How big is a 16-foot container, really?
A Mobi is 16 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 8 feet tall — roughly the footprint of a single-car garage bay, with full standing height inside. It sits at ground level, so you walk in and load rather than lifting everything up onto a truck deck.
In practical terms, one container holds about a 2–3 bedroom home: roughly three to four rooms of furniture plus boxes. That is the honest average across the moves we deliver for around Mansfield, Ontario, Lexington, and Ashland.
Room-by-room: what fits in one container
Here is a realistic breakdown of what a single 16-foot container swallows when it is loaded well:
- Bedroom — a queen or king mattress and box spring, a disassembled frame, a dresser, two nightstands, and 10–15 boxes. Two full bedrooms fit comfortably.
- Living room — a sectional or a sofa plus a loveseat, a coffee table, two end tables, a TV stand, a mounted TV, and a couple of lamps and rugs.
- Kitchen and dining — a dining table with four to six chairs, a hutch or buffet, and 15–25 boxes of dishes, small appliances, and pantry goods. A full-size refrigerator fits if you plan for it early.
- Garage and basement — a workbench, a push mower, bikes, shelving, tote stacks, tools, and lawn and patio furniture.
How many containers does my home need?
Use these as a starting point, then adjust for how much you have in the garage and basement — that is where estimates usually go wrong:
- 1 bedroom apartment or condo — one container, with room to spare.
- 2 bedroom home — one container.
- 3 bedroom home — one container for most families; two if the garage and basement are full.
- 4+ bedroom home — plan on two containers.
How much weight can it hold?
Weight is rarely the limiting factor for household goods — space runs out first. The exceptions are dense loads: pallets of tile, brick or stone, stacked file boxes, gym equipment, and safes. If you are storing anything unusually heavy, tell us before delivery so we can advise on distribution and placement.
Whatever you load, spread heavy items along the floor across the full length of the container rather than piling them at one end.
Loading tips that save you a second container
The difference between a full house fitting and not fitting is almost always technique, not volume:
- Stack all the way to the ceiling — you have eight feet of height and most people use five.
- Disassemble everything you can: bed frames, table legs, shelving units, and crib rails.
- Fill hollow space. Dresser drawers, coolers, laundry baskets, and the inside of the washer all hold soft goods.
- Load heavy and flat items first — appliances, mattresses on edge, tabletops against the walls — then build boxes into the gaps.
- Use uniform box sizes. Mismatched boxes waste more space than any single piece of furniture.
- Keep a walkway to the door if you will need access before the move, then fill it last.
What you should not put in a container
A few categories stay out, either for safety or because an unheated steel box is the wrong environment for them:
- Flammables and pressurized items — gasoline, propane tanks, paint thinner, and aerosols.
- Food and anything perishable, which attracts pests.
- Live plants and animals.
- Anything you will need on short notice — passports, medications, tax documents, tools for the job you are doing.
- Vehicles. A car, RV, or boat belongs in vehicle storage, not a portable container.
Not sure? Ask before you book two
Describe your home and what is in the garage and we will give you a straight answer on one container versus two — it is a five-minute conversation that can save you a month of rent. Call or text 844-644-STOR (7867) or email info@mobistor.me.
Residential rentals start at $249 per month, and delivery, pick-up, and re-delivery are free within 35 miles of Mansfield.