Ways to connect a shipping container

All 4 ways to connect a shipping container to your vehicle

1. Electric Connectors

By far the easiest and most common way to connect a shipping container to your vehicle, it was the only way you could do so prior to v1.0.

There are 8 electrical connectors you can use to attach the container, placed at each corner. the connectors on the bottom face downwards and are inset upwards one block, and the topside ones face upwards and are flush with the face.

Note that sending composite signals to any of the top-side connectors causes the following to happen:

• 1. Toggle topside connectors on rising edge.
  
• 2. Toggle bottom connectors on rising edge.
  
• 31. Ditto of 1. May have been intended to toggle both connectors at the same time.

The outputs are similar:

• 1. Top connectors DISABLED
  
• 2. Bottom connectors DISABLED
  
• 11. Top connectors ENABLED
  
• 12. Bottom connectors ENABLED
  
• 31. Constant on

2. Ropes

presumably In update v1.0, shipping containers were given 4 rope hooks on the top face, placed inline to the electrical connectors.

There isn't really anything special about them, though they can be used to raise or lower the container using a winch.

3. Hardpoints

As of v1.6.13, the shipping containers have been revamped in order to add more ways to connect them.

One such way is the addition of four Hardpoint connector attachments; one topside, two at the bottom of each side of the container, and two on the ends. Do note that only the top and middle connectors provide power, and that the bottom ones don't.

There is also a Hardpoint connector body at the very bottom of the container to assist stacking multiple containers that you can use, which needs the bottom connectors to be enabled.

4. Sliding Connectors

There are also two sets of Sliding Connector Tracks at the bottom of the container.

These can be used to hold the container in say, a cargo bay without having to use the previously-mentioned hardpoints or electric connectors.

Other information

The dimensions are 11 × 11 × 29 blocks (2.75m × 2.75m × 7.25m)
World-spawned containers have infinite electricity, which can be tapped by connecting via either the hardpoints or the electric connectors.
The buttons on the rear end of the container will echo their position to the front, but not vice versa.
If you are making a custom container, you can specify whether the top and/or bottom connectors are enabled or disabled by default.
The preset container has a mass of exactly 1400kg.

Conclusion

Each vehicle may need their own way to connect a shipping container. Some might use electric connectors, some might use hardpoints, and some might even use the rope anchors.
But at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter which connection method you use, as long as it works for you.

[Grande1900]

@Mayonnaise you have to disconnect through the other side of the rail

[Mayonnaise]

how do i get it off the sliding tracks... it wont budge

[Kaiser_Of_Aldi]

please include the distances for some of these connectors, or the dimensions of the container

[0.4 Turkish Lira]

the sliding tracks have been there for a very long time, I know at least as early as 1.0.33 but definitely earlier

[Diadem V]

Was today years old when I realized these things had sliding tracks

Useful information 👍

[475213]

TIL that they have hardpoints and sliding tracks on the bottom. Thank you for the helpful guide!

[MrMereScratch]

And please never use mag-alls