Open side shipping containers: the whole long wall opens

What an open side container is

Picture a standard container, then replace one long wall with steel door panels hinged in pairs along its length; the exact panel count varies by builder. Each pair folds back on itself and swings out, so the full side opens. Lock bars on each pair secure it like a cargo door. The other long wall, roof, floor and end doors are standard. Many builds use a removable center post for rigidity when the doors are shut; if a clear opening with no post matters for your use, say so in the quote request and we confirm the spec in writing before you book.

The inside stays 7'8" wide and about 7'10" tall on a standard height unit. With the side open you lose the wall you would normally shelve against, so most people shelve the solid wall and use the open side as the working face.

Other names: side opening container, side door container, full side access container. The door options guide compares it with double doors and roll-ups.

Forklift and pallet access

This is why warehouses and trades buy them. A standard container door takes one pallet at a time, loaded from the end and pushed down the length. An open side container takes pallets straight in from the side anywhere along its length: ten pallet positions on a 40ft, each reachable without moving the others. The forklift works outside the box, not inside it.

Who it suits

• Equipment and parts storage where you need one item fast without unloading five others.
• Pop-up retail, markets and events. Open the side, drop a counter across the opening, and the container becomes a stall or a bar. Close it at night and it is a locked steel box.
• Jobsite material storage for long lengths of pipe, lumber and rebar that are awkward through an end door. Pairs well with jobsite storage.
• Farm and ranch supply on the property: feed, fencing, chemicals, each pallet on its own spot. See farm and ranch uses.
• Workshops and garages. Open the whole side for light and air while you work, then lock it up. A container garage with an open side solves the car-door clearance problem completely.

Sizes

The 20ft is the most common open side size and the easiest to place: the truck needs about 60 to 100 ft of straight approach. The 40ft high cube is the one for pallet racking, since the extra foot of height lets a forklift set a second tier.

Availability and price

Open side containers are a storage-market product, built new in small numbers. Shipping lines do not retire them, so there is effectively no used supply. Expect one-trip grade, a longer lead time inland than near ports and rail hubs, and a price well above a standard box. How far above depends on local stock, so pick open side in the quote request and we confirm in writing what it adds before you book.

Standard one-trip delivered estimates, before the open side premium:

• 20ft: $3,900 to $6,000
• 40ft standard: $5,200 to $7,500
• 40ft high cube: $5,500 to $8,000

Pick open side in the quote form and we check who has one near you and what it costs delivered to your ZIP. If nobody within reasonable range stocks one, we tell you that and the lead time for bringing one in, rather than quoting a number we cannot stand behind. The pricing page explains the other factors.

Site prep for side access

An open side container needs more room than a standard box, and in a different place.

• Clear space along the open side. Allow a strip of clear ground along the full open wall for the door pairs to fold and swing, roughly a door panel's width, and much more if a forklift will work there. Mark it out before delivery.
• Orientation. Decide which way the open side faces before the truck arrives. The driver can set it down facing either way along the approach, but cannot spin it 90 degrees in a tight spot. See how delivery works.
• A hard surface along the open side. If a forklift or pallet jack will run there, you want compacted gravel or concrete, not lawn.
• Level matters more. Every door pair along a 40ft wall needs to meet its seals, and a twisted container shows it on an open side first. Follow the site prep guide and check the pad with a string line.
• Weather. In a windy or rainy spot, face the open wall away from the prevailing direction or plan an awning.

A worked example

A tool rental business in Colorado puts a 40ft high cube open side container at the back of its lot for compactors, generators and trench shoring. Staff open two door pairs, pull the one unit a customer needs with a forklift, and close up. Before, the same gear lived in a standard 40ft and the thing they needed was always at the back. Quoted as one-trip, estimate $5,500 to $8,000, plus the open side premium confirmed in the quote.

How it works in three steps

1. Pick open side on the quote form. Size, ZIP and what you plan to load.
2. We check stock and lead time. Open side supply is thin, so we confirm what exists near you before quoting.
3. You get one delivered price. A person sends the exact number and the delivery window, usually within 1-2 business hours. Nothing is booked until you agree.

Want a standard box with a side roll-up cut in locally instead? It is not the same as a full open side, but it is often available where open side containers are not. Ask in the quote and we check both routes. More on how the process works.

One price, one contact

Specialty containers are where buyers get burned by vague quotes and long waits. Everyone who handles your container is vetted, insured and bonded, the drivers are local tilt-bed operators, and the price we send is one all-in delivered number in writing with the lead time stated. One person handles your job from the first text to the drop.