Crumple Cautions

Burying a car underground is not wise. Modern cars are built to absorb and dissipate the energy of impact by the use of "crumple zones", these are areas designed specifically to fail under certain levels of stress. Most modern cars are built using lightweight panels that cannot resist the weight of a single person on them without flexing or distortion, this indicates there overall lack of strength for the application you suggest. To bury a car with two or three feet of earth on top of it (the minimum to be effective) will crush most vehicles. The only ones that can sustain that kind of pressure would be welded or cast steel armored vehicles. The only way to use a vehicle as an earth sheltered habitat would be to leave it on the surface and berm the earth around it into a sloping mound upto the bottom edge of the lowest window.

If your planning on using your car as a shelter, another plan you may wish to consider is to equip it with an ax, pick and shovel and sheets to build on of the expedient shelters in Kearny's book Nuclear War Survival Skills. The designs in his book have been tested and proven both buildable by anyone, safe and effective. I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade but earth sheltering is a serious concept that deals with a very heavy medium (earth) that can kill without warning if you ignore the laws of its use. Get the book, have the knowledge and you'll always be able to create a safe and dependable shelter literally with dirt. Please never assume that earth sheltering is safe unless you know the medium and have practiced the principles of its use.

One of the most influential people in my life, a proponent of affordable owner built homes and one of the most knowledgeable people in the alternative building movement, Ken Kern, died in the collapse of an experimental earth wall. His chest buried, he was unable to breathe or even call out for help. Earth sheltering is inexpensive and effective for efficient, safe housing, but must be treated with the caution it deserves. I have chosen to go this route for my base shelter and have no regrets for that choice. Please learn more about the materials you will have available and you can better decide how they may effectively be used. If you insist on using an auto for whatever reason, do not wait until zero hour to try it. Buy a cheap junkyard version of the car you will use and bury it in a field. If your happy with the results, go for it, you will at least have tested your design and know it works. Like I said I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, I just don't want you hurt or killed, especially if I something that can help prevent it.

Offered by Ray.