Double Door Shipping Containers – Why They Might Be a Good Choice for You
You’re loading a standard shipping container for the first or second time ever and after several hours of loading your heavy furniture and goods, you realize that you’ve made a mistake. You’ve poorly organized your container. You need to be able to access some of the pieces in the back more regularly than you initially anticipated, and you haven’t left yourself the room between your things to maneuver your stored items, easily.
OR…
You have a small trailer full of tools and boxes that you want to store temporarily. You decide it would be most convenient to leave everything on the trailer as it will fit inside the shipping container, no problem. However, upon attempting to back it in and after a couple of bumps and dings, you decide you might be better served just to simply unload everything from the trailer.
Does any of this sound familiar?
If so, it’s time to start exploring some door layouts that help people like us more easily organize and access our goods without all the hassle of extreme organization and logistics.
Today, we’re talking about the significance of the double door containers and whether or not they might be the best choice for your next project.
What is a Double Door Shipping Container?
You guessed it, it’s a shipping container with two pairs of doors – one set on each short end of your container. The result is a long hallway that allows you to walk in one entrance of the container, through the center, and out the other side.
Because of this functionality, you might occasionally hear double door shipping containers referred to as “tunnel-tainers”.
Do They Come in Standard Sizes?
Yes. 2-door shipping containers come in the ISO-regulated dimensions of 20ft and 40ft lengths, with standard heights of 8’6″ or 9’6″ (High cube dimensions). They’re made with the exact same materials as regular shipping containers, and can be modified or protected from the elements in the same ways we’ve discussed in other overviews on this blog.
Double Door vs Single Door Containers – Why Use 2-Door Containers, Anyway?
Double door shipping containers’ versatility makes them a popular alternative to the traditional standard door versions. The most obvious benefit is that double door shipping containers allow you to load and unload cargo from either end of the container.
A standard door container, in contrast, leaves some items potentially stuck in the back of the container without close proximity access. This can result in the need for regularly adjusting and moving your stored materials, and in the worst case scenario, completely emptying a container to get sufficient access and removal of large items in the back.
The Advantages of Double Entry Containers:
Let’s expand on the usefulness of these containers by first considering our two scenarios in the intro of this post.
Advantage #1: Better Access and Easier Organization
In the first scenario, we mistakenly loaded our shipping container without fully understanding which pieces of furniture we would need to access more regularly than others. Our poor organization and use of a standard door layout have made for a less than ideal experience.
If we had purchased a double door container, we would have a second access point on the backside of the unit. This convenience means that we’re always within 10ft to 20ft of the goods we need depending on the length of our container. Additionally, it allows for an organization plan that has us putting storage items that we need less often, in the center of the container.
And hopefully, if space allows and we won’t be transporting the container, we can leave a small walkway to navigate the container’s contents more quickly.
Advantage #2: The Drive-Thru “Tunnel-tainer”
In the second scenario from the intro, we are missing the convenience of pulling the trailer straight through the container.
While you might be able to back your trailers, boats, and small pop-up campers in with your driving skills, there is no doubt that being able to drive in forward is much easier. That means it’s often quicker to execute and you risk less damage to the trailer, your vehicle, and the storage container itself.
Advantage #3: More Access for Tools and Machinery To Load Heavy Cargo
A double door container can be quite advantageous if you are loading irregularly shaped cargo that is difficult to move around. Awkward, heavy items often require the use of machinery or human-enhancing tools as well as the ability to approach it from multiple angles.
If you’ll benefit from loading your pieces of cargo with tractors, pallet jacks, or hand trucks (dollies), a double door container will help make sure you can easily access both sides of the container with your tools.
Advantage #4: Easier Conversion
Believe it or not, if your goal is to convert your container and you want to modify both ends of it, it might be more cost effective to buy a double door shipping container.
Removing the doors on one end is often less invasive and easier for the do-it-yourself builder or carpenter than buying a standard door container and attempting to remove the back wall and fit it for your future custom doors or wall feature.
This leads into our next advantage.
Advantage #5: The Tunnel As Design And Bridge Feature
As shipping containers continually grow in popularity in construction projects, home building, bridge uses, and public walkways, some people have found that putting several double door containers together can give your project a creative, unique appearance.
Simply remove the doors, connect your containers, and seal them together to create long hallways for offices, schools, and so much more. Not only do they make the design of spaces look contemporary, but they give walkways and pedestrian overpasses the extra benefit of keeping people out of the rain and cold.
Advantages Cost Money So Make Sure You Budget For Them
Double door shipping containers tend to cost more than their standard door counterparts for a couple reasons:
- First, as we discussed above, they’re an amazing product that offer greater versatility
- Second, most double door shipping containers are “one-trip” containers (have only been used for shipping once). That means they’re in the best possible condition and as such often command a slightly higher price point than a single or standard door container might.
That means you should be sure to shop around and ask for the best deals available on the market. OR, not to hype ourselves up too much, you should try shopping with Rent-A-Container where you can take advantage of our Price Match Guarantee. This makes sure you get the best price possible on every container you shop for!
Let’s Get Started With Rent-A-Container
If you’re ready to try out that new double door shipping container for your next storage or building solution, then let’s hop over to our easy-to-use ecommerce site.