What Size Storage Container Does a Contractor Need?

What Size Storage Container Does a Contractor Need?

Two sizes cover almost everybody. A 20 foot container gives you about 19 feet of interior and 160 square feet. A 40 foot gives you just under 39 feet and 320 square feet.

The deciding question is simple. How long is the longest thing you carry?

The 10 foot rule

If you carry 10 foot pipe, conduit or lumber, get the 40 foot.

Ten foot stock lies flat in a 40 with room to spare. You can rack one wall, shelve the other, and still walk down the middle. In a 20 foot you are cutting material to fit, which you will regret by the second job.

If your longest item is a ladder or a bundle of hand tools, a 20 foot is plenty.

By trade

Electricians. A 40 foot if you stock EMT, rigid and PVC. Racks along one wall, panels and boxed devices on the other. A one or two van shop can get by with a 20 foot.

Plumbers. A 40 foot. Long pipe stock is the whole reason.

General contractors. A 40 foot. You are carrying mixed material across several jobs at once and the extra 160 square feet disappears fast.

Landscaping and snow. A 20 foot for hand tools, blades, spreader parts and seasonal gear. The mowers, the trailer and the plow truck go on the yard space, not in the box.

Tree service. A 20 foot handles saws, ropes and rigging. The chipper and the bucket truck need yard space, so plan for space plus container rather than a container on its own.

Junk removal and moving. A 20 foot for pads, straps, dollies and tools. Trucks and trailers park on the space.

Concrete. A 40 foot for forms and mixers. Forms eat length fast.

Roofing. A 20 foot for tools and fasteners, with yard space for the dump trailer.

What it costs

A 20 foot runs $180 to $200 a month. A 40 foot runs $325 to $350.

If you need ground around the box to park and maneuver, that starts at $525 a month and goes up by yard size. An 800 square foot space runs $530 to $550. A 1,200 runs $730 to $750. A 1,600 runs $930 to $950.

All month to month, first month plus a one month deposit at move in. Live pricing by yard is on the availability page.

One thing people get wrong

They size the container for what they own today and forget the trailer.

If a trailer or a piece of equipment is part of your operation, the container is only half the answer. You need the ground too. Ask about space plus container when you call, not just the box. Trailer storage for contractors goes into this further.

Call 720 266 0400 and describe your fleet, or apply online.