How to level a shipping container on pasture, sand, clay or a gravel pad
Lift the low corner with a bottle jack under the corner casting, slide solid blocking under it, lower it and check the doors. Do it again after the first wet month, because new ground settles, and in the Jackson metro check again each late summer, because Yazoo clay shrinks and swells.
How to tell it is off
The doors are the gauge. A level box opens and latches easily. When one corner sinks, the frame twists, the doors bind or will not line up with the locking bars, and rain pools on the roof. A carpenter's level on the floor confirms it.
Lifting and blocking
Set a 6-ton bottle jack on a flat, solid base under the corner casting of the low corner; a 12-ton jack suits a loaded 40ft. A lifting bracket or a leveler booster bracket gives the jack a safe place to push. Raise it only as far as you need, slide solid concrete blocks or treated wood pads under the casting, and lower it onto them.
Never put any part of your body under a raised container, and never leave it sitting on the jack. Check the doors after each corner. Jacks and brackets are on the accessories page.
Sand, pasture and Yazoo clay
Pine Belt sand and pasture settle most in the first wet month, so plan to re-level once after delivery. On pasture, a gravel pad or blocks under the corners slows it down; see ground prep.
Yazoo clay under much of the Jackson metro shrinks in dry weather and swells when wet, so a box there can go out of level by season. Wider blocking pads spread the load, and a check in late summer and after a wet spring keeps the doors working.
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
- Shelving for a shipping container without drilling: brackets that hang on the corrugation — How to put shelves in a shipping container without drilling: brackets that hook on the corrugation, 2x12 boards, pipe racks, and a layout with an aisle.
- Solar lights for a shipping container with no power run: what works and what to buy — Solar lights for a shipping container with no power: interior string and work lights, motion lights over the doors, the panel, and when to run a cord.
- How do you prep the ground for a shipping container? — How to prep the ground for a shipping container: gravel pad or corner blocks, drainage, what to avoid, Yazoo clay in the Jackson metro, and the truck's run.
- 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.
- Which vents stop a shipping container from sweating in south Mississippi — Which vents stop a shipping container from sweating in south Mississippi: louvered pairs, solar fans, roof vents, where to cut them, and how many you need.
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