So I myself have made a base on the firewatch tower and its my third base in russia but the firewatch tower worked out the best and I have a few reasons why its the best for me.

First of in a firewatch tower nobody would really go there speaking of the underrated loot,

Second once you settle there you can have cloth,scrap,food and melee

Third you can scrap those fireman clothing and then go find a fire axe cut a birch tree make a campfire then sheets and then glass and there you go you have yourself some bullet proof windows

Fourth now people may ask "how do i get a vault door" well that is easy my fellow bandits and friends go to your map see that scrap yard near? YES go there and if you are lucky you might find some metal bars or better yet a blowtorch and also that scrap yard is the best you can find generators,stealy and a blowtorch there may be more there but those are the stuff that i found the best

So yeah thats it for my guide hope this helps you to building a base there and goodluck :D