Are you having problems closing your shipping container doors and need help?
There are a few possible reasons why this might be happening but if you recently bought a container, and it was delivered with the doors in the closed position, it’s likely because the ground you placed the container on is not level and casuing the doors to rack.
Don’t worry, there’s usually a quick fix to it.
You see when a container is placed on uneven surface one end of the box is sloping in one direction and the other end is sloping in another, this causes the end frame to twist and doors to become un-aligned.
Racked door due to container being placed on non-flat surface
My container doors used to close just fine – what happened?
It may be that when your container was empty the doors were closing without any trouble, but after loading cargo the problems started.
Why is this?
When empty the container can be rigid enough not to twist but after loading the box is pushed into the ground and forces a twist in the end frame, which means the door alignment is put out of place.
How would you know if this is the case with your container doors?
It’s usually quite easy to tell because if you stand in front of your container with the doors closed as far as they will go, you will see that the rubber door gaskets are not in line. In other words, one door is slightly higher than the other.
How to fix the problem.
The solution is fairly simple and usually involves using a packer.
What’s a packer? it’s a spacer made out of steel, wood or cement for example.
Your container has 4 corners, you would lift the container up slightly and place a packer underneath one of the corners to level the container out.
But which corner should you place the packer underneath?
Looking at the doors, see which one is hanging lowest and place the packer underneath the corner on this side.
After doing this you should now be able to close your container doors.
Summary:
- Containers are engineered to an exact specification and designed to be placed on a flat surface.
- Usually any problems you’re having with closing the doors will be related to the ground not being level where the container’s kept.
- Placing a packer underneath one of corners is usually a quick and easy fix.