So I recently moved and have a new house. I have a carport that basically is a catchall for the kids toys plus my gas and "exterior" storage. I have a garage but I like to keep the gas and other gas run engines outside as much as possible (cars are bad enough).

I was keeping 10 MFCs as a backup for storage but I did not like to idea of leaving them outside in the open. Any one can walk off with them, they get hot in the summer and swell, plus if there is any small fires and it hits the big old stack of MFCs it would not go well under the vinyl covered carport. Ive also had a couple contractors in the area that really eyeball those things.

I've done this before at my other residences but I did not take any pics. I originally saw this done in Saudi Arabia where a guy had a ton of camping/BBQ/Gas stored on a off shore Island. He used 1/2 4x8 panels, dug a hole in the Island, buried the box, threw a piece of plywood on the top, covered that with a tarp, and then threw sand on it. Pretty damn slick as you would never know it was there unless you search hundreds of island justto find the one 4x8 storage area.

So here is how its goes.



Build a box to hold back the earth. I use a piece of 1/2 plywood. I would recommend you use the treated stuff but I had left over from a digging project.



It can be as big as you want it. Cut it 20" tall, 16" wide and 6' long. This will hold 10 cans and not have any left over wood.


dig grave, err hole for the box, insert box.




fill with cans and back fill sides. If you notice I use a couple spacers in the middle so the sides would not get pushed in too far and trap the cans



lastly build a faux deck. I used some 2x4" and some 1/2" x6" deck material. Basically it sits on the plywood. Throw a couple planters on top for the special faux planter box look. Don't forget to add some covering around to cover the disturbed ground.





easy peasy. This sits right below my window under a 500 lumen motion activated night light. I don't worry about someone walking off with it becuase no one knows about it. Even if they did they better hope I don't catch them becuase it would be a 6' shot with a suppressed AR

This works well and can be done with a bench on top, as well as a "tiered" planter. I.e use entire sheets of plywood and in the middle build a 2' raised area with a lid. You could store a ton of stuff in a "garden feature".


Things to do as well:

If you have poor drainage, line the bottom with stone or bricks to keep off the poor draining soil (I have sand).

Use treated wood or paint w/ tar. I use plain stuff but it will last long enough, at least until I move again.

This technique works well with food storage in pails as well as 20mm ammo cans. Just keep them off the ground with spacers or paint the 20mm cans with tar on the bottom.


Lastly add some fiberglass insulation over the top if you want to keep the temp as low as possible. I did not as my area is shaded.

You could do this to a outdoor small shed, doghouse or any area where you could add a cover. Very inconspicuous.

I really like this how-to. Good job dude.

One way to add insulation that I've seen in scuttleholes in houses is to take a piece of foam insulation board, and cut it undersized to the hole, and glue/fasten it to the bottom of the cover. This will help keep the lid from moving side to side, it would add insulation, and the insulation would not get in the way when you lift the lid. You could also glue/fasten a liner between the wooden slats and the insulation board with something like black garden plastic to help waterproof the container.

What are the little silver rings on the handles of some of the cans?

Nice....plain sight....:)

they are stamped Al strips with metal rings snapped onto the handles so I know whats inside

In this area, we have a water table that is really close to the surface. Every time I dig down more than 8-10", it fills with water. How would you modify what you did to deal with water? Also, does having the lip of the box being above surrounding ground level keep the rain from flooding in?

Nice "hiding in plain sight" job there.

NO!

The best bet I have found it to maintain an excellent seal on gas so as not to loose important fractions.

And use quality containers appropriate to the mission.

If they are swollen that's a beautiful thing if you can't smell vapors, because it means you have a good seal.

As far as additives, I consider them expensive snake oil that benefits the owner of the company far more than the user.

Back to the sheet rock...

Yes outstanding.

Cool snake too.

Good work and nice writeup.

I'd be a little more concerned about waterproofing the box; maybe there's some spray stuff out there that will help keep water away. Or some 6 mil plastic lining inside and out?

I'd imagine that the plywood will rot in a year (and treated will probably have the plys separate) if you don't control groundwater/moisture.

That is a great idea! I'm definitely gonna follow suit!

Very smart.

To any DIY'ers about to follow suit: Doing this on a north wall of your house will keep it out of direct sun most of the time. (I dont know about you guys closer to the equator )

Awesome ideas ,espicially the deck bench one. I have often though of putting my fuel cans in a place other than my shed or garage.

Can we make a sticky involving "suburban camoflage" ideas. Such as this thread as to the hiding of fuel cans,or ideas of hiding in plainsight other things preppers have...just a thought.

You = Genius.

Very nice job.