Container Door Upkeep
Why are my container doors not opening easily? Have you had this thought recently? Did the doors open easily in the beginning? If so, read below to learn more about container door upkeep before winter gets here! If not, it never hurts to learn what to do if your container doors do become harder to open!
Container door upkeep is very important after purchasing your shipping container. Follow the steps below to maintain your container doors. These are the steps we take when we get containers in from the depot and before they leave our yard for delivery.
Door Upkeep Steps
Below is a drawing explaining the various components of your container door.
- Level – First you need to find out if your container is level. If it is not level, the container doors will not work properly.
- Lubricate – Liberally lubricate the locking bar brackets, door hinges and locking bar guides with WD-40 or any lubricant of your choice. Work the door handles back and forth to free up the locking rods.
- Grease – Next apply a generous amount of grease onto the locking bar cams that are welded onto the container. You’ll find these underneath the locking bar cam retainers.
- Test – Try opening and closing the doors a few times. They should be working a lot better for you! If you’re still feeling some resistance at this point, move on the step 4.
- Armor All (IF Necessary!) – If you’ve tested your doors and they’re still not operating well, another thing that may help is to spray the gaskets down with Armor All. This makes the gaskets “slick” and sometimes is a big help in making the doors open and close a little easier for you!
Hope these container door upkeep tips help keep your container doors working properly.
