Description
Thirty feet is a length few buyers set out to specify and many end up needing. Externally it runs to roughly 9 m — more of a yard than a 20ft asks for, far less than a 40ft — and on a constrained site, where nothing 40ft long can be turned and a 20ft leaves the job half done, it is often the only size that works. This is a bulk unit rather than a plain dry van: four lids across the roof for filling from above, and a hatch at the front for tipping out.
Dimensions
- External: 9.12 × 2.44 × 2.59 m (29 ft 11 in × 8 ft 0 in × 8 ft 6 in)
- Internal: 9.00 × 2.35 × 2.39 m (29 ft 6 in × 7 ft 9 in × 7 ft 10 in)
- Door opening: 2.34 m wide × 2.28 m high (7 ft 8 in × 7 ft 6 in)
- Weight: approximately 2,940 kg
Build and configuration
- Used, ex-shipping-line stock
- Four top-opening lids, so the unit can be filled from overhead
- A hatch at the front end for tipping the load out
- Supplied in either a two-door or a three-door arrangement
- Cor-Ten steel
- Hinged double doors at one end, exterior mounted, a pair of locking bars on each leaf
- A forklift pocket pair on each side
- Timber decking over steel cross members on most units, fibreglass on some
- Four or eight vents, by model
Why the awkward length is the selling point
Most buyers arrive at 30ft by elimination rather than preference. A 40ft container needs roughly 25 m of clear straight approach for the delivery vehicle and a turning circle to match; plenty of farmyards, builders’ merchants and industrial units do not have it. A 20ft unit fits anywhere but runs out of floor before the job is done.
At 9.12 m a 30ft splits the difference, and since width and height match every other ISO container, nothing is lost in usable geometry: racking, pallets and plant fit as in a longer box. The catch is supply: far fewer 30ft units were built, so stock is irregular and specification varies.
Practical notes before you order
- Doors: both layouts turn up in stock, so tell us how it will be loaded and we will allocate one that suits.
- Flooring: timber over steel cross members is the norm here; the fibreglass ones are the easier of the two to wash out.
- Condition: these have worked commercially, and scrapes and surface denting come with that.
Delivery, siting and cover
Delivery is free anywhere in the UK, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey included, and the price shown is the total payable — no VAT is added at checkout. At around 2,940 kg empty this needs an artic rather than a rigid, so the approach is the constraint worth measuring first. Firm, level ground at the drop point matters as much, and if you intend to use the top lids, check the airspace above the final position too. HIAB or crane offload is agreed in writing before delivery.
As used ex-shipping-line stock the container is covered for three months from delivery as wind and watertight — dry inside under normal weather conditions, with doors that open, close and lock. Cosmetic condition is excluded. Separately from that warranty, you have 14 days to change your mind under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 and a 30-day right to reject the goods if they are faulty.
Comparable units
Availability moves quickly here. Our second listing, the 30 x 8ft bulk shipping container, covers identical dimensions; and where the extra ten feet is no difficulty, a 40ft used shipping container generally works out better value per square metre. Grading terms are set out in the condition guide, and everything else is in the shipping container category.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.