Spray foam it.  Unbelievable how much heat and cold it reduces.  Also eliminates condensation buildup.

Not to hijack, but here is my conversion...

40' container built out with the access doors to a compartmentalized 15' storage area (and UTV storage).  Solar trickle charger to batteries.
LED lighting inside and out.  
25' Living area with AC/Heat wall unit, insulated and e windows and door.  Outside sink and shower with on demand hot and cold water (more below).

Next on the list is a pipe and barn tin awning.  







and my solar powered, on demand, hot and cold water system.  Totally off the grid.  Just need to refill the water and propane...
I know, the tote doesn't look level, but it is.  

What kind of foam is that? how tough is it?


Nice. I like the lockable window covers and grate over the door.

It's closed cell foam.  A company with a trailer came out to the location to tape everything off and the sprayed it in about 9 minutes.  They typically do the containers at the shop that builds them, but this was already on my location.  They also recommend doing the underneath, as you'll have a lot of ground radiation heat/cold through the seasons.  

When they spray it, it goes on light but then expands, filling every crevasse, etc.  The sprayer did an EXCELLENT job as it came out uniformed and right at 2 1/2" thick everywhere.  He said he's done hundreds of containers, so he has it down.  It has better insulation qualities than rolled foam, and certainly does more in less space.  Plus it seals all the cracks and holes and keeps a lot of the bugs out.  It seems to keep more sound out also.   The only bad thing is it's hard to run wires or hang things on the walls afterwards.  You also do have to be somewhat careful with it.  It won't knock off if you touch it or bump it, but I did strike the wall with my UTV tire and it gashed it (more like compressed it).  Not a lot came off, but it's like pushing your finger on a Styrofoam cooler, it makes an indention but doesn't destroy it.

In the living area of my container, I have rolled foam, as it's framed out and finished out with electrical and wood paneling.

You MUST post some more pics and details!!

Maybe start your own thread since I don't think the OP is updating any more.

Looks sharp!

Tote does look level...looking at the water level vs. the tote basket ribs.



Anyway, looks great.  One thing I might suggest...wrap the tote itself in black plastic to keep the UV light off of it.  That will help keep mold and bacteria from growing in the water.  I used 6mil contractor grade plastic sheeting for mine, bought at the local ACE hardware.  Just empy the tote tank, push the tote over on its side and slide the tank out.  Then wrap it like a Christmas gift, starting on the bottom.  A 10' x 14' section works out about perfect.  Here's one guys' video on YouTube:  http://youtu.be/3YJPhkd7Jvk



 

Thats a nice set up Aceecaus.

Here's some old inside shots.  Dual Futon bunk beds on either end with a queen on the bottom.  Flat screen TV hooked up to DISH Network tailgater for college football.  Everything else is self explanatory.  

Yes. Reflecting IR [heat] in warmer climates can dramatically improve the conditions during sunlight inside a container.

To show what a difference there is between something like bare aluminum and white painted aluminum, go to a utility trailer sales place on a sunny day and feel the inside of white and bare aluminum ones. It's surprising how much cooler the -white- painted ones are.

Just the opposite of intuition I think.



Supporting the corners of a container can be done in lots of ways and it's important that the container be square and level for proper door opening without the substantial door gaskets binding.

I recently posted about tiny ants getting into the left front side of ours and infesting the area where the computer 'desk' is. We sprayed, put down Amdro inside and outside, and pretty much knocked them down, but earlier this week one evening late after I was wrapping things up and looking at the PC, one was crawling up my leg again.

So they were still getting in. I drop a lot of food under the PC 'desk' because it's where I eat supper, etc and snacks, much to my SO's chagrin, so they were having a real smorgasbord to feed from.

The 2nd container used for light storage has been having ever increasing issues with getting the first door open and there's a pretty 'violent' pop when releasing it. I decided to find out why. Last year I checked the level of the container and greased the rubber gaskets with Mobil 1 grease. I rushed the leveling job and didn't do it right at that time.

So Tuesday morning I got a 6 foot accurate level and another shorter one, a 3 1/2 ton floor jack, a 20 ton bottle jack, some metal support plates for the jacks to rest on so as not to compress the soil underneath too much and went to work. I collect various thickness of aluminum, plate when I can find it because it doesn't rust and is easy to cut, even 1 inch thick stuff, on a Dewalt sliding arm saw with carbide tipped teeth and a little kero or WD-40.

Plus I have a lot of various sizes left from running my co.  

I like reinforced concrete pads about 16" sq and 2 1/2" thick or there about's that you can buy from engineered concrete supply places for abt $8 each or so.

Then for our containers -that are on a sloping grade, I'll put either solid concrete blocks or heavy wood blocks, like cuts from RR ties, to space up the corner of the container support. I always use one or more aluminum plates to shim and cap the wood to prevent rusting the container corners.

The problem with wood is that it's not too dimensionally stable, as well as the soil the first concrete tile rests on [don't use concrete pavers from HD, etc, they break almost immediately] and for several years you have to adjust the supports under the container corners, sometimes a couple inches.

Afterwards things settle down as rain and weather allow the base concrete to compress the soil under and stabilize.

Back to the ants, in a moment.


So Tuesday, I used some solid concrete blocks we had bought a year or two ago for this specific purpose to replace the wood supports with something more permanent. The highest corner between the 2 'tainers is about 20 inches, so 2 8 inch blocks laid on top of the base concrete tile then two more turned 90 degrees to the first two, gets close to the necessary elevation.

A few various thicknesses of aluminum [or a sawed off piece of large 6 inch al channel, sandwiched between two ~ 7 by 7 inch al plates tops off the support under the corners and can carry the load that may be up to a ton or so.


After leveling the first storage container, the door still popped when opened, and I watched inside as my SO operated it. The rubber gasket was sticking, folding over, and then finally POW, the door would open once enough force was applied turning the handles. Luckily the gaskets weren't damaged after operating the doors and things getting progressively worse.


I got some freezer wrap from the barn and put it alongside the edge of the door as a sort of lubricant and the doors operated smoothly. So we cleaned with trichlor all the gaskets and mating surfaces of both containers, and lubed them all with a little Krytox [a synthetic expensive, except on ebay often, inert fluorinated lubricant] and the doors open better than new.



We moved to the living container and checked its level, it was close, and jacked it up on each front corner and played with the doors looking for a nice opening and closing.

Then I cut shims and let it down and checked the door, they were OK.

Then I thought, I need to replace the wood supports with concrete blocks, my SO found some more and I removed the wood ones.

One of the blocks on the left top was infested with the tiny ants, there were zillions of them, and my SO put it in the burn barrel.  

So, we cut more shims, replaced the wood blocks with concrete and now everything is hunky dory!

Nice!

Outstanding

 
Please more info on your solar power/battery and water set up.

Awesome project!!

YES! That is awesome. Please feel free to post more pics of different parts of your setup. That is exactly what I'd like to get put together for my potential hunting land.

That is a great looking set up......nice job!

It's a 275 gallon tote that I cleaned out and mounted the weather treated plywood on the side to be able to mount the equipment necessary to run this water system.  Use U-bolts to mount to the metal cage.  I then ground off the extra bolt ends to make it as flush to the nuts as possible.  Loctite is your friend.  

Using a banjo fitting from the tote, I used PEX pipe and fittings for the remainder of the install.  I ran a line from the bottom of the tote to an on demand 12v water pump.  There is a filter that is inline right before it goes into the pump.  Clean this regularly.  Simply unscrew and dump out.  It's a screen filter.

 

That pump is located in the first bottom left battery box.  The next box to the right, contained an accumulator which I removed, as the on demand pump didn't need it.  From there, the line is split and T-d off.  There top T line is running to the tankless propane water heater, and the bottom T'd line is the "cold" line going to the shower, faucet, and hose bib.  The cold line into the water heater is then heated to the temp you can dial in on the side of the heater, and the return line then supplies the shower and sink.  

 

The lines are buried about 12" under ground and they run to the shower, sink, and hose bib.  I used a ditch witch to dig the trenches.  I haven't had any line burst due to freezing (yet).  Hot and cold lines run to the shower and sink, whereas the hose bib only has cold running to it.  All of the exposed lines are insulated. The top battery box has a 12v marine battery in it.  You will have to use heavy duty brackets to support the weight of the battery.  Use metal back-strapping or big washers on the back of the plywood to prevent the nuts from sinking into the wood when torquing down the bolts for the brackets.  All of the other boxes have big washers on both sides.  I also siliconed all of the holes to prevent moisture from getting in them.  

The battery is connected to a red rocker switch which kills power to the pump.  This way, the pump won't turn on in inadvertently when you're gone and ruin it if it runs dry.  This is all connected to the solar panel on top of the tote.  Do your research on the panel that's right for you.  My panel is a bit overkill (as far as charging capacity) but it is located somewhat under shade and I wanted to make the panel was large enough to capture less sunlight, and to make sure the battery would always be charged.  Realistically, the pump doesn't use that much power for the little times that it is on.  I am thinking about connecting and running a 12v LED light to activate at night over the tote.  There is more than sufficient battery power to do this.  



I have a second water tote which I fill at the house and bring back with me when this one runs low.  I use a 120v transfer pump to transfer the water.  I plug this into my generator.  You could use the pump on the water tote system, but that takes a bit more plumbing and I didn't want to compromise that pump in any way.  

SIDENOTES:

The on demand pump has enough pressure to run the shower and the sink at the same time.  The shower is about 60' of pipe away and the sink is about the same.  The hose bib is about 130' away, and the pump has enough pressure to knock off mud of the UTV with the hose.  

The main thing is during the winter time is to drain the lines before you leave.  I forgot to drain the tankless water heater and the bladder inside ruptured due to freezing temps and destroyed the unit.  Expensive lesson learned.  

You can pick up the water totes for around $75 each.  They do make 330 gallon totes for a bit more cost.  Perhaps next time, I'd get one 330 gal tote and a 275 gal tote to transfer water.   Mine had a mineral grade food oil in it that needed rinsing out.  Using hot water and 409 I got the oil grime out.  Then use some Dawn to finish up the job.  I wouldn't drink from the water tote, but I do brush my teeth from it.  Make sure you use the proper amount of bleach to water ratio to prevent algae and bacteria from growing inside the tote and contaminating the water.

An additional thought, you can use as many or as few shut off valves as you want.  I have some going to the sink, shower, and under the tankless heater as I can prevent the heater from running in the summer time  when the water in the tote is in the 80's and no hot water is needed.  It also is good to prevent water from escaping in the event a pipe bursts or is compromised from animals or an act of man or nature.  

Good luck and have fun.

Shower set up (has now been fully enclosed by clear plastic roofing)



Storage are with UTV inside...



Will get more pics later.

We're in the process of building the awning with gathering pipe and barn tin.

Awesome!

Found a few pics of the "before" interior space...

Nice Aceecaus, do you remember what kit you used for the spray foam? There are a few different brands and types to choose from.  I need to spray my 20' storage container.
 

from an earlier post I made...

It's closed cell foam. A company with a trailer came out to the location to tape everything off and the sprayed it in about 9 minutes. They typically do the containers at the shop that builds them, but this was already on my location. They also recommend doing the underneath, as you'll have a lot of ground radiation heat/cold through the seasons.

When they spray it, it goes on light but then expands, filling every crevasse, etc. The sprayer did an EXCELLENT job as it came out uniformed and right at 2 1/2" thick everywhere. He said he's done hundreds of containers, so he has it down. It has better insulation qualities than rolled foam, and certainly does more in less space. Plus it seals all the cracks and holes and keeps a lot of the bugs out. It seems to keep more sound out also. The only bad thing is it's hard to run wires or hang things on the walls afterwards. You also do have to be somewhat careful with it. It won't knock off if you touch it or bump it, but I did strike the wall with my UTV tire and it gashed it (more like compressed it). Not a lot came off, but it's like pushing your finger on a Styrofoam cooler, it makes an indention but doesn't destroy it.

In the living area of my container, I have rolled foam, as it's framed out and finished out with electrical and wood paneling.

Thanks!

+1 Please start your own thread and educate us :)  I'd love to hear more about your setup, looks fantastic. Hopefully, you have some historical record to share?



 

Have you put any thought into having a rear door or window for fire escape or other needs?

Also, the shutters on the front windows seem to be able to be shut without your permission/knowledge and could create a trap With the door blocked off. Just curious.

I'm in a pretty remote place.  The container is small enough to have one exit (plus two windows) to evacuate if necessary.  I have smoke and carbon monoxide detectors inside the container.  The outside shutters, and door gate, open and close with pad locks.  I use the pad locks to lock them into place, open or shut, so there's no way anyone can close them and lock me in without cutting the lock and without me knowing it while I am inside.  They'd get a rude awaking and a case of severe lead poisoning if they'd try that while I was inside.

Good good.

I want one of those and you've got a heck of a setup to give others ideas. Thanks for posting!

My thread here ... link

Couple of things: I can't see underneath your shower, but in long camps past, we'd dig down several feet and fill it with clean rock, then set up the shower over that.  Never had a problem with mud at all.

I love your hot/cold water solution!  Having used those storage tanks for awhile, though, you might cover up as much of the poly tank with plywood as you can to keep the sun off of it.  They harden up/go brittle fairly quickly in direct sunlight.  Looks like you've already covered up a lot of it with the power panel and the solar cells.

What do you estimate is your total Sq. Ft.? I ask because I have a pad already and I'm thinking about doing a similar layout.

Bump for awesomeness........

bumpola for an awesome project.

Any updates?

I noticed it has been three pages since OP posted, but did not notice the year!

Bill

Very cool project.

As far as tornadoes. A tornado that came through Moore, Oklahoma the last few times would throw that thing like a rag doll. I worked the recovery during the last one and could not believe the damage that was done.

At least your container guy got it in your driveway.

That'll buff right out.

In all seriousness I wonder if that tweaked the container causing issues like hard closing/misaligned doors.

What happened?

It didn't seem to hurt the container one bit. Have had it a couple months now and the doors work fine and there's no daylight coming in anywhere.

Pulling him out of the ditch didn't go to bad either, I was able to chain up to his trailer and lift and pull with the excavator and had a tractor pulling his truck and we got it into the drive without much of a problem. The State highway Patrol didn't even give us to much grief about it.

Can the OP repost his pics?

He's long gone.

Last post:  11/1/2014 11:39:30 AM CDT

I know the OP is gone. Sure is a shame the pictures are as well.

I believe this was the thread with the L shaped 20 and 40 footer on a pad. Looking for ideas for my new place

This is very relevant to my interests. And Great Job OP!

Pics!!

@maroman
any updates?

We need to update this!!! A dedicated container thread.

And if you were doing that much concrete work you may as well weld a domed rebar frame and pour a concrete underground structure.

Magically reappears.

@maroman, are you in north Texas?

I think maroman fent

Last Post Date:  11/1/2014 12:39:30 PM EDT

I'd like to see how he moved the containers in place.  I'm getting ready to do something similar but would need to hire a crane to set them exactly where I want them.  I don't remember that he had a crane to place them.