I own a Titan II Missile Bunker and am now building a full scale Titan II Missile Bnb!

Does this not make it a surface to air bnb?

That's pretty funny... :-)

Damn dude, save some money for the rest of us.

How did you come into owning a Titan II Missile Bunker?

If I had been gifted one, there's a solid chance I would have thought, "this is worthless" and never come up with this idea. Enjoy your profits. This will be a huge success.

Profits are a decade away. 😊

I bought it for $90k for the privilege to spend another $600k over 10 years.

In order to get in, do you need a friend to simultaneously turn another key eight feet away?

I'd like to do something like that for the experience. It would make it sad for someone that's staying alone though. :-)

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The missile is being built topside, mounted horizontally. So, I'd have to think of a way for the guest to do this outside.

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I think I'd like to make it where the stairs come down when someone turns the keys. :-)

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Thanks! Yeah, we'd need to make sure that guests weren't underneath but it would be a great touch to have the stairs come down. We'll see if we can afford it. :-)

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Thanks for the offer! :-)

Just make the "launch code" all 0s.

Can't. Too real.

12345, like my luggage

I should give a discount when someone gets the references. 😊

I guess if I ever visit the states again I'm goin' to Arkansas...

No one ever said that. But we’d love to have you visit!

Firecode might be an issue too

Yeah, I'd only allow it to be opened that way, not closed. There will be a normal door.

"Won't you gentleman have a Pepsi?"

Oooo, nice Spies Like Us reference.

If you want to be completely authentic about it, require guests to call you on the radio when then arrive, pass secret codes, and then have a security team put them face down in the dirt for an hour or so if they mess up.

LOL - I like that! :-)

We'd do that for the missile silo but we start with a tour and orientation since the place is so unique and has a rich history.

Extre service charge for turning the other key for them

Maybe! 😊

*points gun at friend*

"Turn your key, sir"

That's the most popular movie down there by far. :-)

You need to make the WiFi password "Om mahneypod me om"

Love it!

OK, that would be a pretty fucking amazing way to start a vacation.

Our current guests start by opening one of four, 6000 blast doors. The youngest person to open it on their own is 9 years old.

God I wish you were closer to me, I'd happily bankroll the weekend just so my boys could find out we're staying in a decommissioned ICBM bunker.

We have that happen somewhat often actually. Our last group came from 3 different states. I think they had a great time!

What was the idea behind the interior design choices here?

Maybe I’m not the target guest demographic you’re looking for, but the interior design choices kinda remove all the novelty of staying in a launch complex.

It’s like a cliche modern high end European hotel room was teleported into an irregularly shaped space that happens to be underground. There’s none of the launch complex aesthetic left other than the general room shape.

Personally I’d be more excited to stay in such a place if it had the entire 1970s “designed and furnished by defense contractor” vibe going. Milspec gray steel, everything attached to shock absorbers, wire guarded fluorescent fixtures on threaded strut mounts. Cable bundles lining the walls down the access corridor. Throw in some austere government spec period furniture with some carefully selected creature comforts added. Maybe some replica equipment racks and launch console components so you can actually tell you’re in a launch control complex. All the cool factor of a missile installation comes from the functional aspect, not that its a concrete space underground.

That was a choice from the beginning. Originally I was building this as a house for my family. I was in the USAF but I never really wanted to make it deep military themed.

I didn't feel the need to do much of a military theme since there is a Titan II museum that is basically perfectly preserved.

Originally I was building this as a house for my family. I was in the USAF but I never really wanted to make it deep military themed.

So in other words, you're making money off it now and when the apocalypse comes you already have a fully stocked bunker.

Can you imagine showing up to your fully stocked survival bunker, and the last guy who ABnB’d it was a scammer and cleaned out most of the things you were expecting?

Do you think I keep all of my survival stuff accessible? Puuuullllease... :-)

Correct. :-)

Kind of in the same boat personally. Granted I can understand you need to strike a balance and they may have leaned much more towards "luxury accomodations" than the novelty/museum side for pretty practical reasons.

We still get a number of groups that love the military feel. While it isn't decorated like a military installation you never forget where you are at down there. It's very unique in the structure.

What happened to your YouTube channel? You stopped posting for a lot of years

Basically we finished the silo. There's some stuff that we didn't post like the construction on Level 1 (master bedroom) but for the most part it's all up there.

We started the channel back up with 4 (and counting) episodes with us building the missile. Check it out!

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We’d love it if you checked out the new series on the channel!

Just commenting to mention I also have a core memory of you learning about dangerous gases in confined areas

Oh yeah. Great learning moment. I’m glad it didn’t cost lives like it has for many.

Is this a major financial undertaking for you or is it something that’s a side project? I always hope weird ventures like this aren’t risking anyone’s life savings…

Great question! We are one of 100 winners of AirBnBs OMG! fund so they contributed $100k to the project. It will cost more than that but it made it worth it to build it. No way I could have convinced the wife otherwise. :-)

What is that fund? Something official from AirBnB?

Yeah, they had a contest. Google Airbnb OMG! Fund and you'll see things that are better than I can explain it.

What are you cleaning fees like?

$75 for the main bunker and probably in the $35 range for the missile.

Is the cleaning fee higher if we launch? Cause both the propellant and the oxidizer are pretty nasty. It's gonna take more than just a jumbo roll of Bounty before your silo is ready for the next guest.

We change the booking fee if we think it’s going to end like that. 😊

Is there a chore list? If I pay $35 cleaning fee for the missile, I’m not expected to touch or spot clean the middle right?

Our hope is that people put their trash in the cans (in the facility) but that's about it. If they put the dishes in the dishwasher and turn it on that's a great bonus but not required.

What is there to do in the area?

Arkansas is a really pretty state. You can hike, fish, mine for diamonds (only place in the US where there are diamonds). Good shopping etc.

I remember your youtube channel! One of my first subscribed channels. I recall one video you did where you were expecting to make money scrapping the tons upon tons of metal, but it turns out that it was going to cost you more in labor to scrap it than what you got out of it. What was the end result in that process?

Glad to see you're still at it!

We hired salvagers to take it out. We paid them $7500 and they got to keep it all. Best $$ we ever spent on the place!

I think that was episode 6 or so. You should go watch the other 19 episodes AND the new content of us building the missile!

Holy shit you ended up buying it? I read countless Internet articles (and a penny arcade comic!) about this going up for sale 10 years ago. Glad to see someone didn't let their dreams stay dreams.

My question is: did you have to clear out any wildlife or was the internal structure pretty pristine?

You should watch the YouTube series on it! :-)

It was full of water so that may answer both of your questions. :-)

I don't think there were any articles on this one being for sale. We bought it from a private land owner in 2010.

Subscribed thank you. I guess there multiple titan missile bases up for sale, which is even wilder; I read about this one in 2007 in Washington. Got put on ebay lol.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1564159/Nuclear-missile-base-for-sale-on-eBay.html

Oh yeah... I know the owner. Titan I bases are crazy large.

How did you set your prices?

Asking because if it's CAD $494/weeknight but almost never full, setting a lower price and maintaining 90%+ occupancy seems like a better business outcome for you.

We aren't always full but our costs are fairly high so we need prices in that range. I basically pay people to live here on site at the RV park to do check-ins, checkouts and help guests with what they may need. And cleaning a missile silo takes about 3 hours. :-)

3 other guys and myself stayed here a couple weeks ago and it was definitely worth it. I think we are all looking for excuses to come back in the future.

Thank you for staying! Come visit the missile!

Is it called AirTnT?

Not yet!

Let me start by saying, I'm extremely jealous.

Can you talk about upkeep costs on it?

Sure! It's been pretty solid actually. The utilities are only 3 years old so the plumbing and electricity have very few issues. We have to empty the inside septic tank every day that a guest is inside but not to much other than that. We could set it on a float switch but then it could turn on in the middle of the night and that would disrupt sleep.

We had to install an air conditioner last year. Underground here in Arkansas is normally 58 degrees but the complex has slowly increased in temperature over the last 12 years. It's something that we anticipated might happen.

There are dehumidifiers inside and the output from that is heat. That plus the lights, appliances and humans add heat to the place.

What kinda daily rates are we looking at? I'm close enough to actually stay there. Also is this silo the one that almost blew up Arkansas because a dude dropped a wrench

The silo (Launch Control Center) is about $400-$600 per night depending on the day of the week and how many people. The missile will probably be in the high $200 range.

Wait hold your horses, the missile is a rentable space? I..... I'm sold

Yep! We do anything that’s semi-legal that people are willing to pay for.

Why does this comment seem so ominous?

I’m not sure that I know the answer to that. 😊

All these people here not knowing who Death Wears Bunny Slippers ;) if I stay can I listen to the Danley rig??

Danley AND Funktion One. :-)

Yes, guests get to listen to the sound system as they wish. We give a standard disclaimer - the sound system will hurt you before you hurt it. :-)

We chatted once on insta a while back about my Funktion rig.4 x Res4s over 8 x F121s. I enjoyed your remodel videos years ago and been a fan since.

Oh yeah! I still need more subs if you have any!

You put a Funktion One system in there? You trying to kill someone!?

Appropriate for an ICBM silo though. The definition of overkill. :)

It's sooo great down there. :-)

What happened to the actual silo ? Did you left it as it was ?

They blew it up and filled it in during the SALT II treaty in the 80s. I haven't done anything with it. I might if someone throws a lot of $$ my way.

Is it legal to remove the rubble from the silo? Just curious if owning a site like this has any stipulations

There aren’t any restrictions.

Zefram Cochrane, is that you?

Another great Titan II reference!

Do people actually want to spend $400 a night to stay in Arkansas?

I understand the sentiment. :-) We have people that fly from all over to stay here and explore somewhere new. I'd say that 65% of our guests are from out of state.

How were your kids impacted by your decision to renovate and the time they had to spend down there?

I followed you when you first got posted here to reddit. Idk why, your videos always gave me the nostalgia of helping my dad renovate the house as a kid.

Who know how they would have turned out without it. :-) It's part of their identity, for better or worse. My hope is that it shows them not to be scared of doing something out of the ordinary.

Been a YouTube sub since the video in which you were exploring the silo and your voice changed due to the gasses, can't remember which video that is. Anyway, long way to say I've been subbed for a long time! Always found your videos really great and interesting! Was definitely sad when the videos stopped but excited again once the missile videos started. Glad the project is still going strong.

My question is, what did or do you do for a living? Just something I've always been curious about, I can't imagine such a project was cheap!

I work in tech so I make good $$ but money is why the first project took ten years. :-) We spent about $700k on the missile complex and I've still never taken money out of Titan Ranch since we opened the Bnb. Maybe one day I'll stop building on to it. :-)

Cool. How much will your cleaning fees be on AirBnb?

I'll have to see how long it takes. Probably in the $35 range. I'll have to buy another washer / dryer to have the capacity for the extra space. Laundry is the worst. :-)

But can I swim in a radioactive pool?

We've had two guests bring Geiger counters and I'm sorry to report that there isn't any radiation.

That’s okay I’ll bring my own radiation then, is there a pool?

No pool. We don’t like water down there. 😊

If a guest is staying there and a nuclear fallout occurs, do they get to stay or are you kicking them out?

How much did they pay? :-)

400 bucks a night, do I get to experience the falling asleep on shift and my commanding officer coming in?

That’s extra.

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Property taxes are about $1200 per year. It's Arkansas... squatters... I'm not super concerned about that. :-)

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It doesn't fit with the decor. :-)

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We have about 30 acoustic panels so it’s pretty good down there. And yes, you can play Missile command. 😊

Do you allow fighting in the war room?

For the right $$ we allow most anything.

Visiting is definitely on my bucket list. Being able to watch Dr. Strangelove inside a Titan II silo would be a dream come true.

We hope that you can visit!

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The only one that would be large enough is a Titan I and they are in the $5M-$10M range to purchase.

Zephram Cochrane?

Character from Star Trek First Contact. In the movie they used the Titan II from the Titan Missile Museum as the first warp capable ship. He was the inventor of warp drive from earth.

Still wear my Death Wears Bunny Slippers T-Shirt all the time. Loving the new content so cool to see the new undertaking taking shape, bet your dredding the rivets, will be cool to see the molds taking shape.

Are you going to do new content on the silo itself and how its looking now, a few years down the line? Did you ever do anything with the tunnel leading from the silo to the control room? That would have been so cool as a hydroponics farm for fresh produce even if it were just a herb garden for your guests.

Glad you wear the shirt! No new content on the silo but maybe we can end up getting Sam to shoot and edit a new tour video.

The long tunnel (cableway) is still the same. I'd love to make it into a place to grow veggies but I can't commit the time.

Thanks!

Not to be that guy, but did you get VOC, radiation and other tests done before spending much time inside? I've heard an anecdote about another family who bought one and somehow there was a cleanup required before they could be present inside.

No radiation and the paint we tested didn’t have lead. Which I’m still skeptical of.

Oh, we've also had some famous YouTubers stay here.

Airrack

Stokes Twins

Kara and Nate

Brianna

Fishing with Norman (not released yet)

And some others that I can' think of at the moment. I'm going to see of Mr. Beast wants to buy this place and give it away. :-)

What did I watch on TV that was filmed here?

On TV… there’s an episode of Hotel Adventure that I think is dropping soon. Quite a few YouTubers… I’m trying to think of anything else.

Airrack, that was who it was. Planning on booking in August looking forward to it

Great!

Have you or would you ever play laser tag or have a NERF battle in the bunker?

Oh yeah… lots of nerf battles!

Do you get a vault suit if you stay here?

People have, on multiple occasions, brought their own.

Not sure if this has been posted yet, but maybe a little twist on the name, like ICBnB??

It may have - I like it!

Ugh, what is your cleaning fee?

The missile bunker is $75. It takes our cleaner about 2 hours to clean and I actually pay her a bit more than $75.

Hey GT. Been watching you for a few years now. I restored some of Nik’s explosion-proof lights from his site a while back.

Other than the septic system, were you able to reuse any of the existing utilities or infrastructure? Always enjoyed your videos talking about the utilities the most.

No, not that I can think of. Even with the septic system I had to replace the pump to something more reliable and modern. The original check valves have had issues from the beginning.

How you did you learn that?(training or other)

Learn what?

Making such stuffs? (I mean from where did you learn missile complex building skills?architecture or engineering degree or anything else?

No… I skipped the degree route. I enjoy problem solving and mechanical design. I learn from the internet, YouTube and some trusted advisors. Especially for this Missile build - A friend of mine is a mechanical and electrical aircraft engineer so that helps a lot. He’s in another state so it’s been a lot of phone calls but it’s helped a lot.

Did you ever do any experimental excavation of the silo? Or will it remain forever buried? (I saw the whole process on the bunker portion but remember that water kept getting in through the walkway between the filled silo and the bunker.)

It's either open or closed. There is no experiment. :-)

I know how to get in... I just can't justify the $$.

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Are you an influencer that can drive a lot of business my way? :-)

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I wish you lived in Tennessee or something so my generosity would cost me less. :-)