shipping containers
 

1st time in the "survival" section here, so don't know if this has been discussed. had 10 acres which i sold to get a largish block of money to dump in gold. gave up on my survival preps, invested and moved into the city (seattle) with my gal. my fingers are crossed i can cash in and slide out with her before everything goes to rat feces. anyhow, had 3 conx boxes. a 40 X 8 X 8, a 20 X 8 X 8, and a 24 X 8 X 9.5 (tallboy). one was my shop (perpectually in the making), one gym\everyday supplies, small one was my 'end 'o the world' supplies. miss the hell out of them. hard wired, insulated them, built leantos for autos and yard equipment off of them. i had lock boxes put on all before being delivered. painted dark green with brown metal roofing over them. the things are cheap. 5 - 7 yrs ago each cost me between 2000 and 3000$ to be painted, lock boxes welded on and delivered. all were used, in good shape. while they can be broken into with a sawsall or cutting torch, they have no window to access and getting in would be time consuming and create a god-awful racket. for storage of supplies, i can't imagine anything beating them

Re: shipping containers
 

Are you asking something or sharing a story from your past?

Re: shipping containers
 

This was something we actually discussed a short while ago. A search should bring up the thread.

If you do some searching you can find tons of info on doing exactly what you've done. I'm still contemplating how these things might be used in colder climates either by berming them with earth or completely burying them.

Re: shipping containers
 

Burial would put stresses on them that they weren't designed for. You can buy insulated ones. They have about 6" of foam, I think.

Re: shipping containers
 

If you can find them the 762 Series Container is an aluminum insulated 20'. There is no on-board refrigeration unit taking up space.

I've lived in containers in some of the wild and wooly places on Earth. They work out well--------BUT-----------You want to make sure that the doors can be stopped from completely closing if you are inside. A joker, bad guy, a.. ho.. could trap you quite securely, and permanently, if they wanted to.

For what it is worth!

Re: shipping containers
 

On mine I habitually lock one of the handles after i open the door. Also use a piece of chain and eye hook so I can sort of lock myself in, which gives me peace of mnd when bears have been visiting. Usually I just sleep outside though. Sleeping on top is fun, too. Use a sheet of plywood to flatten out the corrugations and you're under the stars

Re: shipping containers
 

There are several ways. I just wanted to raise the possibilities of situations occurring.

I always keep a oxy-acetelyne torch, a large pair of bolt cutters and such in with me since my sleeping quarters are also my tool shed. Hang a hammock off some hooks and I'm good to go.

I also generally have my Great Pyrenees and Great Dane with me. The Pyr because she is a bit flaky and can hear a tweety-bird fart at 30,000' and the Great Dane for the heavy work. Nothing and nobody is going to get close to their food-source. Not cheap anyway.

For what it is worth--Standard shipping containers are steel. Unless you are going to undercoat them with tar don't waste your time burying or berming them.

Re: shipping containers
 

didn't Barnacle Bob make some kinda retreat out of these?

Re: shipping containers
 

for insulating these things, i've seen up in alaska's smaller burgs where polyethylene or urethane has been shot over the box. i insulated with r-11 and plywood. have seen some excellent configurations in those villages for shops/homes/boathouses. link of what can be done architecturely:
http://www.fabprefab.com/fabfiles/containerbayhome.htm
http://www.hybridseattle.com/

Re: shipping containers
 

The actual panels are not designed for it, that's for sure. But the corners and the frame could certainly handle it. They are stacked on top of one another 10 high in shipping-- they'd have no problem with a few feet of dirt on them.

The problem is that they're not designed to have pressure on the panels. Even walking on top of them, you can feel they'd buckle in.

So burried ones would need reinforcing. Or at the very least, some sort of distribution of the weight of the earth berm or complete cover onto the corners.

Re: shipping containers
 

I wouldn't bury them. I guess the'd be OK in a dry climate on well drained soil if they were well reinforced inside. I see their value as barns and as a foundation for a building.