What size storage unit do you need?

10ft container

3.0m × 2.4m · ~80 sq ft

20ft container

6.0m × 2.4m · ~160 sq ft

40ft container

12.0m × 2.4m · ~320 sq ft

All three

Ground level, drive-up, full container height

The three sizes, side by side

Every unit is a steel shipping container at ground level, so the floor area below is the whole story — there is no lift, no corridor and no shared loading bay to work around. Height is the part people forget: you have the full container height to stack into, which is roughly double what a domestic shelving unit gives you.

“Large van” here means a long-wheelbase Transit or similar. It is a better yardstick than square feet, because most people have loaded one and nobody has an instinct for 160 sq ft.

What do the sizes compare to?

• 10ft — about two-thirds of a parking bay, or a very large garden shed.
• 20ft — about the footprint of a single garage, but you can stack higher.
• 40ft — about a double garage, and long enough to drive a car in with room to spare.

What size storage unit do I need for a house move?

Moving is the most common reason people take on domestic storage in Leeds, and the usual mistake is going one size too small to save money, then making two trips because the sofa won't go in. If you are between two sizes, take the bigger one — the difference in rate is smaller than the cost of a second van.

These are personal storage containers at ground level rather than lockers down an indoor corridor, which tilts the maths in your favour: the van reverses to your own door, so going a size up costs you nothing in extra carrying. Household overflow on its own — the garage, the loft, the spare room you want back — usually needs less than people assume.

What size storage unit does a business need?

For stock and equipment the question is less about floor area and more about how often you need to reach the back. A 20ft container with a walkway down the middle is more usable than a 10ft packed solid, even though the 10ft looks like it holds “enough”.

• 10ft — tools, archives, a trade van's worth of materials, seasonal stock.
• 20ft — e-commerce stock with room to pick and pack, or a fit-out crew's kit.
• 40ft — pallets, bulk inventory, plant, or a vehicle plus stock.

More detail on invoicing, terms and out-of-hours access is on the business storage page.

How should you pack a drive-up container?

Drive-up storage rewards a bit of planning that indoor units don't, because you load straight off the van in one go rather than trolleying things in over an hour.

1. Heavy and low first — white goods, boxes of books, tool chests along the back wall.
2. Build in a centre aisle if you will visit often. Losing a foot of width beats unpacking the whole unit to reach one box.
3. Anything you need within a month goes by the doors, labelled facing out. Everyone thinks they will remember. Nobody does.
4. Mattresses and sofas upright against a side wall, covered — they take far less floor space on their edge.
5. Nothing damp. A container is wind- and watertight, but sealing moisture in with your things is how you get a musty unit.
6. Pallets or battens under anything you would rather not sit on a cold steel floor.

Still not sure?

Tell us roughly what you are storing when you register your interest and we will tell you which size we think you need — including if that is a smaller one than you asked about. Nothing is committed either way, and you can change size before you move in.

Questions about storage unit sizes

Sizes and dimensions are confirmed; rates are not published yet and go out by email when we open in autumn 2026. See how pricing will work.