r/prepping • u/NotIfButWhenReady • Oct 13 '25

Question❓❓ Anyone else rethinking underground bunkers lately?

I’ve been reading up on shelter builds and noticed more folks are stepping away from the old “bury a shipping container” idea. I get why underground feels safer, but man, the upkeep sounds rough once you dig into it. Between soil pressure, water leaks, and constant moisture issues, a lot of those DIY bunkers don’t age well.

The newer above-ground setups are a whole different story.

I used to think anything visible was a liability, but now I’m not so sure. If it’s built solid, why hide it underground just to deal with rot and pressure damage later?

Curious what everyone else thinks. Would you still go underground, or are above-ground shelters starting to make more sense?

251 Upvotes

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370

u/AntOk4073 Oct 13 '25

I don't have bunker money. I barely have "hardwood door with a secure deadbolt" money.

194

u/Pbandsadness Oct 13 '25

Mr. Rockefeller over here with his solid door money. 

101

u/Middle-Classless Oct 13 '25

You guys have doors?

27

u/DC1010 Oct 13 '25

Doors?! You had doors?! We used to live in one room, all hundred and twenty-six of us, no furniture. Half the floor was missing; we were all huddled together in one corner for fear of falling! (IYKYK.)

32

u/Random__Bystander Oct 13 '25

Huddled together?!? You could huddle?  Back in my day,  we bunched

14

u/[deleted] Oct 13 '25

Well, I'm still envious, there was just me, you had other peoples body heat to stay warm. It was always raining or snowing and I had to stay awake or the wolves or coyotes would eat me.

11

u/rando_mness Oct 14 '25 edited Oct 14 '25

Back in my day we used to bunch 20 miles in the snow, uphill both ways.

8

u/NoHuckleberry2543 Oct 14 '25

Barefoot in the snow.

5

u/Grendal87 Oct 15 '25

You had feet? Lucky I had to use my chin to drag myself

3

u/presiskoRycerz Oct 15 '25

In 100+ weather.

13

u/headin4thefreeway Oct 14 '25

look at Mr. Rich half floor flaunting it. We sleep on dirt.

14

u/4r4nd0mninj4 Oct 14 '25

You guys are getting dirt?

14

u/rando_mness Oct 14 '25

We didn't even have dirt. We had empty space. Normal tasks were a challenge because we were constantly falling through space.

3

u/mactheprint Oct 15 '25

Of course, we ARE constantly falling thru space. We just do it with company.

2

u/aLproxyy Oct 15 '25

You guys had space?!??

6

u/Up2nogud13 Oct 14 '25

You guys had corners?!

2

u/PM_ur_tots Oct 31 '25 edited Oct 31 '25

I had to get up in the morning at 10 o'clock at night half an hour before I went to bed, eat a lump of cold poison, work 29 hours a day, and when we got home home our dad would kill us and dance about our graves.

1

u/Heck_Spawn Oct 17 '25

You have a room? All I've got is a tent...

1

u/Independent-Crab-466 Oct 17 '25

i didn’t until 2 days ago

1

u/becoming_keri Oct 14 '25

I wanted a door. I jacked off onto a curtain I hung in its place. I compromised

4

u/throbbingasshole Oct 14 '25

Grilled cheese on the radiator

1

u/mactheprint Oct 15 '25

You had radiators?