20ft Standard Container (Used)

excl. VAT · incl. VAT: €1,248.31

What you are really buying in a 20ft used standard container

A 20ft used standard container is a steel box that has already done the job it was built for. It carried cargo across oceans, sat in stacks at terminals, was lifted by spreader and craned onto chassis, and it carries the marks to prove it. That history is not a defect. It is the reason the unit is affordable, and it is also the reason the most important part of the purchase is not the price but the condition. Two boxes with identical external dimensions can be worlds apart in remaining useful life, and only an honest condition description tells you which one you are looking at.

This page is written around that idea. The dimensions and weights below are fixed by the standard the box was built to, so they do not change with age. Almost everything else does. What follows is how the trade grades a second hand unit, what to look at during a walkaround, which faults are cosmetic and which are structural, and how to read the paperwork that travels with the box.

Verified dimensions and weights

Internal dimensions are not recorded for this unit. If you are planning a racking layout, a machine installation or a conversion where a few centimetres decide the outcome, ask for the internal length, width and height to be measured on the actual box being offered rather than working from a generic table. Corrugation depth, floor build up and any previous repair work all affect the clear internal space, and on a second hand unit those are not identical from one container to the next.

How the trade grades condition

There is no single legally binding grading scheme for second hand containers, which is exactly why the words on a listing matter so much. When a 20ft used standard container is described only as used, that word on its own tells you very little. A handful of trade descriptions come up again and again, and it is worth knowing what each one actually commits a seller to.

• Cargo worthy: the unit is regarded as fit to be loaded and shipped again, which normally means the structure, the floor and the door gear are all sound and the box would pass a survey. This is the highest grade in ordinary circulation.
• Wind and watertight: the box keeps weather out and is suitable for static storage, but it is not being offered as sea ready. Dents, patches and surface rust are normal at this grade.
• As is: the seller describes the unit as it stands, with no promise about leaks, doors or floor. Buy at this grade only if you have inspected the specific box yourself or the price genuinely reflects the risk.
• Refurbished or repainted: the box has been cleaned, treated and recoated. Fresh paint hides history, so a repaint is a reason to look harder at seams, patch edges and the underside, not a reason to relax.

Ask which grade applies to the specific unit you are quoted for, and ask for photographs of that unit rather than stock images. A quotation that names a grade and shows the actual box is worth far more than one that simply says used.

The walkaround: roof, rails and corner castings

Start at the roof, because it is the part nobody looks at and the part that fails first. Roof panels are thinner than the side walls and they take the worst of standing water, dropped tools and careless handling. Look along the roof at a shallow angle so the light rakes across it. Ponding dents are normal and rarely fatal. What you are hunting for is a dent with a crack in the fold, a pinhole where corrosion has gone right through, or an old welded patch that has begun to lift at the edge.

Next come the top and bottom rails, the long members running the full length of the box. They carry a great deal of the loading whenever the unit is lifted or stacked. A bent top rail usually means the container has been struck by a spreader or a forklift mast, and it can leave the door end out of square. Sight down each rail from one end; any bow should be obvious immediately.

The four corner posts and the eight corner castings form the structural skeleton. Castings should be intact, with no cracks radiating from the oval holes and no crushing of the top face. If a casting is damaged the box cannot be safely lifted from that corner, and casting repairs are specialist work rather than a quick weld in a yard.

Doors, gaskets and locking gear

Open and close both doors fully before you agree anything. On a square box the doors swing without being lifted, the cams drop into their keepers without being forced, and the handles seat flat against the retainers. If somebody has to lean on a door to close it, the box is racked or the hinges have been strained, and a coat of paint will not fix that.

Check the rubber gaskets along the full perimeter of both door leaves. Perished, flattened or torn gasket is the most common single cause of a container that leaks despite looking sound from outside. Gaskets can be replaced, so a poor one is a negotiating point rather than a deal breaker, but you need to know before you sign. Look also at hinge pins and bushes for wear, and at the vertical locking bars for bending near the lower cam.

Finally, look at the vents near the top rail on each side. They should be clear and unobstructed. Blocked vents raise humidity inside and are a frequent reason a storage container sweats and drips on its own contents.

Floor and cross members

The floor is plywood or bamboo laminate laid on steel cross members. Walk the full length of it and listen as you go. Sponginess underfoot, dark staining or a panel that flexes noticeably means water has been sitting there, and a soft floor will not carry a pallet truck or a heavy point load. Look for delamination at panel edges and for missing or backed out floor screws.

Then get down and look underneath, or at least at the outer cross members from each side. Cross member corrosion is the fault that turns a cheap box into an expensive one, because it is hidden, it is structural and it is awkward to repair once the unit is sited and loaded. Light surface rust on the underside is normal. Flaking layers, holes or a member you can push a screwdriver through are not.

If the box has carried something aggressive, the floor may still smell of it. Ask what the last cargo was. Timber floors used in shipping service are treated against pests, so if the container will be used for anything food related, or occupied by people for long periods, raise that early and plan on an overlay or a replacement deck.

Rust, repairs and what a repaint hides

Corten weathering steel is designed to develop a stable oxide layer that slows further corrosion, which is why a container can look thoroughly rusty and still be structurally sound. The distinction that matters is between surface rust, which is cosmetic and can be wire brushed and coated, and laminar or perforating rust, which has eaten into the section. Tap suspicious areas with a small hammer. Sound steel rings; rotten steel sounds dull and sometimes gives way.

Patch repairs are normal on a used box and a well executed patch is nothing to fear. What you want to see is a plate welded continuously and then coated, not a plate tacked in a few places over rust that was never removed. Check patch edges for weeping stains, which suggest water is tracking behind the plate and quietly working on the parent metal.

The light test costs nothing

The best inspection tool on the yard is free. Step inside, pull both doors shut and stand still until your eyes adjust. Any pinhole in the roof, any split seam, any gap around a door gasket shows up as a point or a line of daylight. Do it on a bright day. Look at the roof line first, then the door perimeter, then the corners of the front wall. Afterwards, have someone hose the roof and the doors while you stay inside and watch for drips. A few minutes here saves a great deal of ruined stock later.

CSC plate and paperwork

Containers built for international transport carry a CSC safety approval plate, usually mounted on the left hand door. It records the approval reference and the gross and stacking values the unit was certified to, along with an examination status. On a box destined for static storage the plate is largely informational. On a box you intend to ship, or to have lifted regularly, the examination status is what a haulier or a terminal will ask about, so check the plate is present and legible rather than painted over.

Ask for the container number as well, and for confirmation that the unit is sold free of any lease or interchange obligation. Reading the number off the box and comparing it against the paperwork takes seconds and prevents awkward conversations later.

Reading the weights on your own site

A tare of 2,150 kg is what the empty box weighs, and that is the figure your crane, hiab or heavy forklift operator needs. The payload of 28,350 kg is the cargo mass the structure was designed for, but on a private yard that number is almost never the binding constraint. Ground bearing pressure usually is. The whole load arrives through four corner castings, so it concentrates rather than spreads, and soft ground or a thin slab will let a corner settle.

The volume of 33.2 m³ is the useful planning figure for storage. Remember that stacked goods rarely fill a box to its rated volume once you allow for aisles, pallet footprints and the fact that the door opening is narrower than the internal width of the box.

Access, siting and levelling

The external footprint of 6.058 m by 2.438 m is only part of the access question. A side loader or a tilt bed needs room to manoeuvre and to swing, and the delivery vehicle needs clear headroom well above the 2.591 m height of the box itself. Measure gateways, overhead cables and tree branches before delivery day rather than on it, and think about where the doors will face once the unit is down.

Set the box on level, firm bearing points at the corners. Railway sleepers, concrete blocks or purpose made pads all work. Getting the unit level is what keeps the doors operating properly for years afterwards, and a container that sits twisted will fight you every single time you open it.

When second hand is the right call

For site storage, tool and plant security, archive space, seasonal stock and general yard use, a sound second hand box does the same job as a new one for a fraction of the outlay. Used is less attractive for high finish conversions, for anything where the interior will be lined and then permanently hidden, or where a uniform external appearance across several units matters to you. In those cases the cost of stripping, treating and repairing a tired box can close much of the gap on a new one.

If you want to keep both options open, compare a 20ft used standard container against a new equivalent on total cost including any remedial work, not on headline price alone. The right answer depends on how long you intend to keep the unit and how much of its appearance you will actually end up looking at.

What condition should I expect from a 20ft used standard container?

It depends entirely on the grade offered. Cargo worthy units are sound enough to be shipped again. Wind and watertight units keep weather out and suit static storage but will show dents, patches and surface rust. As is units carry no promise at all. Always ask which grade applies to the specific box you are being quoted for, and ask for photographs of that unit.

What are the most important things to inspect before buying?

Look at the roof at a shallow angle for cracks and pinholes, sight down the top and bottom rails for bowing, check all eight corner castings for cracks, open and close both doors fully, inspect the door gaskets over their whole length, walk the floor listening for soft panels, and look at the underside cross members for corrosion that goes beyond surface rust.

How do I tell whether a container leaks?

Close yourself inside on a bright day and let your eyes adjust. Pinholes and open seams show as points or lines of daylight, and gaps around the doors show along the gasket line. Then have someone hose the roof and door end while you watch from inside. Note that condensation dripping from a cold roof is a separate issue and is often mistaken for a leak.

How much weight can the container hold?

The unit has a tare weight of 2,150 kg and a payload of 28,350 kg. On most private sites the payload is not the limiting factor. Ground bearing capacity is, because the entire load passes through four corner castings rather than spreading across the footprint. Set the box on firm, level bearing points and consider what the ground beneath them can take.

Does a used container still need its CSC plate?

For static storage the plate is informational rather than essential. If you intend to have the unit shipped, or lifted and moved regularly, hauliers and terminals will want to see a plate that is present, legible and not painted over, along with a current examination status. Ask about the plate and the container number before purchase rather than after delivery.