A container tool crib vs a rented job-site box for a Hattiesburg contractor
If you run jobs back to back, buying usually wins: a rented box costs the same every month and goes back to the rental company, while a used 20ft is yours after the first job, moves to the next lot on a tilt-bed, and resells when you are done. Renting wins for a single short job or a site you do not control.
The math in plain terms
A rental is a monthly bill with no end, and at the end of the year you own nothing. A bought container has one price up front, and a used 20ft holds its value well enough to resell. Run your own numbers: price your monthly rental times the months you will need a box this year and next, then compare it to the delivered price of a used 20ft on the tool crib package.
Most accountants treat a container as equipment you depreciate; ask yours. Rent vs buy has the full comparison with local rental rates.
Setting up a crib that saves trips
The point is to stop loading the truck twice a day. Shelving brackets hang on the corrugation with no drilling, and a pipe rack holds conduit, pipe and trim stock off the floor. A folding ramp at the sill lets the compressor and the tile saw stand roll in. Motion lights face the street so nobody works the lock in the dark.
Theft is the reason most crews buy one. A lock box over the door handles shields the padlock from bolt cutters; see jobsite container security. Every part in the package bolts on. There is no cut.
On the lot, and on to the next one
The truck needs about 60 feet of straight, firm run, which most lots have at the drive before the slab goes in. Set it where it will not block the concrete truck.
When the job ends, empty it and we quote the haul to the next address; a loaded 20ft is a different truck, so plan it empty. Moving a container covers what that takes. For a crew that stores mowers and handhelds instead, see the landscape crew box.
The layout, drawn to the box
This is sheet 2 of the free Tool Crib plan set: the 20ft standard container drawn from real ISO dimensions, with every shelf, rack and opening placed. A 12 ft shelving wall with a pipe rack above it, a roll-in aisle with a folding ramp at the sill, work lights inside and motion lights outside. No cuts at all.
All seven sheets: Cover and package price · Floor plan · Long-wall elevation: shelving and pipe rack · Cross section: roll-in aisle · Site, pad and leveling · Parts, cut list and tools · Build order and disclaimer. You buy locally: six 2x12s and corner blocks — roughly $170–$260.
See the Tool Crib 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
- Setting up a container for storm season on the Mississippi Gulf Coast: lock, level, vent — Setting up a 20ft container for storm-season storage on the Mississippi Gulf Coast: where to set it, loading, lock box, vents, leveling and when anchors apply.
- Using a shipping container as a feed room on a Mississippi cattle or poultry farm — How to set up a 20ft shipping container as a farm feed room in Mississippi: two vents, shelving, leveling on pasture, and keeping feed, minerals and meds dry.
- A container tack room for a Lamar County barn: saddle racks, vents and the layout — How to set up a 20ft shipping container as a tack room in south Mississippi: saddle racks from 2x6s, two vents against mildew, shelving, and where to set it.
- A one-trip container as a site office shell: what arrives, and what you finish — How a contractor or small business can use a one-trip 20ft container as an office shell: the door, light and power, what insulation leaves, and permits.
- A container equipment room for a landscape crew: rack, ramp and lock box — How to store landscaping equipment in a 20ft shipping container: pipe rack for handhelds, a ramp for mowers, lock box, vent, and why gas cans stay outside.
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