20ft Open Side Container | Full Side Access High Cube | ACE Container & Parts

Created on 09.17

A full-length opening down one side of the box — so the cargo goes in the way it was built, not the way the end door allows.

What It Is

A 20ft open side container is a standard 20ft high cube dry container with one complete side wall replaced by a full-length opening. Instead of a 2.34 m end door, you get roughly 5.8 m of clear side access.

Everything else about it is still a container: same ISO footprint, same ISO 1161 corner castings, same stacking loads, same lashing points, same handling by standard spreaders and twist-locks, same shipping and customs treatment as any 20ft dry box.

Only the way you load it changes.

Why Side Loading Matters

Anyone who has loaded a container through an end door knows the problem. The opening is 2.34 m wide, and every pallet must be pushed, dragged or jacked down a tunnel to reach the far end. Long items go in diagonally or not at all. The last three metres of the box take twice as long as the first three.

Side loading removes that constraint:

Forklift access along the whole length

Cargo longer than the end door

Full use of the far end

Two to three times faster turnaround

Contents visible at a glance

For operations that load and unload frequently rather than once per voyage, this is the difference between the container being a box and the container being a loading system.

Open Side vs Open Top vs Flat Rack

	20ft Open Side	20ft Open Top	20ft Flat Rack
Access	Full side wall	Roof, crane-loaded	Side and top, folding ends
Cargo protection	Fully enclosed	Enclosed	No walls
Containment in transit	Yes, walls on both sides	Yes	No
Best for	Long or bulky cargo, forklift-loaded	Tall cargo, crane-loaded	Oversized heavy machinery
Weather protection	Full	Good	None

Simple rule: if the cargo can be forklifted and you want it enclosed, choose open side. If it must be craned in from above, choose open top. If it does not fit inside a container at all, choose flat rack.

Specifications

Parameter	Standard
External length × width × height	6,058 × 2,438 × 2,896 mm (20 ft high cube)
Side opening, clear	approx. 5,800 mm long × 2,340 mm high
Internal volume	approx. 37 m³
Tare weight	2,400 – 2,900 kg (varies with door configuration)
Max payload	up to 28,000 kg
Corner castings	ISO 1161
Side door panels	2, 3 or 4 leaves, one side or both sides
Structure	Corten / SPA-H equivalent weathering steel
Floor	28 mm marine plywood, or steel checker plate
Coatings	Epoxy zinc-rich primer + polyurethane topcoat, marine grade
Stacking	Designed to ISO dry-container stacking loads
Certification	CSC plate, ISO 668 / ISO 1161

The Engineering Most Buyers Never Ask About

This is the part worth reading before you compare prices.

A dry container's corrugated side wall is not just a wall. It is the shear panel — the element that resists racking, carries part of the vertical load, and stiffens the box as a whole.

Cut a full-length side opening and you remove that panel. If a builder simply welds doors onto a standard shell, the container loses a large share of its racking stiffness. In service that shows up as door panels out of alignment, gaskets that no longer meet, water ingress, and a box that visibly twists when lifted loaded.

A properly built open side container compensates for the missing panel:

Heavier top and bottom side rails

Additional intermediate posts

Reinforced corner posts

Welded, full-penetration door frame

Ask any supplier for the side rail section, the post spacing and the racking figures. A supplier who has them is building an open side container. A supplier who does not has welded doors onto an ordinary box.

Sealing and Security

The side opening is the container's only real weakness in service, and it comes down to detail:

Multiple door leaves, each with multi-point locking bars and cam keepers

EPDM gaskets on all four sides of every leaf, with a drip rail above the opening

Recessed handles so locking gear is not caught or bent in handling

Each leaf individually lockable, plus an optional shrouded lockbox for padlock and seal

Stainless steel hinges and locking hardware for coastal and tropical service

Flatness of the door frame is what makes the gasket work — a welding and fabrication issue, not a parts issue. It is settled at the factory, not on site.

Common Applications

Machinery and equipment that must be forklifted in from the side

Long steel: pipes, tubes, profiles, scaffolding, palletised rod

Vehicles, small craft and out-of-gauge plant

Retail, exhibition and event fit-out

Warehouse overflow with frequent picking and replenishment

Agriculture and mining consumables, loaded and unloaded by the pallet

How ACE Builds Yours

Every unit is produced under our QC programme, with the checks that determine whether the container is still working in year eight:

Material certification

Dimensional QC

Coating QC

Door and gasket QC

Third-party verification

ACE has exported containers for 16 years, working with 50+ partner factories and serving more than 2,000 customers in 130+ countries.

Customisation Options

Opening configuration

Roof and floor

Electrical fit-out

Lining and insulation

Shelving, racking and tool mounts

Branding

Locking upgrades

Tell us the cargo and the loading method, and we will engineer the box around them.

Get a Quote

Send us the following and we will return a full specification, drawing, price and lead time:

Quantity

Cargo type and dimensions

Opening configuration

Sealing and locking requirements

Destination porttarget delivery window

Inspection / certification requirements

Standard specifications and indicative pricing are returned within two working days. Detailed quotations with drawings follow within a week.

ACE Container & Parts — 16 years, 50+ partner factories, 2,000+ customers across 130+ countries.

ACE Container and Parts Co., Limited is a professional supplier of shipping containers and container parts. We were founded in 2011 and located in Tianjin, China. There is Xingang Port, the largest port in North of China. About 60km far from Beijing International Airport.

We are the No.1 shipping container supplier. We can provide One-Stop shipping container solution for customers. We have obtained ISO9001 and SGS certificate. We can provide shipping containers with CCS, BV, LR, DNVGL Certificate.