Powering a container on a Northern Rivers block — mains, solar and generators
The three honest ways to get power to a container out here, what a licensed electrician has to do, and the cable, vent and battery decisions to make early.
High Cube containers
High Cube Shipping Containers
Same footprint, roughly 300mm more headroom. The extra height changes what a container is useful for far more than the number suggests.
01
What you get
- 2.90m external height against 2.59m for a standard unit
- About 2.69m of internal height — enough to stand racking or work under a lining
- Available in 20ft and 40ft, new single-trip and quality used
- The usual choice for workshop, office and accommodation conversions
- A taller load on the truck, so overhead clearance on the approach matters
- Cargo-worthy units checked wind and watertight before they go on a truck
02
Who buys the tall one around the Northern Rivers
Conversions, mostly. This district has an unusually high number of people turning a container into something — a studio, a workshop, a pottery shed, a pump house, a bunk room on a hinterland block. Once you line a standard container the ceiling comes down to about 2.2m and it starts to feel like a corridor. A high cube lined finishes near 2.5m and feels like a room. If there is any chance you will line it later, buy the tall one now.
The second group is anyone storing on racking or storing machinery that sits on a stand. Three hundred millimetres decides whether a pallet goes on a second tier or does not.
The catch is overhead. A high cube on a tilt-tray is a genuinely tall load, and the Northern Rivers has a lot of old street trees, low-strung services on timber poles and the odd stone or timber gateway that was built for a horse. The figs and camphors through the older Lismore streets and the canopy on the hinterland roads are the usual culprits. Nobody is going to prune a street tree for a delivery, so if the unit is tall, look up along the whole approach and tell us what you see.
Worth knowing: 10ft units are not made as high cubes in any normal supply. If you need height in a short box, the honest answer is usually a 20ft high cube or a modification.
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.
03
High Cube — common questions
- Is the extra height worth the extra money?
- If you are going to line, insulate or fit out the container, yes, without much argument — the finished internal height is the difference between a room and a corridor. If it is bare storage of household goods or fencing wire, probably not. The deciding question is whether you will ever put a ceiling in it.
- Does a high cube need different delivery access?
- The ground requirements are identical; the air above is not. Sitting on a tilt-tray, a high cube is around 300mm taller than a standard unit and that is exactly the margin that catches a low service line, a shop awning or a heavy tree limb. Walk the approach and look up before you order, and tell us about anything overhead.
- Can I get a 10ft high cube?
- Not in normal supply. Ten-foot units are cut down from longer containers, and the tall versions are rarely worth a fabricator's time. If you need standing height in a short unit, the usual answer is a 20ft high cube, or a purpose-built modification quoted on its own.
04
Prices across the range
| 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
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.
No-obligation quote
High Cube containers, priced for your address
One call covers the type, the grade, the size and the cartage.
02 6622 1322