53' shipping container ideas?

[z1 zonly]

Hi folks,

Long time listener, first time caller. I've been in desperate need of a car/motorcycle shop for about two years. Well, I finally found the [near] dream house with a shop and moved in this week!

The other thing that I got with the house is a 53' shipping container. It's in good condition and dry as a bone inside. But the thing is, I don't know what to do with it! I do have too much stuff (spare car parts and such), but I'm changing my mindset against long-term storage for things I'm not going to use, so my plan is to sell it rather than store it. I should be able to fit everything in my main shop. (That said, if I could make it very easily accessible for large items like equipment or spare engines, that could open up some floor space. But I don't need 53' of that).

The only thing I don't really have room for is all of my vehicles. The house has a 2-car attached garage, but that's just enough for our daily drivers. I have 3 project cars and a parts car, and several motorcycles. So the only idea I have is to modify it with easier access doors to use it as a functioning drive-through garage. But, it's in a pretty remote part of my property, and wouldn't be the prettiest thing to park next to the house, so I'm lukewarm on that. And, quite honestly, it sounds like a lot of work to put doors on.

Any other fun or inventive things you can pitch that might be good uses? Sure would hate to just sell it.

 

[forAK]

Turn it into a swimming pool.

 

[z1 zonly]

Funny you should say that. Just found it on Google.

imgur.com/0vpcQzP.jpg

 

[Gotcha640]

Bomb shelter? Lumber drying area? Paint and powdercoating booth? Smokehouse (meat or cigar)?

 

[L5wolvesf]

Congrats on the new place. We seem to be in similar situations regarding the number of vehicles and types.

I have a shed and roughly 1/3 of my garage dedicated to parts. I spent years accumulating parts for the hard to find car and bike projects I have. I wouldn't get rid of mine I would hold on to them until I used them. If I had a container I would set it up as storage and some shop space so my garage could be where I would assemble the projects.

Hope you enjoy your home and garage.

 

[nine4gmc]

I have a 30x30 shop in the back yard and wish I had a 53' container behind it for the junk I don't want cluttering up my shop. Matter of fact I wouldn't mind one in front of my shop ether, I would open it from the side and make it into a machine shop.

 

[Charlie51]

Load it full of junk, then 30 years from now it can all be conveniently hauled to the dump.

 

[Shiftless]

Load it full of junk, then 30 years from now it can all be conveniently hauled to the dump.

Although a heretical response for GJ, it is certainly funny and to many outside of this group, a rather sensible answer.

 

[Docbentley]

With 3 project cars and a parts car you certainly don't need to transform the container into a drive thru garage.

 

[rsanter]

There are a ton of things you can do with a shipping container. If I had one on my property the last thing I would do was sell it.

I would drag it closer to the house. If you do not like thenlook of it you can cover or skin it to improve the look.
I have seen a few where people make them look like an old town saloon.
Or how about making it look like a small barn? Or a guest house?
Do you have a pool? You can turn it into a pool house.

With a 53' container, you can easily partition it off. Have the end with the big doors set up to store the motorcycles. The center part can become a kids playhouse, pool house, garden shed....etc
Then I would use the opposite end for misc storage. Christmas decorations, spare car parts...etc.
You could make part of it a "man cave " you can call it the dog house......you will know when you need to go out there

Do you weld? If you do then it is really easy to cut an opening and weld a frame in place. Then you can use a wood or metal door and casing attached to the metal frame you welded in place.
If you do not weld then you can bolt the frame in place and use sealant to make it weather resistant.

So start a list of what extra space you would like that you don't currently have.

Bob

 

[LXCam]

If you've got a large enough property to not have it in your way you'll regret ever getting ride of it. I'd suggest you pic a dedicated spot out of the way and if possible somewhat hidden. Pour some corner piers to level it up and keep it off the ground. Then hang a 10-12ft wide full length awning off one side to park this cars under. That'll give the cover some solid structure to attach too and use the container to store project goodies. You'll never be able to build an equal storage area for what you can sell it for square footage to sqft.

 

[Jazz1]

Leave it where it is and it will collect contents all on its own. Maybe paint it up,,, a theme to make it look like old service station, bar, massage parlour or what ever...

 

[fastjohnny]

Get another and set some trusses on the pair!

 

[maxpower_hd]

I would hold off on selling it. With a two car used for parking and all your projects it may just turn into your new motorcycle shop/storage shed sooner than you could imagine.

My buddy lives in a very small house/cottage with no garage. He uses the basement to park one motorcycle and a truck box to use as a shed/shop. It isn't ideal but works well.

 

[sierradmax]

You mean a 53' reefer trailer? I don't think 53' shipping containers are available.

 

[PelicanPines]

Bury it in the back yard... for those days when sunlight is not good.

 

[GMCGarage]

You mean a 53' reefer trailer? I don't think 53' shipping containers are available.

You can buy one here.

http://containertech.com/container-sales/53ft-high-cube-container-domestic/

 

[mjchamp]

If it is a true shipping container they are mouse and varmint proof. You may want to store your cars in it when your done with them. This is what we have done with our cars.

 

[Ironcrow]

Stand it on end, bury the bottom 10 feet, install a spiral staircase, and put a hot tub on top of it.

 

[Ruthless53]

Buy two more 20 foot containers. Put a rock base under the containers and **** the 20's up to the 53 which will leave both ends exposed on the 53.

Pour concrete in the center. Cover the span. Cheaper than a metal building and you can cut your own doors into the containers that suit your needs. added benefit of having ready made storage lofts on top of the containers.

 

[shortykorte]

I had a 20'. Used it for three different purposes over the time I had it. It was a garden shed for riding lawn mower, a tool room and temp storage.

Creative ideas:
Man cave
Guest house
Office
Secret hidey hole for valuables
Pool house (with pool next to it)

Bold paint gives it a contemporary look, skinning it in tin or reclaimed lumber gives it old cottage. Shrubs and vines make it disappear.

Like others have said, containers are great spaces and I'd hold on to it.

 

[kelpaso1]

I had a 20'. Used it for three different purposes over the time I had it. It was a garden shed for riding lawn mower, a tool room and temp storage.

Creative ideas:
Man cave
Guest house
Office
Secret hidey hole for valuables
Pool house (with pool next to it)

Bold paint gives it a contemporary look, skinning it in tin or reclaimed lumber gives it old cottage. Shrubs and vines make it disappear.

Like others have said, containers are great spaces and I'd hold on to it.

Can we please ban this word from this forum???

 

[John in OH]

Containers make great storage, but my biggest gripe with them is that too often they end up looking junky. They're painted some garish color with some company name on the side, they get rusty, they aren't sitting level, weeds growing around them and critters living underneath .... just junky.

However, if you can come up with some way to keep it looking nice and/or incorporate it into another structure as shown in Ruthless53's pic above (post #20) then it can be a really nice asset. His setup looks great!

 

[z1 zonly]

Wow, you guys have some great ideas! Thanks, everybody. I especially like the underground hot tub. Posh!

I've been mulling over this and am now leaning toward keeping it simple. I think I'd like to move it closer to the barn and do easily-accessible equipment and big-parts storage. So park it behind the barn and build some strategic wood shelves in the back for engines and transmissions, then fill in the rest with things on wheels like hoists, infrequently used saws, etc., and maybe a car and bike or two. Maybe paint it a fun color to make it nicer to look at.

After the unholy pain in the *** that has been moving, I have been reluctant to acquire/store much more than I need to, but I think this could help to just spread things out without filling it up with more junk. The only trick will be figuring out how to make everything easily roll-able from the container into the shop.

So two questions on this one. What, if anything, should I do for site prep? I.e., put under the container to keep it from rusting on the bottom?

And, of course, how do I get it moved? I'm sure I'll have to call someone in for this, but how do you find them at a reasonable price? I live about an hour outside of Charlotte, NC, and the area is fairly rural. This is not the best picture, unfortunately, but it's all I have. The red arrow is the container and the blue arrow is where I'm proposing moving it.

 

[nine4gmc]

One of your neighbors has to have a tractor, drag that thing where you want it.

 

[rsanter]

The easiest way to move it is to call a roll back or a container company and have them move it. Last I checked around here they wanted 50-75 to relocate one in town.

If it was me I would put out some gravel where you want the container and set it on the gravel. If you want it off the ground then old railroad ties are popular for that. Personally I would just put it on the ground

Put it behind the shop and then paint it to match the shop to hide it in plain sight.
I would leave a space between the container and the shop and then I would install an eve extension that covers the area between the shop and container. Now you have also created an under cover outdoor area that you can store things that do not need to be inside, or you can make it wide enough for a trailer....etc
You can put a sandblasted there and use it so you don't make a mess in the shop
You could also fence off the ends to keep things out of site

I would also put a spray on or roll on cool roof coating to keep the container cooler and you may want to install some vents

Bob

 

[John in OH]

At many of the construction sites (power plants) where I worked, the crafts would take two containers, space them parallel to each other about 15-20 ft apart, and place simple trusses between the two covering the open space between. Roof it with OSB sheeting and tar paper roofing. Some had the ends closed in with simple 2x4s and plywood depending on time of year. Made a great temporary sheltered area for pipe fab etc. Somewhat similar to that shown in Ruthless53's pic, but far cruder and more temporary in nature, but great for the intended purpose.

 

[kbs2244]

Put the stuff you plan to sell in it.

That way when people come to look at the item you do not have to have them in your full shop so they can look around.