You’ve rented a mobile storage container for an upcoming move or a home renovation project, and now you’re waiting for it to be delivered. But sometimes, on delivery day, drivers can run into issues: an inability to access the delivery area, obstructions preventing delivery, or insufficient room for the container to be placed. Understanding how the storage container delivery process works at Southwest Mobile Storage makes it easier for you and our drivers to ensure your delivery day goes smoothly. Here are six simple steps to prepare for your container delivery.
6 Easy Steps for Storage Container Delivery
1. Select Your Storage Container Delivery Location
Before your mobile storage delivery, choose where you want to put it. The best area will give you easy access, where bringing items back and forth is convenient for you or anyone helping you move things. Ensure the spot doesn’t block any entrances or exits, such as an alleyway or a driveway. Also, consider which way you’d like the container doors to face. Choosing a door direction should make placing and retrieving your belongings from the container easier. This also aids delivery, as your driver will place the container on the truck with the doors facing the way you want.
2. Decide Where to Place Your Container
Once you’ve chosen the spot for your storage container delivery, make sure that the area is level. When mobile containers are placed on uneven surfaces, you can experience issues with opening the doors, belongings shifting, and other problems. Asphalt, gravel, and concrete are all great surfaces to place your container. Please be sure to note any special conditions that might prevent delivery drivers from entering your chosen destination.
What if you don’t have a level surface? It’s not a problem! When renting one of our storage containers, ask if we can provide blocks or planks. This helps to keep the container level.
3. Make Sure There’s Enough Space
After choosing the destination for your storage container delivery and making sure that the surface area is flat, the next thing you should ensure is that there’s enough space for not just the container but also the delivery truck. Our 20ft storage containers and offices require 60 feet of straight space, and 120 feet for our 40ft storage containers and offices so the truck can deliver.
There needs to be a minimum of 15 feet of height clearance and at least 12 feet of width clearance for our storage container delivery trucks. You should be aware of any obstacle above or on the side of where you want to place your container. These include:
- Power lines
- Rooftops
- Trees, bushes and plants
- Fences
View our How Delivery Works infographic for more information about container placement, height and width requirements.
4. Consider Site Changes
After you’ve gone through the first three steps, take a few minutes to consider all the factors that might change while you have the storage container. This will depend on the home project you rent a storage container for. For example, if you’re moving, you may only need a storage container delivery for a few weeks. However, if you’re doing a home renovation or a remodel, or if your new home won’t be ready by the time you leave your current one, you should consider any upcoming site changes. For instance, are you in a location with snow or seasonal flooding? While your items inside remain safe, these weather changes may affect delivery or pickup.
Landscaping can also impact your container’s area. Remember, our trucks have height and width requirements to deliver storage containers. If you have any upcoming project or known weather conditions that may affect your delivery, let your account manager know, so we can help you schedule a date and time for mobile storage delivery that works for you.
5. Schedule Your Delivery Time
Once you have the right spot selected, it’s time to schedule your delivery. We deliver containers from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. (local time) Monday through Friday. If you need delivery outside of these hours, we will do our best to accommodate. Our two-hour delivery window is the most precise in the industry. We also contact you 30 minutes before your delivery to confirm.
To assist with delivery, mark the borders of the space where you want the container placed.
6. Talk With Your Account Manager
Does the delivery driver need to get through a gate to enter your property? Is there a specific direction you want the doors to face once delivered? Before your storage container is delivered, let your dedicated account manager know any instructions to give the driver. For example, if you live in a gated community, let your account manager know the gate code or give instructions on how the driver can get through. Our drivers will contact you 30 minutes prior to delivery for gate or access codes.
When your storage container delivery arrives, our driver will back into the space where you want the container. Once the location is confirmed, our skilled driver will tilt the truck be and unload your container safely and securely. If the container is placed on asphalt or pavement, the delivery driver may will use wood dunnage pads for added protection.
These six steps help make your delivery day as straightforward as possible, so you can begin to move your belongings in or out of your storage container rental.
Storage Container Delivery: More Info
We get asked a lot of questions about how storage container delivery works when renting or buying. Watch this short video to see what the process looks like. Want to know how we handle pick-ups after your rental is over? Check out this short video about what to know before your container gets picked up.
Still curious about using portable storage containers? Here are a few five informative blogs you should read:
