I found a few extra photos of the cargo container. If I had realized this would be so popular I would have been more diligent in taking the pictures of the way it had progressed. Sorry! I am going to be purchasing another one for an upcoming project and will FULLY cover it from the delivery through completion.

You can see the original paint color and the old 5th Wheel in the background

   These shots today include some of our utility system as it was getting setup inside the container. It isn’t real pretty and wasn’t much fun either. I have gotten a good handle on working with all the different types of PVC and other related conduits.  It’s amazing the amount of different fittings, fixtures and configurations that you can a collect and achieve with this stuff! As only a prepper would, I tried to buy at least of few more of everything as I worked on my projects, thus the large-scale disorganization I keep finding myself in with my storage areas. I LOVE logistics so its all fun but I find myself having to buy that one missing piece to complete something, only to later find that I already had a stockpile of the exact item one box beyond where I had stopped looking before running to the hardware store.

 

 

 

High security lock set to make sure the doors stay closed while I'm away!

    Off topic but small country hardware stores are AWESOME. It reminds me of going into an old mans workshop. Dusty bins made from whatever was at hand, gotta love the resourcefulness of it! We have a long time chain in the Seattle area, McClendon’s Hardware, it was opened probably 100 years ago. Slowly they grew and all the new stores were modern but they left the flagship store alone for the longest time. You could always find that strange tool, bit, mismatched hardware or whatever you needed by taking a drive to the home store. As you walked through the store they had old black and white pictures of the original owners and employees hanging throughout the place. They still had the customer service counters from the 40′s and 50′s. You know the kind that had the ashtrays built right into em! Now, I gave up smoking along time ago but when I see bits and pieces of what a free nation looked like back in my Grandfathers day or even in large part my fathers day? I swore I wouldn’t cry while writing the blog anymore after the “Deep, Dark Hole” post… Seriously, I have a strong desire for the way things used to be. I feel like not only have we been ripped off but a better way of life is gone forever… “Sorry kids, we just couldn’t keep the progressives from robbing us blind, good luck to you. Here take my mint condition Mauser and this box of cartridges and see if you can get it back?”

 

 

 

Peek a boo view of the utility area for the well...

    I digress, I was saying that I’ll do a better job in the future of attempting to get every angle and more of the step by step down as I go through my chores. Thanks for sticking with me as I get this all down to a science.

    I have literally a dozen projects that are coming and I’d really like to tell you all what they’re going to be… Unfortunately, I know a few of you would assume that this implied a verbal contract and then I’d be legally obligated to get my stuff done. I’ll get these to you as the budget allows and the weather cooperates. Be assured there is some cool stuff coming up!

    Thanks again for all the additional feedback that has been coming in via email and the comments section. I know I have many things to work on. I’ve changed the text color and style a little to try to get better readability. I had several comments that it was hard to read. I have exceptional sight and so maybe I was a bit slow to catch on that it was to small and dark? I’ll try to make it easy on you but you’ll have to let me know what you would like to see improved.

 

 

 

Where the conduit and water pipe comes through the floor.

     Additional side note, “ERnurse” and a few others have indicated that they are also in the greater Pacific Northwest area. If there are other folks in the neighborhood, too please speak up! Maybe we can all get together for an afternoon and talk shop? I’m very aware of OPSEC and we could do this on a “FIRST NAME basis only” as we all have alot to lose but also to share. Just a thought, but I would be happy to know that more and more folks are waking up and getting stuff done. I’d be glad to shake anyone’s hand that fits that category.

     Please help me spread the word if you like what we’re doing here. The more the merrier as they say. As one that was a shameless lurker for many, many years without getting involved, I thank all the folks that have corresponded. I do understand most people don’t like to and that’s just fine. If you each would tell a couple buddies about “Prepper Nation”, the better chances I have of finding a few folks that do like to chime in! No guilt what so ever for the silent masses but I really would like to have other contributors giving their unique point of view and sharing their skill sets with us… So tell a friend and we’ll just keep getting better and better!

    Enjoy what I was able to get you on a Sunday morning before church and I’ll bring you something exciting tomorrow. At least it’ll be exciting to me, as usual I can only hope you like it.

 

Prepper

 

 

 

40 long feet of prepper fun!

   Ok, I promised to get back to this topic later in the week and now its Friday so I better give this post to you, as promised. Yes, I talked Mrs. Prepper into letting me purchase a cargo container for our new land. “It’s sooo neat and all the cool kids have one, pleeaassee!” Actually, its not like that at all, Mrs. Prepper is probably into prepping 75% as much as I am! She actually asked me one time if we had a 50 caliber rifle yet and if not shouldn’t we get one just in case – I know, I know, now you’re jealous! She’s beautiful too! When you eventually see me in the upcoming videos you’ll know I tricked the poor woman for sure – sucker…

   Really how this came about was we were deliberating about what we would do for our “Well House”. This is the building, room or what have ya that holds the well pumps electrical switch and pressure tank! We get some real cold weather through out the winters here and this being a largely unoccupied retreat required a little extra forethought. We contemplated just building a small shed structure for this purpose. I’m not a big showy person at all but I appreciate aesthetics when it comes to my land. Doesn’t have to be perfect but I will always try to make my buildings somewhat symmetrical and keep all the paint colors coordinated if possible. Funny how these traits only seem to come out in me when it comes to things like this.

   We ended up deciding against the shed idea, which does happen to be the most common way the folks around here do it. We really needed secure storage, a well house, garage for the quads and tools, etc. Now, to be completely honest, I really did want to get a container but it had to make sense for our needs. Just so happens it was a logical choice for the needs currently at hand!

   I would be required to design something to maximize our usable space, while also heating and insulating the area for the well house. Just what a guy needs, a challenge, design how you want your containers floor plan laid out… Tough job but somebody had to do it.

   So, next we had to find one and for the allocated funds available. We knew that the best deals were going to be found in the port cities, Seattle, Tacoma or even Portland, depending on what the delivery cost would be from that distance? I got out the phone book and, who am I kiddin, I googled Cargo Container Seattle and with in a couple dozen links was able to secure a good price on a 40 footer. I also found that the 40 foot length is almost the same price as a 20 footer? Doesn’t make alot of sense to go with a 20 to save hundred bucks. I found a company that would deliver a guaranteed not to leak 40 foot box in “Good” condition for just about $2000 dollars. This was when the price of gas was at about the highest it got last summer. I had run the numbers for building a shed large enough to meet our needs and it wasn’t going to be all that much cheaper, materials and time factored in. Plus I could get all the buildings that I had an immediate need for, all in one.

   After making the decision based on all the practical requirements. I was then free to get excited about my 40 foot steel box with the extra secure features to make sure all my preps stayed where I put em! I am impressed with what you really are getting for a relatively small price. I wouldn’t want

this giant eyesore in my yard at home in Seattle but out in the sticks it is more like a badge of honor to have such a treasure…

   Well, right on time the truck showed up to drop the box off. I was surprised to see it came in on a trailer pulled by a 3/4 or maybe it was a 1 ton pickup truck. You would think that it might be difficult to drive around with a forty foot tail behind you but this driver made it look easy and he put the thing within a couple inches of where I told him to! Not to shabby…

   Let the fun begin! Like I said this was going to act as our well house so I had to determine how to get an insulated room inside. The logical place to put the room would have been at the back, leaving the rest wide open to use as storage. Not me brother, I put it in the middle. Doors on both sides and a storage room at the rear. I bet you don’t even have to use much imagination to understand why I wanted the storage room at the rear. Out of sight and out of mind, the neighbors minds that is… Not that we have alot of unexpected company but I’m fairly careful with the OPSEC… “If I tell you, then I have to”, you know the rest but needless to say ”Us Doomers of the apocalypse” like to keep our business and quirks, private!

   Like I was saying, I built the well room in the middle. I basically built a 12 foot section that had wall and ceiling studs and floor joists. This allowed me to bring in fiberglass insulation to try to ward off the cold and maybe keep in a little heat. It came out alright and left me enough room inside to add additional pressure tanks or what have you in the future.

   I cut holes large enough to allow the electrical conduit and water pipes to come up through the floor into the new room. This also meant I would have electrical available inside the container for lights, heater in the winter time, etc. On the down side, the container can’t be moved easily anymore because the utilities.

   I ended up with a 14 foot long by 8 foot wide garage/work room in the front portion and another one roughly the same size in the rear for storage. All door have locks to allow me controlled access. Never know what you might run across inside one of these owned by a prepper type?? More to come, stay tuned…

Prepper