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Just curious how some of you would outfit a 20' storage container if you had one?

Welding brackets on the inside doors so you could put a bar across it to keep it closed would be item 1 for me as well as making a way to convert it from locking it from the outside to quickly changing it to keep someone from being able to lock you inside.

Water, food and possibly a few firearms and ammo would be a given (or could be transfered from my safe last min) Waste disposal? Air filters on the vents?

The ideal would be for it not too look like a bunker and assume power and utilities are down while taking shelter in it.


Some things I wonder about:

Storing batteries and other temperature sensitive items in there would not be wise so they would have to be able to be quickly loaded from the house and transferred.

Bunk beds are easy enough to build with 2x4's and plywood.

Tools like shovels, breaker bars (to dig out stuff from a collapsed home?) to basic mechanics tools?

Propane bottles for a stove for cooking (assuming you could get some air circulation) and a heater.

Plenty of flashlights.

Water sanitizing chemicals or filters?


In my head I see bunk beds at the back with rows of shelving for all of the stored stuff and maybe a fold down table top by the doors so you could vent it.

It's just something I've been kicking around in my head for a few years now. My parents are using it to store some of their things but will be hopefully emptying it this next year.

I thought about making it a shop but a fall out shelter of sorts seems more practical for emergencies like what the south is facing.



Lemme know must haves you would put in and other ideas that are out of the box thinking. Or just have fun with the idea and I'll steal the best parts :D.
 
It'd be nice to have a quick opening door like a Murphy bed on the end.. so you could reverse rat trap unwanted visitors flat into the ground. lol
 
Are you planning on putting in windows? You need natural light is your going to spend any significant time cooped up.

Also some sort of surveillance means; video systems and sensors on the primary avenues of approach.

Intelligence and communication center; just a small desk with radio, emergency scanner, plotting maps of the region and log books.

Exercise equipment basics; a pull-up and dip bar is great, and I'd add on a couple of kettlebells.

A small library with how-to books, survival manuals and some substantial pleasure reading.
 
Good stuff has already been posted.

I have to add. You have family that will be joining you in the container? What do they like? Are you and them going to be comfortable in a metal coffin/prison cell? You may not think of it that way but the misses probably would. You have to listen to them and also train. But, make it more enjoyable than just locking yourself up.

Think of things that you can do to pass the time. Some of the most important things are mental wellbeing and companionship. If someone starts getting claustrophobic or starts getting irritated you need solutions.

Build a leave me alone/ sanity room. Just a little area that people can use to get away from everything else. Put a small fish tank in it. Use a pump for a waterfall. Things that relax the body and mind. Remember the human mind is a great tool but it doesn't take much to have someone become mentally incapacitated.

Oh and as crazy as it sounds, couple gallons of different colored paint. As the saying goes,"happy wife, happy life." Being able to change the wall color will be worth its weight in gold.
 
Multiple exits. What if the zombies light fires all around it and try to cook you in that crock pot? At least an escape hatch on top and one in the floor leading to an escape tunnel.
 
Short answer, wouldn't.

Now I would use one as an underground shelter if all of the standard problems using them as one were resolved.

A bunch of the 40' ones would make for a decently sized family shelter with storage and personal space with room to keep fit.
 
Short answer, wouldn't.

Now I would use one as an underground shelter if all of the standard problems using them as one were resolved.

A bunch of the 40' ones would make for a decently sized family shelter with storage and personal space with room to keep fit.
I have to agree with the multiple storage containers. The number of them would depend on the number of people. Let's say that it is husband, wife, son, and a daughter. 3 of the 40' and 3 of the 20'. Parents have one of the 40' for bedroom/ bathroom. Each child gets a 20'. A 40' kitchen/ living room. A 40' workout room/ and whatever else. Last container is the 20' split in half as bathrooms.
 
I have to agree with the multiple storage containers. The number of them would depend on the number of people. Let's say that it is husband, wife, son, and a daughter. 3 of the 40' and 3 of the 20'. Parents have one of the 40' for bedroom/ bathroom. Each child gets a 20'. A 40' kitchen/ living room. A 40' workout room/ and whatever else. Last container is the 20' split in half as bathrooms.
That sounds less like a survival shelter and more like a home. Most containers are approx 8ft wide on the inside, so that means approx 320sq ft per 40ft container, 160 sq ft per 20ft container, doing the math, that makes a 1,440 sq ft home if all the containers are clustered together in a form of village/box/stacked shelter... if spread out it maybe better.. below are various designs of "container homes"; some with the number you're speaking of, others with less.
Do consider this though.. trailer park homes. Most are either single wide 10-12x40 or double wide 20-24x40 trailers..

mundo7.jpg 3710839_orig.jpg Container-Home-793x526.jpg 5c4b052de89ce8d261495472842e6a77.jpg shipping-container-office-sh-1000x667.jpg Containerhousex32.jpg
 
Realistically, a single 20' container will be basic shelter from the elements and critical supply storage. Sleep, cook, keep warm and dry in the winter months. To my earlier list I'd add a wood stove with a flat cooking surface.

Everything else can be done outside most of the year. Also, need an outhouse...
 
That sounds less like a survival shelter and more like a home. Most containers are approx 8ft wide on the inside, so that means approx 320sq ft per 40ft container, 160 sq ft per 20ft container, doing the math, that makes a 1,440 sq ft home if all the containers are clustered together in a form of village/box/stacked shelter... if spread out it maybe better.. below are various designs of "container homes"; some with the number you're speaking of, others with less.
Do consider this though.. trailer park homes. Most are either single wide 10-12x40 or double wide 20-24x40 trailers..

View attachment 390200 View attachment 390201 View attachment 390203 View attachment 390204 View attachment 390205 View attachment 390206

Yeah absolutely a survival home. Again I'm thinking if you can afford to do the one, you might as well do several so you would have the space. If you'd have to use it, no telling when it would be a good idea on when to safely come out...a small one, an everyone would be bat crazy after a few days.
 
That sounds less like a survival shelter and more like a home. Most containers are approx 8ft wide on the inside, so that means approx 320sq ft per 40ft container, 160 sq ft per 20ft container, doing the math, that makes a 1,440 sq ft home if all the containers are clustered together in a form of village/box/stacked shelter... if spread out it maybe better...
I know that it's a "home ". Now truthfully most people can't afford it. And honestly a survival bunker would more accurate. I just want to make the point that being stuck in a single box would cause people to freak out. I would rather go with a broader plan. And my 6 storage containers was intentionally designed over the top. The idea is to not get to narrow in thinking. :D
 
Don't forget about insulation and a faraday cage.

The container would already act as a faraday cage, you're simply blocking a certain range of radiated wavelengths.

A shipping container by itself will offer next to nothing as far as ballistic protection. An AR15 could "Swiss cheese one of these with ease". You'd have to surround it with 2-3 layers of sandbags, encase it in concrete, or bury it below ground.

It'd make a good supplies bunker.
 
Welding brackets on the inside doors so you could put a bar across it to keep it closed would be item 1 for me as well as making a way to convert it from locking it from the outside to quickly changing it to keep someone from being able to lock you inside.

I am not sure how you would do this.

Air filters on the vents?

I do not think a standard unmodified container has vents. They are supposed to be weather tight and rodent proof.
 

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