Shipping Container Shelters

It may be square but it’s no underground bunker. Shipping containers make terrible shelters!

Although we recognize the fact that people have very different means when it comes to being able to prepare a shelter for their family and loved ones. If a shipping container is all that you have available to you then it’s got to be better than nothing.. HOWEVER, with that being said… there are many things that differentiate a Rising S steel bunker from a shipping container. We’ve taken the time to outline some of the differences here.Aside from the obvious size differences where our single-unit shelters are up to twice the size of a standard shipping container; every underground bunker that RSC builds is constructed with the highest standards of quality. Once fabrication is complete, the shelters are coated with a rubberized sealant (rated for 150 years) protecting the vessel from corrosion and water leaks. This allows the unit to “self-regulate” the temperature inside the unit; eliminating moisture & corrosion problems that you will inevitably encounter with shipping containers.

A: EXTERIOR WALLS –

RSC Steel bunkers are constructed from 1/4″ plate steel and 1/4″ C-Channel. Shipping containers offer no structural reinforcement and the walls are made from thin 14-gauge steel (less than half the thickness of RSC plate steel). This means that the ENTIRE Rising S unit is a load-bearing structure capable of supporting weights in excess of 300, 000lbs. The exterior frame of a RSC underground bunker redistributes weight and pressure across the shelter making it stronger and safer than other shelters – especially shipping containers. Shipping containers are only rigid and load-bearing at it’s 4 corners. It’s highly likely that the walls and ceiling will collapse under the mere weight of the earth. You might as well kiss it good bye in an earthquake if you’re caught inside a shipping container. It can quickly become your coffin if not properly reinforced.

B: CEILING & FLOORS –

Constructed from 1/4″ plate steel and 1/4″ 2’x4′ Square Tubing. Shipping containers offer no structural reinforcement and the walls are made from thin 14-gauge steel. There are wood floors in most shipping containers only further weakening the over all strength of the structure.

C: DOORS AND EXPANDABLE UNITS –

Shipping containers are not easily expandable. Aside from the main challenge of cutting away the door and fabricating a connector piece between two shelters; removing any part of a shipping container’s wall will only further weaken the already flimsy structure.