SHTF Underground Shelters That Could Save Your Life
Did you know that an underground shelter is pretty much the best investment you can take in terms of preparing for a SHTF, apocalyptic type event?
You can train, you can prepare and you can be the very best version of you. But the truth is that if SHTF then in almost all circumstances, the best thing you can actually do is lay low for a while and let it all blow over.
Literally, in some cases.
You might have a fantasy of an M16, warpaint and a bandana as you take on the alien invasion single handed. You might have a bug-out bag by the door, locked and ready to rock at all times. But, let’s get real for a minute…
The best thing you can do is head underground and let the world’s military, police force and just about every trained individual under the sun deal with it. It might sound like the coward’s way out. The best thing you can do is to stay out of harm’s way, let the chaos unfold and give law and order a chance to find the answer.
What are the essential requirements for a SHTF underground shelter?
- Power and Air Filtration.
- Communications.
- Supplies: Food and Water at the bare minimum.
- A hidden entrance that seals from the inside and protects to some extent against radiation and infection – Without this you have a storm shelter, not a SHTF shelter.
- At least four feet deep to protect against radiation.
How Will the World End?
Just how will shit hit the fan? That’s an intriguing question we hope we never have the answer for, but the current favorites are:
- Nuclear War
- Disease wiping us out.
- Artificial Intelligence Rising Up
- Alien Invasion
- Civil War 3
- Total Societal collapse, spurred by a sudden financial collapse.
- Zombie Apocalypse
Hiding is the Smart Choice Most the Time
In every case, apart from maybe AI rising up and enslaving us all, the simple solution to any of these issues is just to go underground and hide from the world until the mess sorts itself out.
Poisonous air, pathogens, rampaging looters and hungry zombies are only a problem if they know you are there and can get to you. So if you’re 10 feet underground, in the lap of luxury, then you can let the real life Purge, Dawn of the Dead or World War Z unfold up above.
The theory is that the military will regain control, given enough time. If they don’t, you were screwed anyway and you did your best…
Now I know this is dangerously close to the tin-foil hat wearing prepper territory, but if you turn your underground space into a separate part of your home then it seems less weird. It’s just an overengineered spare room.
Some of them are even total guesthouses, underground. You could rent these things out on Airbnb.
Super rich elites have invested heavily in underground bunkers and have fully-stocked wine cellars, cinemas and spas in theirs. You don’t need to go that far, but it’s good to know you can basically have a house, underneath your house dawwwg.
Use it for gaming, for music practise, whatever you might need a totally shut off and soundproofed underground chamber for. Yeah, let’s not get too deep into that one Mr Fritzl…
You’ll never really regret taking steps to protect you and your loved ones, though. You might regret not doing so…
So with the paranoia out the way, what are the best underground shelters you can buy online and install at home?
1. Reinforced Fiberglass Bunker, Converted Diesel Tank
Price: $4,000
Size: 34 x 10 feet Diameter
You might think you need steel and concrete, and they’re good things to have if the budget allows it. But if you don’t, then you’d be surprised just how well five feet of dirt can soak up an impact.
So short of a direct hit with a nuclear bomb, in which case it’s just your time, you should be fine in a fiberglass shelter that comes with integrated reinforcements to overcome any issues with burying a storm shelter way deeper than first planned.
This is a good system, which is tubular for added strength. It’s essentially shipping container sized, 34 feet long and 10 feet in diameter. You will lose some of that ceiling height when you level off the floor, but it’s still pretty spacious in there.
34 feet is enough for a bedroom, bathroom and living quarters. It would be compact, but you could turn this into a proper apartment with a little lateral thinking. You can hook it up to the mains, with emergency supplies of water, power and air as back-ups. This really could become an office, a separate bedroom or even a playroom for the kids.
This could even become a cheap housing solution, with a subterranean apartment for less than 15K.
You’ll need to do your own research, but if you could sink this capsule 8-10 feet in the ground and fix it in concrete, then you’ve got the start of a serious shelter here and the hard work is done for you.
You might choose to go one further and build a structure around the capsule, with insulation and its own waterproofing. That’s when the costs could run away with you and you’re overengineering the solution, though. If you have power and heating, in a small enclosed space like this, you should be good with the natural insulation of the surrounding Earth and a thin internal layer of insulation behind the drywall.
It takes a lot of work to turn a shipping container into an underground shelter. This fiberglass unit is sealed, waterproof and it’s lightweight, so you don’t need heavy machinery to get it in place. Lightweight is a relative term, this is still 5000lb of shelter. But you can move that into place without a serious crane.
You can bury it in the ground, surround it with metal bars for additional piece of mind or even fix the whole shelter in concrete. Do that and this is a low-budget, fast and massively effective solution.
This is also a material that you can repair from within, so if you spring a leak then it’s something you can deal with. That wouldn’t be ideal, but it’s something you could address from inside the shelter and that is a big deal.
It’s the start of a shelter, but it’s a great start and if you’re thinking of buying a shipping container then this is a way cheaper, easier and better underground shelter for sale. It will save you money in the end, we promise you, and it will mean you can get started on fitting out your shelter right now.
It has pipes for water, air and power systems to plug right in and even that will save you time and help you layout your shelter. We think this is like the cheat mode for a shipping container shelter and if you’re in the market for a shelter, this is one you should really look at.
We don’t think you’ll find a more cost-effective underground shelter unless you’re actually a construction worker.
2 Vivos Underground Bunker
Price: $65,000-$200,000+
Size: 40x10x6 foot
Vivos build community shelters and private units for those who can afford them.
This is not just an emergency shelter, it’s a place you can live, thrive even, while the world outside loses its shit. If you need to stay put for a few months, then this really is the way to do it.
The basic option is a 40-foot long stainless steel bunker that should protect against the elements and tons of soil. You can order larger sizes and Inside, you can pimp it out as you see fit and this is totally bespoke engineering.
It’s basically an underground tour bus, or luxury RV that’s not going anywhere. Crucially, it will also come hooked up with filtered air, water and power. It should also be waterproofed so it doesn’t turn into a watery tomb,
If you’re not particularly handy with the tools, in fact if you’re not God tier in the hobby shop, you might want to leave an underground shelter to the professionals. This is serious stuff and it’s not to be messed with. If your underground shelter isn’t waterproof, you’re going to drown. If your power isn’t set up right, you could end up sat in a dark cold tomb.
This is the stuff of nightmares. So make sure you can do it yourself before you do do it yourself.
Vivos can make you a luxury apartment, safe from the noxious fumes of nuclear fallout, or the grasping hands of the zombie apocalypse herd.
It’s peak SHTF living, for the lucky few that can afford it. Even Russia’s super space gun shouldn’t get you.
If you can’t quite afford a personal shelter, Terra Vivos has communal shelters going up, or down, all over the USA. You can find out more about your local shelter and the costs at TerraVivos.
2. Storm Bunker
- Price: $21,000
- Material: Steel
- Size: 20x8x6 ft
Quarter inch thick steel means this should withstand just about anything and it’s properly waterproofed because it’s designed to go in the ground.
Here’s the kicker, storm shelters are designed to sit just below the surface and basically provide shelter from the wind and rain. Most of them probably shouldn’t be that deep, but this one can take whatever you want to do with it.
It might look a bit like a shipping container, but the material is a different thickness and a lot of work has gone in to the waterproofing, welding and reinforcement.
You could technically built one of these from a shipping container, but the sheer pain involved in welding, reinforcing, sealing and waterproofing could make it a nightmare. It’s way cheaper, I won’t lie, but the shipping container underground shelter is a serious project.
This bunker just needs extensions to the stairwell, which can be a tunnel leading off a secret room in your house, power and water system. You can do that relatively painlessly and then you’ve got a real liveable space.
It’s a luxury shelter and it will probably cost you $30,000+ in total to install. It’s like an apartment underground, though, and should be all the shelter you and your family needs for an extended stay.
Is this worth more than the larger fiberglass option? Honestly no, we don’t think it is. But if you want steel, and we can see why you would, then get ready to pay the premium.
You’re clearly that type of person, too. So check out this survival kit that might get you through the wilderness.
