition of the equipment already in place
- Yard gradient and the slope of the approach to the dock
- Clear opening width and height for each door
- Bumper position and wear or damage on the dock face
- Scope to convert ground-level doors into docks or add lift tables
Options to discuss
Standard swing-lip leveller
A hydraulic pit leveller with a hinged lip of about 400 to 500 mm, suited to general distribution with curtain-siders and box trailers.
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.
Regulations and approvals in England
Sites in Sittingbourne fall under the rules for England. Structural changes such as forming a new opening or a dock leveller pit may need Building Regulations approval, and external structures such as loading houses, canopies or new dock approaches can need planning permission from the local planning authority. We check what applies at survey and build any approvals into the plan.
Questions about swing-lip dock levellers in Sittingbourne
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 Kent 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.
How do you price swing-lip dock levellers for a site in Sittingbourne?
Guide budgets for supply and fit are £5,200 to £8,800 per leveller, excluding VAT. The figure moves with size, insulation, the operator, electrics, access, any pit or groundworks and out-of-hours working. Where levellers are involved, the guide assumes an existing, sound pit. After the free survey you receive a fixed written quote, and that is the price for the agreed scope.
Can you work alongside our main contractor on a new build in Sittingbourne?
Yes. For new warehouses and fit-outs, we can supply and install the dock package as part of a wider project, working to the main contractor's programme, site rules and permits. We will need drawings, dock levels and the programme, and we coordinate pit details, power supplies and door openings with the relevant trades before installation begins.
Can a swing-lip leveller be used as a ramp to the yard?
No, a leveller should only be used to bridge a docked trailer. The lip and toe guards are designed to work with a trailer bed in place, and the platform is not built as a ramp down to yard level. Where you need ground-level access, a separate door or a lift table is the safer answer.
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.
Swing-lip dock levellers near Sittingbourne
The same survey, quote and repair service is available in towns around Sittingbourne, such as Faversham (7 miles), Gillingham (9 miles) and Chatham (9 miles).
Other loading bay services in Sittingbourne
Full guide to swing-lip dock levellers · Everything we do in Sittingbourne
Tell us what is happening at your Sittingbourne dock, what equipment is there and when it is used, and we will suggest the right next step.