Car, truck or boat storage in a shipping container: what clears the door
A full-size sedan or a half-ton or three-quarter-ton pickup with the mirrors folded fits in a 40ft high cube, because the door opening is 7'8" wide and 8'5" high; a dually does not. Measure the vehicle against the door, not the box, since the door is the limit.
Measure the door, not the box
Inside, a 40ft high cube is 39'5" long, 7'8" wide and 8'10" high. The door opening is 7'8" by 8'5", and that is what decides it. A sedan, an SUV or a pickup with the mirrors folded clears. A dually is wider than the door, and a lifted truck needs its cab height checked against 8'5".
A boat up to about 19 feet on a single-axle trailer fits with the tongue swung. Sheet 4 of the plan set has the clearances drawn, so check your vehicle against it before you order. See 20ft container dimensions for the smaller box.
Keeping it dry inside
A sealed steel box sweats on temperature swings, and that is hard on paint and chrome. A roof vent moves the damp air out, and a moisture bucket at each end handles August. A dehumidifier needs a cord in, which the outlet splitter handles.
Back it in on the driver's side so you can get out, chock an axle, and put a battery tender on it if it sits for months. The package includes a ramp for the sill.
One-trip if it sits by the house
A wind-and-watertight box is the cheapest dry garage there is, but it looks like a used container. If it sits where the neighbors see it, a one-trip box has near-new paint, floor and seals.
Cities usually treat it like any accessory building: rear or side yard, off the lines, and a permit in town. A roll-up side door is a weld-in kit we quote with the container. See permit rules.
The layout, drawn to the box
This is sheet 2 of the free Car & Boat Garage plan set: the 40ft high cube container drawn from real ISO dimensions, with every shelf, rack and opening placed. A sedan or pickup backs in on the driver's-side aisle, the boat or second vehicle takes the far end; the door is the limit, not the box. Clearances on sheet 4.
All seven sheets: Cover and package price · Floor plan · Long-wall elevation: lights and the roof vent · Cross section: clearances · Site, pad and leveling · Parts, cut list and tools · Build order and disclaimer. You buy locally: wheel chocks, a battery tender, a floor mat — roughly $120–$220.
See the Car & Boat Garage package — container and kit, delivered price by ZIP →
Buying a container?
Longleaf sells used and one-trip 20ft and 40ft shipping containers, delivered by tilt-bed across the Pine Belt. Enter your ZIP for the delivered price — it comes straight from the supplier feed and already includes the haul. Locks, vents, shelving and lights are on the accessories page. We sell; we do not rent.
Keep reading
- A storm locker for a Gulfport, Biloxi or Ocean Springs business: generator, pumps and records — How a Coast restaurant, clinic or shop can use a 40ft container as a storm locker: generator by the doors, records up high, blocked, vented, loaded in June.
- A container equipment room at a Pine Belt ball field: the drawing a church or league board votes on — A shipping container equipment room for a church ball field or rec league: mower ramp, shelving, vents, who holds the keys, and the drawing a board votes on.
- Storing hay in a container on a Pine Belt farm without mold: vents, pallets, cured hay only — How to store hay in a 40ft shipping container on a Mississippi farm without mold: about 300 square bales, pallets, vents low-in high-out, and cured hay only.
- Getting a zero-turn into a shipping container: door width, ramp length and deck size — Will a zero-turn mower fit in a shipping container? Door width, deck sizes that clear, ramp length, and how to set up a 20ft for mowers and a landscape crew.
- A shipping container workshop in the Pine Belt: lights, shelving, power and the door question — How to set up a 40ft shipping container as a workshop in the Pine Belt: solar lights, no-drill shelving, one cord in for power, leveling, and the door choice.
Across the Pine Belt
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