Shipping container for tractor storage

[can do]

Is there any prefab building in your area, that are for sale? do You have time to build a building?what is the zoning codes? do you need permits? shipping containers can be a eye sore,but you can paint them to look like a building anyway I think the cost for whatever you choose is going to be high! is it something you need now or can it wait?if it can wait just cover it with a tarp and use bungee cords that is what I use for my tractors & I keep my implements in a out building that I built

 

[Elembytes]

I think shipping containers would not make for a suitable home for tractors etc., They build up way too much heat in the summer time sun!

 

[Industrial Toys]

When out in the open, my container had terrible condensation issues. Had to tarp over my CUSHMAN mower that sat in there. Now amidst the trees and painted green, I have never detected any condensation issues.

It is also full of all manner of stuff that doesn't require fancy storage but should be out of the sun, rain, snow and pine needles. Maybe the mass of this STUFF has some effect on condensation. When the Cushman was in there, the container was basically empty.

 

[jrhonetbn]

I have a 20 foot regular height (8.5 foot high vs. a highcube of 9.5 foot ) box. I have to fold my NH TC-35A rops to back it into the box--the extra foot would have made no difference. Also, the bushhog has to come off because it would stick out 3 feet. (So far, neither the tractor nor the box nor bushhog have been stolen. ) The summer heat inside the box covered with a white farm tarp still reaches 110 degrees F. I am planning to build a small truss roof so tarps can be hung like curtains for cooling. I should have had it painted white when purchased (shoulda, woulda,coulda).

 

[ning]

I've got a 40' hi-cube for my tractor. I got it after my son noticed we were dumping diesel all over the place after rats ate my diesel return line. Creating a spot for it involved digging and moving about 50y of dirt, but it was well worth it. I could've fit into a normal height cube but I prefer overspend for contingencies so there's plenty of space in case I get a bigger tractor, and carrying big things into the other end I never hit the ceiling.

Our summer temps here are 90+, very occasionally hitting 100. My container is in the sun about half of the day, and even when the sun's been on it for a few hours, it's not ridiculously hot inside - but then again, my container is a light tan.

Condensation shouldn't be an issue if you don't put it directly on the ground - mine is on railroad ties; one end is about 4-5" off of the ground, and the other end is about 13" (up high enough for small predators to keep smaller critters from making a home under it). It's very wet here in winter and spring, and I haven't seen a drop of condensation. I don't know that there's any reason to tarp this thing as it's covered with a really heavy-duty paint and is meant to stay dry in an ocean crossing...

 

[P51Fan]

Four years ago I graded out a gravel pad, built a 20x40 carport, enclosed back with panels coming down the side just enough and placed a Beige 40 HC one tripper on each side. They were moved in placed with a 電onkey and offset forward of the front carport posts to allow the doors to open and leaves to blow out the back. One has 4 pressure vents and the other has 9. The nine vent box stays a bit cooler so that where my Kubota and Polaris live. I added a 9 covered vent in the front right door with a turbine in the back roof. I ran solar lights thru the turbine and gorilla taped the solar panels to the roof. There is a lock box to allow a single pin lock to secure. The work box is wired for electricity with outlets and LED lights. No problems w condensation or rust in OK. Rains a lot here but not as much as FL!

 

[bigwave]

I'm not an expert on this but I think that since your structure has been encroaching on / in the building setback area for 10 years that it's "grandfathered" in. And, as we all know lawyers will take all the money you have and give you nothing, except another invoice

 

[Industrial Toys]

Mine was well above ground as shown in the pictures some pages back, when I had the condensation issues. I do have a hard wood floor in mine. So, I can't see what difference being off the ground would make.

 

[jj50cal]

anyone thinking about using a connex (shipping container) for storing your tractor, PLEASE ....DO NOT forget to cut a ventilation hole and put a turbine in the top. if you don't when the temperature rises inside (and it will) it will do a couple of things, one is possible explosion, two you could pass out from lack of oxygen before you can get the tractor out, and three it'll peel the paint off. all of this from just the fumes of the fuel stored in the tractor.... PLEASE BE SAFE and use your head. but they are very good for storage and security, i have 2.

 

[dragoneggs]

anyone thinking about using a connex (shipping container) for storing your tractor, PLEASE ....DO NOT forget to cut a ventilation hole and put a turbine in the top. if you don't when the temperature rises inside (and it will) it will do a couple of things, one is possible explosion, two you could pass out from lack of oxygen before you can get the tractor out, and three it'll peel the paint off. all of this from just the fumes of the fuel stored in the tractor.... PLEASE BE SAFE and use your head. but they are very good for storage and security, i have 2.

Very good advice! Ventilation is so important.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I was going to when I had my condensation issues, but moved the container and had no further problems. Guy I know stores his tractor for months in a 20 foot can, without ventilation and without any issues at all.

 

[jj50cal]

Very good advice! Ventilation is so important.

i thought it was worth mentioning, as a fireman, i have made a couple of calls where newbies just didn't think about ventilation, and the seller of the connex's for what ever reason didn't mention it to them, one man was nearly dead when we responded to him his wife found him slumped over the front axel of his tractor where the combination of fumes and heat overwhelmed him.

 

[Doug62]

We just finished getting a roof installed on our 40' high cube containers with doors on each end. I keep my Kubota M62TLB , MX5800, and my F2690 mower in them as well as a sprayer & spreader. They fit perfectly and I don't have to worry about mice eating all of my wires again any more. With the roof it was still the cheapest 50x40 barn I have ever built and, from what I am told, it might not increase my property tax bill since it is portable. Not sure about that one yet.

View attachment 671554

How expensive was the roof? Nice!

 

[buck12]

The single best thing about my shipping containers is that rodents don稚 get to my stuff.

 

[dragoneggs]

i thought it was worth mentioning, as a fireman, i have made a couple of calls where newbies just didn't think about ventilation, and the seller of the connex's for what ever reason didn't mention it to them, one man was nearly dead when we responded to him his wife found him slumped over the front axel of his tractor where the combination of fumes and heat overwhelmed him.

My son is a seasoned fireman and some of the stories he has encountered make me more cautious in my latter years. Things I would have poo poo'ed in the past... no more. I realize I am mortal and lucky to be around this long. Let's keep it going.

 

[bmaverick]

i thought it was worth mentioning, as a fireman, i have made a couple of calls where newbies just didn't think about ventilation, and the seller of the connex's for what ever reason didn't mention it to them, one man was nearly dead when we responded to him his wife found him slumped over the front axel of his tractor where the combination of fumes and heat overwhelmed him.

eTrailer.com sells roof vents. At one time, I stored my tractor in a 20FT cargo trailer. But, in the winter, I found going up/down the ramp a bit sketchy as sliding sideways was not fun at all. BUT, I did vent the trailer!

 

[fidowanttobe]

We just finished getting a roof installed on our 40' high cube containers with doors on each end. I keep my Kubota M62TLB , MX5800, and my F2690 mower in them as well as a sprayer & spreader. They fit perfectly and I don't have to worry about mice eating all of my wires again any more. With the roof it was still the cheapest 50x40 barn I have ever built and, from what I am told, it might not increase my property tax bill since it is portable. Not sure about that one yet.

View attachment 671554

WOW! That looks very nice. Very cool. Not to be nosy but what did that cost? Did you have a tough time finding someone to do it? We would need a back wall up here in snow drift country, so wondering how the roof would survive in in crazy winds.

 

[m5040]

One good point in the winter is that it warms up real nice in the sun. So it your tractor hasn't been used in a week or more and it has been zero, which traditional would be a hard start, inside a shipping container in the sun at midday, it will be comfortable inside, taking the edge off the start. Also when I starting using my first container to keep a 1950s Dodge M37 truck (converted to a diesel), it would stay unchecked, unused for a year accept for 1 weekend for a antique military show. The truck stayed in the container all summer, every summer for about 5 years, with NO negative side effects. NO paint peeling, canvas and rubber was all as fresh as the day it was put in. Just an FYI.

 

[Industrial Toys]

My old JD 770 that I sold to a neighbor spends most of it's life in a 20 foot container, unvented, sitting on the ground, for at least ten years. No ill effects at all. It is not exactly in the open, maybe with some shade.

The sun and mice can't get at it in there and that seems to have worked well.

 

[AaronM]

WOW! That looks very nice. Very cool. Not to be nosy but what did that cost? Did you have a tough time finding someone to do it? We would need a back wall up here in snow drift country, so wondering how the roof would survive in in crazy winds.

Thanks! It was right about $14,000 for the roof with gutters. More than I originally guessed but they did a really nice job and were in and out in 4 days. It is 15" I-beam so it should be pretty stout for what amounts to about a 30' actual span (54' overall roof width but it is supported at the inner edges of the containers also). The container supplier gave me a list of local welders they have used and the first guy I called was ready to go. I painted them to match my other buildings so they don't stand out too bad.

I was worried about the wind blowing the whole thing away too but 8,000lbs for each empty container+ who knows how much weight in I-beam,+ around 20,000lbs for three tractors inside gets to be a pretty heavy structure.