I am going to buy 6 40' shipping containers to build a workshop. I live in Phoenix and the best price, delivered that I could find was $2,920 per container. However, a guy in Long Beach CA will sell them to me for $1,600. I would still have to pay $950 each to get them trucked to Phoenix, plus I would have to rent a forklift to get them off the flatbed truck. (About $500 total rental) This assumes that the units would all show up on the same day.

I was thinking that I could save myself some pretty good money (and get some driving time in my truck) if I made one round trip to Long Beach per weekend. The only problem is finding a trailer that could handle the 9000 lb weight of the empty container. The trailer would have to weigh less than 3000 lb. The route is mostly flat except for the climb out of Indio (east bound). At 12,000 lbs trailer weight (19,400 lbs GVW), I would be pushing my 04.5 2500 to it's limits.

Does anyone know if I can rent a Ocean Container 5th wheel trailer in the Southwest? I found one company in Ohio that makes them but that would be a REALLY long round trip. Also, with the significant side area of these containers, would I be at too much risk of overturning in a strong cross wind with my SRW 2500?

Oh, BTW, the workshop is going to be really, really cool. I am going to stack the containers 2-high in a U shape with a steel truss-supported shade cover spanning the open area. I will have a total of 1,920 sq ft of workshop/storage space inside the containers and another 1,280 sq ft of covered open air garage space. I am going to run some I beams from one side to the other for hoists, and cut double doors in the middle of each unit (on the long span.) The whole thing should cost less than $20,000.

 

I can't help you with the trailer rental, but I wanted to make you aware of an issue with the containers that may not have popped in your mind...rust. Most of those containers get beat up and when at sea will rust pretty quickly. Just thought you might want to speak with the seller about that.

Anyway, good luck with your workshop!

 

Yeah, I thought of that. Before I stack them, they will get a good grind-down and paint job. I will also use that rust converter stuff that works pretty good. Here in the desert, they should last another 20 years, as long as I touch them up once a year.

 

My son hauls containers out of the Port of Richmond, VA for Schneider National. He says that this guy regularily hauls emplies on a 40 foot deck gooseneck trailer behind a pickup truck and just uses another truck to pull them off. The only problem, a trailer of that size probably weights around 6-8,000 lbs. (I had a 24 foot, 14,000 gross and it weighed 4,000 lbs. empty. We have purchased a few for here at work, and the delivery is on a low boy that the pack tilts up and they slide off. You would then only need something to stack them for you.

 

Got to agree with Htgreen.I transport containers in the UK and a 4 pin container trailer weights about 4.5 tonnes approx 8000 lbs,also I would have thought you would not be able to match up to the trailer braking system.
PtGarcia also makes a valid point about the condition of used shipping containers,some that I have seen go for sale are rust buckets

 

I bought a 9' high 40' shipping container to use as a shop/tool shed and thought about moving it myself at two different times... after watching the big rigs struggle with it, loading, unloading and traveling - I wouldn't dare!

After the last move, I actually instructed my son to shoot me (buttocks, please ) if I ever tried to move it again. They're bulkier, heavier and more unstable than you realize!

For what you're planning to spend on the shop, you could buy the steel and weld up what you want faster & cheaper....

 

XLR8R -

Yeah, they look a little awkward to move around. Actually, I am most concerned about the forklift part. I am unloading them onto dirt, and I am concerned that while they're in the air, a strong gust or shifting soil could cause the forklift to tilt, and then, that's all she wrote. Having a 7 foot wide forklift holding up a 9,000 lb 40 foot wide box doesn't seem like a real good idea.

If I go with the delivery option, I was going to have the truck driver back up to exactly where I want them (before stacking) and just raise the containter and have the trailer pull out. I am not going to risk having the forklift sink in the dirt.

I am going to use the units as temporary storage while my house is built on the lot. I will also be painting and installing windows and doors while on solid ground. When I go to stack them, I will do that with a crane, but that won't happen until the house gets it's Cert of Occupancy (City would never approve my hillbilly workshop). That way, I can take my time to get them lined up just right and welded to the steel embedded concrete footings and each other.

It will be a year and a half before this is all done but it is going to be sooooo cool when finished.

 

Saw a guy pulling emty containers with a Ford Powerstroke. I saw him about 3 times. The third time DOT was on his tail. You know how those ground pressure checkers are. Never saw him hall another.

 

Also, I know mine weighs 12K# empty...

 

These containers are absolutly unstable with just a standard forklift. I think you got the right idea of lifting and pulling trailer from under. I hauled mine on a 40 footer and unloaded with a 821 case wheel loader.

 

Good luck finding a forklift that will lift 9000 lbs and still be able to move on dirt. A 40 foot container will be a little difficult to lift 10 foot in the air with just one fork. You might get all the containers on the premises and call a big rig tow truck with a boom lift to get them in place.

 

That's an awful lot of work at a very expensive price. Why don't you just build a shop the regular way> In the back of an electric co-op magazine, you can see adds all day long for huge buildings delivered and ready to stand up for not that much money.

 

Hey guys, don't be busting my bubble here. (My wife does that enough already!)

I have pretty much come to the conclusion that I will have to hire professionals to transport the units. Too bad. I know my truck could pull the load, but the container, loaded on a 40 foot flat bed trailer would probably be too top heavy to be transported safely by an amateur like myself. OK, I will hire a trucking company to do it at $950 per trip. Ouch #1. .

To unload the units and drop them on level dirt, there are a lot of forklifts that can do the job. I called a few forklift companies. They quoted me $596 for a construction forklift 1 day rental including dropoff and pickup. The forklift has a 19,000 lb capacity and has the large tractor tires that are made to run on dirt. I would only use the forklift to remove the units from the flatbed truck. I would hire a crane to actually stack the units.

As for the workshop itself, I don't think you could build a 3,360 ft workshop for less. First, to frame the workshop out of conventional materials, I have rough quotes of $40 to $50 per sq ft. That comes to $135,000, and is completely out of the question. I calculate the costs of my current plans coming to around $7.50 per sq ft. This would include 1,920 sqft of workshop/storage space inside the containers and a 1,440 sqft covered pad for parking my boat and trailer. This would be covered by a steel roof. I would also have I-beams spanning the open area to be used for lifting anything I want.

I may be wrong, but I don't see how you could purchase and erect a steel building plus pour a concrete pad for that much. Heck, the concrete pad alone is going to cost you $3.75 a sq ft alone. I bet the labor alone for putting the building up will run you $10.00 a foot. Construction costs here in the Phoenix area are out of control. I am paying $150-$170 a square foot to build the house (and I am the Owner/Builder, no general contractor). Paying another $135K to put up a workshop is out of the question.

Let me know if I am crazy, but this is going to be so cool in a redneck sort of way!

 

Why don't you find a trucker coming back empty to pick up your load to cover his fuel... otherwise, your cheap idea is gonna cost a lot of money.
Do you have any welding/fabrication skills? You don't want a forklift to take them off - if ya have any hair left it'll turn gray for sure. Arrange to have all six show up within a few days of each other and rent a BIG crane for a week.

I used to have a business erecting steel buildings, and bought a shipping container only because the price was right and and delivery only a few hundred $$. The shipping on yours is crazy!

 

I see those pre-fab jobs in the farmers exchange here in Tn and you can get a kit. I have been looking at the 40' x 60' with sides, doors, roof etc and I know it was around $7000 or at least less than $10000. Then figure $5000 for a poured concrete floor. So $15000 and you have a 40x60 shop which is a big darn shop. My friend has one and parks his combine in it often....with his 1ton Dodge and has a good size office in the corner. He built his for around $12000, old lumber from old barns that were torn down around the area, new trusses and had the floor poured. Its a good idea you have but sounds expensive. I can get you some of the numbers for these places if you would like, just pm me and let me know. I'm sure they have stuff like this out west.