M689E mobilizer and old ISO container

Has anyone had success using a dolly like this to carry 20' ISO containers off road?

I am looking for a dolly to move empty 20 foot ISO containers into fairly small but flat pad spaces in hilly woods. The TM says it can lift 5 ton. Do the ISO container holes fit the dolly attach points at the bottom? The TM also calls for two persons to make the hookup. Can an ordinary person handle the job or does one of the persons have to be very strong? How much time should I allow for setup?

I think this dolly was intended for smaller containers but I am hoping it can be used for any large container that has the ISO connectors on the bottom.

This dolly may be misidentified. The manual says the M689 is a mechanical screw lift but I notice it has hydraulic cylinders. I wonder if the E designation is an update.

Thanks

That one is only designed for lifting the small shelters which have screw points in the corners to attach the shelter to the dolly. There is a special dolly that has the correct corner points for the ISO containers, top and bottom. I have one of the intermediate sized ones the 832 that I am scrapping out sometime this spring or summer. It won't fit a 20 foot ISO either.

Thanks Mike,
You saved me a couple hundred miles of driving to inspect I am hoping that there is a military 5 ton dolly that has the ISO connectors somewhere. I want to keep the size small so it can be connected by two people and be easier to move on rough ground when empty. I read that the M1022 is designed for the old 8' containers but I don't need 7.5t capacity and I don't have 4 persons to rig. What models, if any, of the 5 ton or 3 ton capacity hook up to an empty 20' ISO container? If there are none, I could make an adapter I suppose.

Best

The 1022 series is the only thing that is setup to do ISO containers, and there are two models of them. I'm not familiar with them, but I've seen one shortly before it went to the scrapper.

Who has some Mobilizer Fittings?/

SCSG-G4 said:

The 1022 series is the only thing that is setup to do ISO containers, and there are two models of them. I'm not familiar with them, but I've seen one shortly before it went to the scrapper.

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Thanks Mike,
I have read about the M1022 & M1022A. As you say, they are set up for ISO containers. The M1022 is for the old 8' high ISO shelters and the M1022A can handle all of em. Problem is, they are very heavy and require 4 men to rig. I don't expect to lift more than 8500lbs so I expect a 5 ton mobilizer is more than adequate.

I looked in the Tech Manuals for the 5 ton dollys and found that shelters are lifted with simple brackets permanently mounted on the container called mobilizer fittings. It may be simple and cheap to convert an ISO container for transport with a dolly as long as the weight is kept low. Upper fittings are pretty light weight, and look really simple, lower are heavier and may require either some welding or machining. Both look simple enough to fabricate locally and bolt or weld on to any ISO container.

I googled the name and couldn't find any for sale. It would be great to find a source for new or used mobilizer fittings. If someone has fittings in their scrap pile I could buy that would be great. If all else fails hopefully some kind soul will photograph one with a ruler next to it so I could scale off the photos.

Checked price on a new M1022-A1 mobilizer at the low, low price of $94,400 FOB Sacramento. I think I will have one sent priority mail

If the old 1022 will work, there are some of those out there and/or getting ready to be out there within the next 90-120 days. Not sure how to get ahold of his sons but ARMYMAN30YEARS (may he rest in peace) had one before his untimely death. His sons were working on selling off his stuff last year and are continuing to do so. They maybe at Aberdeen. The other problem is you're in CA and they are in MD.

The Army is releasing all the remaining 1022 (non-A1s) as quick as they can be found and kicked out.

As for the 1022A1, it's crap speaking from a former user standpoint. Engine sucks and never works right leaving your to do it basically by hand anyway.

For the cost involved, it maybe better to do a crane or something similar and a 1061 trailer.

Carnac, thanks for the insight. My hope is that I can bolt fittings from a shelter on to each empty ISO container and move them with the smaller 5 ton or even possibly 3 ton mobilizers. If I can get a sample of the fittings attached to the shelter then I can make them myself. I will try to find a shelter locally that I can take measurements and pictures. If anyone knows someone near 95634 area code that has a shelter, I would love to visit with them.

If this settup will be going on public roads, you will have a problem. Evidently years ago, some idiot overloaded up a shelter, then took it on the freeway and went way over 50mph with predictable results. Now CA DMV will not license the mobilizers.

A possible solution might be to weld a frame connecting the two pieces together and then improvise a way to slide the ISO box on from the side.

If you are crazy enough to try this and you are a good welder, I have an almost complete dolly set that was taken appart into sub assemblies.
It is missing an air tank and the hydraulics need work. This thing needs work, but I believe it is sufficiently restorable to do the job.

If you fix it up to haul your containers, you can borrow them, but I will need them back in about a year.

Let me know if you are interested.

As much as I would like you to attempt this project, I think you would be better off getting a dolly set from gl and modifying it. Unless you have a real nack for working on this stuff, it is an awful lot of work.
Bruce

firefox said:

If you fix it up to haul your containers, you can borrow them, but I will need them back in about a year.

Let me know if you are interested.

As much as I would like you to attempt this project, I think you would be better off getting a dolly set from gl and modifying it. Unless you have a real nack for working on this stuff, it is an awful lot of work.
Bruce

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Hey Bruce,
I would like to come down to see the dolly set you have sometime later this spring. At the moment, I have to move my mom from Washington to California.
Best,
Paul

Just give me a holler in advance Paul,
Bruce

This mobilizer sold for about 4% of the government price. Is this typical for mobilizers? Other than one or two on this site, I have not seen mobilizers used. Are they only useful as scrap? Seems like a terrible waste considering people are coming up with all kinds of uses for containers.

Have any been licensed for public road use in any state?

What is your current status with this project?
Bruce

firefox said:

What is your current status with this project?
Bruce

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Still working on it. I got a M720 and welded up a frame from 6x6 tubing with some log bunks as shown in pic. Stakes not shown. Am planning on adding fenders so I can (hopefully) license it. Fenders to be cut from slightly larger and much wider truck tires.

I also have an M720 and hope to do the same eventually.
How do you expect to get it licensed? I would be very interested
in the details of the conversion.
Thank you very much!
Bruce

firefox said:

I also have an M720 and hope to do the same eventually.
How do you expect to get it licensed? I would be very interested
in the details of the conversion.
Thank you very much!
Bruce

Click to expand...

Bruce,
Here are some mount details. The first sketch shows the specifications for the lower connection between a container and the dolly. The second sketch shows the connection I built. A 3/4" bolt (not shown) at top connecting 5x5 upright to 4x4 upright on dolly. The horizontal 6x6 at the bottom has a 3/8 plate welded at the end and a 1x1 heel bar cut at a 15 degree angle to match the dolly hook. There is also a 3/4 bar that centers the mount. You can see the 3/4" bolt connection which goes from the inside of the 5x5 through the dolly 4x4 in the photo.

I was worried about being able to securely mount the connection so I made some cam bushings to push against the 3/4" bolt. This should only come into play if I somehow get high centered.

This is just one possibility for a mount using scrap obtained courtesy a friend in the steel building business.

If you need any more detail, let me know.

Wow! Thank you very much!
Bruce

I have been rethinking this project and I think the way to go is to weld some very heavy
angle steel on the dolly set and weld in some twistlocks to the ends of the angle.
Need to do something with the top attachement points.
Anyway, just some thoughts.
Bruce

I believe I have an S-280 with the mobilizer brackets installed on it. Check my S-280 to camper rebuild. I can take photos and measurements if needed.

Thanks for the offer, but my situation is that I have 2 M720s One I use for
my S280 which has the necessary clips etc. and the other I want to use for
moving an ISO container around. That is why I want to modify it so that it can
grab the container.

I am thinking of just making the container so that it isn't directly on the ground
which can be as simple as putting a 4x4 under it on each end 6 inches in from the end.
This way I can move the M720 with the added angle under it and have a twist lock
mounted on the verticle part of the angle push in from the ends and lock the container in place.

Bruce