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Bug-Out Vehicle for TEOTWAWKI

BeastOfaTruck

Member
Messages
8
Location
Idaho
I don't usually think about this topic but my father-in-law is a hardcore conspiracist. He sends me crap via email all the time - don't usually pay attention to much of it, but this bug-out guid was interesting. Hummers weren't mentioned as a good truck for bugging out - said if the world was upside-down, then you'd stand out as a target. Don't know if I agree with that, but I can see their point I guess.

http://legendaryled.com/blog/bug-out-vehicle-for-teotwawki

What will I be keeping in my ride? Always keep a hidden Beretta Model 6 40 and a razor sharp survival poop shovel within arm's grasp. Should probably get a first aid kit one of these days, but I'm ready enough. Bring it on :)
 

skeptic

Well-Known Member
Messages
737
Location
Orygun
Fun article. I didn't read it all, but I'm surprised they listed things like motorcycle and ATV but not UTV. For bugging out, presumably into the wilderness or some extremely difficult to get to cabin, I'd take something like a RZR or Wildcat over ATV/motorcycle. I've seen videos of them going some crazy places that looked impossible, plus you can more easily take a passenger or 3 and a small amount of gear.
 

3Hummers

Super Moderator
Staff member
Messages
10,398
Location
Central Texas
Older Hummers, 92-94 are mechanical and relatively simple to work on. They don't get great fuel economy but will get you anywhere you might want to go. Drive line parts and engine parts should not be difficult but half shafts, steering, etc could become a problem if you don't have spares. ( most of us do ) I think a lot of us have what we would need if we had to bugout, including pre-packed bugout bags but I would likely shelter in place unless circumstances prevented it. Interesting to think about the possibilities but hopefully we never have to actually deal with situations like that.
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
lol @ stand out - if you're moving and no one else is; you'd stand out too... I tell those who want to be prepared this: know how to fix what you've got. You don't need to buy new stuff, just know how to repair what you've got.... no one shoots the mechanic.
 

Woodtick

Well-Known Member
Messages
801
Location
Ilanoid, UP MI
I'm not really into the bug out thing. I do have the basics for Blizzards,long power outages ect. The best bug out set up I have seen, one of those Preper shows. Sail boat set up to live on,catch fish,cook,make water ect.
 
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JPaul

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,400
Location
Way up north, UT
Nice basic article. I'm with 3Hummers though, I'm more likely to shelter in place. I'd only bug out if I absolutely had to. There are numerous reasons to not bug out. For me, a big one is my family. It'd be a lot easier to bug out if it was just me or even just me and my wife, but I have three young daughters. It's hard for kids to make a transition like that, though at first they'd be excited about it I'm sure.

Another reason is you're leaving your property behind, unprotected, just waiting for the scavengers and pillagers to come and steal everything and wreck what they don't take. I'd rather stay behind where I have far more supplies and can protect my family and property more readily. Unless you have a prepared location to bug out to that has a source of fresh water (and means to purify it for long enough) and food, you're going to end up hungry and thirsty pretty quick.

Now honestly, unless the whole of the US (or wherever you are) goes down the toilet (which is extremely unlikely given our size), you can probably just go to a family member's or friend's place that is outside of the affected zone. This is the most likely situation anyone will end up in. Personally, I have family in several locations in the US that I can escape to if things are bad enough that I need to get out of town for a while. It wouldn't be hard to have enough fuel and food to get to any of them.

So while it's fun to think about building up this bug out vehicle that will survive a nuclear blast and can take you deep up into the mountains, probably 99% of the people that think about doing this (and actually work on doing it) haven't thought past the point where they get to wherever they are bugging out to (if they've even picked a place that 1,000 other people aren't also planning on going to). So they may get there and then realize they have no idea how they are going to survive longer than the food and water supply they brought. What about the time of year? What if it's winter? Not exactly going to be scrounging for berries in February (the native wildlife will have taken care of most of them by then).

Point is, just work on having a good vehicle that will be able to get you (and your family if any) and stuff you'll need out of town and to a safe area (preferably with family/friends). You might have to go over some rough/damaged roads, but you're not likely to be heading up a mountain or through a swamp on your way out. Make sure you have a 72 hour kit, and some other common sense things, as well as all of your important paperwork (keep paper copies, but it's also a good idea to scan everything in and put it on an encrypted thumb drive). And if you really want to be able to bug out to a mountain, plan, and practice all the skills you will need.

But odds are you'll end up sheltering in place, so plan for that first. Of course, you're going to need to adapt to your area, if you get hurricanes or other major storms like that often, you may have to be able to get out of town. But stuff like that you have warning enough to leave before the roads are clogged. If you might have to get out on short notice, plan ahead and have a route that will be more likely to get you out quickly, avoiding major roads (which is where everyone else is likely to head to).

Most importantly though, don't freak out and think you have to have some wicked awesome bug out vehicle by tomorrow. Plan it out. Read good, reliable sources of information. Practice your skills (skills are the most valuable thing to have in a SHTF situation, even more valuable than water, because with the right skills, you'll know where and how to get safe water). Prepare your home for most emergencies applicable to your area. Keep your vehicle in good shape so that it will actually work when you need to get out. Etc, etc.

There is sooooo much to this topic that I will surely have missed other basics. But it's a fun, and good, thing to talk about.
 

skeptic

Well-Known Member
Messages
737
Location
Orygun
If I had to bug out I'd pack up my guns/ammo, food, some clothes, then make the 6 mile drive to my father's farm.
 

rsc

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,087
Location
Tulsa
When building my house I discussed with the builder about having a tower added to the house and a moat installed around the property line. When the talk came around to steel plate reinforced walls, gun slits and heavy duty safe doors I knew we had better back off and make some compromises. The moat had to go.
 

JPaul

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,400
Location
Way up north, UT
Seriously, why is the zombie apocalypse a thing these days? Other than to give tactic-nerds an excuse to buy gear in black/neon green that they don't need?
 

scoreh3

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,024
Location
SoCal
Hey zombies have to be a real thing , I saw them on TV and the Internet too. We all know that everything you see on the Internet is true . Believe and prepare now or die later . If the zombies don't get you Bigfoot will .
 

3Hummers

Super Moderator
Staff member
Messages
10,398
Location
Central Texas
Hey, leave Bigfoot out of this. There was a show on TV where they caught Bigfoot, kept him in a cage, but he got away. They think he is hiding out with Nessie in the Loch Ness.
and on Zombies, I saw a new Zombie Response Jeep with green and symbols and everything. No way Chrysler would make that if zombies weren't real and we didn't need it...unless maybe those crazy Italians made them do it to trick us. :):):)
 

Woodtick

Well-Known Member
Messages
801
Location
Ilanoid, UP MI
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Messages
1,248
Location
New Jersey
Hey if the zombies are what get you to be prepared for a possible disaster, then be it. In my local area when we got hit with hurricane Sandy, most were not prepared, because people get to comfortable thinking things in the past won't happen again or worse. You get comfortable, you get sloppy... Be prepared with as many supplies as possible, have plan of attack, a meeting location, and a secondary location with a secondary plan of attack, in case original plans/locations are compromised. I do have of list of emergency 3 plus days of supplies/medicine etc that is suggested to have. I am currently part of OEM (Office of Emergency Management) and a Fireman, and not matter how much planning you do, most things will be very hard to obtain if you wait till last minute.
 

JPaul

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,400
Location
Way up north, UT
You live in New Jersey, nothing ever happens there except political corruption and traffic jams. :giggle:

I think it's mostly the city folk that get soft. Or maybe it's just the times causing it. I dunno. I grew up in rural New Hampshire, living off a well and a septic system. We had to be ready for when the lights would go out (not if, but when), or a blizzard came through, or worse, an ice storm. We had a dozen chickens most of the time growing up and lots of fruit trees, plus grape vines, blueberry bushes, raspberry canes, etc. We had to go and draw water from the well during some dry years where the level got too low for the pump to pick it up (it was a shallow well, only 20 feet deep or so, we were lucky with our water table levels, but man was that the best water in the world).

So because of all that, and a bunch of other stuff growing up (like Scouts and church) I learned a lot about fending for myself and my family and how to prepare for things. Still have a lot to learn though, and I really need to get my stuff in order, it just takes time and money I don't have a lot of right now.

I just think the whole zombie thing is kind of ridiculous personally (especially with the people that actually take it seriously, they are out there, and more than we would like to admit). And I think it's getting people to prepare in ways that aren't really effective, and/or for things that are never going to happen. Bugging out to the woods just to figure out that you have no idea how to survive past the limited supplies you brought is going to be very disappointing (and deadly) for a lot of these guys if they ever had to actually get out of town. But whatever. As long as they don't try and harass me when they run out of supplies, they can do what they want. I'll just shake my head in wonder at them.
 
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