20ft Containers

Sizing Up a 20ft Shipping Container

A standard 20ft container measures about 20' long, 8' wide and 8'6" tall on the outside. Interior width comes in just under 7'9", which is the reason two standard pallets sit side by side without a fight. The high cube version keeps the same footprint but stands 9'6" tall, and that extra foot matters once you start adding shelving, insulation or a plywood ceiling and still want headroom underneath.

The 20ft container is the size most buyers settle on, mostly because it fits where a longer box will not. Delivery needs less straight-line room. The unit still holds the contents of a two-car garage, a season of landscaping equipment, or a jobsite tool inventory that has to lock up every night.

Door configurations worth comparing

Doors change how a container works day to day more than any other option.

• Standard cargo doors. Double swing doors on one end. The default arrangement, and the tightest against weather.
• Double door. Cargo doors on both ends, so you load from either side and nothing gets buried at the back.
• Roll-up door. A rolling shutter that needs no swing clearance, which matters when the unit sits near a fence, a wall or a second container.
• Wide or side openings. Useful for long items that will not turn a corner once they are inside.

Swing doors need roughly four to five feet of clear space in front of them. Measure that before you decide where the box lands, not after.

New, one-trip and used 20ft containers

Much of our 20ft container inventory is new or one-trip, meaning the container has made a single loaded voyage and still carries factory paint, tight gaskets and a clean floor. Used units cost less and are graded either wind and watertight or cargo-worthy. Surface rust, dents and patched paint are normal on a used box and do not tell you much on their own.

What actually matters: the roof should not hold standing water, door gaskets should compress evenly all the way around, and the floor should be dry and solid underfoot. Every container is inspected before it leaves us. Our buyer's guide covers those checks in more depth, and the FAQ answers the questions that come up most often before an order.

Site Prep and Delivery

Containers arrive on a specialized tilt-bed trailer. The trailer backs in, tips, and the unit slides off as the truck pulls forward, so the driver needs a straight run of firm ground roughly twice the container's length plus room for the truck itself. Soft ground, tight turns and low branches are what usually derail a delivery day.

Set the container on something. Railroad ties, concrete blocks or gravel pads under the four corners keep the frame level and let air move under the floor, which slows corrosion and helps the doors keep their alignment. A box sitting flat on dirt will eventually sag at one corner, and out-of-square doors are hard to fix later.

Ordering

We ship to the Lower 48 at a flat $500 per order, shown at checkout, with Direct Bank Transfer as the payment method. Orders are handled in one to three business days and transit typically runs three to seven. There is a 30-day return policy; return freight and a restocking fee may apply. You can follow progress on the order tracking page.

If a 20ft container is close but not quite right, compare it against our 40ft containers before you commit. Not sure about access at your site? Get in touch and describe the approach.