There are two parts to a shipping container, turned into a storage container, that actually touch and move, these are the hinges and the cam locks. Because these two parts move and operate, any problems quickly become apparent and become more frustrating as the ability to use them diminishes. Doing a little research to see what people do to maintain the hinges on their storage containers, I was surprised to find that there doesn’t seem to be a safe formula. Rather, this research resulted in a potpourri of ideas, concoctions, and philosophy on container hinge maintenance. Honestly, the most effective idea I learned was the simplest, but we’ll get to that later.

The things that should happen in the maintenance of the hinges are twofold; the first is taking out the trash. The buildup of dirt is what holds the door together and makes it difficult to move. The second thing that is needed is to lubricate the two rubbing hinge surfaces to maintain easy operation and prevent dirt from building up. If both are the case, the door will work without a hitch. I found a discussion thread stating that people have used mixes of; muriatic acid and liquid soap, diesel fuel and motor oil, paint thinner and brake fluid, three parts penetrating oil and one part automatic transmission fluid, and automatic transmission fluid and acetone, to name a few. I’m not sure which one worked better than others, but each of these had one thing in common, one part of the mix broke or expelled dirt and the other part of the mix offered some kind of lubrication to the hinge.

Two OTC products that people have had success with are “Fluid Film” which is available from Grainger Supply and “Rust Check”, Rust Check is available in Canada, however I don’t think it can be found in the United States . When reading the product literature, these products removed dirt from the hinge and offered some lubrication.

The simple plan I discussed earlier would be to clean the container hinges with penetrating liquid or paint thinner, then drill a hole, tap it, and install a zerk fitting on each hinge and fill them with grease once or twice a year. The grease will lubricate for ease of action and will prevent dirt from entering the hinge and causing the door to re-jam.

This issue of shipping container hinge maintenance seems to be one with several different solutions rather than one or two techniques. A lot of us have some combination of these products on the shelf somewhere, so instead of running to the auto parts retailer for transmission fluid and the filling station for diesel fuel, just go to the kitchen for some soap. liquid and into the container for a little paint thinner. mix it up, try it on the hinges and let us know how it works.