Learn me some shipping containers

[LMan1967]

I'm interested in getting a couple of shiiping containers on my property for storage and so on.....what's a fair price? Any gotchas I should look for? What's a reasonable delivery fee?


Thanks!

 

[Raspy]

They can be in any condition. Make sure you are getting one that is fairly new with no rust holes. Be ready to turn it down when it arrives if they bring you an old one with issues. Tell them this in advance.

If you get one that has been repainted it will look a lot better than one with the shipping line painted on the side or painted over.

Coating the roof with trailer top coating or elastomeric roof coating will insulate, prevent rust and seal it from weather.

Painting and coating can be done by the seller a lot of the times and is probably worth it.

Mine, painted, roof coated and delivered was about $3,500. I liked it so much I bought a second one. The cost was a bit higher, but they are in great condition, not too old, not rusty and completely weather tight. The are both 40'. My buddy got an aluminum one that is about 50'!

Set it on some pressure treated blocks or something to keep it off the ground a few inches. This means less digging by critters and no rusting.

You can set up some blocks that are level and about 8' apart for the touch down. Be ready with front blocks as it comes down in the front. Then make a gravel area in front of the doors to drive your tractor in or whatever.

If the doors are hard to work try lubricating the gaskets or cutting the inner rubber flap seal with a utility knife. You can also put paraffin on the seals.

You can also run power in through a bell box mounted to the outside and a metal electrical box inside. Drill through and connect the two with a chase nipple.

 

[Rustyiron]

I'm interested in getting a couple of shiiping containers on my property for storage and so on.....what's a fair price? Any gotchas I should look for? What's a reasonable delivery fee?


Thanks!

I used to get 20' "tainers" for around $1200-1500 in the Mid Atlantic area back during the 90's. It seemed that they held that value for a while and as long as you don't let it rust up ar get beat up, they'll hold their money. I used them for temp. job site storage so I needed the 20' to move reasonably. It usually cost $100/$150 to move it between jobs (10 miles usually) on a roll back. It seems that the 40' tainers were not much more, or sometimes cheaper, I believe that due to a whole different moving process (more $$) If you are thinking that you may keep them for a long time. Look for a dealer, usually around the ports, and negotiate a delivered price. They will sweat inside and are not that atractive but I have seen some clever "camo" jobs. Look for good operating doors, and while inside it look for daylight (holes) I would look into a pole bldg. if the prices you are finding are over $2k. The dimensions can be tough to deal with for some storage, mostly I find the 8' width (and height) hard to deal with.

 

[schweizer]

Funny, I have a 40' container that I'm trying to sell. Too bad you're on the other side of the country!

I bought mine for ~$2500 incl. delivery about 4 years ago. It's temporary storage/barn until I build a real barn -- starting day after tomorrow. It has worked pretty good for the purpose. It's water tight and rodent proof, except I left the doors open on mine and got a whole family of mice in there now. I used to even put my DK45SE in there, but it was a little tight -- folded down the ROPS and extended the backhoe b/c of height. My biggest problem has always been the condensation inside. i.e. If I put the tractor away after driving in winter (wet/mud/snow), the condensation would be so bad it was like rain. I cut some vent holes in the side down low and installed a whirly vent on top, which helps a lot. Like raspy said, make sure the doors work well.

I just talked to a guy in our area who buys and sells them. He charges $300 to move/deliver them (I'm about 20 miles from him).

 

[Stimw]

They are made in regular height and "High Cube". You want High Cube.
DO NOT buy one that has fiberglass sides, they will rot out.

 

[EddieWalker]

My brother bought one four years ago for $2,000 plus $200 to have it delivered to my place to store his stuff while looking for a place to buy. He sold it to me after he moved to his new place.

About 8 or nine years ago, I bought two for less then that, but forget the exact amount. I went to the yard where they had them and picked out the two I wanted. Price was the same for any that where sitting there, and I had heard stories that they will bring whatever one is closest if you don't have one already picked out. Some where really bad, others where fine. The two I chose where as good as I could find, but in all honestly, not a huge difference over most of them.

Eddie

 

[sandman2234]

In 1984 I bought an all aluminum 40', except for the two endcaps. I paid $275. for it, and borrowed a tractor-trailer to bring it home.(yeah, BORROWED). I couldn't get it to slide off the flatbed, so I called a wrecker company right around the corner and they came and pulled it off for small change. When I went to move it the next time, about 39 miles, I took a 65 foot mobile home trailer frame and cut it down to 40 foot. I left the axles at the rear, thinking the wrecker I had scheduled to haul it could handle the weight better than the two mobile home axles. (The container was loaded at the time). The wrecker made if about 25 feet before the hitch sheared on the tongue. So the wrecker driver just wrapped his cable and chains around the tongue and hauled it like that. I later cut that trailer down to a 20 foot steel decked one and sold it. The next time it got moved, it was loaded on a Landoll Trailer and moved to where it sits now. The most I ever paid was $100, and the furthest was the 39 miles.
It has seen better days, since the wooden floor is about rotten, but I still keep some junk stored in it. I can probably get more than I paid for it most any day, since it has about 3000 pounds of aluminum in it.
As mentioned, keep an air-gap open under it, as they don't like sitting on damp ground.
David from jax

 

[rgood]

I highly recommend you look at them in person, before you buy.

I think mine was $2,400 delivered

 

[Stimw]

In 1984 I bought an all aluminum 40', except for the two endcaps. I paid $275. for it, and borrowed a tractor-trailer to bring it home.(yeah, BORROWED). I couldn't get it to slide off the flatbed, so I called a wrecker company right around the corner and they came and pulled it off for small change. When I went to move it the next time, about 39 miles, I took a 65 foot mobile home trailer frame and cut it down to 40 foot. I left the axles at the rear, thinking the wrecker I had scheduled to haul it could handle the weight better than the two mobile home axles. (The container was loaded at the time). The wrecker made if about 25 feet before the hitch sheared on the tongue. So the wrecker driver just wrapped his cable and chains around the tongue and hauled it like that. I later cut that trailer down to a 20 foot steel decked one and sold it. The next time it got moved, it was loaded on a Landoll Trailer and moved to where it sits now. The most I ever paid was $100, and the furthest was the 39 miles.
It has seen better days, since the wooden floor is about rotten, but I still keep some junk stored in it. I can probably get more than I paid for it most any day, since it has about 3000 pounds of aluminum in it.
As mentioned, keep an air-gap open under it, as they don't like sitting on damp ground.
David from jax

I used to work for a company that rented them for storage. We used a Landoul 48' trailer to pick up and deliver them. There was about 4' hanging off of the back due to the front drop. Winch on, drag off. They had a Packer for loading and moving around the yard. It would stack 4 high!
They would buy them from the Port, 30-50 at a time and I would use a Chassis to pick them up.

 

[Alien]

Seems like prices are much the same all over. I live in Queensland and just bought 2 x 20 footers. They were almost new and had done one trip from China with explosives on board. They were built in late January 2012 and were packed in Feb and shipped to Oz. I got them in March for $2450 + 10% GST. Only had to get them moved from 8 klm away. Used a tilt tray. They are both a nice green colour. They came lined with plywood that I am using for different things. I have a workshop in one and store the UXV and buggy in the other. I hear no-one wants the 40 footers now as they are too hard to shift and access stuff inside them.
I asked about aluminium ones and they said you can no longer get them.
Being new, the door seals were really tight especially the one that seals down the middle of the two doors. I sprayed them with silicone spray and they open and close with ease now.

 

[foreman Etexas]

I'm interested in getting a couple of shiiping containers on my property for storage and so on.....what's a fair price? Any gotchas I should look for? What's a reasonable delivery fee?


Thanks!

I picked up a 45ft for $2,000 in great shape and did the hauling(40miles) and unloading myself,I would say it would be well worth another grand for someone else to do it cause they are heavy and the kubota 7040 4wd and kubota 5040 4wd would not handle it,finally just drug it off trailer. Im gonna say 3000 to 3500 delievered would be fair(matters how far they gotta haul),if it was in really good shape.

 

[LMan1967]

GREAT info, thanks! Helps a lot, esp with the condensation issue and avg prices. I dont have anything avail to transport/unload one, so Id be dependent on the seller for that.

I was thinking 40-ft but maybe 2 x 20-ft would be better. I need one near my shop and one near my house (shop and house are ~ 1/4 mi apart).

How much does an empty one weigh? When you say 'put it on blocks,' what sort of blocks would be best? regular bricks?

 

[schweizer]

Each 20 ft container costs almost as much as a 40 footer. (supply & demand)

My 40 footer is about 8000 lbs IIRC.

I'd use pressure treated wood to distribute the weight a bit on the corners and edges rather than concrete blocks. Besides, if you drive any car, tractor, etc. up into it with any regularity, the concrete blocks might crack. (Unless you're referring to solid concrete blocks.) Only put them under the corners and edges.

Marcus

 

[foreman Etexas]

GREAT info, thanks! Helps a lot, esp with the condensation issue and avg prices. I dont have anything avail to transport/unload one, so Id be dependent on the seller for that.

I was thinking 40-ft but maybe 2 x 20-ft would be better. I need one near my shop and one near my house (shop and house are ~ 1/4 mi apart).

How much does an empty one weigh? When you say 'put it on blocks,' what sort of blocks would be best? regular bricks?

The guy I picked mine up from said this one weighted around 10,000. Regular bricks would work if you wonted,just go more then one wide(something more around 3 or 4 wide and a couple tall) but most put them on the "Solid" 2x4x8 concrete blocks.

 

[Raspy]

My 40' steel ones have the Tare weight written right on them. The weight is 8,020 lbs.

Don't use bricks or cinder blocks under the corners because they are likely to break. Don't use plywood squares because they will crush and they break down with moisture. You could use pier blocks or just use pressure treated lumber. Pier blocks are probably the best of all. Any home improvement place will have them and they will take the weight. Solid pyramid shaped concrete blocks with a piece of pressure treat on top.

You can get the thing off onto the ground and then jack it up with a hydraulic jack. Set the jack in a hole under the edge on one end. Jack it up and set the blocks level under the corner pads. Set it down and go to the other end. It only needs to be supported on the four corners, but use something that can can take the weight and the weather over time.

Be careful about a concrete foundation because that can make it a "permanent" structure that becomes taxable. Use pier blocks or pressure treat and be done with it.

 

[newbury]

Or if you have a local supply used railroad ties are good.

 

[Pete Judd]

I saw where a person bought 2 of the 40 ft units and put them in with 20 feet between them, then used prebuilt trusses between them and put a roof over them. He then had a 20 x 40 foot dry work area between them.

 

[LMan1967]

I saw where a person bought 2 of the 40 ft units and put them in with 20 feet between them, then used prebuilt trusses between them and put a roof over them. He then had a 20 x 40 foot dry work area between them.

What a great idea... :thumbsup:

 

[schoolsout]

I've got a buddy that sells them all over the US and other parts of world if needed

 

[bullbreaker]

Do they all come with same guage walls ? Steel ?
Looking to buy one when I get to another state down the road.

Boone