Shipping containers come in all shapes and sizes from your standard 20ft shipping containers and 40ft shipping containers to side opening containers, open top containers and more. As well as all these, there’s also a lot of shipping container accessories that you can add to them if you choose.
We thought we’d go through our Top 5 shipping container accessories and how they can enhance and improve your container.
1. Vents and whirlybirds
Vents are extremely important for shipping containers especially if you’re looking to store perishable goods or anything that could be damaged by moisture. This is even more vital if they’re been stored in an area where the difference between the day/night time temperatures are extreme.
In stating the obvious, moisture can lead to rust and mould if not ventilated and the absence of vents will also raise the internal temperature of the container, making them more at risk to fire and/or explosion. Shipping containers can typically have 2 – 10 vents installed to prevent this.
A whirlybird can also help by naturally creating an airflow with its spinning fins. Propelled by the breeze, they work by sucking the hot air and moisture out from the top of the container where they are installed.
2. Shelving and benches
Shelving and benches can play a big role in making sure you maximise the usable space for your shipping container. This can be especially important if you’re storing smaller goods that aren’t naturally or easily stackable.
Shelving can be installed in a variety of different configurations of height and depth and you can also add a mesh option to help reduce that amount of dust that builds up. When high tensile steel is being used, a shelf load of 400 kg can be supported.
Another great option if you don’t need a full row of shelving is to install a workbench, which works even better if you’re modifying your container to create your own little workshop.
3. Lockboxes
If you’ve gone to the trouble to store your goods in a shipping container, chances are you’re going to want to make sure they’re secure as well.
While padlocks are the traditional and trusted way to protect your shipping container possessions from opportunists, they can on their own, be vulnerable against bolt cutters. A lockbox on a shipping container hides your padlock making it virtually impossible for the aforementioned bolt cutters to get to.
Container specialists can add them to any shipping container door with relative ease and the added security they bring makes them a no-brainer.
4. Doors and windows
A shipping container doesn’t have to just be a storage or transport unit in this day and age and are becoming increasingly versatile thanks to a number of innovations.
The most common of these is to have doors and/or windows added to your container. This transforms your standard storage unit into a working space like a makeshift garage, tool shed or workshop.
With doors you gain easy and traditional access and windows will obviously improve your environment for lighting, airflow and air quality. There’s a whole variety of both you can add (roller, sliding, lightweight, security etc) and when you compare the costs of these modifications against building the equivalent structures from scratch it quickly becomes a worthwhile option to consider.
5. Electricity and plumbing
You can even go a step beyond doors and windows by also having your container wired and/or plumbed.
Many people have already done this which has opened up the uses of shipping containers to almost limitless possibilities. This not only includes converting them to create workshops and garages as we’ve already discussed but small retail shops, cafes, bars, eateries – there are even entire shipping container malls that have been created in countries like the UK, US and Korea that you can go to.
On top of this, there’s the opportunity to create a living dwelling with shipping container homes becoming an important part of the tiny homes movement. This has not just been identified as a good idea for individuals but government agencies too who have endeavoured to find suitable solutions for social housing.
Some fantastic container accessories to consider!
So there we have it! Five simple but effective shipping container accessories that can add functionality and versatility and widen the scope of what your container can do for you. We hope you’ve enjoyed the read and if you’ve got any further questions about these accessories don’t hesitate to get in touch!
