Resource
Container Buyer’s Guide
Everything worth knowing before you buy: choosing the right container, sizes, height classes, condition grades, what to inspect, delivery planning, security and maintenance.
Contents
Choosing the right container
Most container purchases go wrong in one of three ways: the unit is the wrong size, the site cannot take the delivery, or the buyer paid for a condition grade they did not need. Everything below is aimed at avoiding those three outcomes.
Intended use
Start with the job, not the product. Static long-term storage, active daily-access storage, workspace, cold storage and hazardous material storage are five different problems with five different answers. A container that is filled once and opened twice a year can be a cheap used box. A container that is opened forty times a day needs door configuration to be the first consideration, not the last.
Required storage capacity
Work in floor area rather than volume, because most storage is limited by what you can safely reach and stack. A useful method is to mark the footprint on the ground with tape and physically arrange what you intend to store within it. If you need to reach the back regularly, allow a walkway, which effectively removes a third of the usable area.
Available space
Measure the placement area, then add the door swing. Cargo doors need a substantial arc of clear space in front of them. If that space does not exist, look at roller door or side-opening units before you compromise on size.
Access requirements
How often will you go in, and from which side? End doors are fine for storage that is loaded and left. Double doors at both ends allow access from either end and let you split the interior. Side-opening units give direct access to any part of the floor, which transforms picking speed. Roller doors work where swing doors will not fit.
Location and ground conditions
Firm and level is the requirement. Concrete, tarmac or compacted hardcore is ideal. Soft ground needs concrete pads, railway sleepers or steel plates under the four corner castings to spread the load. Avoid hollows where water collects: standing water under a container attacks the base rails and floor, which is where containers usually fail first.
Delivery access
The container has to get there. A large vehicle needs a straight approach, room to manoeuvre, overhead clearance and a surface that will take the weight. Check this before you order, not on delivery day.
Budget
Catalog prices include flat $450 delivery, so the listed price is the delivered price. Beyond that, budget for ground preparation, a decent padlock and lockbox, and any interior fit-out. Orders are paid in full at checkout, so the purchase price plus any accessories is the total outlay.
New versus used, standard versus specialty
Two decisions that account for most of the price variation. Both are covered in detail below.
Container sizes
8 FT. Around 64 square feet. A cut-down unit for very tight sites: tool stores, secure cages, urban yards.
10 FT. Around 80 square feet, roughly half a single garage. The practical entry point, and the smallest size that comfortably takes pallets and racking.
12 FT. Around 96 square feet. Chosen when a specific length is needed, such as storing material that will not fit a 10 FT unit.
20 FT. Around 160 square feet, roughly a one-car garage. The default choice and the widest selection of types and conditions.
30 FT. Around 240 square feet. A long-format option, usually cut down from 40 FT stock, for sites that cannot take forty feet.
40 FT. Around 320 square feet, roughly a two-car garage. The best value per square foot, and the size where specialty configurations matter most.
The size guide shows reference dimensions and a visual length comparison for each.
Standard versus high cube
A standard container is around eight feet six inches externally, giving roughly seven feet ten inches inside. A high cube is around nine feet six externally and roughly eight feet ten inside. The premium is modest.
That extra foot decides more purchases than people expect. It is the difference between fitting one more shelf level across a whole racking run, between a stacked pallet clearing the door frame or not, and between a converted interior feeling like a room or a corridor. If the container will be worked in rather than simply filled, buy the high cube.
The exceptions are height restrictions at the placement point, overhead cables and gateways the delivery vehicle must pass under. Remember the unit is a foot taller in transit as well as in position. See high cube containers.
New versus used
New / one trip. Built at the factory and used for a single cargo voyage. Clean paint, unmarked plywood floor, tight seals, hardware barely used. Buy this grade if appearance matters, if the container will be seen by customers, if you intend to convert it, or if you want the longest service life before maintenance becomes a factor.
Used. Ten to fifteen years of shipping service. Expect dents, surface rust, mismatched touch-up paint and floor wear. Do not expect a compromised structure, a leaking roof or doors that will not seal. For site storage and agricultural use, this is usually the sensible economic choice.
Refurbished. A used container that has been repaired, treated and repainted, often in a colour of your choosing. Structurally it remains a used unit; cosmetically it looks far better. The usual answer for managed sites, commercial premises and residential settings.
The honest summary: for a box that will sit in a yard and get knocked about, used is the better purchase. For anything visible, occupied or converted, pay for one trip or refurbished.
Container condition: what to inspect
Whether you are inspecting at delivery or assessing photographs before ordering, these are the things that actually matter.
Roof. Look for dishing that ponds water, impact damage and corrosion. Standing water on a roof is the beginning of a hole. Inside, look up in daylight with the doors closed: any light visible is a leak.
Floor. Walk the whole floor. Look for soft or springy sections, delamination, oil contamination, and gaps at the edges. Check the fixings into the cross members. Floor problems are expensive and awkward to fix.
Base rails and undersides. This is where containers fail. Corrosion here is structural, not cosmetic. If a container has spent years sitting in a puddle, this is where you will see it.
Doors. Operate them through full travel. They should swing without binding and close with a positive action. Locking bars should seat and cams should engage cleanly. Doors that need shoving are a sign the frame is twisted or the ground was uneven.
Seals. Check the rubber gaskets for splits, hardening and displacement. Seals are cheap and replaceable, but a container with perished seals is not watertight today.
Panels and welds. Dents are cosmetic unless they are deep enough to have cracked the coating or the steel. Look at repair welds and patches: a well-made repair is fine, a poor one is a future leak.
Corner castings. These take the lifting and stacking loads. Deformation or cracking is a serious defect.
Every unit we ship goes through an eighteen-point routine covering all of the above before it is released.
Delivery planning
Site access. The delivery vehicle is considerably longer than the container. Walk the route it will take, from the public road to the placement point, and look for anything that will stop it.
Driveway and approach width. Check pinch points: gateposts, bollards, parked vehicles, tight bends and street furniture. A tilt-bed needs a straight run behind the placement position to slide the container off.
Overhead clearance. Power lines, telephone cables, tree branches, canopies, signage and low bridges. A tilt-bed reaches substantial height while it tips, so overhead clearance is needed above the vehicle as well as above the final position.
Ground preparation. Firm and level. Four solid bearing points under the corner castings are sufficient for most installations: concrete pads, railway sleepers or steel plates. A full slab is only needed for permanent installations or very soft ground. Ensure water drains away from the unit.
Placement area. Mark the footprint plus door swing. Decide which way the doors should face before the day, and leave enough clearance around the container to walk round it for inspection and painting.
Delivery equipment. Most deliveries use a tilt-bed trailer. Some use a flatbed with a crane or a side-lifter. The method affects how much space you need, and the carrier will confirm it when they contact you.
Customer responsibilities. Accurate site information, a prepared placement area, safe access, someone on site to direct placement, and inspection before the driver leaves. Tell the carrier about anything below the surface such as septic tanks, soakaways or service runs.
Full detail is on the shipping and delivery page.
Container security
Locking. A closed-shackle padlock inside a lockbox is the standard combination, and it is far more effective than either on its own. A lockbox shields the shackle from bolt croppers and grinders. Fit the best lock you can justify against the value of the contents.
Placement. The cheapest security measure available. Position the doors against a wall, a fence or another container so they cannot be opened without moving the unit. Point them away from public sightlines and approach routes.
Lighting. Motion-activated lighting around the container removes the cover that makes a site attractive. It is inexpensive and it works.
Site security. Fencing, gates, cameras and a clear line of sight. A container in an overlooked, lit compound is a much less appealing target than the same container behind a hedge.
Access control. Control who holds keys, keep a record, and change locks when people leave. Most container losses are not sophisticated break-ins.
Container maintenance
Cleaning. Rinse the exterior periodically, particularly in coastal or industrial locations where salt and deposits accelerate corrosion. Keep the roof clear of leaves and debris that trap moisture.
Rust prevention. Deal with surface rust early. Wire brush or grind back to sound steel, prime and repaint with a marine-grade or direct-to-metal finish. Pay particular attention to base rails, the underside and any repair welds.
Door maintenance. Grease hinges, cams and locking bar bearings at least twice a year. Operate the doors regularly. Keep seals clean and treat the rubber to stop it hardening.
Roof inspection. Check for ponding, debris and impact damage. A dished roof panel holding water is a hole waiting to happen.
Weather sealing. Inspect gaskets and any sealant at panel joints and repairs. Replace perished seals rather than trying to pack them.
Ventilation. Airflow is the single most effective defence against condensation. Keep factory vents clear and consider adding vents high and low on opposite sides. Keep stock off the floor.
The Maintenance Center covers each of these in more detail.
Costs beyond the purchase price
The catalog price includes flat $450 delivery, so there is no shipping surprise. Budget separately for ground preparation, a lockbox and padlock, any interior fit-out such as shelving or lighting, and periodic paint and seal maintenance. None of these are large, but they are real.
Common mistakes
Buying on price alone and ending up with a unit that does not open the way the job needs. Underestimating delivery access and losing a day to a failed delivery. Skipping ground preparation and inheriting doors that will not close. Sealing a container completely and creating a condensation problem. Buying a standard height unit and then trying to fit racking into it. All of these are avoidable in an afternoon of planning.
Apply it
Put the guide to work
Container Finder
Six short questions on use, space, placement, configuration and budget, matched against the live catalog. Open the finder
Compare Containers
Line up to four units side by side on price, footprint, height, type and condition. Open compare
Size Guide
Reference dimensions, floor area and a visual length comparison for every size. Open size guide
Ready to choose?
Browse the catalog
Ninety-two containers with published specifications and delivered pricing.