Putting S280 in ground?

[zguy1243]

Hello all,

I was wondering if anyone has ever buried a S280 shelter? I was thinking of putting one in the ground in the side of a hill for a storm shelter. I would be only putting about 2 feet of dirt on roof and filling around sides and leaving the front side with door facing out the face of the bank/hill. I hate to put a nice shelter in the ground but I guess if it would handle the weight its cheaper than pouring one from concrete.....

 

[zguy1243]

edit

 

[RedbeardTheZombieHunter]

If you wanna bury something for a shelter, get yourself a steel shipping container. The thicker construction will stand up weather it's under a foot or 50 feet of dirt, and it won't rust as easily if it's painted thick before you bury it. I'm thinking it'll be a bit cheaper too, and even the smallest shipping container has much more room for supplies and storage than an S280.
Also, I dunno if you've ever seen what happens to a military truck-mounted shelter in a wet or soggy climate, but, moisture can really make a mess of them. Depending on how much rain you get in your area, 2 to 5 years under ground could make an S280 into a deathtrap. Once moisture has compromised the structure, any weight on top of it will fold it up like a cardboard box. Shipping containers are made to travel on ships being craned, stacked 10 to 15 units high, and forklifted for years on end and suffer verry minimal if any damage. You can bury 2 of them side by side in level ground, park deuces on top of them and have no worries. If you take some time and reasearch sources online, you can find them for pretty reasonable prices and in most cases, when you purchase one or two containers and arrange to have them moved and placed, you can get a much better deal on the purchase price of the containers themselves. You can get them as small as I believe 14 feet all the way up to 48 feet long and coming up short on space just means you can get another one and bury it right next to the first one.

 

[doghead]

Why post in the trailer forum? It's a shelter that goes in the rear of a deuce.

I think you'd be safer standing outside in the storm.

 

[zguy1243]

Why post in the trailer forum? It's a shelter that goes in the rear of a deuce.

I think you'd be safer standing outside in the storm.

Best place I could figure, its not a vehicle...I will use a different forum next post? What one would you like me to use if I want to post something about a shelter?

 

[212sparky]

We need a shelter forum to go with the rail road forum.

 

[RedbeardTheZombieHunter]

Shipping containers go on a trailer chassis after they come off the ship. Does that count?

 

[RedbeardTheZombieHunter]

Oops, lost my connection and accidently double replied. DOH!

 

[zguy1243]

Good Idea on the shipping container. I have seen the prices go up on those from what I can remember though. I have a older 280 that is kind of rough and a nice one. I have been trying to find a use for the old crapped out one. I have heard that some modifications have to be done to the containers to support load on the walls and roof due to how they are stacked the load rating is good only at certain points...

If you wanna bury something for a shelter, get yourself a steel shipping container. The thicker construction will stand up weather it's under a foot or 50 feet of dirt, and it won't rust as easily if it's painted thick before you bury it. I'm thinking it'll be a bit cheaper too, and even the smallest shipping container has much more room for supplies and storage than an S280.
Also, I dunno if you've ever seen what happens to a military truck-mounted shelter in a wet or soggy climate, but, moisture can really make a mess of them. Depending on how much rain you get in your area, 2 to 5 years under ground could make an S280 into a deathtrap. Once moisture has compromised the structure, any weight on top of it will fold it up like a cardboard box. Shipping containers are made to travel on ships being craned, stacked 10 to 15 units high, and forklifted for years on end and suffer verry minimal if any damage. You can bury 2 of them side by side in level ground, park deuces on top of them and have no worries. If you take some time and reasearch sources online, you can find them for pretty reasonable prices and in most cases, when you purchase one or two containers and arrange to have them moved and placed, you can get a much better deal on the purchase price of the containers themselves. You can get them as small as I believe 14 feet all the way up to 48 feet long and coming up short on space just means you can get another one and bury it right next to the first one.

 

[RedbeardTheZombieHunter]

Good Idea on the shipping container. I have seen the prices go up on those from what I can remember though. I have a older 280 that is kind of rough and a nice one. I have been trying to find a use for the old crapped out one. I have heard that some modifications have to be done to the containers to support load on the walls and roof due to how they are stacked the load rating is good only at certain points...

Yeah, they had to beef up the older containers a little for higher stacking on the newer larger cargo ships, but even the oldest weakest shipping container is still way stronger than any military truck box, be it an S280 or an M109 box. If you do a google or yahoo image search for "shipping containers" you'll see all different sizes and even shops, garages, and houses made from them. While containers themselves may be on the pricey side, they're still cheaper than building a house by traditional means.

 

[wreckerman893]

I have sold a small shelter and a large shelter to people who wanted to use them as storm shelters (there were bad tornados here a while back).

They make good shelters since they are insulated and reinforced. You do have to coat them with a good waterproofing material such as Cool Seal or Dam Tight. You also need to put a French Drain system under and around them to keep water from standing around them. You would have to do that with any type of underground shelter if you want to keep it dry.

You also need to put timbers or cross ties in front of the exposed part (assuming you are putting into the side of a hill). This is to stop any debris that become missiles during high winds.

 

[swbradley1]

I have an S280 and if I were going to bury it and put two feet of dirt on top all I would want in it are dead things.

An ISO container would be a much better solution or stand out in the storm like DH suggested.

I just saw 7 of the 8x8x7 steel containers go for $4,000 each. Better off buying a 40-foot as the smaller they are the higher the cost.

You could also seal them with tar sealer they use for foundations prior to burying it. You also have to remember there are holes in the floor corners, at least there have been in the ones I have looked at.

 

[SCSG-G4]

Shipping containers will collapse on the sides and in the middle of the roof when buried in dirt. The strength of the sides is in a direct vertical load, and the roof part has almost no continuous load bearing ability (it's safe enough to walk on). If you put steel beams on the roof, side by side to cover the entire area, transferring the load to the walls, you could put it 50 feet deep, as long as there is no horizontal pressure on the walls, causing them to buckle. People have poured concrete around them, but put bracing inside to hold the walls from collapsing till the concrete set up, they then braced the ceiling and poured the top over it.

The 280 shelter is even less sturdy under the weight of dirt pressing in from the sides and top. It's a good grade of aluminum, but nowhere near as strong as steel.

 

[KsM715]

That roof would be my main concern. 2' of dirt doesnt sound like much but when you calculate out how much is really sitting there, I would not stand inside that shelter once its in the ground.

2' of dirt on top of the shelter would be approx. 6.5 cubic yards. Dirt is roughly estimated about a ton per yard. Thats 6.5 tons sitting on that flat box with no internal support at all

 

[LanceRobson]

The S-280 is rated for a 75 pounds per square foot for an evenly distributed load like a snow and ice load. Wet clay soil is 110 pounds or more per cubic foot so the roof strength is not going to be adequate for your needs.

Like a building foundation, the lateral load is going to be dependent on soil type and moisture content. Whatever you do, the better the drainage you provide, the lower the lateral load.

Lance