Storage for the Catastrophe?

[Wanderer]

I saw one of us got rid of their storage. I know I will NOT be traveling as I am currently working.

I was thinking of getting a storage unit in case of a catastrophe. Have cans of food and some gas (Yes I know that I'd have to be careful as that's not permitted) just in case a quake hit (In PNW and we have had some shakes in years past) would use it in a revolving fashion but was curious as to other vandwellers thought of this....

5' X 10' going for $100 a month seems cheap insurance which provides food and gas and car parts and clothing....

The food lasts 10 years unopened..1 year opened. The scrambled eggs are fantastic, the veggie stew is ok...

I realize also that I'd have to discuss this with the storage people..Or should I?, Maybe they'll be hurting and take it...?

 

[AngryVanMan]

Will you really still be working locally in an event where gas and food are not available? Most businesses cannot operate without food and gas, or at least their employees and customers stop showing up after awhile...

Another option perhaps, rural houses with land in much of the country can be purchased for a few hundred dollars a month. You don't get the security of a self-storage unit, but mostly that is just a panacea in the event of a catastrophe like an earthquake. A house is not a liquid asset, but you could just stop paying the bill if you are treating it like a storage unit. A lot more room than 5x10, though. Comes with address useful for both mailing and residence, too. One less bill.

 

[Txjaybird]

I saw one of us got rid of their storage. I know I will NOT be traveling as I am currently working.

I was thinking of getting a storage unit in case of a catastrophe. Have cans of food and some gas (Yes I know that I'd have to be careful as that's not permitted) just in case a quake hit (In PNW and we have had some shakes in years past) would use it in a revolving fashion but was curious as to other vandwellers thought of this....

5' X 10' going for $100 a month seems cheap insurance which provides food and gas and car parts and clothing....

The food lasts 10 years unopened..1 year opened. The scrambled eggs are fantastic, the veggie stew is ok...

I realize also that I'd have to discuss this with the storage people..Or should I?, Maybe they'll be hurting and take it...?

Hello,   I currently pay $85mo. for a 10x20.  This is not my first rodeo re: storage units.  In the winter they can freeze and in the summer get 80 to 100+.. There are climate controlled units however they are more expensive.  My storage facility has a no food storage rule.  That being said as long as Flammables or potential Explosives aren't being stored I figure no harm no foul. 

I think when we pay for storage what is in there is our business as long as no one will be harmed if an accident occurs.

I don't know your living situation, is it possible to store food supplies in your dwelling?  

What brand are you using? I've heard that "Thrive" is good, I think that the "tinyhomepreppers" use it.

Fuel storage is not something I can speak on although I believe it is necessary.     Texas Jbird

 

[ArtW]

fuel storage with today's reformulated fuels is a short term thing at best, try to get pure gas for storage purposes
It May cost significantly more, but the Ethanol in reformulated fuel doesn't store well
As far as emergency food storage, I just use canned food from the grocery, and rotate it

 

[Wanderer]

Will you really still be working locally in an event where gas and food are not available?   Most businesses cannot operate without food and gas, or at least their employees and customers stop showing up after awhile...

Another option perhaps, rural houses with land in much of the country can be purchased for a few hundred dollars a month.  You don't get the security of a self-storage unit, but mostly that is just a panacea in the event of a catastrophe like an earthquake.  A house is not a liquid asset, but you could just stop paying the bill if you are treating it like a storage unit.  A lot more room than 5x10, though.  Comes with address useful for both mailing and residence, too.  One less bill.

Well, the idea of van dwelling is to get away from entrapments like housing and such....Taxes and other additions....

Local prices would skyrocket....Supply and demand....Companies such as mine would shut down (Building might be rendered unusable)

Rural houses here would run about $145K.....Don't have $20K spare for DP at the moment. And again, the idea of van dwelling is to reduce attachments.

 

[Wanderer]

Hello,   I currently pay $85mo. for a 10x20.  This is not my first rodeo re: storage units.  In the winter they can freeze and in the summer get 80 to 100+.. There are climate controlled units however they are more expensive.  My storage facility has a no food storage rule.  That being said as long as Flammables or potential Explosives aren't being stored I figure no harm no foul. 

I think when we pay for storage what is in there is our business as long as no one will be harmed if an accident occurs.

I don't know your living situation, is it possible to store food supplies in your dwelling?  

What brand are you using? I've heard that "Thrive" is good, I think that the "tinyhomepreppers" use it.

Fuel storage is not something I can speak on although I believe it is necessary.     Texas Jbird

Well, Texas is way cheaper I see....Here a 10X20 would be $228....

I am in a van, can have some food, but looking long term.

I have tried the Augason Farms brand...The scrambled eggs are a delight, the whole egg is to avoid.

 

[TrainChaser]

I'm thinking you mean a SHTF situation. If/when it happens, the storage facility will not be manned, and will no longer be climate-controlled. You'll need a way to get in, like bolt cutters, etc. I don't know if any of those facilites have electronic locks, but if so, I wouldn't use one. Put the food in metal storage units, if possible. Why would you want to discuss your plans with a minimum-wage, lowest-level employee who probably has less than you? Get a lock/locks that are harder to break into, w/o the long, easy-cut shafts. Check out the ceiing & walls. If someone has a legitimate unit, could they go through the walls or near the ceiling to get into yours? Don't just think about the benefits, think HARD about how it could go wrong.

 

[AngryVanMan]

Well, the idea of van dwelling is to get away from entrapments like housing and such....Taxes and other additions....

Local prices would skyrocket....Supply and demand....Companies such as mine would shut down (Building might be rendered unusable)

Rural houses here would run about $145K.....Don't have $20K spare for DP at the moment. And again, the idea of van dwelling is to reduce attachments.

You should probably not buy an extremely expensive property just to store your provisions, if my suggestion came across that way it was unintentional, I apologize.  I can also understand having philosophical reasons for not owning real estate, too.  Good luck on the storage search, anyway!

 

[Txjaybird]

 Why would you want to discuss your plans with a minimum-wage, lowest-level employee who probably has less than you?

Well we all have a right to our opinions.

The storage facility I use has a chain link fence topped with razor wire.  We all have individual gate codes with a video pointed right at us when we key in after hours.  We can place 2 locks on our doors.  Of course if someone wants to break in bad enough they can....It's not Fort Knox.

The "lowest level employee's"...your words...monitor a 6 screen security system,  wait on customers, answer the phones, patrol the facility,  check empty units with customers who are thru renting, pick up trash, rent and hook up U Haul trucks and trailers, provide building maintenance, work alone except on a auction day,  are well mannered and always greet you with a smile.

They do all of this with one person on duty.  I don't know their income level, however since on any given day there is at least $1,000,000.00  [or more ] worth of boats and RV's from Class A's to pop-up's on site, then there are the housing contractors equipment,  Grandma's apt over flow, military personells' household goods....etc.   I hope they make a good salary.  So what if they don't?  Does this make them or the work they do have a lower value than anyone else? 

I have often worked for minimum wage in my life...I'm talking $1.60 a hour at times, to me that work had as much value as my employment in a 306 bed substance abuse facility as the Over Night Operations Supervisor.  Same person just a fancy title and more $$$$$.

RE: people who work for minimum wage....In my opinion your opinion sucks..Now I'll probably get a time out or have my post deleted,,,,if I do, so be it.  Sometime's a woman's gotta say what a woman's gotta say.

YES THIS IS OFF TOPIC....WANDERER I APOLOGIZE FOR HI-JACKIN' YOUR THREAD...I JUST TOOK IT FOR A little RIDE. TJB

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!       Jewellann

 

[DesertDweller]

We have a 2 year food storage supply, and plan on placing it in a storage locker. I already have a lot of shelving, so I'll box everything up, and store it that way, so it's all off the floor. It's only a small bill per month, and we'll store a few other things in there, as well. I've purchased a lot of freeze dried food from Emergency Essentials, Honeyville and Augason Farms. All are good companies. The Chili Mac from Mountain House is especially good. Much of it can be cooked with just boiled water. Most have a 30 year shelf life, some have less. Rotate as much as possible for optimal flavor.

I have also prepacked a lot of buckets of rice, beans, wheat, sugar, etc. into 5 gallon buckets, sealed in mylar with 2,000 cc oxygen absorbers. Best "life" insurance a person can have and we plan to keep it. I highly recommend everyone do this, even if you have to BURY it somewhere. I also store a wheat grinder, solar shower bags, food I dehydrated myself, and all sorts of assorted supplies, like lanterns, batteries, 4 ways to cook, and water. 

I say all this because we had to LIVE on our freeze dried food for eight months once, so I certainly know the benefits of this kind of insurance. Also good if you need an expensive rig repair, and need the money for the repair instead of food for awhile. 

I also recommend using your supply, so that you now how to cook with it, and know if you like each item. I recommend trying out the smaller cans to taste test before buying larger cans/cases.  Here's a cool idea I came across a few years ago, for making your own "meals in a jar" all freeze dried, no refrigeration necessary: 

If you don't believe we can have major issues in our country, take a look at Venezuela, Argentina and the Weimar Republic. Google if study on this is needed. We sleep well at night 

I hope this helps anyone?
Hope

 

[Wanderer]

Well, thanks all for the opinions....'

I'll be looking after vehicle purchase....Still have hip issues and am debating other things....Oh, rent for the area went to $1,300 for a 1 bedroom place recently....Good grief...

 

[sushidog]

There's an even higher probability of localized natural and man made disasters one should prepare for. Every area of the country is subject to some kinds of disasters, from hurricanes and tornados to earthquakes and forest fires - and God forbid terrorist attacks to nuclear and chemical plants, trains carrying chemicals, etc that are becoming much more likely as the world gets more dangerous by the day. But just losing one's job is probably the most likely and most overlooked scenario where survival preps, like having a little food on hand, just shows good judgement. Our grand parents put back food for hard times and we seem to have gotten away from these common sense preparations, thinking "it will never happen to me" until it does. As a Hurricane Katrina survivor, and a survivor of a bad earthquake in California, I have personally experienced what I'm talking about. In fact I bought my Aliner camper as a bug-out vehicle after Katrina, and have used it to safely evacuate my family and pets from another hurricane soon afterwards.

If I'm wrong and nothing bad ever happens to you, eat the food and consider yourself fortunate for having dodged a bullet. Others weren't so lucky.

Chip

 

[AngryVanMan]

There's an even higher probability of localized natural and man made disasters one should prepare for.  Every area of the country is subject to some kinds of disasters, from hurricanes and tornados to earthquakes and forest fires - and God forbid terrorist attacks to nuclear and chemical plants, trains carrying chemicals, etc that are becoming much more likely as the world gets more dangerous by the day. But just losing one's job is probably the most likely and most overlooked scenario where survival preps, like having a little food on hand, just shows good judgement. Our grand parents put back food for hard times and we seem to have gotten away from these common sense preparations, thinking "it will never happen to me" until it does. As a Hurricane Katrina survivor, and a survivor of a bad earthquake in California, I have personally experienced what I'm talking about. In fact I bought my Aliner camper as a bug-out vehicle after Katrina, and have used it to safely evacuate my family and pets from another hurricane soon afterwards.

If I'm wrong and nothing bad ever happens to you, eat the food and consider yourself fortunate for having dodged a bullet. Others weren't so lucky.

Chip

Heck yeah, this is one of the reasons we decided to go with a mobile setup vs. doing something like a homestead-only approach!  Very nice to have some flexibility of location.

 

[kayell]

Multiple distributed caches. On public land, as far back as you can get, but still reasonably accessible from your location. You'll need some kind of containers that will hold up well against weather/burying and absolutely contain any food scents to protect against animals. Be sure to keep GPS coordinates and photos of surroundings. Even if you use a storage unit, if you're seriously considering TEOTWAWKI a real possibility, you want multiple backups.

 

[TrainChaser]

Jewellann, I'll have you know that my first job started at $1.50/hr. And 45 yrs later, I quit one that was LESS than minimum, because the psychopathic owner was cheating us. He's got a multi-thousand person class action lawsuit on his head, now.

I gave that description because some businesses hire the lowest lifeforms they can get, hoping that they'll stay longer than the others who decided anything else was better. The last time I helped my sister empty her storage unit, there were two locks on it, and only one was hers. The guy in the office looked like a meth maggot, with all the sores on his face. He said he didn't know where the other lock came from, but he took it off with a key.

I'm perfectly willing for you to talk to absolutely anyone on the face of the earth, and tell them that you have valuable good in their storage. I'm not. Sorry.

Sue

 

[AngryVanMan]

Multiple distributed caches. On public land, as far back as you can get, but still reasonably accessible from your location. You'll need some kind of containers that will hold up well against weather/burying and absolutely contain any food scents to protect against animals. Be sure to keep GPS coordinates and photos of surroundings. Even if you use a storage unit, if you're seriously considering TEOTWAWKI a real possibility, you want multiple backups.

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[wayne49]

I saw one of us got rid of their storage. I know I will NOT be traveling as I am currently working.

I was thinking of getting a storage unit in case of a catastrophe. Have cans of food and some gas (Yes I know that I'd have to be careful as that's not permitted) just in case a quake hit (In PNW and we have had some shakes in years past) would use it in a revolving fashion but was curious as to other vandwellers thought of this....

5' X 10' going for $100 a month seems cheap insurance which provides food and gas and car parts and clothing....

The food lasts 10 years unopened..1 year opened. The scrambled eggs are fantastic, the veggie stew is ok...

I realize also that I'd have to discuss this with the storage people..Or should I?, Maybe they'll be hurting and take it...?

Two things.

One. If you store gasoline or any flammable or explosive product, think of what will happen to you, if for any reason unrelated to your not following the contract rules, a fire breaks out and your unit's contents add to the mayhem causing further damage. The  storage  provider will not accept that liability as their insurance is dependent on excluding those materials.

I thought about storing gasoline in mine for a couple of weeks. I thought about what could happen if a fire broke out, not in my unit, and came up with that it is not worth it. The liability is too great. Possible criminal charges. Lawsuits for sure.

Two. If you don't spend more bucks for climate controlled your food will be subjected to conditions not usually found at "room temperature".

I have been finding food hoarding is less than optimal in a trailer w/o AC in lower Nevada. Room temperature, at best, is same as outside air. Then there is winter when things that should not freeze are frozen if I don't keep the temps higher constantly. I found a 250W heat lamp (when connected to shore power) would keep stuff from freezing without cooking them. I suppose I could try the heat lamp on an inverter and see what the actual draw on 12VDC.


-Wayne

 

[highdesertranger]

couple of points about burying caches on public land.
1. do not use plastic containers. borrowing rodents love to chew though plastic. some say they can smell what's inside. I don't know about that, but I do know they will find there way in.

2. do not bury it anywhere close to a gold bearing area. the detectorist will find it.

3. some will get found just by pure chance. I have found 4 geocaches without looking for them.

highdesertranger

 

[Iggy]

In Salem, Oregon, I had a couple storage units for awhile until I realized the waste of money. It was around $40 each for 5x8 size. I was told absolutely no food because that attracts rodents and bugs. The manager also warned no flammable fuels or firearms. He said the police did routine walk-throughs with their dogs to sniff out those.

Sent from my XT1528 using Tapatalk

 

[SoulRaven]

We used 2 separate facilities for storage while we were looking for a house a few years ago. Neither allowed food or fuel. We had to go and get items periodically during the summer months and the heat was unbelievable. I would concentrate on foods that take up little space and remember that water may be difficult to be had depending on your location. I used to worry about this, I now except there is only so much that I can do and then just live my life.