I have a mate in Mandurah WA who recently had a container delivered to store their daughter and son in laws furniture while they were having a new house built, (they rented a furnished house so had no where to store it) Cost was around 1K delivered, few rust patches but sound. It's a 6m one.

The bad news was after a few weeks the ants were making a good trail into it via every nook and cranny ! I wouldn't want my good gear stored in one on open ground, plus the temperature and maybe occasional humidity (not too bad in WA) could not be conducive to keeping your gear in good order.

Maybe with good housekeeping and spraying around to deter insects and getting it into some shade would help, but they didn't appear as bothered as I would be, one of the reasons we got rid of our gear to go full time on the road.

I've got one. Bought it, secondhand, about 12 years ago. It has sat in the open for that time and has been used for storage. 

I have never had any problem with vermin or insects. Not even spiders or ants.

It developed a small amount of rust over the years and I finished up with a small hole in the top at one place. I gummed that up with silicon after treating it with Rustop. I will install a roof over it from corrugated iron when I finally get home. Other rust points were treated with Rustop and holes clogged with Builders Bog.

Remember these have been used on the open seas on ship's decks and it will be a rare container that doesn't have a small amount of damage or rust but they can be fixed. I bought mine sight unseen but if you can pick one out at an inspection you could get a good one.

I painted it last year to match my shed and it looks quite smart.

I think I bought it from Royal Wolf in Fremantle for about $2k but it cost another $1800 for delivery.

I put shelves in and it is stacked to the gunwales. Worked for me.

 

The Phantom

Used one for tool storage on farm - strarted to leak on roof so attached rafters on top and covered with corrugated iron this also dropped to temperature so could use it as a workshop - be aware that you will need to put an emergency exit door in end if planning to use as workshop (fire hazard).

Vic. I worked for a company in Cannington and we imported furniture from all round the world - often we had 100's of containers coming in each week.

The biggest problem other than leaking, was heat causing timber products to warp and containers that leaked - often through the door seals being damaged or worn.

Insects weren't a problem for us as they were unpacked within a couple of days of arrival from Freo wharf and they sat of tar sealed container areas outside.

But I would suspect you need to watch out for wood loving insects as well as the temperatures (tine roof above is a good idea which will hopefully solve rain and you had some last weekend!)

Thanks for all the feedback and info on the containers all, it has given me some leads and quite a bit to think about, not too sure if we will go down that route but have to consider future plans and options etc.

Again, thanks one and all.

I have seen containers in the NT totally invaded by termites in as little as two months. Pest control must be considered. A false roof seems also to be a good addition to help weatherproof the container. Also think about where the container might be sited. Several builders on the Gold Coast have turned up Monday to find the container storing tools and materials, all gone.

Iza

Fit a couple of solar exhaust fans as condensation can be an issue..
Another thing we found was to drop them on logs or concrete slabs in each corner angled slightly so water runs to the rear away from doors.. Helps against rust too..