Far North
A sealed Cairns street is one job. A Tablelands track in the wet is another
Stock held for Cairns and the Far North is matched to the grade, and the delivery is quoted to the access you actually have. Between about December and April the rain decides whether an unsealed cane headland or a range track is still a road. Hillside blocks that fall away from the street need a crane planned, not discovered.
- Where it is loaded
- Far North allocation for the coast, the range and the Tablelands
- What sets the day
- The shell that fits, then whether the wet has left the track
- Usual truck
- Tilt bed for a shorter box on the flat; crane on tight beaches and on blocks that fall off the street
Places
Beaches, then up the range
Edge Hill, Whitfield, Redlynch and Freshwater share 4870 with the city, and several of them fall away from the kerb. The northern beaches change number as you leave town: Yorkeys Knob and Smithfield are 4878, Trinity Beach and Palm Cove 4879. Gordonvale, 4865, sits at the foot of the Gillies. Atherton is 4883, Mareeba is a regular climb, Malanda 4885.
The wet
Unsealed roads stop being roads
A sealed approach in town can still be booked when the range is closed to anything softer. Cane, fruit country and Tablelands tracks stop carrying loads after a week of rain. We would rather move the day than cut the headland up. Tell us what the surface did last time this much rain fell.
Air
Humidity marks paint, and it marks what you store
Salt and constant moisture get into hinges and any scratch faster than a dry inland town would allow. A better starting grade earns its keep if the shell will live outdoors near the inlet. Extra vents are worth fitting when the box will hold anything that hates damp heat: clothing, furniture, paperwork. Steel, fittings and most tools are less fussy.
The lift
Power, a standing spot, and a block that falls away
Where the side gap will not take the box, a crane lifts it. We need the lines, the place the truck stands, and whether the pad is below the street, which is common at Redlynch and on the beaches.
Range roads, the wet and humidity
Will a container go up the range to Atherton or Mareeba?
Yes, on a day the road and your track will take it. The Gillies is a real climb, and a soft approach at the top moves the booking. Say the locality, not just Cairns, so the length matches the pad.
Do unsealed roads in the wet stop the truck?
They do, from about December into April, sometimes longer. A cane headland or a Tablelands track that was fine a fortnight earlier can be a no. We shift the morning rather than dig ruts you will still be filling in.
Are extra vents worth it in this humidity?
If people-stuff is going in, yes. A shut box holds damp heat and moulds clothing and cardboard. Tools and steel fittings care less. Salt air is a separate reason to start with seals that still meet.
Get a price
Coast, range or a Tablelands track?
Name the beach, the hillside, or the farm road. The quote is for that approach in the season you want it.
Rather talk? Call us on 0477 410 500, Mon–Fri 7:30am–5pm, Sat 8am–12pm