What size container do you need? 5 Questions help you figure it out.

You know you need a lot of dry, safe storage, but just how much is enough?  Ask yourself these questions and you’ll know:

1)      How much stuff do you have? Size up what you actually need to store.  The most common sizes of containers are :

20’ – 20’ x 8’ x 8’6” – or 1,169 cubic feet
40’ standard – 40’ x 8’ x 8’6” – or 2,385 cubic feet
40’ high cube – 40’ x 8’ x 9’6” – or 2,690 cubic feet

High cubes are nice if you are thinking about living in a container.  The internal height of a standard container is 7’8.5”, and a high cube is 8’8.5”.  Over time, you will feel that height difference.

Do one of these seem like enough to fit what you have?  If not, think about specialty sizes, but keep in mind that the cost on those containers adds up – bigger, more specialized trucks are required to deliver them and they may have to come from further away.

Used 20'

2)      Are you going to move the container around? If the answer to this is yes, think small.  A 20’ container weighs 5,000 pounds when it is empty, but is still small enough and light enough to be mobile.  20’ containers can be moved on a variety of trucks and even when they are full, can be moved by very heavy duty forklifts.

Once you jump up to a 40’ container, you will need a larger truck for moving it and when they are full, you will need a crane to lift the container on and off the truck.  Cranes mean money.  So even if you need the space of 40’s, think about 20’s.

3)       Are you going to ship the container overseas? If yes, even though the container is moving around, think about the 40’ or the 40’ high cube.  Usually there is a minimal extra cost to the larger size and you get to send more per cubic foot.  However, the delivery issues listed above still apply.  To get around this, most freight forwarders will pick up your container from a depot, bring it to you for loading, you load it while it stays on the truck, then they deliver it to the rail or port to ship.

40' container on a truck

4)      Do you have enough space to accommodate the size you want? Containers are delivered on tilt-bed trucks when you ask for ground-level delivery.  This means that the truck will back into the spot you want the container.  The back of the truck tips down and there is a winch on the truck to lower the container off of the bed of the truck and start setting it on the ground.  Then the driver pulls forward and finished setting the container on the ground with the winch.  All of this works beautifully – if you have enough space.  For a 40’ container, you will generally need 110-120’ of a straight, relatively flat area.  For a 20’ – 100’.  And don’t forget that the truck has to get to that spot.  Make sure you think about how the driver will pull in and pull out of your site.  Think about how firm and flat the ground is because delivering a container involves more physics than driving a truck across a ground.

Used 45' container

5)      Do you still need more or less space? If you need more space, there are larger containers – 45’, 48’ and 53’ containers.  They are not available in all markets and require larger trucks than 40’s, so be prepared for additional costs.

10' with roll door added

If you need less space, containers can be cut down for an additional fee.  Generally this process will add an extra $2000 dollars and the containers will still be delivered on the same truck.

If course this won’t answer everyone’s question on sizes.  Give us a call if you want to discuss it further!

Container Delivery Basics: Tilt-Bed, Flat-Bed, or Chassis

So OK, you’ve found the steel container you need, but how do you get the massive thing delivered?  Here’s a guide to the three standard container delivery methods.

Tilt-Bed Delivery

Tilt-bed Landoll trailer with container

A tilt-bed is the most popular delivery option, either with a straight truck or a tractor-trailer combo. The truck will back right into the place you want your container, the trailer will tip down, and a winch will lower one end of the container to the ground. Then the truck will pull forward as the winch lowers the other container end.

Pros: Your container is slid to the ground right where you want it.

Cons: Generally more expensive than other methods. While these trucks can pick up a lightly loaded 20’ container, they cannot pick up loaded 40’ containers at all.

Flat-Bed Delivery

Container on Flatbed

Trucks with a long flat bed can hold either one 40’ container or up to two 20’ containers. A forklift or crane will set your container on the truck at the beginning of the trip and lift it off when it reaches your site.

Pros: Because your container will be loaded onto a truck that also carries other cargo, flat-bed delivery is a low-cost alternative, especially when the container needs to travel long distances.

Cons: You need to make sure equipment is available to load and unload your container.

Chassis Delivery

Container Chassis

Pulled by a trailer, a chassis is a metal frame with wheels designed to carry containers securely. Shipping lines use them (along with special fork-lifts) to bring containers to customers for loading and unloading. If you ship cargo overseas, this is usually how the container will arrive.

Pros: Low-cost way to move a container. The tractor disconnect easily from the chassis, which gives added flexibility if you need some time to load and don’t want the driver to have to wait. In some cases, chassis are the only delivery means acceptable to ports or rail lines.

Cons: You must load the container while it stays on the chassis or have some means of lifting the container on and off the chassis. When a container is on a chassis, it is dock height. Lifting a 40’ steel container on a chassis requires a crane.

Your best delivery option will depend in part on how you will use your container. Talk it over with your container vendor or shipping agent. As always, Super Cubes is happy to offer friendly advice geared to your needs.