Not all bunkers are built for the same purpose. Some people take their survival bunkers to an extreme level, and while that’s not necessarily a bad thing, I don’t think a successful bunker has to have lots of security protection and 5 years worth of food storage. I believe that if you build something to meet your basic needs and safety, then you’re already ahead of most of the population.

Survival bunkers are typically made of concrete and built underground to keep people hidden from aerial and ground view. People build bunkers for different reasons, such as to survive an economic collapse, a nuclear attack, or to ride out natural disasters, like tornadoes and hurricanes. Different scenarios may require slightly different structures.

So can you use a shipping container as an underground bunker, just make sure you take some safety measures and also build a structure to sustain and reinforce the shipping container while underground, especially the walls.

Before building your ultimate survival bunker, determine what your primary needs are. What purpose will your bunker have…are you preparing for a natural disaster or an economic collapse? If you’re planning a storm shelter, a reinforced shipping container should do the job just fine but it may not be worth the hassle and cost of strengthening the entire structure. It’s not impossible but it might not be worth it in the long run. In the case of storm shelters though, you’re probably want to reconsider your plans and build an above-ground shelter instead.

If you’re planning for a country-wide collapse, you’ll definitely want to consider a different bunker option. It’s not wise to even risk the possibility of caved roofs or walls. Unless you’re an engineer and can figure out the perfect way to strengthen it properly, it’s probably safest to go a different route. Talk to professionals in the bunker-building industry who can better advise you on the equipment you will need. Don’t let this discourage you entirely because bunkers are a great idea. It’s just necessary to build it out of the right materials to prevent the real disaster of having it collapse on you when you most need it.