How To Pick The Best Cargo Storage Container?
Getting a storage container can solve a lot of storage problems you have, that’s for sure. Having one in your ownership is great mostly because depending on the size, they can store entire buildings of furniture.
However, it’s not easy to pick the best one there is. On the market, you’ll find lots of containers for different prices. The reason for this diversity lies in lots of factors that you must know before ordering one. In this article, we’ll talk about most of them. If you want to learn more about this, read on!
Old vs New
New containers are almost impossible to find unless you live in China. Over 97% of all the pieces in the world are made there. To get to the States, they must do that one trip which significantly lower their price.
Of course, getting to the States unsealed doesn’t mean they are not good. On the contrary, they are excellent. That’s why the price of these brand new or one-trip containers is much higher than the ones that are labeled as used.
The used ones or the old ones are more affordable but you need to have a lot of skills and knowledge in the subject to be sure if they are good for you. A standard container lasts up to 25 years so you have to make an assessment of how much time they have. Learn more about shipping containers on this page.
Aside from this, getting a used one is an excellent deal if it seems like a well-kept item. In order to know this, you must inspect the element with your bare eyes and find flaws.
Condition
Yes, used ones mean nothing until you see how much they’ve been used. You can find a container that had just 2-3 trips but sank in the shores of a sea and was taken out, and you can find a piece that had 30 safe trips and looks like it only needs a little paint job.
Knowing that these things travel around the world by sea, it’s clear that they face a lot of weather changes and suffer from all kinds of conditions. All-day sun shining on their paint job and then being splashed from high waves of salt seawater. All this can bring some catastrophically damages after a long time.
Walking past the container and not finding any holes in it means it’s most probably in good condition. Even if you find some small spots you can consider it okay. Depending on the use you’re planning, these holes might not be of great importance.
Material
There are two types considering the material they are made of – steel and aluminum. The aluminum ones are less durable but also a lot more affordable and lightweight. You can use them for temporary solutions and transporting on closer distances.
The steel ones are a lot more durable. All of those that are meant to be transported through the sea are made of steel. The reason for this is that steel is one of the most durable materials and can put up with the big differences in the temperatures and weather conditions in different parts of the world.
If you’re planning to buy a container in which you’ll live, it’s best if you get a steel one. Getting another material that will be damaged after a while is okay if you plan to keep some personal belongings inside, but it’s not okay if you plan to live inside. Just imagine what will happen when the rain starts falling and the ceiling starts pouring in the living room.
Size
Did you know that there are different sizes of shipping containers? Starting from the small ones that a lot of transport companies use as an addition to their everyday trucks and up to 40 feet monsters being transported globally.
It’s highly important to know what you need and what you’re going to use this for. If you have a 30-feet yard and you want a backyard playhouse you can’t buy a 40-feet piece, right? On the other hand, if you own a business and you need your stock being transported from one coast to the other no matter if we’re talking about land or water, you need the proper item.
If you have a lot of stock, it will be much wiser to get the biggest there is and get everything inside in one load instead of getting a cheap one and do the same 2 or 3 times. If you don’t know where to look, try this link: http://shippingcontainerssale.org/.
Shipping cost
It’s not just saving money when getting a container. There are lots of other expenses afterward. One of them surely is the shipping cost. If you want it on a certain location and you don’t own a huge 50-feet truck you’ll need to rent one and get it there.
Doing this by yourself is incredibly hard. You need special permits and the driving this kind of truck is amazingly hard. So, try to buy one from a company that is as close as possible to you. This way you’ll save a lot on transport.
After purchase costs
Getting a container that’s in good shape will still need a few repairs like doing a simple paint over. Most of them are previously owned by big companies that no longer need them. All of them had brands and company logos and colors that you might not like.
Getting rid of this means doing a paint job on them. You’d say that this is nothing special, but can you imagine how big a 40-feet item is? It’s a whole building. It is an investment on its own. Of course, if you don’t mind how it looks, you can leave it like that.
Also, fixing some minor damages will be mandatory too. Don’t expect to find a 100% perfect used container. After all, these things went through a lot of ports and so many workers dealt with them. None of them was too cautious. Be sure about this.