The winter time can be a wonderful and exciting time for those who love snow and snow-related activities. However, snow, cold temperatures and ice tend to complicate day-to-day business operations in our field. We want our customers to have a seamless delivery and pickup experience in regard to their leased or bought shipping containers so we put together this little how-to guide.
1. The usual shipping container delivery takes approximately 15-20 minutes. This includes the driver getting into position, dropping the container in place and driving away. However, cold weather and snow can make the process last anywhere between 20 to 30 minutes.
2. To reduce the total time it takes to deliver a shipping container, we recommend ensuring adequate site access and straight-line clearance. Adequate site access refers to having enough space for the driver to maneuver around the location which generally means a minimum of 14’ to allow the driver to better get into position. It also requires proper height clearance to allow the driver to avoid low hanging trees and icicles, generally at least 18’. Straight-line clearance requirements vary depending on the length of container you purchase, but 20’ containers require 65’ and 40’ containers require 110’ of straight driveway.
3. Without a level ground, our driver cannot safely deliver the container and secure it for long-term storage. Unevenness can compromise the structure of the container by causing it to bend and making it unsafe for future stacking. We recommend choosing a flat piece of land to store the container on or to even out the ground where the corner posts go with wood or cement blocks.
4. When having a shipping container delivered, please keep in mind which way you want the container doors to face when it is delivered. Upon pickup from our location, the container can be placed on the delivery truck either with the container doors facing towards the front of the cab or towards the back. Upon arrival, our driver will back into place and whichever way the doors face will be their final position.
5. Upon the end of the lease, please give our team 2-3 business days to send out a truck and pick up the container. Please ensure the container is empty and that our driver has access to it. In the case of wintery conditions, please remove all snow from the container INCLUDING its roof. In more severe instances where the container becomes frozen in place, please also heavily salt the four corner posts in order to free the container.
For any further questions, do not hesitate to contact our team. There are a lot of steps to consider when having a shipping container delivered and picked up however, we set up this guide in order to make your experience more pleasant and to avoid delays and additional costs.