Abstract: A handling apparatus for displacing, in a substantially horizontal longitudinal direction, unitary loads resting on rolling members such as rollers or rolls engaged on traverse shafts driven by friction, and comprising a chassis having two parallel, vertical, lateral walls joined together, at a fixed distance constituting the width of the apparatus, with the aid of transverse crosspieces. To facilitate adaptation of the apparatus to its conditions of use and, consequently, to modify its dimensions, the walls of the chassis are constituted by wall elements assembled end to end, lengthwise of the apparatus, with bolts, so that the length of the apparatus can be rendered greater or smaller by adding or removing wall elements, the crosspieces being constituted by bars provided, at their end parts, with axial tappings into which screws are inserted passing through holes pierced in the walls, the width of the apparatus being made larger or smaller by using longer or small crosspieces.