Vehicle racking for dismantlers and salvage yards
End-of-life vehicle (ELV) dismantlers and automotive salvage yards face a constant pressure on available land. Traditional flat-storage of vehicles wastes the vertical space available in a typical dismantler's building and limits the number of vehicles that can be held on site. Cantilever vehicle racking systems allow vehicles to be stored two, three or more levels high, dramatically increasing the number of cars accessible in the same footprint. Each level of racking holds vehicles on purpose-built cradle arms or beam platforms, with forklifts or specialised vehicle-handling equipment used to place and retrieve each car. The system must be engineered to the weight of the heaviest vehicle to be stored and the characteristics of the handling equipment.
Vehicle types stored on cantilever racking
Standard passenger cars — hatchbacks, saloons, estates and SUVs — are the most common vehicles stored in ELV racking systems. Van bodies up to transit size can be accommodated on appropriately specified systems. Some operations store HGV cabs and larger commercial vehicle bodies on ground-level or low-level cantilever systems when high-level storage is not achievable. Stripped bodyshells and crushed vehicle units may be stored in stacked configurations on heavy-duty racking systems. All ELV storage systems must comply with the Environmental Permitting Regulations and relevant EA or SEPA guidance on depollution and storage of end-of-life vehicles.
- Passenger cars — hatchbacks, saloons, SUVs
- Light commercial vehicles and vans
- HGV cabs and commercial vehicle bodies
- Stripped bodyshells and vehicle frames
- Crushed vehicle units
- Salvage and insurance write-off vehicles
Designing a vehicle racking system
Vehicle racking systems require structural engineering to handle the point loads and dynamic forces generated by placing and retrieving vehicles by forklift or specialist equipment. The racking must be designed around the maximum vehicle weight and dimensions, the reach and capacity of the handling equipment, the building floor slab specification and column positions, and any planning or environmental permit conditions applicable to the site. Rackstor UK carries out a free site survey for ELV dismantlers and salvage yards and provides a full specification and quotation within 24 hours.
Let’s put your space to work.
Get a free survey and quotation within 24 hours.