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Today, we’re discussing the ins and outs of connecting or joining two shipping containers together. This 5 step “how-to” should give you enough information to understand what’s involved in the process.   *Please note that this blog does not address the building codes that may be applicable in your location. Before deciding to build a structure with shipping containers, please consult an architect/engineer and ensure that local codes can be met under your plan.     Why People Connect Shipping Containers: The Benefits   To Create Larger Interior Spaces or Clear-Spans The most significant benefit of joining two shipping containers together is for customizability and enhancement of space. This allows you to maximize interior square footage of your shipping container, which is especially attractive when building a shipping container home, office, retail business, or simply a larger storage unit. Although, at this size it’s more of a storage garage. The benefits associated with joining together containers for additional space are:  Create your desired customizable room dimensions and partitions Segmentation allows for the interior feeling of a traditional building structure Wider shipping container structures allow for customers and employees to feel less cramped   Take Advantage of Their “Modular” or “Volumetric Shape” Shipping containers can be thought of as very similar structures to modular or prefabricated, volumetric building components. Their volumetric shape allows them to easily be stacked and placed side-by-side at the construction site. The convenient stacked and connecting can create any width or height that the structure is permitted to handle.  Additionally, you can employ a company to complete all necessary construction off-site, and have them ship the completed containers to your campus. This cuts down on finishing and on-site construction time and allows for timelines and costs to be relatively fixed.   Finance a Large Building – One Shipping Container at a Time Due to the relative ease with which shipping containers can be joined together and stacked, you can budget out a housing or commercial building project according to your current financing and budget requirements. Start by connecting a few containers for your new building, and as savings or revenue continues to grow, freely add more shipping containers to your project.   How to Join 2 Shipping Containers Together There are several ways that people across different industries and requirements choose to connect shipping containers together. We’re often asked about welding them together, and the limits of stacking containers. Below, we’ll detail how shipping containers are often connected together, and then we’ll get to some of the FAQs later in this post.   Step 1) Layout Plans Developed and A Licensed Contractor For Spec Advise Before you get too caught up in creating a clear-span space with your shipping containers, have a detailed plan or design in place – this includes potential add-ons in the future. This type of planning makes sure that everyone involved in the process understands the requirements and specifications of the project. It also allows you to consult or employ contractors that can ensure the integrity of your shipping containers are maintained as you begin to modify them for assembly.   Step 2) Modifications to Shipping Container Walls Should Be Done Prior to The Joining Process If you’re working with several standard shipping containers, you’ll need to make modifications to walls first. This is particularly true if you’ll be removing any parts or the entire run of the interior walls to create doorways or a fully open space. Beams and bracing columns can be tastefully installed as necessary and in consideration with potential add-ons in the future. Additionally, to help create a uniform and strong seal between containers, you’ll need to be sure and neatly frame in any openings you’ve created in your shipping container walls   You also might want to consider the advantages of purchasing an open side container as their large doorways are already framed. Simply remove the doors for an open space.   Step 3) Site Preparation for the Containers Make sure that the foundation for both units is compacted and completely level. This will help keep your structure nice and uniform and, again, create the best seal.    Place the first unit on to the foundation. Make sure that the first unit is totally straight and in place before you start to position the second unit.   Guide the second unit into place and redo your measurements again. It’s absolutely crucial that everything lines up perfectly since it’ll be extremely difficult to change the position of the shipping containers after they have been connected together.   Check out our helpful guide for more information on shipping container site preparation.   Step 4) Joining the Shipping Containers Together One of the most common ways to connect shipping containers and make sure that the seam between the two is well-connected is via plates and caulking.   Tools Required:   Drill Threshold plates Screws Flashing Caulk   Now that your shipping containers are placed together, you can begin the connection process by placing threshold plates along the seam. Be sure to secure them in place with screws. Threshold plates can be placed on the interior along the floor.   For the seam on the walls and ceiling, threshold plates plus flashing (roof) can be placed on the exterior of the container.   Step 5) Create a Good Seal with Caulk, or Roofing Cement, or Welding  Finally, most people will utilize caulk to help seal the container from the weather and to increase efficiency. Additional roofing cement and roofing materials along with a ridge cap can help protect the roof of your new two-container building.   Can you weld two shipping containers together? Yes. If you’re experienced with welding, this is a more permanent way of joining two shipping containers togethers.   Can You Vertically Stack Containers? Yes you can, but make sure that your weight load is primarily distributed through the corner posts so that the foundation bears the brunt. For the construction of a multistory shipping container building we

Shipping containers are ubiquitous parts of the shipping industry. More recently, shipping containers are being used as storage, habitable buildings and even as building material for larger structures, like restaurants or hotels. But shipping containers were not always the omnipresent cargo boxes that dominate the dockyards as they do today. In fact, shipping was handled entirely without them for most of oceanic shipping’s history. Shipping containers and the resulting “containerization” of the shipping industry were both relatively recent innovations that transformed the global economy and allowed for unprecedented development, low shipping costs, and a complete reinvention of oceanic shipping. Let’s break down the history of shipping containers and examine the figures, developments, and decisions that led to the intermodal and worldwide containerized shipping system that all developed nations use to this day.     History of Shipping Containers – Background That Led to Their Creation Before shipping containers totally revolutionized ocean freight transportation, cargo was generally slowly and manually loaded. Cargo was called “break bulk cargo”, and goods were taken through a significant number of handling checkpoints as cargo was moved from a warehouse to a vessel, then from that vessel to another warehouse, and so on. While the railroads, which expanded during the 1800s, helped revolutionize above ground bulk freight transportation, this didn’t help much when it came to actually putting cargo on ships and transferring that cargo across the sea. Things were even more complicated because bulk cargo was poorly secured and was not as well organized as we’re used to. Dockworkers would frequently load cargo in a Tetris-style configuration, trying to fit irregularly shaped cargo together as best they could.   Introducing the Inventor of the Shipping Container Malcolm McLean was a small-load trucker in the year 1937, and he saw the issues with ocean cargo firsthand – as he dealt with many of the same types of cargo via his own trucking company. To better his own profits, McLean purchased the Pan Atlantic Tanker Company and all additional shipping assets. Once he had all these resources, he began experimenting with more efficient ways of loading and unloading cargo for his trucks. He may have been partly inspired by the 1950s efforts by the U.S. Army to use so-called “Transporter” containers. These were developed for use during the Korean War, as troops needed to move tons of supplies from place to place both along the coast and inland throughout Korea.  Furthermore, Western Europe was already setting various standard sizes for transport containers. Such containers were used for railroads and were eventually evolving for ship and truck transport. This, in turn, created the first international container shipping regulations.   When Was the Shipping Container Invented? McLean likely saw all of these developments and combined them with his own resources and knack for shipping sense. In 1956, he created and patented the Ideal X: the first shipping container we would now recognize as modern. He shipped 60 containers on the deck of a ship from Newark, New Jersey to Houston, Texas as an experiment. This intermodal cargo transportation method allowed the containers to be stacked on the deck of a ship, both allowing for faster loading and unloading and for more cargo to be piled on the ship safely and securely. This also eventually led to shipping containers being stored below deck for even greater transportation efficiency. McLean developed the system he would eventually call “fitting”, which allowed containers to be lifted and fixed onto vehicles or fixed to one another for greater security. The result? Loading costs across the shipping industry plummeted, so long as companies used his method and similar containers. For example, loading costs went from $5.86 per ton during the 1950s to today’s value at just $.16 per ton of cargo loaded.   History of Shipping Containers – 1968’s Revolution Was a Turning Point The shipping container revolution truly began in earnest starting in 1968, after intermodal shipping was tested and proven by both McLean’s own ships and other fleets adopting his methods. This caused shipping container fleets to rapidly expand and the intermodal method to become the de facto shipping and storage system used across the shipping industry. Other developments followed shortly after McLean’s original Ideal X, including: The development of the first quayside container gantry crane called the “Portainer”. This was a type of crane that could massively lower loading times and cost of loading and unloading shipping containers 1962 saw the opening of the first dedicated container terminal called Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal, in New Jersey In 1966, Sea-Land initiated the first trans-Atlantic service for modern shipping containers and the intermodal stacking system. McLean also convinced the U.S. Army that shipping containers could provide a reliable service for its foreign expeditions in Korea and, later, Vietnam. Thus began the boom of the Asia-Advanced Economies trade network, forcing larger carriers to adopt containerized shipping and removing the necessity for many conventional cargo ships and longer stays in port   ISO Standards Arise From the years of 1968 to 1970, the ISO standards for shipping container size, construction, and other aspects were set in stone so that both McLean’s company and any other company wishing to adopt the new intermodal shipping container system could exchange cargo relatively freely with one another and with various ports. These codes were ISO 338, 790, and 1897.   Shipping Container Expansionism Continues The 1970s and 80s saw the exponential growth of the shipping container industry – for instance, over 4 million containers were used by the US, Europe, and Asia in 1973 alone.   Efficiency Causes Less Demand for Dockworkers This did not always have positive impacts for everyone in the industry. For instance, docks now required far fewer dockworkers to successfully and quickly load and unload cargo from various ships. This resulted in many dock workers being laid off directly because of containerization and its greater efficiency.   Shipping Containers For More than Oceanic Freight However, other advances opened up new job opportunities and promoted even

Have you ever tried loading a shipping container using a tractor or piece of heavy machinery that won’t fit in the entryway? Or have you ever stored something in your cargo container that would be more quickly moved if you were able to access it with your forklift? You’re in luck, we think you’d benefit from using a side opening container. Today, we’re looking at what these specialty containers are, how their doors work, and the unique advantages they give to our customers. If you’re unfamiliar with the world of intermodal storage containers, here’s a little synopsis: Traditional shipping containers come with one pair of doors on one narrow end of the unit. These doors are functional, and will work just fine for the majority of us. But they can limit how easy it is to load and offload cargo, the order in which we need to load the container, and what types of cargo will ultimately fit.   Shipping Containers With Side Doors: Opening a Whole New World Of Possibilities A side opening container or open side container is a shipping container that, in addition to the regular, lockable double doors located on one end, includes an additional pair of bi-fold doors on one of the longer sides.      The bi-fold function of the side doors allows for two opening sizes. If you’re working with a 20 foot side opening container for example, the initial hinges that swing open nearest to the center of the container make for an eight foot opening. You are then able to open the side doors even further in order to create an opening that allows for a nearly 20 foot opening. That’s why you’ll also hear these referred to as “full-side access containers.”   Purchasable Condition and Sizes Side opening containers are only purchasable in either new or “one-trip” conditions. Similar to other specialty container types, the newness implies the quality and strength of the structure. You’ll want a strong, undamaged in order for it to best support the installation and function of these doors. These containers can be purchased in 20’ and 40’ lengths, just like regular shipping containers. Furthermore, variations with standard height (8’6”) and high cube height (9’6”) are available as well. The exact type of open side container you choose will determine its additional features. Most are constructed almost entirely with 14-gauge steel and may or may not include fork pockets to allow you to move the containers with forklifts.  The majority of containers are all manufactured for ISO specifications.   How Do You Open an Open Side Container? Opening your full-side access container doors is easy, and the doors are made almost identically to the regular doors on the narrow end of a shipping container. They can be opened from either the inside or the outside depending on the handles that come with a unit, or you can install handles for your workers if that works best for your needs. The doors usually open a full 270°, enabling you to move wide cargo into the shipping container and enjoy full mobility without getting cargo stuck on either door.  Some side opening containers include doors that have water sealing to help keep the interior cargo and the container secure from water damage and some types of vermin. Alternatively, some types of side opening shipping containers may use roller doors instead of regular doors. These roller doors will open from bottom to top and roll into the container’s top side. This is ideal for loading larger than average cargo into a container.   Advantages of Side Opening Shipping Containers Your open side shipping containers come with plenty of benefits, especially compared to their standard door counterparts. Quick and Easy Access To Your Precious Cargo For starters, these containers make it much easier to load and offload certain types of cargo. With standard end-wall doors, you need to carefully plan your loading process so that you and your workers can get to important cargo quickly. Furthermore, reaching and unloading a large piece of cargo located deep inside a container can be challenging in a time-sensitive situation. It might require you to empty out all of the stored items between it and your doorway. Side opening containers solve this problem by allowing you to access the middle or rear of a shipping container without having to dig through to your target cargo from the front. The worst case scenario is that you have an item on the opposite side of your side opening doors, but that would mean only being 8 feet or less from your target item – way less to move than something 20 feet or 40 feet inside a container.     Work Smarter Not Harder (Or More Dangerously) with a Side Opening Container Additionally, loading cargo with a forklift, tractor, or a bobcat is a lot easier thanks to the location of these doors. Easily lift and move heavy, awkward items with your machinery rather than requiring your whole team to try and lift with their legs and backs. We’ve all been there, but typically we only do it wrong once before we say to ourselves, “We’re never doing that again!” This will prevent working harder than you need to and avoid accidental serious injuries. Extra-large items that don’t fit in regular shipping container doors can be more easily stored in standard shipping containers with these inclusions. This also means that utilizing the available space in a given shipping container will be easier and more efficient. You won’t have to make as many concessions with empty space with a side opening shipping container.   Uses for Side Opening Shipping Containers There are plenty of practical uses for these container types. Let’s take a look at a few ways you might decide to use yours.   Great Long-Term Storage Containers As with their regular counterparts, side opening shipping containers are perfect storage solutions – particularly for storing bulky goods that need to be retrieved quickly and easily. They’re

Shipping containers are tough, durable storage solutions that do a great job of keeping your stored items out of the harshest weather elements – rain, sleet, snow, and UV light exposure.  However, some of us want even more help controlling the inside temperature and conditions of our containers. Let’s talk about shipping container insulation, today. What do we mean by insulation? For shipping containers, insulation is any material that prevents heat energy from flowing elsewhere in order to keep a container’s internal temperature consistent.  These include materials to cover the outer surface and to enhance the interior walls. We’ve seen everything from “proper” insulation materials such as commercially available foams and fiberglass materials to the creative use of blankets, clothing, and hay bales. Let’s take a look at why you might consider insulation, and what your options are.   Why bother insulating shipping containers? Anyone who’s touched the outside of a shipping container on a hot day has probably experienced the instant flash of pain on their hand. Similarly, shipping containers can feel like ice boxes if you open them up in the dead of winter.  Since standard shipping containers aren’t insulated by default and they’re made of thermal conducting steel, the air temperature of your container most likely reflects these extreme conditions.  So to protect your temperature sensitive items such as antique goods, art, vinyl records, wines, foods and organic materials, medical devices, or electronics, insulation is quite important. For those of you considering a shipping container home, it’s easier to understand the importance of a well insulated space. Insulation represents both you and your family’s comfort and the cost of your energy bill.   Common Types of Insulation You Can Use for Your Shipping Containers There are several types of insulation you can use with your shipping container. Let’s take a look at a few:   1. Styrofoam or Other Closed-cell Extruded Polystyrene Foam (XPS) Insulation This is a great material for adding a general layer of insulation to a storage container.  Specifically, using boards of Styrofoam and applying them as a layer on the walls and ceiling. These boards are easy to install and, as a bonus, also limit the echoing of sound. To use Styrofoam as an insulator, some folks apply a strong glue material to the panels that adhere them to the walls of the shipping container. Or you can use another mounting material on the bracketing bars that run horizontally (lengthwise) on many container models. You may have already seen this type of insulation in action if you’ve ever rented a climate-controlled shipping container – odds are that the rental company used Styrofoam insulation since it’s cost-effective and easy to maintain. When a Styrofoam board goes bad or breaks, simply replace it!   2. Spray Foam You can alternatively use a spray foam insulation. Oftentimes this is not an aesthetically pleasing option, but it’s easy to apply without a lot of experience. You buy cans of a spray foam product, which eventually settles on the surface of your shipping container and hardens over time (be sure to read directions about the optimal temperatures to use spray foam). The more time passes, the more secure the insulating spray becomes. It can act as a capable sound barrier, resists bacterial and fungal growth, and doesn’t compress or easily break the same way that regular Styrofoam or batt materials (more on batt later) do. However, you will need a large amount of spray foam to get the entire job done. Be sure to purchase it in large quantities to avoid spending more than your budget calls for. Spray foam insulators come in two major types: expanding and non-expanding foam Expanding Insulation  Is much better for sealing, which can defend your shipping container from moisture damage. However, you’ll need to trim away excess spray foam material after it has hardened. This comes in Open-Cell Spray Polyurethane Foam (ocSPF) or Closed-Cell Spray Polyurethane Foam (ccSPF). Non-expanding spray foam  Doesn’t expand after you apply it to the walls of your shipping container. You may need to apply a little more to ensure proper sealing as a result.  These foam products come as damp spray cellulose, which is made from shredded and recycled paper products. Adhesives bind all the cellulose within those materials together. They also come as cementitious foam, which is a mixture of minerals, water, and air that give it the appearance of concrete.   3. Batt Insulation This material is one of the most common insulators used in home construction. If you’ve ever participated in a home remodeling project, odds are that you saw this pink-colored insulator filling the walls between the wooden support beams. As a child you might have wondered why they insulated the walls with cotton candy.  In a nutshell, batt is made by weaving very fine strands of different materials together. These include: plastic fibers glass cotton mineral wood batt itself   You don’t have to make your own batt, of course – it can be found at most home improvement or shipping container equipment stores. They usually come in small blocks or rolls that are easy to stack on top of one another. It’s convenient to apply batt insulation when a shipping container is being constructed or when taking the walls apart. Most people will decide on this insulating material ahead of time or take a shipping container apart to stuff it in the steel walls, floors, and ceiling.  You likely won’t want to attach this material on top of the already existing steel paneling. The pink fiberglass material irritates the skin and eyes. It’s best to keep it covered up.   4.  Blown Insulation Or loose-fill insulation refers to materials such as shredded paper (cellulose), perlite, and loose-fill fiberglass insulation. While these materials are effective, they can be messy and often require a cavity to be filled by the materials. These are rarely installed by hand but instead, as their name implies, are blown in with machines.   5. Blankets Beyond

You’re loading a standard shipping container for the first or second time ever and after several hours of loading your heavy furniture and goods, you realize that you’ve made a mistake. You’ve poorly organized your container. You need to be able to access some of the pieces in the back more regularly than you initially anticipated, and you haven’t left yourself the room between your things to maneuver your stored items, easily. OR… You have a small trailer full of tools and boxes that you want to store temporarily. You decide it would be most convenient to leave everything on the trailer as it will fit inside the shipping container, no problem. However, upon attempting to back it in and after a couple of bumps and dings, you decide you might be better served just to simply unload everything from the trailer. Does any of this sound familiar?  If so, it’s time to start exploring some door layouts that help people like us more easily organize and access our goods without all the hassle of extreme organization and logistics.  Today, we’re talking about the significance of the double door containers and whether or not they might be the best choice for your next project. What is a Double Door Shipping Container?     You guessed it, it’s a shipping container with two pairs of doors – one set on each short end of your container. The result is a long hallway that allows you to walk in one entrance of the container, through the center, and out the other side.  Because of this functionality, you might occasionally hear double door shipping containers referred to as “tunnel-tainers”.   Do They Come in Standard Sizes? Yes. 2-door shipping containers come in the ISO-regulated dimensions of 20ft and 40ft lengths, with standard heights of 8’6″ or 9’6″ (High cube dimensions). They’re made with the exact same materials as regular shipping containers, and can be modified or protected from the elements in the same ways we’ve discussed in other overviews on this blog.   Double Door vs Single Door Containers – Why Use 2-Door Containers, Anyway? Double door shipping containers’ versatility makes them a popular alternative to the traditional standard door versions. The most obvious benefit is that double door shipping containers allow you to load and unload cargo from either end of the container.  A standard door container, in contrast, leaves some items potentially stuck in the back of the container without close proximity access. This can result in the need for regularly adjusting and moving your stored materials, and in the worst case scenario, completely emptying a container to get sufficient access and removal of large items in the back.   The Advantages of Double Entry Containers: Let’s expand on the usefulness of these containers by first considering our two scenarios in the intro of this post.      Advantage #1: Better Access and Easier Organization In the first scenario, we mistakenly loaded our shipping container without fully understanding which pieces of furniture we would need to access more regularly than others. Our poor organization and use of a standard door layout have made for a less than ideal experience.  If we had purchased a double door container, we would have a second access point on the backside of the unit. This convenience means that we’re always within 10ft to 20ft of the goods we need depending on the length of our container. Additionally, it allows for an organization plan that has us putting storage items that we need less often, in the center of the container. And hopefully, if space allows and we won’t be transporting the container, we can leave a small walkway to navigate the container’s contents more quickly.   Advantage #2: The Drive-Thru “Tunnel-tainer” In the second scenario from the intro, we are missing the convenience of pulling the trailer straight through the container.  While you might be able to back your trailers, boats, and small pop-up campers in with your driving skills, there is no doubt that being able to drive in forward is much easier. That means it’s often quicker to execute and you risk less damage to the trailer, your vehicle, and the storage container itself.   Advantage #3: More Access for Tools and Machinery To Load Heavy Cargo A double door container can be quite advantageous if you are loading irregularly shaped cargo that is difficult to move around. Awkward, heavy items often require the use of machinery or human-enhancing tools as well as the ability to approach it from multiple angles. If you’ll benefit from loading your pieces of cargo with tractors, pallet jacks, or hand trucks (dollies), a double door container will help make sure you can easily access both sides of the container with your tools.   Advantage #4: Easier Conversion Believe it or not, if your goal is to convert your container and you want to modify both ends of it, it might be more cost effective to buy a double door shipping container.  Removing the doors on one end is often less invasive and easier for the do-it-yourself builder or carpenter than buying a standard door container and attempting to remove the back wall and fit it for your future custom doors or wall feature. This leads into our next advantage.   Advantage #5: The Tunnel As Design And Bridge Feature As shipping containers continually grow in popularity in construction projects, home building, bridge uses, and public walkways, some people have found that putting several double door containers together can give your project a creative, unique appearance. Simply remove the doors, connect your containers, and seal them together to create long hallways for offices, schools, and so much more. Not only do they make the design of spaces look contemporary, but they give walkways and pedestrian overpasses the extra benefit of keeping people out of the rain and cold.   Advantages Cost Money So Make Sure You Budget For Them Double door shipping containers tend to cost more

You bought your brand new, shiny shipping container from Rent-A-Container. It was the perfect experience. The container came promptly. It was delivered in the exact spot you scoped out and prepared utilizing our container site preparation overview.  Then, as you start loading it full of storage materials and valuable cargo, you realize that your location could have been better. No, it needs to be better. Now what? Can you move your container? How do you move your storage container? Today, we’re going to address how to move your container a short distance on your own property and how to move your container to another piece of property altogether.   What Does It Take to Move a Shipping Container? How exactly does one go about moving the shipping container? Can you drag a shipping container from place to place, or do you need to use heavy machinery? Turns out, there are a few ways you can move these versatile containers depending on your budget, expertise, or specific needs.    Know the Weight of Your Shipping Container(s) Before deciding on any method, consider the weight of a given shipping container. Standard 20-foot shipping containers usually weigh over 5,000 pounds. Meanwhile, 40-foot shipping containers can often weigh over 8,200 pounds. Because of these heavy weights, shipping containers are often transported using semi-trucks or on flatbed trailers pulled by powerful passenger trucks.   Heavy Machinery For Short Moves or To Load Your Trailer Generally speaking, you have two major choices for heavy machinery that will move your storage container – a forklift or a crane. Forklifts to Move a Shipping Container     Some models of forklifts can lift a shipping container by itself, but not your standard, small forklift. Many smaller forklifts are neither strong enough to lift a shipping container outright, nor are they wide enough to prevent buckling or damage to the shipping container.  Since using a forklift means putting all the weight or pressure of the shipping container on its center, you can easily cause an accident if you use the wrong kind of forklift. If you do decide to use a forklift, make sure it is outfitted to lift at least 15,000 pounds. This ensures that the forklift’s arms are wide enough and strong enough to lift your shipping container without incurring or accruing damage. Cranes Work But They’ll Require Special Licensing to Operate     A crane can also save you time since it’s usually easier to place your shipping container on your truck’s trailer or flatbed using it. But cranes do require special licenses or operators – unless you use one of these for your job, you’ll likely need to hire someone to do the crane lifting for you, even if you drive the shipping container from place to place. Consider both options carefully before choosing.   Property-to-property Transport With Large Vehicles and Trailers You can always move the shipping container yourself using one of the two above methods if you have a CDL, Chauffeur’s License or any other appropriate drivers license for the vehicle and trailer types you’ll be utilizing. You need one of these licenses to safely operate heavy machinery and the large vehicles required to move the shipping container any significant distance. If you do have a CDL, but you don’t have any of the equipment you need, you can always rent a rollback truck and do the moving yourself. This may be cheaper over the long-term compared to hiring someone to move the shipping container for you (more on that below).   Understand Department of Transportation Regulations In Your State What if you don’t have a CDL? You might still be able to move your shipping container depending on the Department of Transportation and other state-based regulations.. The DOT has limits on the gross weight you can move when towing a trailer. Since shipping containers are quite heavy, make sure that moving a container without a CDL doesn’t break any local regulations.   Calculating Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) The number you need to calculate is the GVWR or Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. This is a single number that describes how much weight a truck can carry including its native weight. A GVWR-rated truck with a limit of 10,000 pounds, for instance, can only carry a trailer with a total weight of less than or equal to 10,000 pounds. But you have to subtract the weight of the truck itself, plus any additional passengers or cargo. Since most states only require a CDL if you want to transport over 26,000 pounds, you may be able to move a single shipping container at a time for a DIY construction or storage project. But remember to keep the weight of the trailer in mind! A typical 40-foot, double axle trailer will weigh almost 9000 pounds by itself. You can easily go over the limit if you aren’t careful.   Can You Hire Shipping Container Moving Services? Yes, though different companies will offer different services.  You can hire shipping container moving services for DIY construction projects, or even hire a shipping container company to deliver a container to a new location if it’s in an easy-to-access spot. If you use a company that is offering strictly transportation services from one place to another utilizing a truck, you’ll need to make sure that they’ll also be handling the loading and unloading of the shipping container. Some will only offer shipping container transportation, leaving you to figure out how to mount the shipping container onto the truck. In general, most people will find it easier to hire a shipping container moving service. This is because it can take up to several hours or an entire day to get a shipping container mounted on a moving truck and on the road.   What Does It Cost to Move a Shipping Container? Your total costs will vary based on whether you move the shipping container yourself or hire a company to do so for you. If you decide to