Shipping containers Coolabunia
Red soil farming country immediately east of Kingaroy, on the road out towards the Bunya Mountains. Coolabunia is peanuts, grain and the showground end of the district, and the deliveries here are almost entirely agricultural.
- Postcode
- 4610
- Local government
- South Burnett Regional Council
- The run
- About 8 km east of Kingaroy on the Bunya Highway
- Usual vehicle
- Tilt-tray; sidelifter for 40s onto farm hardstand
The jobs a container does around Coolabunia
The jobs that repeat at Coolabunia are fertiliser and seed storage between seasons, bunded chemical units for spray and treatment products, machinery parts and workshop overflow on the cropping properties, hay and fencing storage on the mixed blocks, and event and equipment storage around the showground and sporting facilities. Whatever is on the list, the quote covers the unit and the truck together, and we will name the grade that suits rather than the dearest one.
| Unit | Used from | New from |
|---|---|---|
| 10ft Containers | $4,350 | $6,400 |
| 20ft Containers | $2,200 | $3,300 |
| 40ft Containers | $2,600 | $5,500 |
Ex GST guide prices, not a quote. A quote takes about five minutes on the phone. Whatever the Coolabunia run costs, it is in the number you are told and it does not move.
Storage on a peanut and grain property
The two purchases that come up again and again are an input store and a chemical store, and they are different problems. Inputs — fertiliser, seed, bagged product — need dry, ventilated and off the ground, and a cargo-worthy 20ft with vents fitted does it well for a fraction of the cost of shed space.
Chemical needs containment rather than just cover. A bunded unit holds a spill instead of letting it reach soil that is the whole reason the property exists, and it ventilates, locks and signs the problem in one place. Specify it against what is actually on the shelf, because class and quantity change the fittings.
The third one, less obvious, is a parts and consumables store. When a header is down mid-harvest the value of having the filter on hand is measured in hours of daylight.
Timing a delivery around the season and the weather
There are two windows to avoid and both are predictable. The first is the days immediately after real rain, when the surface is greasy and the gentle slopes through here become the deciding factor rather than the gate width.
The second is peak harvest, when the farm tracks and the highway are carrying trucks and machinery and a delivery vehicle is an obstacle for everyone including itself.
Neither is a reason to put off ordering — it is a reason to order early. If the container is on the property before the season starts, none of it applies.
Getting it onto your Coolabunia block
Everything here comes back to the krasnozem. It is the reason the country grows what it grows and it is the reason delivery timing matters more at Coolabunia than almost anywhere else on this list. Red basalt soil goes slick on the surface within an hour of decent rain while remaining perfectly firm a spade's depth down, which produces a very specific problem: a truck does not bog, it loses traction, and on the gentle rises that run through this country losing traction with a loaded bed is not something a driver can recover from gracefully. Two dry days and the same ground will carry anything. The other timing consideration is harvest. During the peanut window the farm roads and the highway are busy with trucks and headers moving between blocks, and a delivery scheduled into the middle of that is in everybody's way. Physically the properties themselves are easy — wide gates built for machinery, generous headlands, and sheds with compacted or sealed aprons that suit a sidelifter placing a 40ft. Place on the hardstand rather than in the paddock and move it later if you must.
The constants apply here as anywhere: weight-bearing footing, a lined-up run, and clear space above the placement point. Any doubt is better resolved with photographs than with a description over the phone. The access guide has the lot.
Coolabunia — common questions
How soon after rain can you deliver on red soil?
Usually two dry days, sometimes more after a big fall. Krasnozem goes greasy on top while staying firm underneath, so the risk is a loaded truck losing traction on a rise rather than sinking into it. That is not something a driver can recover from safely, so we will move a delivery rather than attempt it.
Should the container go in the paddock or up near the sheds?
Near the sheds, on the hardstand, almost every time. Compacted or sealed aprons carry a sidelifter comfortably, and shifting a container thirty or forty metres later with the tractor is cheap compared with recovering a truck from worked ground. Paddock placement is possible, it is just the expensive way round.
What sort of container suits spray chemical storage?
A bunded unit — sealed floor with capacity to contain a spill, ventilation so vapour cannot build up in a closed steel box, shelving and signage specified for what you hold. The specification depends on class, quantity and what is stored next to what, so have a rough list of products and volumes ready when you ring.
Do you deliver to the showground and sporting facilities?
Yes, and access there is among the simplest in the district — wide entries, level ground and plenty of room to work. Event and equipment storage is a common use for a container that has to be secure, weatherproof and able to sit unattended between events.
Other towns on this run
Sort the Coolabunia delivery early
Ordering ahead of when you need it removes the weather from the equation entirely.
(07) 4141 7699Mon–Fri 7:30am–5pm, Sat 8am–12pm. If we are out on a run, leave a message or send the form and you will get a call back.