Shipping Container Door Opening & Closing

Safety Precautions

Always use safety precautions in the workplace. This tool is a manual tool, so caution must still be taken when opening or closing doors.  For aging OPNBars, please always inspect your tool that there are no compromised or broken parts of the tool.  If  you notice such issues, please discontinue use.  Please watch this safety video as part of our instructions prior to using OPNBar.

The intention of this tool is mainly to provide leverage and to prevent unconventional methods of opening/closing container doors which often result in strains and sprains. Use quality gloves with grip when using OPNBar.   Use a shipping container strap and wrap around lockrods to prevent items that may have shifted from falling out.  Use caution using OPNBar for opening and closing shipping container door, and use of force is not recommended as this can bend shipping container door handles.  If using OPNBar as a 5th Wheel Release hook, if hook does not fit over the 5th wheel release hook, discontinue use and find a proper 5th wheel hook that does.  Our Version 2 tool may be a better alternative.  As a tire thumper, while tire thumping is a quick way to check for flat tires, you must always check with a tire gauge if you suspect that a tire is low on air.  While some customers also use OPNBar as an alternative tool for various uses, always use caution. 

Using product other than it’s intended function may result in injury and is at your own risk.

Please also refer to our Company Disclaimer.

Leverage Bar

PRECAUTION: Use optional provided lanyard and attach to OPNBar hook ring. Secure lanyard around wrist as an added measure to prevent tool from slipping from hand.  Use recommended quality gloves with grip when using OPNBar.  Use a shipping container strap and wrap around lockrods to prevent items that may have shifted from falling out.  Use caution using OPNBar for opening and closing shipping container door, and use of force is not recommended as this can bend shipping container door handles.

Note: If you encounter issues with the bend of our tool, please contact us for our new bend replacement

Opening

The right hand door is the first door you open, swivel the custom catches up, there’s one on each handle.

You’ll notice that your container is fitted with lock rods which run all the way from the bottom of the doors through to the top. At each end of the lock rod is a cam and a keeper which engage to allow the door to lock.

Slide the OPNBar (hook side) over the door handle completely and grip the extended leverage handle with both hands.  

When using leverage bar, make sure the rectangular mouth of the bar is snug on the container door handle. For best results firmly insert OPNBar and apply forward pressure when operating. OPNBar should be tight and should not wobble. Failure to do so can result in the tool, or the operator to slip resulting in injury. The tool must be operated by using 2 hands with a firm grip at all times to reduce the risk of injury; when using the tool the operator must have both feet planted firmly on the ground while wearing dry work gloves with the safety strap so the tool will not slip out of one’s hand.

Lift up the door handles while gripping OPNBar and twist slightly to make sure the cams and keepers are dis-engaged.

Next take hold of the inner door handle first and pull out slightly followed by the outer handle and then pull them in tandem.

For more information, click here

Closing

Closing the doors is just a reverse process of course, start with the left hand door, engage the cams and keepers and then twist both door handles.  Slide the OPNBar (hook side) over the door handle to provide leverage.

When using leverage bar, make sure the rectangular mouth of the bar is snug on the container door handle. For best result we recommend firmly inserting opnbar and applying forward pressure when operating. Bar should be tight and should not wobble.  Failure to do so can result in the tool, or the operator to slip resulting in injury. It is recommended that the tool be operated by using two hands with a firm grip at all times to reduce the risk of potential injury.

Finally swivel the custom down.

For more information, click here

Wear and Tear

Shipping containers often take a beating, traveling around the world, being exposed to freezing conditions, and rust due to seawater or when the frost has melted.

During the cold season, and in freezing parts of the world, our shipping container tool can benefit the opening of frozen shipping container doors in freezing conditions and hard to open or rusted containers once the winter has ended.

Injuries often occur as a result of personnel trying to open and close difficult container doors, often the result of inappropriate techniques being used to open them.

Shipping container doors are not typical doors and there are 4-5 hinges per door.  The hinge pins must be lined up correctly for the doors to be free to fully open and close.

Here are some likely reasons a frozen shipping container door will not open or close.  Our tool helps to address these issues.

• The container frame is racked so that the door gear will not operate correctly. This may be caused by cargo shifting during transit. Look at the container to make sure that the doors are aligned and level, both top and bottom.
• The hinge pins and blade are seized due to corrosion.
• The door gasket has been damaged and is preventing opening. Door gaskets are designed to present two or more fins against the structure or adjacent door. These are generally flexible but when the gasket is damaged, they may become hard or blocked thus jamming the door closed, or preventing it being closed.
• Water has become trapped between the doors and frozen, particularly relevant to refrigerated cargoes, or containers with moisture releasing cargoes in cold weather.

Please be sure to read OPNBar Extended Instructions & Precautions

This leverage tool uses the principles of leverage to do the difficult work. By providing an extended area on which to grasp, with both hands, a more stable platform to manipulate the latch handle is achieved.

Designed to fit and extend the door latch handles on side by side doors found on the following units with the safety of the truck driver, operator, and worker foremost in mind:

• Dismountable Shipping Cargo Containers
• Refrigerated Shipping Cargo Containers
• Semitrailer Dry Freight Cargo Vans
• Semitrailer Refrigerated Freight Cargo Vans

This intermodal container (also known as ISO Container or Conex Box) cargo inspection tool and leverage safety bar is to aid in opening and closing side-by-side doors found within Dismountable Shipping Cargo Container Transportation Industries (Railroad, Harbor, and Trucking Industries).

Eliminates the Need for a crescent wrench, screwdriver, hammer, and crowbar which are commonly needed/used to open stuck frozen shipping container doors.

Related: Injuries from Opening/Closing Hard to Open/Close Shipping Container Doors

Shipping Container Door Diagram and Troubleshooting

Shipping Container Diagram

1. Doors

Two door leaves are fabricated from two vertical rolled hollow sections and 2 horizontal c section members. The frame is infilled with corrugated steel paneling.

These are normally attached to the rear corner posts each with four drop forged steel hinge blades. The blades allow 270 degree opening which allow the doors to swing back against the container side wall.

(Cargo may shift during transit. Look at the container to make sure that the doors are aligned and level, both top and bottom.  In cases where the container frame is racked and the door gear will not operate correctly.)

Shipping Container Door

• Shipping Container Doors | Buy on Amazon or eBay

2. Lockbox

The lock box is a steel box welded to the right hand door which overlaps a staple welded to the left hand door. A padlock, normally type CISA type 285 66 can then be attached inside the lock box through the staple and is then protected from direct attack, hindering attempts to gain entry to the container.

Shipping Container Lockbox

• Shipping Container Lockbox | Buy on Amazon or eBay

3. Lockrods, cam keepers, handles

Each door is fitted with 2-4 vertical lock rods to enable opening, closing and locking of the doors.

Shipping Container Lockrods

• Shipping Container Lock Rods | Buy on Amazon or eBay

At the end of each lock rod (top and bottom) is a cam welded in place which engages with knuckles, also known as cam keepers.

Shipping Container Cam Keepers

• Shipping Container Cam Keepers | Buy on Amazon or eBay

The action of engaging the cams to the keepers forms an anti-racking function.

(In certain cases, often unfortunately too many, contents of the shipping container may have shifted, or containers even dropped, causing shipping container doors and lockrods to warp)

The door handle rotates the lockbar to initiates the door opening process by forcing the cams out of their keepers.  Each door handle has a door locking handle retainer that slides over the door handle when in locked position.

Shipping Container Door Handles

• Shipping Container Door Handles | Buy on Amazon or eBay

4. Rubber gaskets

Rubber gaskets are fitted to the container doors during the manufacturing process and prevent water ingress.

(Door gaskets are designed to present two or more fins against the structure or adjacent door. These are generally flexible but when the gasket is damaged, they may become hard or blocked thus jamming the door closed, or preventing it being closed.)

Shipping Container Rubber Gaskets

• Shipping Container Rubber Gaskets | Buy on Amazon or eBay

5. ISO markings and CSC plate

ISO markings and a consolidated data plate allow worldwide intermodal transport when left in place and updated as necessary.

Shipping Container ISO Markings & CSC Plate

6. Hinge pins

Of course for a door to work, you need hinges.

Shipping Container Hinge Pins

• Shipping Container Hinge Pins | Buy on Amazon or eBay

(In certain cases when doors are difficult to open, hinge pins and blade are seized due to corrosion.)

Find Shipping Container Doors and Parts Here