Our son stored a container of furniture in our backyard in Townsville for 18 months - the white ants loved the silky oak chairs despite the container being on besser blocks about 6" off the ground. Mice had found the living quarters attractive and also there were carpet snake skins left from a snake visit. 18 months in the tropics also resulted in rain pooling on the roof and rusting thru the metal.
So unless the container is on unbroken concrete it will attract visitors. Most containers are old rejects that have had many trips around the world - the doors may not seal properly and they will have rust.
However you can also buy 'premium' containers at a premium price that can be fitted out to your requirements.
I personally would be happy with an old container stored under cover.....but I'd want a guarantee that it would not be moved outside.
Good Luck.

I had a friend who shipped her whole household from NZ in a container, which sat on the dock in Sydney for a period waiting to clear customs, then in a yard waiting for the new construction to finish.
Even the candles melted, as did the glue in their slippers!
Can't remember the other damage- so long back now.

Trouble with lock up garages is that you have to cart your gear to the lock up garage whilst you can have the container delivered to your house where you pack at your leisure. Also cost is greater but security is usually better. You can sell your container when you are finished with it.

G'day, we paid $2700 for 12' shipping container in Port Lincoln S.A. January 2010.We had it shipped over by truck and stored on our daughters property in Heathcote ,which is a Central Victorian Town...It contained furniture, washing machine,dryer, boxed clothes,photos,pictures etc etc.Our daughter recently sold their property so we sold the container for $1800 to a business in Heathcote and he paid to shift it....loss of $900 for nearly three years which we consider reasonable. Security wise they are perfect.It was a former International container so had half dozen small breathing holes near the top of walls.Plus steel tie points every 3' which is important to secure your load with ropes during transit. The secret for whilst its in transit is to pack very tightly so the load cant move internally.We packed in professional cardboard removal cases/box's and sealed with tape.It had timber floors which I guess all International containers have. The condition of our gear after nearly three years was the same as we originally packed when we removed.No insect or rodent damage. I cant see how any rodent would ever gain access in either case. Every three months whilst stored I used to spray liberally around the base exterior with Mortein surface spray, and also around the front door seals...This was my experience in Central Victoria and the only real scare we had was in the 2011 flooding when Heathcote and many Victorian towns went under, however the flood waters stopped just short of the container...I now have the gear stored in professional storage in Bendigo and $900 lasts me only 4 months storage..Reasonable quality 12' containers are a great and secure way to store based on our experiences and I had no trouble with finding a buyer for re-sale......Hoo Roo.

-- Edited by Golddetectornomad on Wednesday 23rd of January 2013 09:10:03 PM