40ft Used Shipping Container

excl. VAT · incl. VAT: €1,367.31

What changes when you buy a 40ft used shipping container

Buying a 40ft used shipping container is not simply the twenty foot exercise scaled up. Length changes the failure modes. A twelve metre box has a floor that spans much further between its supports, a frame that can twist along its length in ways a short box cannot, and a service history that almost certainly involved being stacked, locked down with twist locks and lifted many times. So while the usual checks still apply, the things most worth your attention on a long second hand unit are the floor, the frame geometry and the corner castings.

This page concentrates on those. The verified specification is below, followed by what to look at along the length, how twist locks and stacking work and why the castings matter so much, and what the weights and areas mean once the box is on your ground.

Verified dimensions and weights

The long floor is where the money is

On a second hand long box the floor is the single most expensive thing to get wrong. It is timber or bamboo laminate laid across steel cross members, and over 1203.20 cm of internal length there is a great deal of it. Replacing a full 40ft deck is a serious job, so establish its condition before you agree a price.

Walk the entire length rather than glancing in from the doors. Bounce gently at intervals and pay attention to how the deck responds. Even deflection across the whole floor is normal. What you are looking for is a local soft spot, where a panel gives noticeably more than its neighbours, because that means water has been standing there and the plies have separated. Dark staining, lifted panel edges and screws that have backed out are all pointers to the same thing.

Then check underneath. The cross members carry the floor between the two bottom rails, and on a long box there are many of them. Corrosion here is hidden, structural and awkward to repair once the container is sited and loaded. Light surface rust on the underside is normal on any used box. What is not normal is flaking, laminar rust, holes, or a member that gives when you push a screwdriver into it. If the unit has spent years standing directly on soil or grass, expect the worst of it in the middle of the span where air could not circulate.

Frame geometry over twelve metres

A short container that has been mishandled is usually obviously bent. A long one hides it better, because the same amount of twist is spread over twice the distance. The reliable test is the doors. Stand at the door end, open both leaves fully and close them again. On a square box they swing freely, the cams drop into their keepers without persuasion and the handles seat flat. If a door has to be lifted, leaned on or hammered, the frame is racked, and no amount of adjustment at the hinges truly fixes that.

Sight along the top and bottom rails from one corner. Over twelve metres a bow is easier to see than to feel, so use your eye rather than a tape. A bent top rail usually means a spreader or a forklift mast made contact. Also look at where the box currently stands: if it is sitting on uneven ground now, some of what you are seeing is temporary and some is not, and the only way to separate the two is to see the doors operated with the unit level.

Corner castings, twist locks and why they matter

The eight corner castings are the interface between the container and everything that handles it. Each has openings on three faces, and a twist lock is a fitting whose head passes through one of those openings and is then rotated so it cannot pull back out. That is how boxes are secured to a ship, to a chassis and to each other in a stack, and it is why a container can be handled anywhere in the world with standard equipment.

On a used unit, inspect all eight. You are looking for cracks radiating from the openings, deformation of the oval holes, crushing of the top face, and weld repairs around the casting to post junction. Damage here is more serious than damage almost anywhere else on the box, because a casting that will not accept a twist lock cleanly cannot be lifted or secured from that corner. Casting repair is specialist work, not a yard weld, so factor it in properly if you see it.

Also check that the castings are clear of built up paint and debris. A twist lock that will not seat because somebody sprayed over the openings is a small problem that becomes a large one on the day of a lift.

Stacking a second hand box

Containers are designed to be stacked, and used units are routinely stacked in yards to save ground area. That said, whether a given unit may be stacked, and how high, depends on the certified values for that specific container, on the condition of the castings and corner posts, on the ground beneath, and on wind exposure at the site. Those are individual questions and should be answered for the actual box rather than from a general rule of thumb.

Three practical points hold in every case. Stacked loads pass down through the corner posts and castings, not through the walls, so alignment has to be accurate. Twist locks or stacking cones belong between the tiers; boxes simply resting on each other can move. And the bottom unit carries everything above it, so the foundation under the lower box has to be considered for the whole stack, not just for one container. Have stacking done by people equipped for it.

The door end and how you will load

The opening is 234.01 cm wide and 227.99 cm high, against an internal height of 239.50 cm. The height difference is the figure that catches people out, because the door header sits below the roof line. Measure tall items, including whatever they sit on, against 227.99 cm rather than the internal height. Once inside, the extra height is available for stacking.

On a used box, spend time on the doors themselves. Check the rubber gaskets along the full perimeter of both leaves; perished or flattened gasket is the commonest reason a sound looking container leaks, and it is a replaceable item and therefore a negotiating point. Check hinge pins for wear, locking bars for bending near the lower cams, and the door sill for corrosion, since the sill takes water, grit and the wheels of every pallet truck that has ever crossed it.

Rust patterns to expect on a long box

Corten weathering steel forms a stable oxide layer that slows corrosion where the coating has broken, which is why used containers look far worse than they are. The distinction that matters is surface rust, which cleans and coats, against laminar or perforating rust, which has eaten into the section. Tap suspect areas: sound steel rings, rotten steel sounds dull.

Long boxes have their own hot spots. Water ponds on the roof in the middle of the span where the panel has settled slightly, so look there first and look along the roof at a shallow angle so the light rakes across it. The bottom rails collect road salt and spray along their length. The door sill and the lower corners of the door frame take standing water. And previous patch repairs are common on a box of this age, which is fine if the plate is continuously welded and coated, and less fine if it was tacked over rust that was never removed. Weeping stains at a patch edge suggest water is tracking behind it.

Wind and watertight, and what it does not cover

Most used long boxes are offered as wind and watertight, meaning weather is excluded at the roof, seams and door seals. That is a statement about keeping rain out. It is not a statement about the inside staying dry, because an uninsulated steel box condenses moisture on the underside of a cold roof and drips it onto the contents. Keep the factory vents clear, store goods dry, raise them off the floor, leave an air gap at the walls and use desiccant for sensitive items. Confirm which condition wording applies to the specific unit quoted, and ask for photographs of that container rather than stock images.

Weights, areas and planning

The tare weight is 4,000 kg, which is the figure your crane or hiab operator needs on the day. The maximum gross weight is 30,480 kg for the loaded unit, and the difference between the two is your cargo allowance, which a quotation or the CSC plate on the box should confirm before you plan a heavy load.

For layout, work from the interior floor space of 28.37 m². That comfortably takes racking down both long walls with a clear central aisle, which is the arrangement that keeps a twelve metre box usable, since anything at the far end is a long walk from the only door. The volume of 67.70 m³ is a ceiling rather than a target; real fill rates are lower once aisles, imperfect stacking and the reduced door height are accounted for.

Placement, support and delivery

Set the unit on four solid bearing points under the corner castings, level with one another rather than approximately level. Over this span an out of level corner twists the frame, stiffens the doors and eventually stresses the seals. On soft or made up ground, intermediate supports along the length reduce deflection of the bottom rails and are worth adding if the box will carry heavy distributed load. Keep the underside clear of standing water and vegetation so air can move and the cross members stay dry, which is exactly the failure you were inspecting for when you bought it.

Delivery needs planning well beyond the footprint. The vehicle is longer than the 1219.20 cm box, needs a wide swept path to turn in, needs overhead clearance far above the 259.11 cm height while the load is in the air, and needs firm ground for stabiliser legs plus a way to leave again. Describe the site honestly when asking for a price, including surfaces and gradients.

When used at forty feet is the right buy

For yard storage, plant and materials security, archive space, long goods and general site use, a sound 40ft used shipping container gives you the lowest cost enclosed volume available, and the wear that comes with it is mostly cosmetic. Where used is less attractive is in fitted out conversions, where a tired floor and unknown cargo history turn into real cost, and where several units must match in appearance. Judge it on the floor, the castings and the door operation, and the rest is paint.

What should I check first on a 40ft used shipping container?

The floor, the frame geometry and the corner castings, in that order. Walk the full 1203.20 cm of internal length feeling for local soft spots, look underneath at the cross members for corrosion that goes past surface rust, operate both doors to reveal any twist in the frame, and inspect all eight castings for cracks, deformed openings or crushed top faces.

What are twist locks and why does casting condition matter?

A twist lock is a fitting whose head passes through an opening in a corner casting and is then rotated so it cannot pull out. It secures containers to ships, chassis and each other when stacked. If a casting is cracked, deformed or clogged with paint, a twist lock will not seat, and that corner cannot be lifted or secured. Casting repair is specialist work.

Can a used 40ft container be stacked?

It depends on the certified values for that individual unit, on the condition of its castings and corner posts, on the ground beneath and on wind exposure at the site, so it should be assessed case by case rather than from a rule of thumb. In every case loads pass through the corner posts, twist locks or cones belong between tiers, and the foundation must suit the whole stack.

Does wind and watertight mean the inside stays dry?

No. It means weather is excluded at the roof, seams and door seals. An uninsulated steel box still condenses moisture on the cold underside of the roof, which then drips onto the contents and is routinely mistaken for a leak. Keep the vents clear, store only dry goods, raise everything off the floor, leave an air gap at the walls and use desiccant where needed.

How much space and weight does the unit give me?

Interior floor space is 28.37 square metres and volume is 67.70 cubic metres, with a tare weight of 4,000 kg and a maximum gross weight of 30,480 kg. Plan the layout from the floor area, since racking down both walls with a central aisle keeps a twelve metre box usable, and treat the volume figure as a ceiling rather than a target.