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Two Letters Re: A Vehicular BoB
Jim:
There was some interesting commentary posted to your blog about a vehicle
bug out kit and how to keep your vehicle running during a time of troubles.
Most of us concentrate on using the vehicle for a short period of time to get
out of Dodge and then [if need be] plan on walking from there.
I would suggest that we also look at using the vehicle as our bug out kit.
At least at first when we have to get out quickly, and if we don’t have
a longer term farm/ranch that we are planning on going to.
We have a number of children we are responsible for and the thought of walking
with a backpack miles and miles through hostile territory with children does
not sit well.
Besides, the number of diapers we would need to carry, let alone the children,
makes a bug out from a vehicle impossible. And no, we won’t leave the
kids behind.
We have also practiced our bug out several times over the years (lets go camping
to the kids or lets go to grandma’s for my wife …) and it is painfully
obvious that without a full day’s preparation we can not get the whole
family ready and on the road. So we have modified our camping trailer to act
as our bug out kit. That’s right, the whole trailer. This can be done
with RVs of any sort as well as with large SUVs and trucks. In
these cases simply pre-pack a large duffel bag or Rubbermaid containers with
supplies that can be loaded quickly.
In the trailer we have placed tools, supplies, and all the other items for
an extended disaster stay that would force us out of our house. Figure six
months to one year minus the food supplies (I’ll talk about that below)
and guns. The trailer has been modified to have a PV panel on top to charge
the batteries and we have a generator that we can take with us and power up
the trailer with. The water tank is full and again has been modified to filter
water coming into it (while I will take clean looking water from an unknown
source, I won’t try to filter pond water etc. into the tank). Plus we
have several bottles of bleach in the trailer to put into the water tank to
kill off any unwanted bacteria.
Guns and ammo are set up pre-packaged anyway so that if we had to walk out
(doubtful) we just need to grab a rifle and pistol and their accompanying go-packs
(pre-loaded magazines in carriers such as the Eagle shoulder bandolier that
holds nine AR-15 magazines). Hence we have about five minutes worth of work
to load firearms and their supplies.
In the event of a major disaster we would also need to load additional food
into the trailer. We figure that this would take us about two hours maximum
as the one bay in our garage has been converted to storage duties. Hence back
the trailer up and start to shovel cases of food into it. In theory we would
be ready to ride out a six month disaster that forces us from our home with
about four hours of effort on our part.
This leaves us with two critical items that can not be readily carried – water
and fuel. This has been overcome with careful planning on our part. First,
we have mapped out likely hide spots for ourselves and the trailer – mostly
campgrounds on National Forest lands. Using these campgrounds does
two things. First, they normally have pit toilets already in place. Second,
many of them have water sources that are gravity fed from streams and the like
or have a well/pump pre-installed that can easily be run off of the generator
we have. We make it a point to talk to the campground hosts to find out the
location of the wells or water supplies when we camp there over the summer.
To overcome the fuel issue (and bulk ammunition storage, and additional supplies
that we might not have time to toss in) we have managed to find a couple of
deserted, roofless cabins in the woods near the campgrounds. The Forest Service
used to maintain (and still does in places like Alaska and along the Appalachian
Trail) cabins for hikers. In many places these are still marked on maps. But
over the years of neglect many of the cabins have fallen apart and only the
walls and fireplace/chimney remain. Close to two of these cabins which are
to of our two primary bug out spots. We have managed to cache additional supplies
near the cabins. In one case it was inside an abandoned mine not more than
100 yards from a Forest Service cabin which was only about 1⁄2 mile from
the campground we have decided on.
What this does is also set us up for a longer term survival situation as well.
During the initial days of chaos after a major, societal collapsing event,
nobody is going to look for abandoned cabins without roofs. During this time
we will be snug, if more than a little cramped, in our camping trailer. When
the situation looks like it will not stabilize anytime soon, then as the weather
gets nicer, we have the tools (already in the trailer) to replace the roof
on one of these cabins in short order. Strip the trailer of items such as the
propane stove, etc. and we can move into a nice, if rustic, survival retreat.
I will add that since many of these cabins were built in the 1930s they
have rock solid walls made of large logs and cement. Almost like the walls
that bunkers are built out of . . .
With the two caches we have, and with the trailer in tow, we figure we can
ride out a year or two in the woods in relative comfort. And if we are forced
to displace we can do so relatively quickly even with the kids. - Hugh D.
Mr Rawles.
I just read the letter from the gentleman in Central America regarding bug
out vehicles. He advises replacing a the starter battery of an auto-transmission
vehicle with a deep cycle battery. I think that’s not ideal for anyone
further north than Florida. Good quality deep cycle batteries are not very
good at giving up lots of current in a short time, e.g., starting an engine.
Under good circumstances (oversized battery, warm ambient temps, fuel injected
engine in good tune, etc), they will act as a starting battery. But in challenging
conditions, particularly cold weather, they can struggle to provide the amps
a starter demands to crank a stubborn engine.
Best bet for that role is a compromise battery: Deep cycle/starting. These
batteries are more durable than a starter battery when repeatedly drained for
powering electrical devices. They are not as durable as a true deep cycle.
But they also have some of the cranking “oomph” to provide lots
of amps quickly, for starting a motor.
A great bug-out 12VDC battery
is an deep cycle/starting combination of absorbed glass mat (AGM)
construction, because of the flexibility it offers. They are pricey
and don’t hold as many amps, pound for pound, as a good quality flooded
battery, but they are very durable, lose their charge slowly when unattended,
requiring less care. They can safely be pressed into service for many indoor
duties because they don’t vent hydrogen when charged, and they can’t
leak acid. I’ve got a deep cycle/starting combo AGM that I keep around
the house. It started life as a trolling motor battery about eight years ago.
Since then, it’s been used to jump start cars, as a starter for a generator,
as a battery backup for a personal computer, and to run an inverter during
an extended power outage. It’s sitting under my desk right now. If the
power goes out, my PC, monitor and Internet connection will keep running for
five or six hours. In a pinch, if I need it, I can disconnect it and use it
to jump start a car, run a fridge on an inverter, etc. Very handy to have one
of these around. Regards, - Rich S.
