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OTish - Shipping container for storage - any bad experiences buying one?

snowman

Diamond
Joined
Jul 31, 2004
Location
Southeast Michigan
I know the negatives like they trap moisture, no climate control, leaky, etc.

The positives are that they are cheap...or at least appear cheap...and are secure.

I just want out of my storage unit which is full of surplus tools that i don't use on the daily. Haven't even been there in four months.

Anybody actually purchased one from the guys that advertise on craigslist/facebook marketplace? $1200-$2500 depending on condition.

They claim to deliver on a hot shot trailer...just not sure if it's a real deal, or a scam of some sort.
 
Inspect it well- don't get one with creases or dents on the top that will hold water and eventually start to rust thru. Paying a little more up front is worth it. Rememeber they have been around sea water.
 
I bought one a little over 3 years ago and am very happy with it. Had it painted to match the house before it was delivered and the total cost was about $4,200.00. I took off the doors and installed a overhead door along with a attic vent fan in the end and a vent on the other end. I do not have any moisture problems although it is fairly dry here. The vent fan is controlled off a temperature switch. I did inspect it before I bought it and was able to pick out one that was in pretty decent shape. I dug 4 trenches 2' deep x 2' wide x 9' long, filled them with 3/4 rock to ground level and then placed 4 RR ties on the gravel for the 40' container to set on. The guy delivering it drove over the gravel trenches, we placed the RR ties on the gravel and he was able to unload it on top of the ties within 1 foot of where I needed it placed. Moved it into final position with the tractor.
 
Probably best not order blindly off CL, no doubt some ads are scams "give us your cc# and it will be delivered tomorrow". Go to the yard and look them over, I forget the different grades, but "wind and watertight" is not the top one, iirc its pretty close to bottom.

If you can find one, and you are 100% sure where you want it and NEVER plan on moving it again, get one of the insulated aluminum ones used for transporting frozen sides of beef. It will be kinda nasty and need to be pressure washed out, leave the door open a few weeks too. The upside is they are very well insulated, the downside is they are heavy as hell, I forget what mine weighs, its in tons (20?? iirc), JD loader can barely lift 1 end, guy with the rollback for moving 40 footers moved it once and said never again. My tenant and I have discussed moving it for 3 years, it has not moved yet.
 
Probably best not order blindly off CL, no doubt some ads are scams "give us your cc# and it will be delivered tomorrow". Go to the yard and look them over, I forget the different grades, but "wind and watertight" is not the top one, iirc its pretty close to bottom.

If you can find one, and you are 100% sure where you want it and NEVER plan on moving it again, get one of the insulated aluminum ones used for transporting frozen sides of beef. It will be kinda nasty and need to be pressure washed out, leave the door open a few weeks too. The upside is they are very well insulated, the downside is they are heavy as hell, I forget what mine weighs, its in tons (20?? iirc), JD loader can barely lift 1 end, guy with the rollback for moving 40 footers moved it once and said never again. My tenant and I have discussed moving it for 3 years, it has not moved yet.

Was it waterlogged? They all should have a tare weight on them.
 
Get a high cube rather than a standard height. You won't be sorry. That extra height makes a huge difference.

We used to build all sorts of labs, workshops etc into containers because we were always loading them on & off research ships.

PDW
 
If you plan on having it for a lifetime,get one with a "Corten" steel plate affixed to it.....More expensive ,but it will last ......I have one made in 1975,and its still good,wheras 40 ft ers made in 1996 are rusting thru in the top beams.These are the GE hire type,made to last 10 years only ,and then rust away....Still ,I bought them from my boss for cash,$1300 each for 40 ft of space is a bargain,they were watertight for 15 years,and gave good service in my opinion.......If you get up and roof them straight away with corrugated gal ,they will then last indefinitely.....Another more messy way to preserve them is to roof them with waste oil and dust from the dust collectors......This needs to be done every month or so ,but costs nothing ,and is a net gain if you are paying for dust removal,which here was 2 cents a lb.(5c/kg),or paying for waste oil removal too.
 
Cargo-worthy 45-ft high-cubes are value leader in our experience. Everything functions better and you'll have no worries about leaks in these. Even with perfect door-seals, containers are never airtight because they have vents to equilibrate changes in barometric pressure so installing a $200 dehumidifier with a sensor and a drain hose to the exterior will keep all your stuff dry and rust-free even when the outdoor conditions get cold and/or humid.
 
Make sure to climb on top and carefully inspect it. The one I had for a year or so had some very small pinholes which I caulked over to prevent leaks.

I put some pieces of masonite shiny side up on the floor and then set the heavy stuff on another piece shiny side down so I could slide in some of the heavier things. My back was better back then.

Steve
 
Both the "carport" and now the "container" ideas seem to be for one reason.

To avoid paying property taxes.

You know, the ones that go to school teachers salaries......:nutter:
 
Both the "carport" and now the "container" ideas seem to be for one reason.

To avoid paying property taxes.

You know, the ones that go to school teachers salaries......:nutter:

No, both the carport and the container are for the same reason. They cost about $3,000 set and done, and they gain me a couple hundred square feet of dry storage. It's working within a budget.

Same thing I responded to the last post. I don't give a shit about the taxes. I'd love to have the cash to put in a 30x40 polebarn with heat and a bathroom. The taxes would be nothing compared to the opportunity it would offer me.
 
I recently bought a 20' standard height 'one-tripper' (AKA "new") for $3k. Built in Jan 2020, so some damage but not a lot. Seals/doors work great, top is good. Sides have dents/scratches. Loading it up(not to full weight capacity) and moving it to rental warehouse as step one of a two-step move. I'll be getting another, and will probably buy a more-used one if I can inspect it locally prior to delivery. (Not real easy to arrange.) I've added E-track to the inside, and storage racking to the top. It's half storage unit, half trailer duty since it'll be moved again a few times when full. Should be fun.


Update just today: Selling company sent me a 'hope you're happy, by the way any friends looking to buy a container' email. So I sent some pictures of the damage, and we'll see what adju$tments they'd like to make. Too much to take care of to do a deep dive on it, but we'll see what their response is.
 
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I assume a container is like a trailer and any small dent or seam rip is going to be near impossible to fix without a patch showing. Not much real framing to tie repairs to. So try to get the best you can. Do not ignore any issues until they rust out too far to repair easily. I have no idea how long a floor lasts if it is too close to wet ground. Do they ever rust from he floor up instead of the roof down.
Bil lD
 
I assume a container is like a trailer and any small dent or seam rip is going to be near impossible to fix without a patch showing. Not much real framing to tie repairs to. So try to get the best you can. Do not ignore any issues until they rust out too far to repair easily. I have no idea how long a floor lasts if it is too close to wet ground. Do they ever rust from he floor up instead of the roof down.
Bil lD

Nah, the main tools of guys that repair them full time is a sledge hammer and a mig. Any “ding” is easily pounded out of a sreel box and corrugated cor-ten panels to match are easily available.
Haven’t seen any one mention odors, some like fishmeal require replacing the deck, 1-1/4” ply or hardwood boards, the old deck screws are happy to stay right where they’re at
 
some one posted recentley his had to be one foot off the ground to allow foxes? to get under and kill rabbits? I think he was in OZ,
Bill D
 
My question too? Do they need to be off the ground on some sort of riser?

Standard shipping containers have wood floors, if a wet environment, you will want it raised so the moisture can escape, in a dry desert environment they are typically just set on ground. Friend out here has a couple of containers, he made a point of making sure there were no gaps under container, after he killed the rattlesnake den.
 








 
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