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shipping container, door types

Shipping Container Door Options

Shipping containers were designed for, well, shipping. But as it turns out, when you build a container strong enough to be hauled overseas on long deliveries, you build a container strong enough to do just about anything.

So, it’s not surprising that you see these boxes everywhere, being used for storage, office space, pop-up stores, we’ve even seen coffee shops and diners built inside of shipping containers.

Simplicity is Key with a Shipping Container

The trick to a shipping container is its versatility, and the trick to its versatility is its simplicity.

A 20-foot trailer is just a trailer. If you want to convert it for storage, you have to rip all the old walls and furnishings out of it. But a 20-foot shipping container is ready to go right away.

You can add shelves if you like, you can add electricity, drywall, heating, and more, but you don’t have to make any big drastic changes to get started. Because a 40-foot shipping container isn’t designed to be anything but a 40-foot box, anything is possible.

Open Up Your Shipping Container

Roll-Up Doors, Office Doors, Full Open Side Doors, Sliding Glass Doors

One of the simplest ways to make your shipping container an easy conversion is to add a side door.

Essentially you have four options of doors for shipping containers, Roll-up side doors, sliding glass, office doors, and full side open.

These are available in every configuration. You can do a 40-footer container with four doors if you’re building an auto shop, a 20-foot shipping container with one side roll-up door for secure storage, or a 20-footer with two roll-up side doors.

As we’ve been saying, a storage container is just a box. That means that the possibilities are endless. Whatever you need from your custom shipping containers, you can get.

shipping container with side roll up door
shipping contain with glass sliding doors
10 foot shipping container with a door and window
shipping container with secure doors

Selecting the Right Shipping Container with the Right Doors

You’ve got a lot of choices, but you can narrow it down by considering two key points:

  • What’s it for?
  • How much space do you have?

Full-open side doors give you total access to the interior of a shipping container. If you want to open it up and set up a mobile bar, you can do that. If you want to drive a full-size pickup truck right into it, that’s an option.

But those doors take a little extra space to open. And they’re not ideal if privacy is a concern unless you want to add another door for when you’d rather not expose the contents to the world.

Roll-up doors are comparable to garage doors. They don’t open the entire container up, but they’re big enough to drive through, and they’re easy to open even in tight spaces.

On a construction site, you’re probably going to have a lot of extra space, plus a lot of lumber, tools and materials that you’ll want to keep safe and secure, away from harsh weather and potential thieves. In that instance the wide-open accessibility of a full-open side door is ideal, and the bigger the better, so you’re probably after a 40-foot shipping container.

If you’re adding a one-car garage or a workshop to your property, a simple 20-foot container with a single roll-up door or sliding glass doors might do the job just fine. This build will especially come in handy where space is a concern.

For offices, living quarters, and other facilities, a single roll-up door makes moving in a breeze. We’ve all had our fingers pinched trying to squeeze a sofa through a front door. A roll-up door means that you can get a king-size bed in there with no hassle without even turning it on its side.

Get What You Need

The best way to get exactly what you need out of your shipping container: Get in touch with Aztec Container and let them know what you’re looking for.

There are dozens of possible configurations when buying a shipping container, so the more your supplier knows about what you’re after, the closer they can meet those needs, and the less modification you’ll have to do yourself once it arrives.

Whether you’re looking for a single 20-foot full-open container or a whole fleet of 2-door 40-footers, Aztec has you covered.

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