What the Coast buys containers for
Most of the Central Coast is houses on bush blocks with a bit of slope and not much flat ground at the front. That shapes what people buy. A 10 ft container goes behind a carport, beside a shed or down the side of the house where a 20 ft unit would not turn. A 20 ft unit still suits the bigger blocks out at Somersby, Peats Ridge and Mangrove Mountain, and the acreage around Kulnura.
The common jobs we quote for here:
- Boat and trailer storage — a 10 ft unit takes outboards, fishing gear, eskies and dive tanks, and locks better than a tarp behind the fence.
- Garden and mower gear — mowers, brushcutters, fuel and tools for the larger blocks around Ourimbah and Lisarow.
- Trades storage — sparkies, plumbers and chippies working between Gosford and Wyong keeping gear on site instead of towing it home each night.
- Renovation overflow — furniture and tools out of the house while the extension is built, then resold or kept.
- Site offices and crib rooms — smaller builds and granny flat jobs where a cabin does the job of a shed and an office at once.
If you are storing anything that rusts or goes mouldy — tools, upholstery, cardboard — ask about a cargo-worthy grade and think about a vent kit. The Coast is humid through summer and condensation inside a sealed steel box is real. Our guide to container condensation covers it properly.
Getting a container onto a Central Coast block
This is where the Coast is harder than most of Sydney. Two things decide whether a delivery is straightforward: how much straight, clear, level ground you have, and whether the truck can get to it.
Tilt-tray. The tray tips and the container slides off the back. It needs roughly twice the container length in straight clear space in front of the drop point, plus room to swing around. For a 20 ft unit that is about 12 m of clear run — on a sloping block that often means the driveway or the street.
Side-loader. The container comes off sideways on a crane arm, so the truck only needs a clear strip beside the drop point rather than a long run past it. On the narrow streets around East Gosford, Kincumber and parts of Woy Woy, and on blocks where the only flat spot is beside the driveway, the side-loader is usually the right call. It does need clear overhead — no low branches, power lines or carport roofs in the swing path.
Ground. A loaded container is heavy and the truck is heavier. Firm, level ground is what you want: compacted gravel, concrete, or a properly prepared pad. Loose fill, wet clay and steep cross-falls are where containers end up out of level and doors stop swinging. Sleepers or blocks under the corners are normal practice; our guide to what to put a container on sets out the options and what each costs you in effort.
If the site is awkward — steep drive, trees, a shared easement, a gate you are not sure a truck fits through — tell us when you order. Send a photo or two. It is much cheaper to plan the right truck than to send one that cannot get in.
How the delivery runs from our Melbourne yard
Every container we sell ships from our yard in Melbourne. For the Central Coast the run is up the Hume Freeway to Sydney, then north on the M1 Pacific Motorway past the Hawkesbury River and up the hill at Mooney Mooney into Kariong — about 940 km all up, roughly nine hours of driving before any stops. The last stretch to Gosford is about 80 km from the Sydney end of the M1.
That distance is not a problem, and it does not cost you extra. Delivery is free to any address in Australia, metro or regional, and the freight is built into the price you see on the listing. The only thing that changes with distance is the transit window.
Published transit for regional NSW: 4–10 business days after dispatch. Dispatch is 2–5 business days after your payment clears, so plan on roughly two to three weeks from payment to the container sitting on your block. Allow the longer end for a crane job, a site that needs a traffic escort, or a delivery you have asked us to book for a specific date. Full detail is on our delivery page.
Prefer to collect? You are welcome to pick the unit up from the Melbourne yard free of charge, but for most Central Coast buyers the delivered price is the cheaper and easier option once you count fuel, a hire trailer and a day off work.
Choosing the unit
Three decisions do most of the work:
- Size. 10 ft for gear, boats and tight blocks; 20 ft for a full house move, a workshop or a business's stock. 10 ft units are cut-down or purpose-built from 20 ft shells, so they cost more per foot — but they fit where nothing else does. Browse 10 ft containers or 20 ft containers.
- Grade. New one-trip is clean, straight and the best long-term buy for a block you intend to keep. Cargo-worthy used is sound and cheaper. Wind and watertight is the budget grade — it keeps weather out but may show dents and surface rust. Every listing states its grade.
- Doors and access. Check which way the doors will face before the truck arrives. Reversing a container is not something you can do afterwards without another truck.
All our containers are 2.44 m wide externally; a 10 ft is about 3.05 m long and a 20 ft about 6.06 m. That width is what matters on a narrow side access — measure the gate, not the block.
Do you need approval?
Container rules are set by the local council, and Central Coast Council is no different from anywhere else: short-term use on a building site is treated differently to a container sitting in the backyard for years. If it is going to stay, ring the council and ask before you buy. Our piece on council approval explains what they will ask you.
Nearby
We also deliver across the Hunter and Lake Macquarie — see Newcastle and the Hunter — and into Sydney's northern suburbs and beaches via Sydney and NSW.
