Revin Kevin

Has anyone tried to ship their own container?

I have a couple of single use 20ft containers that I would like to use, they are at my property so it's very convenient and I also want to use them for storage in Canada at the end of the day.

The shipping companies I have spoken to seem geared up for moving you in rented containers or part containers.

Atlantic Xpat

Your containers are likely no longer in class i.e. certified for freight transport. Containers sold for storage purposes are usually older ones that are being taken out of freight use.
A shipper won't ship a container that isn't in class. It's a bit of a racket of course as they'd prefer to charge you for use of the container in addition to the shipping.

Revin Kevin

They have been used to bring goods from China to the UK once and are in mint condition. That's why I'm loath to give them up and the fact that I can utilise them in Canada. The companies I spoke to said they wouldn't be certified. I can get a wagon to collect the container and take it to the port real easy its the ship bit that hard work, like you suggest maybe a bit of a racket.

Stumpylegs

Not fully an expert on this, but in planning my move was something I looked into, as my background is mechanics and fleet maintenance so knew a number of hauliers etc and like you had ready access to getting a container to a port, and had a couple of people who could do me containers cheap. My understanding was for them to accept it they needed to have a CSC plate that was still in date, easiest option was to have a container with it already on and in date, or pay a container business to inspect it. - have you checked your containers for the date on the plate, and explained to the shippers they have an in date CSC plate.

It may be more complex than that, but it may also be a case of shipping companies trying to pull the wool over peoples eyes and have a container sale racket ( As the way it was explained to me was if the plate was in date, and there were no obvious defects to the container, that's as far as it went, it didn't need a re-inspection every journey, and the container inspection was no more than £100 onsite if you were willing to wait and could be had for as little as £40 if you could drop it off somewhere, but could be £300 to get a bloke out to do a single container on your site this week).

By far the biggest cost I found was getting it from a port in Canada to your door (obviously guessing if your coastal it'd be a lot more affordable but looking at east BC/Alberta and Saskatchewan it was going to cost more to move it cross country than it was to buy it, get it to a port, and ship it to Canada.

Siouxie

There was a member who shipped their own container over (to BC?) and onto ther property there, if I recall correctly..... can anyone remember who?

Zoe Bell

Rich I think

R I C H

nope, not me

Zoe Bell

sorry

Pulaski

One of the regulars in the US forum shipped a couple of 40ft containers, I will see if I can attract his attention for you.

steveq

I am attracted....

We shipped one 20 footer, which we owned, and two forty footers, which we rented. LizzyQ basically did all the legwork, but its not that hard. All four of us loaded the container with our domestic lives in it.

Yes, the CSC plates are critical. We owned one of our containers, because the cost of "renting" it before shipping after loading it leisurely over a couple of weeks was far higher than buying. it outright.

Charges to lift it need to be considered, and charges to drop it off too. There is a moving system called quickloadz IIRC which you may be able to find a truck company using, which will be much cheaper than a truck and a crane.