Thread: Shipping container shelving query

I have a shipping container that is clad on the outside, over timber battens.
Inside it, I want to put up some shelf brackets for holding lengths of steel.
I thought to weld them to the wall, but wonder if there's an alternative way?
Can I easily buy some hook bolts or similar, that can pass through a drilled hole in steel, then tightened up from the inside?
The cladding prevents access to the outside of the container wall.

Something like this:
https://norwoodscrewmachine.com/wp-c...lt_1-min-1.jpg

Jordan

You could use rivet nuts. They are designed for fixing to thin metal when you have access to only one side. For that matter you could use sufficient numbers of large enough pop rivets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkPhGIaPCVs

Eric

I would go with nutserts, I bought a 1200 piece kit like pictured for around $60 for my son and I.
I won't need to buy another for a long time lol

At the mens shed the guys installed a timber rack in their hired 40ft long container - because it was hired they could not weld anything to is.
The rack is 20ft long and is made from 50 x 50 x 6mm angle without any welding to the internal wall

They used full length angle verticals that simply clip/slide/jam under the stubby steel tie down links already welded at a number of spots along the top inside corners of the sides of most containers, and sit tightly against the floor..
The brackets coming off the verticals are 600 mm long and those shelves hold tons of timber.

When I saw this and the loads they put on the shelves my "over engineering brain" went "Nah, no way - keep out" but one of the ex-engineer members said it would be OK and sure enough it has not move a mm in 3 years.

I can take a photo next time I'm there is you like.

BobL's description of the "no visible means of support" solution sounds good, just a bit material hungry.
I wondered if I could utilise the container's built in features at the ceiling side corners, as they look very sturdy.

I'm a bit shy of using rivnuts/nutserts as I don't have much experience of them apart from with light sheet metal.
But I am buying a kit now I've been alerted to them on ebay! Maybe the big sizes would do - gotta find some pull-out specs.

My last resort would be to make some out of steel rod, threaded and bent as required.
Being a lazy sod, I'd much prefer to find some affordable commercial ones, which could be stronger too.

Keep the suggestions coming, thanks folks.

Jordan

M10 or M12 would be the best for strength for a steel rack, but they need the bigger tool to pull them.
I wouldn't rely on a single one with something screwed into it, I'd make a bracket with at least 2 nutserts.
If your wanting more than 1 rack, a few strips of flat bar with brackets welded on, then the nutserts would be getting pulled down more than out.

Yes the men's shed method is definitely material hungry as it needs full floor to ceiling (9ft in their case) lengths of steel.
They were very luck to be given about half a dozen 12ft long benches made of 50 x 50 x 6 mm angle which they cut up for this purpose.

What about a floor standing rack. You don't need many feet if they are sturdy enough.
How long a rack are we talking about.

My 3m long, lightish weight rack is effectively suspended from a wall/roof truss.
Its made of 6 , 25 x 5 mm straps each step is tucked in behind and bolted at the top to the truss , and just has tek screws into the wall cladding to stop each strap moving around.
The brackets are slightly bent 12mm rod set into and welded into holes in the strap.
The rods are sleeved in black poly pipe to make it easier to slide stock on and off.
I could hang my whole then 110kg from any one of those brackets.
stackedrack.jpg

I have a two shelving types set up in a 40' highcube container, neither is permanently mounted to the container superstructure itself.

The first is Unistrut cut to the full height of the container (9ft) and J bolts made from 12mm threaded rod which hook over the welded in tie down loops.
Bolted to the Unistrut is a combination of 600mm cantilever brackets which are unsupported and some supported sections near the bottom for heavier stuff.
Unistrut is expensive unless you have a "source" but it's incredibly universal and adjustable. There's no reason the same couldn't be done with normal RHS, I only used Unistrut because I had some.

The second, and probably the simplest, is 2 bays of 2.4m Dexion pallet racking which I put in a year or so after the Unistrut shelves.

The pallet racking would probably be my preferred option, its free standing, plenty strong enough and quick to install, the only disadvantage as such is that stock longer than 3m needs to slide in from the end unless you put it on the top rail.
Cheers,
Greg.