You can buy them on eBay for anywhere from $1700-$3000 depending on location and condition. Probably if you shop around you can do better.
I rent them to put on job sights a lot. I've looked into buying one and I keep getting prices of $2000-2700 for one 40 foot long. But I'm going to an auction this weekend, we'll see what happens.
I have two of them at different locations in north Texas. I got screwed on a 40' one from a company in Seattle who delivered me one that had rusted pin holes in the top that I didn't discover until months later when everything I had stored in it was ruined from moisture. The other one is a 20' one that has no leaks but percolates moisture in hot weather (it's not ventilated) and has corroded the aluminum cases on cycle's engines in it. They are secure as a vault though!
I have two, one I keep sandblaster, brake lathe, etc in. The other I keep some parts and my old Porsche. The company I bought them from told me to install a 40 watt light bulb in them and leave it on all the time to eliminate condensation. Did that on the one with the equipment, not the one with car. Have not noticed any moisture problems in either one, go figure. They are on asphalt and the climate around here is moderate, not a tremendous amount of rain, but we are right on SF Bay so I would think there is a lot of moisture in the air.
Some freinds of mine and I have a couple that we joined together. They were epoxied and burried under a big barn. Solar electric and water and sewer. It has a real good ventilation system on it. That runs through the square tubing for the barn. Has 18 inches of concrete on top of it. Burried in gravel and has French drains and a pump. But it's all under an indoor structure. Our wife's think were all crazy.
It's a good idea to coat the top with Snow roof coating. It keeps them from leaking, developing rust pinholes, and reflects the sun better too. If I was going for long term use, I'd also do the peaked roof over it for better protection, and better looking.
Definitely keep it off the ground, when I was doing construction we used them to store our material in and they had holes in the roof a little silicone and they were dry all year round.
It could be used for that. Mainly just a place to go and shoot guns and ride dirt bikes. I grew up with a dad that was a class three manufacturer. He made machine guns. Over the years he has transferred them to me. What's more fun than going out and shooting a saw after a long week at work. Or if you feel like blowing a bunch of money. Get the ma Duce out. Just a bunch of fun.
Has anyone made / figured out a system to move one of these to different sites, without hiring a trucking company? Place on 3-axles car trailer?
LOL AC goes out on a hot summer day in Iraq and you're looking at 140F+ outside... Inside a bit warmer. Not as bad as my kitchen there though 180F+
Local concrete co. has a setup similar to the design pictured for their truck repair "garage". Trusses spanned over double-deckered containers. Figure a guy with a lot of property could place two 40' ers about 20' apart, truss the roof and hang rollup garage doors on each open end to fully enclose the center area. That would amount to a 40' x 40' shop area on the cheap. I've seen container setups locally that have small rollups on the side panels which would allow side access from under the roof on such a setup. Anyone been hassled by the code enforcement folks on their container? Is it considered a "permanent structure" or are you off the hook? I know locally, 120 sq. ft. roof area (10' x 12') is the limit for a storage shed w/o going to a permit.
One of the dealers here hauls them on low-deck tilt bed trucks. You could probably rig something up for occasional moves with a mobile home chassis.
We put an offer on a house today and if it flies we will sell our place and move there. I just build a two story 32x30 shop that isn't packed but there isn't much storage other than the garage at the new place. We were thinking of renting those POD things. These containers would be waaay better! That problem is now solved. It would take a few months to get a building put together. Great idea.
i seen prices on craigslist for 20 ft at 2000 dollars , 40 ft at 4000 dollars plus delivery charge Jen
That's about the average around this area delivered. You can't build an 8 x20 storage shed that is secure for 2k though.
A quick coat of paint the same color of the house and one would somewhat blend into the property unless you are so far out that it doesn't count. We have been talking about getting one just to store our extra stuff out of the house in as my grandfather built the house 80 years ago with very little storage space in it.
The guy that markets them is in Oakland and his prices seem better than most. The can also deliver them with a roll-off for us mountain folk that have lousy access. I find that a 8x20 would fit on a flatbed car hauler (which I have!) and weighs 4400 pounds .... hmmmm!
the problem for me is i would need one air lifted in to have one in the backyard where i need it most , Jen
Prices have gone up, when I bought mine they were $1200 apiece, 20 footers. Came out of Oakland. Oakland is a huge container port so I imagine lots of inventory.
i have seen a case where the guy buried two of them into a hillside, with only the tops and doors exposed. been there for almost ten years.