Shipping Container Barns: 5 Ideas for Your Next DIY Project

Repurposed shipping containers have countless uses, including ways to make your farm or ranch run smoother. One major benefit to using a container farm for your outbuilding is their inherent security and guaranteed stability. Shipping containers are not only stormproof and fireproof, but they can also withstand earthquakes and prevent unnecessary damage caused by extreme weather conditions. 

Here are a few ways you can customize your container shed to fit your farm’s needs. 

Container Barns 

You can easily combine a few shipping containers to turn them into barns. One of the easier ways to do this is to take two 40-foot containers, run them parallel to each other, and then add a roof and walls in the space between the two shipping containers. From there, you can set up stalls for your animals and have them resting safely in a fireproof barn. 

Tack Boxes  

By using a shipping container as a tack box, you can safely store your horses’ feed and other gear in a completely secure building, helping to keep vermin out of your horses’ feed. These shipping containers are large enough that you could use them as a tack box and stall, sectioning off part of it for the horse. It can also be used as a horse trailer and may give your horse a little more space than a traditional trailer would. 

Equipment Storage Shed  

Whether you need a storage shed to hold your everyday tools or animal feed, or you need somewhere to park your equipment at the end of the day, a shipping container can make a good storage building. Vermin cannot get into your container shed when it is closed, and your sensitive equipment is in a dry, secure place. 

Container Gardens 

You can turn a shipping container into a small indoor garden, which is great for when you want to grow out-of-season goods, like strawberries, in the middle of winter. You can set your shipping container farm up to meet the conditions are required to make your plant grow, and voila, you have strawberries in the middle of December. 

Root Cellar 

A climate-controlled shipping container is perfect for a root cellar, allowing you to age wine or cheese or store fruits and nuts requiring specific temperatures. The best part is you do not have to bury it. Your shipping container can stay above ground, giving you easier access, and it will still maintain the temperature you need for your products. You can bury a shipping container, but certain things need to be reinforced before you do, so it's best to do your research ahead of time. 

Shipping containers are an efficient, durable, and secure solution for your farm. Interested in learning more about how you can leverage your own container barn? Browse shipping containers near you, or check out our in-depth guide to finding a container that meets your needs.