Custom skids, specified to your footprint

Runners go where the load needs support and where the forks need room. Two runners suit a narrow, light load; three is the usual; long and heavy skids take four or more. Runner length is the first number in the skid’s size, just as stringer length is on a pallet.

The runner height decides how much space sits under the deck. Taller runners give forks and jacks room, at the cost of a taller, more top-heavy load. If your equipment has short forks or a low-profile jack, give us the clearance it needs.

Deck coverage is how much of the top is wood rather than gap. A crate or frame that rests on its edges can sit on a few boards; small parts, bags and anything with feet need more. Mark where the load touches the deck and the boards are placed under it.

The footprint, the weight, a sketch or photo of how the load sits, and how many skids. The quote guide lists the rest. Leave out anything you don’t know.

On a custom skid the runners go where the load needs them: under the feet, along the edges of a crate, beneath the line where a coil touches. Two runners are the minimum, three the common case, and long skids carry more. Space them so forks or a pallet jack fit between, and so straps or bands can pass under the deck. If the skid is lifted from the sides, notch the runners or raise them on blocks.

Write the size runner length first, the same way a pallet is written stringer first.

If you already use a skid that works, measure the runners’ length, height and width, count them, measure the deck boards and their spacing, and send a photo. We write it down and quote the same build, or suggest where it carries more wood than the load needs.

A skid’s deck carries the load directly, with no bottom deck to share it. Crates and machines need boards under every edge and foot; small boxes need a closer deck. Tell us what sits on top, and how, so the boards land where they should.

Tanks, rolls, motors, frames and fabricated assemblies rarely sit flat. Cradles, saddles, chocks and blocking can be part of a custom skid, shaped to the object and nailed or bolted to the deck. Send a drawing or a photo with dimensions, the weight, and where the object can bear without damage.

Quantity matters too: one skid for a single machine is quoted differently from a hundred identical skids for a production run. Give the count and whether it repeats monthly, quarterly or once.

A sketch with dimensions is enough: overall length and width, runner count and height, where the load’s feet or base sit, and any cut-outs, cleats or holes. Hand drawings photographed on a phone work fine. We redraw it as a sheet and send it back for you to check before quoting. Mark which side is the front if it matters.