The notion of living in a converted (or unconverted) storage container is nothing new…you drop into various preparedness forums and you’ll see posts that go way back on the topic. You’ll also see posts from folks who have made their own habitable/storage spaces out of used shipping containers.
The biggest contention on the issue of shipping containers as survivalist retreats is that it seems lotsa folks want to bury them, a’la Terminator 2, and they just ain’t built for that sort of thing. Sure, they stack, but thats because they sit on the corners which are built for just that sort of thing.
I live in a somewhat cold envrion…by the time you pad a shipping container with insulation and the other goodies necessary to handle -20 weather you’re probably better of building a ‘real’ structure. But…I think that fo their original purpose they are ideal. I could see dropping one on a couple concrete piers, and then building up a concrete or forced earth berm on three sides to conceal it and using it as storage at a retreat location. I often wonder if it would make sense to just crib it with lumber and encase the whole thing in a few inches of concrete and rebar, using the container, basically, as a form.
There’s a place down the road from here that sells ‘retired’ containers. They also have the short 20′ ones and those look terribly useful. A fella could probably, with the help of his buddies and a few jacks/winches, manhandle one of those wherever he needs it on his property..in the barn under the hay, in the falling-apart garage under a tarp, or even out in the thick brush, concealed by netting, paint, and timber.
Someday, if I ever get a place in the stick, I’ll probably have a container or two tucked away in some hidden location where I can keep gear, a vehicle, etc. But, in the meantime, the developments in the ‘normal’ communities regarding the development of container-housing construction will come in handy later on. ‘Zon has no shortage of material on the subject….
But by the time you finish framing, cutting out metal, etc, etc, you’re pretty much where you would have been if you had started with a regular cabin built from scratch. Why re-invent the wheel? Check out the military CHU if you want to see what mass-production can do to make a container livable. As expected, Wikipedia has some info on the subject as well. As I read it, the huge amount of containers available is because we import more crap from overseas than we send out…so there are plenty of containers to go around. Since I don’t see that changing any time soon, it makes sense to think of them as a handy resource. If nothing else, they can build a hellaciously cool perimeter wall if you backfill them.
How would you stop people from breaking into one? I see where you can fix the lock such that you cannot get bolt cutters to it. Could it be drilled out? I want a shipping container for a hunting place. But I know someone would try and break into it.
Depending on the size of unit, they can be concealed, if you are willing to leave your vehicle away from it (two track is a dead giveaway). If you are talking public land, then THAT is very hard to accomplish, kids on ATVs can go pretty much everywhere.
i know several that are burying them, a couple just using it as secure storage. one issue is moisture. just respiration produces huge amounts of water vapor. metal doesn’t breathe like wood houses. we used them for storage and had to add solar fans to move the moist air out to stop the mildew on everything. as an instant shelter i think it rules. sandbag it and cut out firing ports.
Shipping containers, eh? Lemme try…
“Hey buddy, step into that shipping container. It’s your new, free home. First though, I’d like to wash up in these showers over here. Srsly. Just step in. The locks are for your security.”
Most people who want to bury them are thinking of putting them in a deep hole, with maybe twenty feet of dirt on top, for radiation protection, and general security. Unmodified, I wouldn’t put more than one foot, or two at most, of dirt on top. I’m thinking that it might work to stack one or two on top of the living quarters, for storage and insulation, as long as the sides and top of the stack are reinforced. You need pilings or telephone poles lining the sides, going deeper than the bottom container, with cross bars connecting them at the top, to keep the sides from being crushed from earth slumping. Concrete ribbed walls would work, and last longer. Just cast them in place.
Your idea of a berm on three sides would be a good start, but I would be inclined to do a bit of reinforcing so you could dump enough dirt on top to insulate it for temp control, and make it blend in with the area. A berm set back from the entrance, taller than the box top, with enough room to turn a vehicle into the box, would help hide it from a casual search. Or, a camouflaged door cover setup.
I’ve read that the typical container has a reinforced wooden floor, to allow small forklifts to move around inside. But, it does not have a solid metal bottom under this. Still not sure if there is any solid metal structure models out there. This might explain the marginal floating characteristics of a typical loaded container that gets lost overboard at sea. Well, that, and the fact that containerships are known to sink. One was lost in that recent hurricane off the east coast.
Weight for an empty 20ft is approx 4900lbs, and 40ft is 8700. You could move these around with a small/medium tow truck with extending boom and double winches. The cables on those trucks are rated at 3500lbs each, so a double winch setup gives you 7000lbs lifting capacity. The wheel lift on them is rated at 4400lbs at full extension, which gives you another tool for shifting them around. This truck should be able to lift one end of the 40ft, and possibly the entire 20ft, if the boom extends far enough. I would be leery of trying to lift the entire 20ft with just straps/cables/chains around the middle of it, as this may crush it. You would need some spreader bars to take the stress off the panels, most likely. The problem is that running the winch cables to both ends may leave you with insufficient height to get it off the ground. The more the cables angle away from vertical, the less weight they can lift, so you can’t have the end of the boom sitting a few feet above the box. There are lifting cradles designed for this, but you aren’t going to find them available for rent, I suspect.
Figure on lifting just one end at a time, and swinging it around by moving the truck.
I’d be inclined to try a dry run with the rig, at the container store, to verify the truck is able to do what you need. Ideally, you want a truck that is rated to be able to tow the container, so the delivery and setup costs are minimized. That, and perhaps better site security.
Of course, going up in towing class gives you more weight capability, at higher cost.
I’m wondering if it is feasible to weld two 20ft’ers end to end, or perhaps side to side, if you need the space. It may not be feasible to get a 40ft’er to some remote locations, where a 20ft’er is.
They don’t bury well, but would work fine in a pit. Used to live near an outfit that did precast concrete panels; dig a pit, set the container, cap the pit with a flat panel, throw dirt on top.
I saw someone down here build a pretty cool barn structure with a pair of boxes, and gable roof trusses bridging between them. So two lock boxes on each side with a ‘dog trot’ between them for a garage or low travel trailer shelter. Use hay bales to enclose the openings to conceal the interior contents if you like.
Down here, the boxes run about $1000 per 6×6 box, $1250 for 8×8 box, and $1800 for the big ones. The condition depends if they are the older units which were used over and over again, vs. the one time used boxes which tend to be in better condition (of course). Part of the cost issue was explained to me was that the majority of the cost is picking it up and putting it down off the bed. Smaller units can be inserted into the larger boxes for multiple units.
Those costs above DO NOT count the cost of shipping of course. For a longer lifed unit, a pad of caliche / rock and railroad ties to liff the floor off grade is helpful for longer life. All will eventually rust unless you take steps to coat the surfaces.
I can state from experience that they sweat like crazy even with a proper ventilation system and dirt over – and yes, you have to support it from the inside for even a modest amount of cover. I wouldn’t store my hoard of TP in one that wasn’t well-aired…just sayin’.
The best and most efficient deployment of these containers I have seen was a fellow who had a couple score of them parked in a double V fasion thusly:
Each V was made of 21 containers Each one was set back about 10 feet from its neighbor, with the front doors of them pointing towards the V on the other side of the lot.
The result was a diamond shaped formation with all the doors pointing towards the interior and the blank sides and ends forming the outer walls.
This created a small courtyard with easy access to all containers and only two ways in and out, each of which had cyclone fencing and razor ribbon.
The beauty was the containers formed their own compound, were easily accessible from the interior ‘courtyard’, and the only real expenditure was two 10 foot cyclone hates that were welded to the end most containers.
One option for moving them is the wheel kit the US armed forces use that mounts on the ends, then lifts the container using hydraulic jacks. Enough clearance to be used on pavement and reasonably flat terrain. Nomenclature is “M1022 dolly set mobilizer” for the basic version; there’s also an ‘A1 version that has a diesel APU to power the jacks. Needs something like an M35 2.5-ton truck to haul it, as it uses a military pintle/lunette to connect to a tractor and needs air for the brakes.
There are also caster kits that mount to the connection-points in each corner. These are only intended for low-speed use on pavement, but some might be able to handle very low speed off-pavement moves with an empty container. That could make it possible to tow a container into its final position, at least. Then lift it with jacks so the casters can be removed, holes dug and piers cast for permanent emplacement.
Using the sides of the container as one side of a form and casting concrete has a lot to recommend it. Probably would want to cast in stages, as in slip forming, to avoid placing too much pressure on the sheet metal sides. Should be possible to weld tabs to the metal to tie-in rebar or wire mesh for reinforcement.
The floors are plywood with steel joists. The plywood is very often treated with insecticides and fungicides that could be hazardous with long exposure. Some people have tried sealing the floors with epoxy paints, others remove the plywood and replace with untreated plywood. If permanently placing a container, it would probably be possible to remove the plywood and cast a concrete floor. Perhaps incorporating radiant heat tubing?
Hey Commander, Bought a shorty for a Faraday box. The company moved it with a flat bed wrecker and almost go it perfectly into place. It was about 2″ off from where we wanted it and used a small farm tractor to pull it right where we wanted it. Cheap and almost perfect for the job we want. Keep up the good work, TY, Joe.