5 Gallon Buckets

[johndmann]

I have a 5 gallon bucket that i'd like to use to hide a cache sometime soon, but am still thinking of how to camo it. I've painted it green so far, and might put some brown splotches on it to finish the normal camo, but still would be easy to locate. I've thought about gluing or somehow affixing treebark on the outside of it, but am afraid it might stand out as we don't have a lot of trees that big around out here lol. I was also thinking of digging a small hole and sticking it in that, then covering the top of the bucket with something.

 

So, I'm here asking what people have seen, what kind of ideas are out there and things.

[+Mystery Ink]

A cache in our area that was a 5 gallon bucket had that foam stuff you buy at home depot around it and was painted to look like a tree stump it resembled it well.

 

Or you can paint it to look like a Big 35mm film canister.

Edited February 17, 2006 by Mystery Ink

[+fishingdude720]

digging a small hole and sticking it in that, then covering the top of the bucket with something.

 

That is forbidden. Try hiding it ina dence bush, like a holly bush, or ferns. That way you can buy that stuff that matches that at a store.

[johndmann]

That is forbidden.

 

Forbidden? I don't remember seeing that anywhere... Not that someone would have to dig to get it out! It would stick out a few inches from the ground.

[+fishingdude720]

Caches that are buried. If a shovel, trowel or other “pointy” object is used to dig, whether in order to hide or to find the cache, then it is not appropriate.

[+team moxiepup]

I see under your name that you are from Texas... how about doing it up like a cactus. If no cactus is in your area... what is? Large clump of grass, rock...?

[+fishingdude720]

yeah, try making it a rock. Use the spray foam and stick other rocks in it to make it look realistic. Or maybe a tumbleweed!

[+Quiggle]

That is forbidden.

 

Forbidden? I don't remember seeing that anywhere... Not that someone would have to dig to get it out! It would stick out a few inches from the ground.

 

From the "Off-limit" section of the Guidelines at http://www.geocaching.com/about/guidelines.aspx#offlimit

 

Caches may be quickly archived if we see the following (which is not inclusive):

 

* Caches that are buried. If a shovel, trowel or other “pointy” object is used to dig, whether in order to hide or to find the cache, then it is not appropriate.

 

It is irrelevant whether you need to dig in order to retrieve the cache--if you had to dig to hide it, it's against the guidelines.

 

5-gallon buckets make decent cache containers provided you can get a good lid with a watertight seal, or place it in a place that will keep dry.

Edited February 17, 2006 by Quiggle

[+fishingdude720]

That is forbidden.

 

Forbidden? I don't remember seeing that anywhere... Not that someone would have to dig to get it out! It would stick out a few inches from the ground.

 

From the "Off-limit" section of the Guidelines at http://www.geocaching.com/about/guidelines.aspx#offlimit

 

Caches may be quickly archived if we see the following (which is not inclusive):

 

* Caches that are buried. If a shovel, trowel or other “pointy” object is used to dig, whether in order to hide or to find the cache, then it is not appropriate.

 

It is irrelevant whether you need to dig in order to retrieve the cache--if you had to dig to hide it, it's against the guidelines.

 

5-gallon buckets make decent cache containers provided you can get a good lid with a watertight seal, or place it in a place that will keep dry.

 

bump

[Voigt54601]

I did some reading on the web about the best way to paint and place and here is what I have.

 

I started out bleaching it out so there are no smells to it. Then used 100 grit sand paper to sand every smooth surface so the paint will stick and not chip off in time. After sanding, I used rubbing alcohol and papertowl, and went over the whole thing again to get rid of any oil from my hands that may prevent the paint from sticking. Then I knew I was going to be putting it in woodlands, so camoed it to match ($3 worth of spray paint). Where I wound up placing it, with the matt black finish, and green accents, it blends right into the natural depression in the woods, and blends greatly with the surrounding moss on rocks. The only thing to be concerned about is finding the right spot, I built up a bunch of logs and branches, looks a little unnatural, but it is under a fallen tree, and could look like the buildup that busted off the tree, *shrug* Anyway, hope that helps in your efforts.

 

Edited February 17, 2006 by Voigt54601

[bogleman]

I have been playing with a couple that I will be putting out in the near future. One is painted to look like a film can and the other one MAY be covered with foam in a can. The only thing I am concerned about is the foam peeling off after the first few visits. Whatever camo you put on it it will not hold up over the long haul. The lids can be very hard to open, you may want to consider attaching a lid lifter to the handle. I have been playing with the idea of using some old clothing as camo and just drape it over the bucket.

[+fishingdude720]

i don't seethe big problem with putting a five gallon bucket underground. I mean like the first cache was hidden that way.

[Voigt54601]

i don't seethe big problem with putting a five gallon bucket underground. I mean like the first cache was hidden that way.

 

 

uh

 

things have evolved a bit since cache 1

[+Mopar]

i don't seethe big problem with putting a five gallon bucket underground. I mean like the first cache was hidden that way.

Yup. And the first cache ban* was caused by a cache hidden that way.

 

 

*The ban on caches on land managed by the US National Parks Service

[Voigt54601]

Click here to see why you NEED to clearly mark the exterior of the cache!!!!

[+Bill & Tammy]

My only 5 gallon bucket hide is one of those bright orange ones from Home Depot. I stuck it on a hollow tree that probably could have fit a 55 gallon drum. I never modify the enviroment for the cache it is always the other way around.

[+Renegade Knight]

My 5 gallon bucket hide is in a rock pile. Some of the rocks are the size of trucks. Since you could lose a small car in the pile and never find it again the bucket is a fair hide.

[johndmann]

I see under your name that you are from Texas... how about doing it up like a cactus. If no cactus is in your area... what is? Large clump of grass, rock...?

 

hey now cacti... interesting..... though we don't have the big cacti that looks like trees :/ We have the small round "mouse ear" style cacti.

[+briansnat]

i don't seethe big problem with putting a five gallon bucket underground. I mean like the first cache was hidden that way.

 

Yeah, the first cache also had food in it and the second cache had alcohol. You may not see the problem but whenever geocachers negotiate with land managers about hiding caches on "their" lands, the first concern they bring up is usually that burying is involved. We've spent years trying to dispel this image.

 

As Mopar pointed out, the NPS ban on geocaching started because they discovered that people were burying caches on NPS land.

 

There are so many great ways to hide caches without digging, that digging shows a lack of imagination on the the part of the hider as well as a disregard for the future of our sport.

 

As far as the OP's question about 5 gallon buckets, they are far from the best container because they are so hard to conceal. They could work for really remote caches or when very cleverly camoflaged, but considering that there are so many better containers, I really don't see the point of hiding a 5 gallon bucket.

[+Confucius' Cat]

You might want to consider, too the cost of filling a bucket. I have put out a few 50 cal ammo cans and like ta gone broke putting mctoys in it and it still looked empty. I can't imagine what it would take to make a 5 gal bucket look full.

 

If you don't fill it pretty well, its gonna have the appearance of being "stingy" even though it will have a lot more swag than a typical cache.

[Voigt54601]

You might want to consider, too the cost of filling a bucket. I have put out a few 50 cal ammo cans and like ta gone broke putting mctoys in it and it still looked empty. I can't imagine what it would take to make a 5 gal bucket look full.

 

If you don't fill it pretty well, its gonna have the appearance of being "stingy" even though it will have a lot more swag than a typical cache.

 

Click here to see the gallery of items I put in my bucket. The items are still there, it was just published, I even have a white jeep travel bug in there (not in pix).

 

Most of these items are things I picked up around the house I don't use, and things I ran on ebay that were duds, but still too valuable to toss. Things don't have to be from the store, and you don't need to go broke filling it, it's actually a cool way to clean house to me LOL

[johndmann]

Caches that are buried. If a shovel, trowel or other “pointy” object is used to dig, whether in order to hide or to find the cache, then it is not appropriate.

Even if a tool is NOT required to find or open the cache? it will only be a couple of inches in the ground - the top half will be sticking out - it will be bigger than an ammo box lol

[+team moxiepup]

Have you got any of these in your area?

 

 

Picture one with a lid!

[johndmann]

Have you got any of these in your area?

 

 

Picture one with a lid!

hahahaha - we only have some that look like that, but not in size. i suppose i could wing something like that though - looks good

 

now to brainstorm on the material for shaping it - spray foam might work, but i'd have to contain it somhow (that stuff is pretty wild when you spray it!) - great pic lol

[+Confucius' Cat]

it's actually a cool way to clean house to me LOL

 

So, reckon how could I hide a 9 yard DUMPSTER?

[+team moxiepup]

Soooooo.... it might stand out, a little... just a wee bit.

 

[+Webfoot]

Soooooo.... it might stand out, a little... just a wee bit.

 

Depending upon the continent. Maybe yes, maybe no.

[+Quiggle]

Caches that are buried. If a shovel, trowel or other “pointy” object is used to dig, whether in order to hide or to find the cache, then it is not appropriate.

Even if a tool is NOT required to find or open the cache? it will only be a couple of inches in the ground - the top half will be sticking out - it will be bigger than an ammo box lol

 

Besides fishingdude720's answer to you, there were 3 other posts that addressed your question. The answer was unanimous:

1. No.
   
2. No.
   
3. No.
   

No digging allowed when hiding caches. If you find one that is buried, you are encouraged to report it to your area's reviewer.

[+Vinny & Sue Team]

i don't seethe big problem with putting a five gallon bucket underground. I mean like the first cache was hidden that way.

[+Vinny & Sue Team]

I have a 5 gallon bucket that i'd like to use to hide a cache sometime soon, but am still thinking of how to camo it. I've painted it green so far, and might put some brown splotches on it to finish the normal camo, but still would be easy to locate. I've thought about gluing or somehow affixing treebark on the outside of it, but am afraid it might stand out as we don't have a lot of trees that big around out here lol. I was also thinking of digging a small hole and sticking it in that, then covering the top of the bucket with something.

 

So, I'm here asking what people have seen, what kind of ideas are out there and things.

 

First, as a number of respondents have already replied, no, you cannot expect to get a cache approved for listing if you needed to do any digging to partially bury the bucket when placing it.

 

Next, I am happy to report that I found a nice wilderness cache, deep in Targhee National Forest along the Idaho/Wyoming border, in September 2005 that was just a plain white unpainted 5 gallon bucket, marked as a geocache with black magic marker on the outside. No attempt had been made to camouflage the cache, and it was simply sitting in the gap under a fallen tree, with some debris around it to help to shield it. This cache had been in place since (if I recall correctly) late 2001 and had never been muggled or unduly disturbed. Not a abad track record for an uncamouflaged 5 gallon white bucket!

Edited February 17, 2006 by Vinny & Sue Team

[+Team Red Oak]

We found a white 5 gallon bucket too. This one was in Maryland in a city park where there were a few other caches. After we left the trail and started to bushwack a little bit we saw the bucket and actually decided it wasn't the cache. Who would hide white 5 gallon bucket with out camo?? But the little arrow kept pointing to the bucket and sure enough it was the cache. It was hidden far enough off the trail that no one could see it unless you were looking for it.

[+RockyRaab]

There's one near here (Ogden, Utah) that is a golf ball cemetery. I won't give the waypoint or what follows may be a spoiler.

 

But it's a large white bucket, unpainted. There's a hole in the lid big enough to drop a golf ball in. To "log" the find, you sign the outside of the bucket with a felt tip tied to the handle. The owner empties the dead golf balls and/or replaces the bucket when there's no more log room. It's hidden...well, I'll just say "out of the weather" such that it doesn't get wet. Clever!

[+AtoZ]

A cache in our area that was a 5 gallon bucket had that foam stuff you buy at home depot around it and was painted to look like a tree stump it resembled it well.

 

Or you can paint it to look like a Big 35mm film canister.

 

That would last about 5 minutes as people tore up the bush getting the cache and then there is a nice geotrail into the bush. Happened to many caches.

cheers

[Voigt54601]

it's actually a cool way to clean house to me LOL

 

So, reckon how could I hide a 9 yard DUMPSTER?

 

Lotsa bucket caches

 

[Mushtang]

There's an early cache near my house (first one in GA and it's still active) that is exactly what you're talking about. It was hidden before the guideline about "no digging to hide it" was put in place.

 

When I found it, it had just rained, the hole filled with water, and the bucket floated up and was sticking way out of the hole. I've heard of other 5-gallon bucket caches doing the same thing. They can get pushed up, and out of their hole, and roll away from the location.

 

Try and camo the bucket instead - that would be more fun to find.

[+halffast]

I have a 55 gallen barrel Im thinking about filling full of X-mas presents like board games and stuff I didnt open that are in my storage shed.I will take it up in the mtns and drop it into a revine.No cammo and muggles will think it is just garbage.If they do investagate they will get a nice suprise..

[+caveman2040]

I found an actual trash can once and when you opened it an Oscar the Grouch puppet was rigged to pop up. That was one I wont forget.

[+Huckleberry Slim]

I've got some 5 gallon buckets that I plan to wrap with camo burlap. Maybe by sewing fishing line or mason line through the burlap and attaching it drawstring fashion, then I could stick some natural foliage in the burlap. That is, unless someone gives me a better idea Hiding the kind of cache I'd like to hunt may be a newbie pitfall, but this hide (with reviewer's consent) will be on an island in The TN River and probably won't be visited often.

[genseeker]

Dude, think outside the box with the camo. I saw the coolest camo this wekend ata model geek gathering in SanAn'tone. Grey and white pixels, coolest camy's yet. Ya only need fool the rods and cones in the eyes.