FAQs
Frequently asked questions
The questions people actually ring and ask, answered the way we would answer them on the phone.
Choosing a container
What size shipping container do I need?
Work backwards from the space, not from the stuff. A 20ft needs about seven metres of straight, level ground and is the cheapest per cubic metre most weeks. A 40ft is better value again but needs roughly thirty metres of run-in for delivery. A 10ft is the answer when the block genuinely will not take a 20ft — and it costs more per cubic metre, every time.
What is the difference between a standard container and a high cube?
300mm of internal height and nothing else. Standard is 2.59m externally, high cube 2.90m. That extra foot is what lets you line the walls and still stand up, fit a roller door with forklift clearance, or put a mezzanine over one end. If the container is being converted rather than just filled, buy the high cube.
Should I buy new or used?
Used, for most jobs. A cargo-worthy used unit is checked wind and watertight and costs a fraction of new. Buy new when the container will be seen — a shopfront, a front yard, a display — when it is being converted, or when it has to be reliably sealed for years rather than months.
How many pallets fit in a container?
About 10 standard Australian pallets in a 20ft and about 21 in a 40ft, single layer. It moves with pallet size and how tightly you load. If you are working to a pallet count, say so — it is often what decides between the two sizes.
Grades and condition
What does cargo-worthy mean?
Still certified fit to carry freight at sea — structurally sound, doors sealing, floor solid, no holes. It is a working standard, not a cosmetic one, so dents, surface rust and old shipping-line paint are normal. Every cargo-worthy unit we sell is checked wind and watertight before it leaves.
Are all your containers watertight?
No. Cargo-worthy and new units are checked wind and watertight before they leave. As-is units are explicitly not sold watertight — that is why they cost less. Which grade you need is decided by what is going inside, and we will tell you rather than sell you up.
Will a container protect things in a flood?
No, and nobody should tell you otherwise. A container keeps rain out from above when it is cargo-worthy grade or better. Floodwater reaches the door seals and gets in, and an empty container will float. What protects contents on a flood-prone site is height above the flood line and being able to move things out in time.
Is surface rust a problem?
Almost never on its own. Containers are Corten weathering steel — it forms a stable oxide layer and largely stops. What matters is rust that has gone through, rust in the roof where water ponds, and rust at the bottom rail from sitting flat on wet ground.
Delivery and site
How much does delivery cost?
It is quoted with the container, per address. Distance is only part of it — what the truck has to do at your end usually moves the figure more. We do not publish a rate because any published rate would be wrong for a good share of addresses. Send a couple of photos of the entry with your enquiry and you will get an exact number.
How much room does the truck need?
Roughly 20 metres of straight run-in, 3.5 metres at the narrowest point and 4.5 metres of headroom for a 20ft on a tilt-tray. Closer to 30 metres of run-in and 4 metres of width for a 40ft. And the truck has to get out again, which on a long driveway means reversing the whole way.
Do I need to prepare the ground?
Usually at least a little. The container should sit level with its weight on the four corner castings — timber sleepers, concrete pads or compacted road base under each corner. Ground that looks firm after a dry week can give way under two tonne per corner after a wet one.
Can the container be delivered with things in it?
Only if that was the arrangement from the start. Empty and loaded are different jobs with different weights, restraint requirements and often a different truck. Tell us up front.
Buying, hiring and paying
Can I see the container before I buy it?
Yes. Come out to the yard at 24 Forest Hill Fernvale Rd, Forest Hill, QLD, 4342 — ring first so we can have the units accessible. If you cannot get here, ask and we will photograph the specific unit and send it through, before delivery.
When do I pay?
Before the container leaves. That is standard across the industry and it is what lets us hold a specific unit for you rather than sell it out from under you. It is also exactly why we are happy to photograph it or have you inspect it first.
What is the minimum hire period?
Usually a month, and we are flexible where it makes sense. Past roughly eighteen months to two years of continuous hire on a standard unit, buying is generally cheaper — and we will say so rather than keep billing you.
Do I need council approval?
It depends on your council, how long it is staying and what it is used for, and it genuinely varies shire to shire. Plenty treat a container as a temporary or ancillary structure with no approval needed; others want a siting application. One phone call to your council, best made before delivery rather than after.
Get a price
Still got a question?
Ring us or send it through — either reaches a person. Every enquiry answered within one business day.
Or skip the form and ring us — 0477 410 500, Mon–Fri 7:30am–5pm, Sat 8am–12pm