What is actually included with a general purpose container?

The unit as described in its grade, with cargo doors at one end and a lock box fitted. Cargo-worthy units get a wind and watertight check before loading. Vents, extra doors, shelving, painting and insulation are all available and all quoted separately — tell us what is going inside and we will say which of them you actually need.

Do containers sweat, and what stops it?

They do, particularly in this climate. It is condensation rather than a leak: warm humid air inside meets steel that has cooled overnight. Passive vents in the side walls make a real difference, keeping stored goods off the floor on pallets helps, and for high-value or moisture-sensitive contents a lining or insulation is the proper fix. Ask before you buy rather than after the first wet week.

Can I put windows, doors or power into one?

Yes — personnel doors, windows, roller doors, shelving and electrical fit-out are all standard modifications. The one thing worth deciding before purchase rather than after is where the openings go, because cutting a container weakens it and the positions want thinking about while it is still on the ground somewhere with room to work.

General Purpose containers

General Purpose Shipping Containers

The standard box, and the correct answer to most questions. Corrugated steel, a marine-ply floor, double cargo doors at one end and — in cargo-worthy grade — sealed against rain from above.

Get a price Call 02 6622 1322

Sizes 10ft · 20ft · 40ftBuy or hire BothDelivery the Northern Rivers

What you get

New single-trip and quality used units in 10ft, 20ft and 40ft
Every cargo-worthy unit is checked wind and watertight before it goes on a truck
As-is units are cheaper again and are not sold watertight — we tell you what is wrong with one before you buy it
Lock box fitted so a padlock cannot easily be cut off
Photos of your actual unit on request, sent before delivery
Cartage across the Northern Rivers quoted with the container, not billed afterwards

What a standard box has to cope with in this district

Two things work on steel here harder than they do most places. The first is salt. Anywhere from Evans Head up through Ballina and Lennox to Byron and Brunswick you are in salt air, and it finds any bare metal — a scratch through the paint on a used unit will show rust within a season. That is an argument for cargo-worthy or new on a coastal block, and for touching up damage rather than leaving it.

The second is humidity. The Northern Rivers is warm and wet, and a sealed steel box in that climate sweats. Warm damp air gets in when the doors are open, the roof cools overnight and the moisture comes back out on the ceiling and drips. People blame the container; it is almost always condensation rather than a leak. Vents help, a pallet under anything stored directly on the floor helps more, and for anything genuinely moisture-sensitive it is worth asking about insulation before you buy.

The third thing is less about weather. Much of the flat ground in this valley is soft, and some of it has been under water and rebuilt since. A standard box is heavy, and it wants pads or sleepers under the corner castings rather than to be set straight onto turf. Tell us what the surface is when you ring and we will say whether it needs preparing.

Grades matter
Cargo-worthy is the grade we check wind and watertight before it goes on a truck. As-is units are cheaper again and are not sold watertight — one may have a patched repair, a soft floor section or a door seal that no longer seats, and we will tell you exactly what is wrong with it before you buy. New single-trip units are sealed and unmarked. If the container has to keep rain off what is inside it, buy cargo-worthy or better.

General Purpose — common questions

What is actually included with a general purpose container?: The unit as described in its grade, with cargo doors at one end and a lock box fitted. Cargo-worthy units get a wind and watertight check before loading. Vents, extra doors, shelving, painting and insulation are all available and all quoted separately — tell us what is going inside and we will say which of them you actually need.
Do containers sweat, and what stops it?: They do, particularly in this climate. It is condensation rather than a leak: warm humid air inside meets steel that has cooled overnight. Passive vents in the side walls make a real difference, keeping stored goods off the floor on pallets helps, and for high-value or moisture-sensitive contents a lining or insulation is the proper fix. Ask before you buy rather than after the first wet week.
Can I put windows, doors or power into one?: Yes — personnel doors, windows, roller doors, shelving and electrical fit-out are all standard modifications. The one thing worth deciding before purchase rather than after is where the openings go, because cutting a container weakens it and the positions want thinking about while it is still on the ground somewhere with room to work.

Prices across the range

Guide prices, ex GST
Size	Used from	New from	Hire from
10ft Containers	$4,350	$6,400	POA
20ft Containers	$2,200	$3,300	$27/wk
40ft Containers	$2,600	$5,500	POA

Guide pricing only, ex GST. What you actually pay delivered depends on the grade, where you are and what is standing in the yard that week. Ring 02 6622 1322 and we will give you a real number instead of a range.

Worth reading first

Guide · 6 min read

Condensation, rust and a Northern Rivers wet season

Why a sealed container drips on the inside, what salt air does to steel between Evans Head and Byron, and the cheap things that fix both.

Guide · 6 min read

Which grade for what you are storing? Cargo-worthy, as-is and single-trip by contents

Match grade to load: what single-trip, cargo-worthy and as-is each promise, which contents need a checked watertight box, and when as-is suits.

All guides →

No-obligation quote

General Purpose containers, priced for your address

One call covers the type, the grade, the size and the cartage.

02 6622 1322