How much room do you need for a container delivery?
A tilt-bed truck needs roughly 110 feet of straight, level run to place a 20ft container and about 130 feet for a 40ft, plus about 15 feet of overhead clearance on the way in with no limbs, awnings or service lines, and about 22 feet where the box is set down, because the bed tilts up as it unloads. The truck backs in, tilts its bed and pulls forward as the box slides off, so it needs the length of the truck plus the length of the container in a straight line, on ground firm enough to hold a loaded truck.
How the box is actually placed
The driver lines the truck up with the spot you marked, backs in, and raises the bed until the container's back end touches the ground. Then the truck pulls forward and the box slides off onto the pad. The container ends up roughly where the truck's rear wheels were, pointing the way the truck was pointing — so the doors face whichever way you parked the truck. Decide that before delivery day.
Width is rarely the problem; a container is 8 feet wide and the truck is about the same. Length is. Gates, fences and parked cars have to clear the truck, not just the box. A driveway with a bend in it will take a 20 only if the straight section after the bend is long enough.
The driver calls ahead and someone needs to be there to show the spot. Mark the corners with stakes or paint so there is no discussion with the bed in the air.
What stops a delivery
Soft ground. A loaded tilt-bed weighs a lot more than a pickup, and a lawn that looked fine on Saturday will not hold it after a Pine Belt thunderstorm. Gravel, concrete, asphalt or packed dirt all work; fresh fill and wet turf do not. See putting a container on grass.
Overhead. The tilted bed stands tall. Low limbs, a carport roof, a cable or power drop across the drive, and the driver cannot tilt. Walk the approach looking up.
A spot that cannot be reached in a straight line. If the truck cannot back to the pad, the box goes where the truck can reach, or it goes home. Because you own the box, you get one chance to put it right the first time: a later move is a second truck and a second charge. See moving a container on your property.
A failed drop is billable at the supplier's rate and a second attempt is charged again, so measure the run and check the ground before you order. The containers page shows what each box needs next to its delivered price. See containers for sale — 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.
- 20ft Standard Cargo Worthy (used) — from $2,885 delivered
- 20ft Standard One Trip (new) — from $3,635 delivered
- 20ft Standard Wind & Watertight (used) — from $2,470 delivered
- 40ft High Cube Cargo Worthy (used) — from $3,525 delivered
- 40ft High Cube One Trip (new) — from $4,925 delivered
- 40ft High Cube Wind & Watertight (used) — from $3,210 delivered
- 40ft Standard Cargo Worthy (used) — from $3,525 delivered
- 40ft Standard One Trip (new) — from $6,355 delivered
- 40ft Standard Wind & Watertight (used) — from $3,160 delivered
Keep reading
- 20ft vs 40ft: which container should you buy? — 20ft vs 40ft shipping container: how much each holds, why the 40 is the better value per square foot, and why the 130 feet a 40ft needs usually decides it.
- What does a storage container actually cost to buy? — Storage container cost to buy, explained: how size, grade, high cube and your distance from the depot set the delivered price, and what moves it up or down.
- Container on your property vs a storage unit across town — Buying a storage container vs renting a storage unit: where owning a box on your land wins, where a climate-controlled unit across town is the better answer.
- How to get ready for delivery day — Prepare for a shipping container delivery: mark the spot, clear the straight run, firm up the ground, set corner blocks, and have someone there on the day.
- What should you check when your shipping container is delivered? — A delivery checklist for a shipping container: doors and seals, the daylight test, floor, roof, the grade you paid for, and what to do if something is off.
Across the Pine Belt
Hattiesburg · Petal · Laurel · Ellisville · Purvis · Sumrall · Columbia · Collins · Seminary · Wiggins