Cargo Container

[rgood]

I'm thinking bout buying a 8' x 20' cargo container.

Was sold on the idea til I got to reading the floors in them are wood???

Are there some that are metal?

How bug proof are these if they have a wooden floor? Florida has it's share of bugs.

 

[cowboy357]

I,ve never seen any that small , but the 30 & 40 footers I have seen had steel floors. Have You considered a small Semi cargo trailer Or box off of a box truck.

I see them quite often around here on craigslist & they are much cheaper then the shipping containors. Just a thought . Bob

 

[rgood]

Thanks, I've heard of that concept - But I haven't seen any of those for sale.

 

[kenstrac]

We had a lot of containers at work for storage some had wood floors some steel,we had one that we put the 50HP compressor in that was a cold storage container had ribbed aluminum floor fiberglass interior steel outer shell the unit was pretty air tight I believe it was 22-24 ft long very good storage container.

 

[cowboy357]

After the big tornado that leveled Greensburg Kans , Fema brough out several of the big steel shipping containers & buryed them for tornado shelters .

If I remember right they ran 2 on each side one direction & 1 in the middle connecting the 2 to allow for ample room kind of an H pattern . i,m not sure if all the big ones have steel floors but I,m pretty sure these did .


The ones I have seen that had Treated wood floors the floor was elevated 10 inches or so , with the steel Frame around the bottom so the big forklifts could pick them up & stack them for shipping . So I dont think You would have any issues with bugs & stuff . If thats all You can find.

Might be a good idea to treat the ground its going to sit on first though with a good insecticied . But They would make great storage. The advantage of the semi trailer is it could be moved easilly if needed . Bob

 

[jinman]

I looked at a 20' containers and decided quickly on a 40' container. The 20s were $1800 and the 40s were $2100. If you have space for a 40, I certainly recommend it. Also, try to get a gray or other light color. The dark colors are about 15 degrees hotter inside. Mine is brown and I built a roof over it to keep it cool inside.

The floor in mine is in nearly perfect condition. It's dirty, but in great shape. Be sure the top and sides have no leaks and the floor is in good shape. These containers are so common that surely you can find one in great shape. Don't settle for junk.

If you want one a little taller, you can buy a tall container that is 9.5' tall. These will cost a couple hundred more, but you can get most anything inside of them.

 

[RedRocker]

They call the tall ones "high cubes", that's what I got and my tractor
will fit in without lowering the roll bar. The wood floors are hardwood
and very stout, mine has wood at the front and back with steel
in the middle, bug free and very weather tight.

 

[some zilch]

we have 20+ of these containers at work we use for storage. all the floors are wood, but they are very durable. we drive large bobcats (t300s), forklifts, dozers, mini excavators and such inside them all the time. they can take a beating

 

[dmccarty]

I tried to get a container but after many calls could not find any for sale locally. Rent yes. Sale no.

I ended up with the cargo box off the back of a medium duty truck. It has wood floors, roll up door, and a roof that allows some light into the box. It works well except the mice have found a way in..... I am going to seal two likely areas of access. Not really sure if it will work though.

I had to resort to poison in the cargo box to kill the mice. Mouse poo is all over the place....

Cargo Box is good. I think a shipping container would be better if you can get one.

Later,
Dan

 

[EddieWalker]

I bought two 40ft containers a few years ago with wood floors and never had a problem with the floors. I don't know if you have more bugs there then here, but we do have quite a few to deal with. The floors are pretty strong and I don't think you would ever have a problem with them. I sold that place and those containers, but still keep in touch with the guy who owns them. He loves them.

My brother bought a 40ft container about two years ago to store a bunch of stuff in while he's in the process of moving out here. The containers that I had were opened up just about every day, but his remained closed up for months at a time. My containers never had any problems with humidity in them, but his had some issues with mold and rust. We cut some holes in either end and another in the roof for vents, which helped quite a bit, but the damage was already done and now it smells kind of musty in there.

Eddie

 

[jinman]

I tried to get a container but after many calls could not find any for sale locally. Rent yes. Sale no.

That's interesting Dan. As rural and remote as Sunset, Texas is (one stop sign with a beauty shop and a volunteer fire dept. on opposite corners) we have somebody who just started selling containers. They are asking $2300 for a 40-footer, but they are selling them. Within 30 miles, I can think of three other sales places right off the top of my head. I'm very surprised you can't find them in your area.

 

[dmccarty]

That's interesting Dan. As rural and remote as Sunset, Texas is (one stop sign with a beauty shop and a volunteer fire dept. on opposite corners) we have somebody who just started selling containers. They are asking $2300 for a 40-footer, but they are selling them. Within 30 miles, I can think of three other sales places right off the top of my head. I'm very surprised you can't find them in your area.

Me Too!

Its only a few hours to Wilmington so I figured we could get a container to own. But the companies were only interested in renting. You would think that if I would be willing to buy and not rent they would want to at least sell one to me to make money.....

At the time our area was in a building boom. That has certainly slacked off a bit lately. I think they could rent them to the containers to the builders and contractors and make more money than selling.

A coworker bought one before I needed one. I talked to the guy he brought from and he was no longer selling the containers.

The wife has an uncle but who is not an uncle who sells, shall we say, stuff. I bought the cargo box from him for 2,200 or so delivered. Its 8x9x24. We just got a free 285 gallon fuel tank from her "uncle". Good guy to know. Especially if you need stuff.

Later,
Dan

 

[Stimw]

The wood floors in containers have to be super treated to prevent bug infestation because of international shipping regs.
Check around in your closest port city for sales. I've heard that it's cheaper to build a new container than to ship one back empty!
I have had a 20'er for 10 years and they are very handy. They are made in 20' , 40' , (not sure about 45') 48' and 53'. My 20 was delivered with a roll-back wrecker. The longer boxes need a Landaul or simular trailer.
Some people put two 40's apart with a roof-over between and have a great work/storage bay.

 

[rgood]

Thanks for the replies - 40' won't work as this is going inside my pole barn - I figure this is faster and cheaper than pouring concrete and building a stick office. I've got this down to 2 vendors - One vendor says "it normally arrives flat bed delivery" as opposed to Roll-off which is more expensive - I think this weighs 9000 pounds - Does he think I own a crane???

 

[EddieWalker]

That sounds kind of heavy. I don't know what they weigh, but I don't have any problems moving around a 40 ft container with my loader. I would guess that the 40 footer weighs about 2 tons, but again, that's just a guess.

Eddie

 

[rgood]

Thanks Eddie - Even if it weighed 4,000 pounds you'd need a heck of a machine to put it on the ground - How did you get yours on the ground?

 

[sandman2234]

I purchased a 40 footer back in the mid '80's and still have it. It is one of the almost totally aluminum ones, all except the endcaps which are cast steel. It weighs in at about 3500 pounds and the first time I moved it, I borrowed a 40' flatbed from work and hauled it home. When I got there, I called a wrecker and he hooked to the end of it and pulled it off. Pipe under it would have made things go easier, as I probably could have pulled it off with a tractor because it would have rolled off. Next time around, I built a trailer to haul it on out of a mobile home frame and two axles. I had a wrecker pull my trailer to the new site. Next time I just called a Landoll trailer owner and he mowed it completely. Except for the first move, it has been loaded on every more. Beats having to load and unload your stuff when it is time to move.
David from jax

 

[EddieWalker]

Mine came on a flat bed trailer that tilted. He had called and told me to put flags in the ground where I wanted it, and he'd put it right there. I had spread gravel for them and figured where I wanted them. He was within an inch. He backed up to the flags, tilted the bed and it started to slide off. He just kept it tilted enough to get it close to the ground, then he drove to the flag and lowered the bed some more. Once the container was touching the ground where I wanted it, he checked with me, then pulled forward. The container just slid off of the bed as he drove away.

Eddie

 

[jinman]

Thanks for the replies - 40' won't work as this is going inside my pole barn - I figure this is faster and cheaper than pouring concrete and building a stick office. I've got this down to 2 vendors - One vendor says "it normally arrives flat bed delivery" as opposed to Roll-off which is more expensive - I think this weighs 9000 pounds - Does he think I own a crane???

I don't want to just be disagreeable, but I think you are gonna regret the decision to put a container into a pole building. If you were using it as part of the frame, that would be different, but as an office, I don't see it being anything but a long-term PITA compared to a stick-built office. The 20x8 will be exactly 160 square feet. A 160 sq ft slab at 4" thick is almost exactly two yards of concrete. If you form it yourself and rough in openings for any plumbing, The slab will be far less than $500. Then you can frame it up and not have to worry about it being weatherproof, only insulated if you want it. You won't have to build a weatherproof roof or anything like that. You'll be able to easily put in standard doors and even a window into your barn open area if you want. Cover the top and sides with steel or just some siding for a nice looking shop/office.

If you get the container box inside your barn, you are going to have to "fight" it to get in a door and all your electrical or plumbing will have to be exposed in conduit or piping unless you double-frame the box. Also, 8' is just tiny compared to 10' in width. A 10x16 size will be much more workable in my opinion.

So I do disagree and I hope you see what I'm trying to say. A container is great for storage, but it takes a lot of work to do the kind of thing I think you are describing. If your idea is to make secure storage inside the barn in a dry area that is rodent proof, then your container will work well. If you want to make a shop out of it, I'd go the stick-built route. Just my opinion. . . .

 

[radman1]

EddieWalker

That guy had a slick setup for delivery. Thanks for the pic.

I know a welder who used one last year as a addition to his shed. He put a wall cut out in his shop. Cut took the doors off the container and butted it up to the shop. Has it completely sealed to his shop. He put iron on shelves on both sides. Left the middle open so he can walk between the shelves and get his iron. Ran a few lights inside. Otherwise the city would have hasseled him for permits to add an addition to his shop.