Can I Load a Shipping Container in the Street?
Many of our customers buy a container to help them move abroad and would like to load the container themselves over a few days. In many cases, the only place to leave the container to load will be the street.
You can load a shipping container in the street, but there are some things to consider.
Council Permission & Traffic
To leave a container on the street you must leave enough space for traffic to flow freely. You will also need permission from your local council in advance.
Most of our customers have been able to gain permission as long as there is suitable room on the street. Many councils treat it in a very similar way to a skip sitting on a street for a week or so whilst a house is cleared or renovated.
We will advise, customers who do not gain permission in advance frequently encounter problems. Generally the council or police may order you to move the container immediately. With our haulier network, our hauliers can often get booked up days in advance and approaching the haulage market for an emergency job can get extremely expensive. It is always best to check and gain approval from your local council well in advance.
Obviously loading the shipping container right outside your house has a number of advantages. It will save time and effort over taking a load to a warehouse or other location. If dropped on the ground it can afford you a few days to load the container, rather than trying to get everything loading in 3-hours whilst the truck waits. (which would be the common alternative for many).
Security for your Shipping Container
Another item to consider when having a shipping container in the street is one of security. With your precious belongings in the container outside your home, the cargo doors need to be secured to stop someone stealing your property. There are two ways to do this.
The first is to have a slim line lock box installed to protect the padlock from removal with bolt cutters. The lock box has to a be a slim line option to stay within the ISO dimensions of the shipping container. A normal lock box will protrude to much and therefore, your container won’t be loaded on a ship because of this. So, if ordering a container for self-loading in the street, please make sure you specify a slim line lock box.
One of our insurance rated squire padlocks will also help protect your contents. These padlocks are specifically designed to work with lock boxes. They are anti-pick, anti-bump and have a solid hardened steel body and shackle to fit snugly in lock boxes.
Our second option to lock the cargo doors is one of our bulldog container locks. These are made from case-hardened steel and have a drill and pick resistant lock. They fit to the container doors and are easily removed ready for the container to be shipped. This may be a great option if loading more than 1 shipping container in total. (but when loadign 1 at a time) as you can remove the lock from a cotnianer, and then attach it to another shipping container.
How Long Can I Keep a Shipping Container on a Street or Road For?
The length of time you can spend loading will depend on the size of the road and how much of an obstruction this will be. It is also down to your local council and what they want. In any event this must be a temporary situation. You will not gain permanent permission to keep a container on the public highway.
Typically, this should be a one off temporary situation. We commonly see councils grant up to a weeks-time without much fuss. We have occasionally had customer’s spend longer than 1 week. We’d recommend to plan and aim for a week’s window to load your shipping container in the street.
Do you need to load a shipping container in the Street / Road?
Budgetshippingcontainers.co.uk offer the UK’s largest online range of shipping containers for sale with a nationwide network of storage and conversion yards and crane equipped delivery vehicles.
If you need a shipping container feel free to browse our online range of shipping containers for sale. You can also call us on freephone 0808 1234 215 any time 9am – 5pm weekdays and our team will be happy to discuss your requirements. Alternatively, you can use our online shipping container quote form or request a telephone callback. In both cases we aim to get back to you within 1-2 working hours (may take longer for more detailed quotes).