I just bought a 15 acre mountain property in Northern Nevada. I spent a couple days on the property this week and it became apparent to me that I need to have a place to store some tools - ax, saw, hammer, nails, shovel, maybe some walkie-talkies and some batteries. The kind of stuff that I don't want to have to carry with me every time I go out to the property.

The property is completely undeveloped - no buildings, no fences, no utilities, etc.

So what I'm wondering is, what would y'all recommend for some sort of storage that I could put stuff in and lock it up? I was thinking about maybe some sort of construction site gang toolbox or something like that. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

I'm guessing something like this Jobox would be good but I'm a little concerned about the weight (moving it, installing it) and the durability being exposed to the elements year round.

If you could get a shipping container up there and put a round lock on it, crooks would have to really work to get in.

Second shipping container. Would not need the biggest but you will probably find you need more space over time.

Good point. I should have added that the property is only accessible by a rocky 4WD trail. So I'm thinking anything larger than a truck bed isn't going to be too feasible. Also, I'm probably looking for something under 150 lbs, so that it could be moved by two people if required.

Doesn't sound like you are planning on leaving a whole lot of stuff out there. What about digging a hole and putting a 30mm ammo can/rubbermaid bin/plastic tote/big cooler in it for your stuff, then cover it with rocks and dirt when you leave? If you put a jobox out there and someone comes around looking for trouble that jobox is gone. Stick a lock on a connex box and leave for a month and somebody's gonna put a lot of effort into getting that lock off. Leave the place looking about like you found it and people will probably figure you don't leave anything out there. With a little more effort build a lean-to or put up a shed, leave the door unlocked and some worthless stuff in it (garage sale shovels, tarp, paint buckets, etc), and hide your tools under the floorboards. Guess that works until they steal the shed (thinking like an East Texan here...)

My first thought was a 30mm ammo can. I keep one in the back of my Ford Expedition for basic stuff you need in your vehicle. I was just thinking that for larger stuff like a tree saw, ax, shovel, etc., I'd need something bigger.

And I definitely agree with you that if something is too easy to move it's going to walk off. And if it's left unattended for too long, it will get broken into. I'm probably looking at a grand total of less than $300 worth of stuff. But, I just want to keep it out of the elements and keep it away from casual thieves.

I'm with NRD; something along those lines anyways.

For the things you want to store, I wouldn't put them in a container that's worth way more than the items.

That Jobox is very enticing to thieves, so it would be a score before they even find out if there's treasure inside.

Only access is 4wd, what thief will go through the trouble?

HollywoodBQ said:

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Also, I'm probably looking for something under 150 lbs, so that it could be moved by two people if required.

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If it's easily moved by two people, then I'd think it will easily be moved off your property by two thieves.

Depending on the soil, I'd dig a hole, line it, and just cover it with a piece of treated wood and make sure it is camouflaged some how. It doesn't sound like you will have much there so the hole should be relatively small.

The Anchor said:

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Depending on the soil, I'd dig a hole, line it, and just cover it with a piece of treated wood and make sure it is camouflaged some how. It doesn't sound like you will have much there so the hole should be relatively small.

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And make sure you have a physical marker so you can find the hole. Because you will camouflage it too well at least once. But don't put the marker right by the cache. Put it off a set number of paces in a cardinal direction.

As to what to mark it with: flagging tape, paint blaze, retro reflective dot if you are going to need to access after dark

HollywoodBQ said:

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My first thought was a 30mm ammo can. I keep one in the back of my Ford Expedition for basic stuff you need in your vehicle. I was just thinking that for larger stuff like a tree saw, ax, shovel, etc., I'd need something bigger.

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How much bigger than 30mm?

Ragoo said:

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Only access is 4wd, what thief will go through the trouble?

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It wouldn't be a career criminal. The area is very popular with 4WD enthusiasts, Moto-X, Mountain Bikers, Hikers, etc. Mostly, I'm just thinking about mischievous HS kids who go up there to drink beer in a secluded area.

The Anchor said:

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Depending on the soil, I'd dig a hole, line it, and just cover it with a piece of treated wood and make sure it is camouflaged some how. It doesn't sound like you will have much there so the hole should be relatively small.

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That's actually a really good idea. The soil looks relatively easy to dig in - I haven't tried it yet. But, it wouldn't be hard to carve out a 4'x8' hole and cover it with a piece of plywood. Then, cover it with dirt, rocks, pine needles and pine cones.

AnScAggie said:

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HollywoodBQ said:

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Also, I'm probably looking for something under 150 lbs, so that it could be moved by two people if required.

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If it's easily moved by two people, then I'd think it will easily be moved off your property by two thieves.

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True. I was thinking about putting whatever I go with at least 100 vertical feet away from the road. There's a 400' elevation gain across the property. I figure if it's more difficult to access, that will be a deterrent by itself.

aggiepublius said:

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The Anchor said:

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Depending on the soil, I'd dig a hole, line it, and just cover it with a piece of treated wood and make sure it is camouflaged some how. It doesn't sound like you will have much there so the hole should be relatively small.

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And make sure you have a physical marker so you can find the hole. Because you will camouflage it too well at least once. But don't put the marker right by the cache. Put it off a set number of paces in a cardinal direction.

As to what to mark it with: flagging tape, paint blaze, retro reflective dot if you are going to need to access after dark

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Funny you should mention that. Rookie move, I put out two game cameras on Tuesday. One of them is near the entrance to the property. That was the second one I put out and I put it in a specific location for a specific reason - to see who is accessing my property from the road. There were plenty of tire tracks going down a dead end road so I know it's happening.

But the first game camera... I set it up on an animal trail after I had climbed up about a 300' vertical gain. I think it's in a good location. And it's the one I bought that has the 4G connection to send me realtime pictures. Well... it wasn't until I had hiked back down the side of the mountain that I realized I'm not 100% sure how I'm going to find that camera again. I know where it is +/- 200 feet in the X-Y direction and +/- 50 feet in the Z (vertical) direction.

Next time, I'll clearly mark the location as you suggest by some offset.

Mtn_Guide said:

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HollywoodBQ said:

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My first thought was a 30mm ammo can. I keep one in the back of my Ford Expedition for basic stuff you need in your vehicle. I was just thinking that for larger stuff like a tree saw, ax, shovel, etc., I'd need something bigger.

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How much bigger than 30mm?

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Looks like the dimensions of a 30mm ammo can are: 9 1/2" W x 18 11/16" L x 14 1/2" H

I was thinking something that was maybe 2' x 1' x 6'. I'm not set on those dimensions but I'm thinking something that size would be large enough to accomodate a shovel, ax, bow saw, etc.

HollywoodBQ said:

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Mtn_Guide said:

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HollywoodBQ said:

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My first thought was a 30mm ammo can. I keep one in the back of my Ford Expedition for basic stuff you need in your vehicle. I was just thinking that for larger stuff like a tree saw, ax, shovel, etc., I'd need something bigger.

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How much bigger than 30mm?

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Looks like the dimensions of a 30mm ammo can are: 9 1/2" W x 18 11/16" L x 14 1/2" H

I was thinking something that was maybe 2' x 1' x 6'. I'm not set on those dimensions but I'm thinking something that size would be large enough to accomodate a shovel, ax, bow saw, etc.

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I would think of this in modules. Take the Shovel and Ax out of the equation for the box. They could be wrapped in a tarp or plastic and laid alongside or on top of the box under the board. It means a smaller hole and smaller box. They will survive the elements more readily than the other tools.

Another option would be an Action Packer type rigid plastic container.

You could also use PVC pipes to make an "annex" for the handles. Got the idea from a fishing rod storage someone built into their kayak trailer.





Source of Pics (in case Photobucket flakes again or someone wants to see the build):
TKF Kayak Build with rod locker
The guy used a toilet flange to connect the pipe to the box.

If you're trying to find the 4G camera, walk around until it sends you a picture of yourself and go from there...

Now that is the best idea yet. Just wrap up the larger/longer stuff in a tarp. Put smaller stuff - hatchet, walkie-talkies, etc. in an ammo can. That seems easily doable.

I think I'm also going to have to make better use of the technology available to me. On my new G-Shock watch, I've got the ability to mark GPS waypoints. Of course I didn't think of this until after I'd already left the property. I'll be back there in February so if the property isn't buried in snow, I should be able to implement some of these ideas then.

CanyonAg77 said:

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If you're trying to find the 4G camera, walk around until it sends you a picture of yourself and go from there...

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Do me a favor and don't mention to my FB friends (especially my brother) that I have misplaced my $550 camera.

I just saw the edit with the PVC pipe for the handles. I LIKE IT!

HollywoodBQ said:

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CanyonAg77 said:

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If you're trying to find the 4G camera, walk around until it sends you a picture of yourself and go from there...

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Do me a favor and don't mention to my FB friends (especially my brother) that I have misplaced my $550 camera.

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Mum's the word.

And you will have a pic to post on the trail camera thread.

I loaded it with 12 x AA Lithium Energizer batteries so I figure I've got about 1 year to find it.

Go ahead and build a pig roasting pit w cement blocks and then use that as your storage space. Cover it w plywood and dirt rocks etc.

That way you're way ahead in having a party when you're done!

Beach

HollywoodBQ said:

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Good point. I should have added that the property is only accessible by a rocky 4WD trail. So I'm thinking anything larger than a truck bed isn't going to be too feasible. Also, I'm probably looking for something under 150 lbs, so that it could be moved by two people if required.

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After seeing what some of the mining operations moved (decades ago) to very remote locations in Colorado, often via VERY basic rocky switchback roads, you might be underestimating what is movable, and to where.

An idea you might consider is a precast or DIY concrete water trough. They make some 8' and 10' precast ones that could work if you plugged the inlet/drain hole and had a metal shop fabricate a cover and access door that you could mount to it with tapcon screws. In the end of you ever get a permanent structure up there you can convert your storage shed to a water catchment for yourself or wildlife. Might not be the cheapest option but it should last for a long time.

HollywoodBQ said:

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Next time, I'll clearly mark the location as you suggest by some offset.

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There's a name for this in real property law. The dignity of calls. I suggest a natural monument or two followed by an artificial monument or two.

12 or 16 inch sch 40 pvc pipe with a cap on one end and a screw out plug on the other end. As long as you need to store stuff inside or several of them. I have two mounted to a hobie sailboat trailer to store sail in one and random stuff in the other. Weather and rodent proof. Cheap and light weight. Bury them.

Look at the camera info and settings from your computer. Dollars to donuts, you'll find the lat/lon of your camera's location.

Where in Northern Nevada is your place? In the Owyhees? Or did you buy a place near the Black Rock Desert?


And I am sure you already know this but the chance of something being stolen is inversely proportional to how far and how difficult it is to get to from an ATV trail. Find some spot where some fatass that is marginally motivated to dismount his ATV would have to work up a sweat to get to. 99% of them will not have the motivation to climb around to see if anything is there. They will then go back to their ATV and open up a bag of Funyons. Make sure it is hidden well enough so it is invisible from fatass vision.

Property is probably 20-25 miles from Reno (guessing off the top of my head) . I have definitely given some thought to accessibility and visibility from the road. I didn't know about fatass vision but I definitely get the point.

Thanks everybody for the suggestions.

HollywoodBQ said:

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I didn't know about fatass vision but I definitely get the point.

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How about a used pelican case that would be warerproof and you could partially bury.

Yeah, a Pelican case had crossed my mind. I'd be more worried about somebody stealing the case rather than what's in it.