I was stuck in traffic a few days ago for a couple of hours. I put it down to our H&S obsessed society today. Only 10 years ago you could have a multi car pileup. They would drag the vehicles to the side and we would whiz past at 80mph gawking at the damaged vehicles, plod, the ambulances and, if required, the fire brigade. Nowadays the slightest scrape, someone breaks a nail and two lanes of the motorway are closed off for five hours. People crawl along being moved into one lane while plod make sure nobody drives on the hard shoulder. My mistake was not having the radio on because the first warning I got of the jam was after the junction I could have taken to avoid it. Assuming it was warned of anyway. What a useless bunch our traffic people are. Of course they did their job which was to slow us down and generate more tax for the treasury.
It was interesting though watching the other drivers. I was thinking about their reactions if there had been an accident up ahead that blocked the road but which was not being moved by the emergency services. All we were doing was moving into a more compact car parking arrangement. I turned off my engine to save fuel but most did not. I got out and looked around, no movement for miles. Although I had half a tank of fuel plus some spare in the boot and I was less than 10 miles from home I knew that I would never have made it in the car. I was trapped. I did have my usual with me, blankets, coats, gloves etc. but the sun was baking us all. I had my usual food supply plus some sweets to snack on if things had deteriorated and we were stuck too long.
Cars moved on to the hard shoulder and just stopped. Kids getting out to go to the toilet by the side of the road. We were trapped. I had no way of getting home without the car and no way of moving the car. People sat patiently, I made a few phone calls and read a book but it was clear that we were just waiting. 10 miles away my family said nothing was wrong. It must just be on the motorway. Great.
After a while the cars started moving and eventually we got to the next junction where some of us got off and I take the A roads home. Most of the traffic continued in the one lane moving at 2 MPH, the next junction being another 10 miles away so it must have taken a while. As I left the junction there were cones here blocking off two lanes with workers, if I can say that, sitting in a van reading the papers. After leaving the motorway, even at two junctions before my normal exit I was home in 10 minutes. Nothing on the news or in the papers so far. So nothing too exciting then.
I’m going to have to seriously relook at my get home strategy. Especially that long, 15 miles, stretch of motorway that can’t be bypassed because of the river. It is a quandry for me because I don’t want to use a motor bike everyday, I can’t keep a bike or small motor bike in the car and I couldn’t abandon the car by default unless it was an event. Depending on where I was and the time of year I could make my way home but the road would be blocked with refugees from the cars which would be a danger.
I need a James Bond jetpack. That may be a problem.
You dont need a jetpack you need a VAN, We got stuck on the Birmingham orbital M42 motorway during a hellish rainstorm, cars were wizzing passed us in the rain and we were doing 65MPH, Eventually a wagon crashed dumping diesel into the already wet road causing chaos and a 6 hour traffic jam. All the fancy cars around us Audi TTs, Galaxys, Mondeos, Vectras, Golf GTIs,Mercs etc were as immobile as us. YES they can do 0-60 in 5 seconds, YES they can do over 120 MPH, YES the roof rolls down on a sunny day, YES they have alloy chassis and kevlar brakes. But in the traffic jams they were as stuck as the old guy and his wifey in their Reliant 3 wheeler. As for us ? Well we had a Toilet instead of a turbo charger, Satelite TV instead of a sun roof, Kitchen instead of Kevlar brakes, Food supplies instead of alloy wheels, we had games, tools, food, medicines, TV , radio, room to stretch out, FOLD DOWN BED, so we took turns at taking a nice cosy nap. We made coffee sarnies, watched DVDs, dozed, and ignored the every increasing numbers of wet hungry full bladders wandering the hard shoulder looking for a place to pee.
When I had camper vans I used to look at people in their cars who had to get home, or to a hotel, in order to get into a comfy bed and think that they were paying similar amounts of road tax, insurance etc as me. My vans, however, had most of the comforts of home but served not only as transport: emergency/holiday/fun accommodation, a guest apartment or mobile beach hut, bug out vehicle and mini retreat combined… you get the idea. Reading the reply from NR I don’t even need to ask myself if I made the right decision to go back to a car, the answer is obvious. Oh well, at least it’s got nice alloy wheels.
about 5 years ago on a regular trip from Glastonbury to North Devon to visit the mother-in-law we had just got onto the M5 when all the traffic ground to a halt, there we sat looking at all the other drivers for over 2 hours, a couple of cop cars went flying down the hard shoulder, nobody came to tell us what was happening, nobody came to see if everyone was alright. eventually i couldnt wait any longer, i HAD to pee, so i wondered over to the grass verge, as soon as i had BEEN nearly every bloke jumped out of their cars and did the same-never knew i was a trend setter! so after 2 hours the traffic suddenly started moving again without any warning, soon we were travelling at normal speeds again, still dont know what caused the delay but we did go past a burnt bit of tarmac which may or may not have been a vehicle fire. we were only on the motorway cos wife’s daughter said why dont you use the motorway(instead of my normal route of back B roads), on the next trip we went back to using the country roads.
I do want a van.
I can’t get to where I live without a massive detour past this motorway. It is only a few times a year when Plod shut it for some reason. Last time was a suspected bomb. So I’ll have to live with it.
The only thing missing from the boot is a toilet. I’ll have to think about some mods.
A plastic bottle to pee in for you, and a she-wee for the good lady, plus some wiondow covers for a bit of privacy ??
you can make a She-wee out of a plastic pint milk container-just cut off the top.
Ouch!
That doesn’t sound comfortable (shart cut plastic). In an emergency it’s probably better than dribbling down your leg but I think the few pounds for the ‘proper tool’ is worth it.
Jetpack?
Bicycle!
A relatively inexpensive & compact alternative is a scooter. Either one you propel yourself (there are some great videos of the Xootr on You Tube, claiming to be 3 times faster than walking) or, as you already carry fuel in the car boot, a 2 stroke petrol scooter. This would be much faster but, of course, not legal to use on a public highway blah blah blah. They look like seriously good fun as well as efficient “get you home quicker” emergency transportation.
Ha! Ha! I added a folding scooter to my GHB just this week! I’ve sprayed it mat black and it fits under the criss cross elastic on the back of my bag really well! It is fun to scoot although people are not so used to seeing a grown woman scooting down the pavement and so I have had some pretty strange looks while testing it out! It most definitely will get me home quicker and with less effort than walking. I recommend getting one! And yes … good fun too! š
Well done! I’ve been thinking about it for ages and, as usual, am still thinking, so your enthusiasm might encourage me to actually DO something! Every time i visit my daughter 90 miles away I look at the long drag over the Pennines and think how much faster it would be (downhill) on a scooter in an emergency where cars couldn’t be used. On the uphill part it wouldn’t add too much weight to a GHB. I’m glad you enjoy yours!
Last comment evaporated ( again!)
From 10 miles out a GHB should have all you need. Certainly mine does.
Alternatively a folding Brompton style bicycle… but they take up quite a bit of boot space.
A friend has an emergency scooter and swers by it. I can only imagine the derisive howls of laughter if I were to attempt this method. (and rightly so! š
LS
In an emergency get-home situation I think people would be too busy panicking to stop and laugh at you! I do know what you mean though, I’m not as young and skinny as I used to be (as my darling children love to remind me) so the practice required might be a little embarrassing, but I try not to let other people influence me too much. If I did my cupboards would be bare as I sat relying on HMG to rescue me in any emergency!
It would seem from the replies above that an MPV of some description or a small motorhome type set of wheels would be the most useful form of transport. Plus careful working out of ones route before leaving home or where ever to avoid the masses – if you have the time, of course. Nothing will ever be perfect – but it is food for thought. As my current wheels are into double figures old I sense impending pain in the bank dept.
SELECTING A BUG OUT VEHICLE
The Chances are if you are a fit single young man you will get by with a good SUV 4×4 type vehicles with camping equipment fitted wherever you can, But if you are a family man or not in the first flourish of youth you are going to need something more spacious like a Van or Overlander RV
(Overlanders are basically heavy duty expedition vehicles)
I think very few people will need a huge coach built camper conversion like a Winnebago, the upper limit is likely to be the very rugged ex school bus in the US and the ex-army bus in the UK. But generally the trend does appear to be for a self-contained BOV usually a van conversion, rather than an upgraded SUV with external camping equipment. But not entirely, there are still many survivalists who are more than happy with their Land Rovers and Jeeps and there are people who are more than satisfied with their upgraded family cars as well.
FITTING OUT YOUR B.O.V
There are some very important things to consider when designing, fitting out and loading your Bug out Vehicle, they range from
1. Selecting the best vehicle you can afford to buy and run.
2. Fitting it out as best as possible.
3. Distributing the load evenly between the axles.
4. Keeping heavy items stored as low down as possible.
5. Balancing the weight evenly along both sides of the vehicle.
6. Keeping often needed and important equipment readily to hand.
7. Ensuring you donāt have to offload kit to get to the bed, toilet or kitchen.
8. Not overloading your vehicle so as to affecting handling or ground clearance.
9. Ensuring the vehicle is made as BOV suitable as possible (IE Rugged).
10. Remembering to redistribute weight in the vehicle as fuel, food and water are consumed.
11. Incorporating as many useful features as possible / affordable.
12. Making it easily repairable as possible
Ideally if you want a BOV with internal sleeping accommodation a 4×4 panel van conversion will meet your needs the closest, followed by a 4×2 panel van, the other common option of course is the 4×4 SUV or utility truck with a roof mounted tent or towed trailer containing some sort of opening or demountable sleeping arrangement.
Many survivalists choose the Off Road vehicle option as it suits their needs best, but I feel that many survivalists with family members both young and old will be better suited to sleeping inside a BOV rather than in a tent or trailer tent.
Your BOV should have the capacity to carry extra fuel, extra food, extra water, extra clothing, extra equipment and logistics to make the bugging out event as least traumatic as possible, it has been debated to great length over the years but a commonly held belief is that your vehicle should carry enough fuel to cover a distance four times of that equaling the most direct route to your final destination, IE if its 150 miles to your retreat you should carry fuel enough to go 600 miles. This allows for road blocks, diversions, natural and manmade hazards and pure bad luck. You can supplement and extend your range by caching fuel along the most likely routes you will follow to get to your retreat, but what you must NEVER do is plan on using gas stations to obtain extra fuel in an emergency, not only could they be closed, empty or looted but you can guarantee trouble makers will be loitering around them waiting for people just like you to pull in.
I believe that the case has been made firmly in favour of diesel powered vehicles ahead of gasoline powered vehicles, though I do respect other peopleās choices, reasons and desires in selecting gasoline power. But for economy, reliability, accessibility, storage and safe handling, efficiency and availability Diesel is in my honest opinion the best choice for survivalists.
Your BOV will ideally be able to provide enough sleeping space for all of your group/ family MINUS ONE, because at all times someone should be outside keeping watch. You do not want to have to unload equipment or supplies in order to make up a berth because if you are forced to suddenly flee for your lives then you will probably have to abandon the stuff you offloaded.
Use your head when designing and loading your vehicle, if for example your fuel tank is on the right hand side of the vehicle then position the extra fuel tank on the left to balance the weight. As you use up your supplies do remember to rebalance the vehicles load to compensate.
As well as balancing the vehicle keep the centre of gravity as low as possible, keep all the heaviest stuff as low down as possible, fuel , bottled gas, water etc on or under the vehicle floor, followed by food and tools, with lightweight stuff like clothing and bedding stored in the highest spots. Make sure you have adequate ventilation in your vehicle when burning gas for cooking or heating.
What should your vehicle have in an ideal world? (Only my opinion)
Good ground clearance (better off road capability).
All wheel drive (Selectable 4wd preferred to save fuel)
16 inch steel wheels & light truck re-enforced tyres
Diesel engine, none turbo preferred for reliability
Manual Transmission (Automatics waste far too much energy from an engine)
Long range fuel tanks (Greater independence and security in avoiding gas stations)
Twin Batteries (charged from Engine and Solar Panel when stationary)
Auxiliary power supplies (PV Cell, Micro turbine, Bottle gas powered generator)
Upgraded Lighting (with auxiliary driving lights on separate circuit to main lights)
Belted Seating for everyone.
Domestically manufactured (for spares accessibility)
Internal insulated water tanks (Drinking/ washing)
Dirty water tanks (leave no trace of rest stop)
Toilet (with sealed easy clean tanks)
Shower (an external spigot will do)
Strongly build cabinet fittings
Kitchen Unit (sink, cooker, grill, fridge)
Dirty / Wet Locker (keeping wet and dirty clothing separate)
Vented Bottled gas locker (Min two 7.5 kg bottles)
Satnav / map locker
Good quality AM FM DIGITAL radio in cab and saloon
Power / light fused distribution board
External hookup for 120/220v
A ceramic or Reverse Osmosis water filter (if you fill up at possibly impure water sources).
A mobile phone charger.
External storage racks for stuff like Jerry cans, Bicycles, Spare wheel carriers etc.
Winch and bull bars & swivel spotlights (protection and self-extraction and lighting)
Tool & spares locker (vehicles tools and common spares).
Please do remember that for the average modern western family all of the above can be accommodated into a long wheel base panel van like a Ford Transit or Econoline, and accordingly can be used as everyday transport for one of the family, the vehicle can most certainly be used for leisure purposes as well as survivalism.
Vehicle Jacks, Spare Wheels & Wheel Braces
Have you noticed just how badly located many spare wheels are located on our vehicles and also how utterly useless the standard vehicle jack is, very often the OE jack can only be used on one specific spot on each corner of the vehicle, thatās no good if that spot is sited over a rock or soft ground when you get a puncture.
One thing I always try to do to my vehicles is to relocate the spare wheel if itās stored UNDER the vehicle, I either bonnet, roof or tailgate mount it, or even leave it inside the vehicle. I’m sick of having to crawl under the vehicle to unwind the securing bolt in the pouring rain, then trying to drag the blasted thing out from underneath the vehicle.
I also very often scrap the OE Jack and replace it with one with a wider base so it works on soft ground (stops the jack sinking in) and one that will go under the vehicle easily and lift in multiple locations on the body or suspension, rather than many OE jacks that can only lift in specific locations on the vehicle body. You can compromise by welding a bigger steel footplate to the bottom of your OE jack.
At the very least you need an extra foot plate made from steel or thick timber to be kept with your jack, 12×12 or 18 x 18 inches.
Some folks now use AIR jacks which are basically a re-enforced neoprene bag you push under the car and inflated it via a compressor ran from the cigar lighter socket, or from a 3 litre diverās bottle.
I have also noticed in their mad dash to make vehicles as light as possible that the manufacturers are now making the wheel brace for undoing the wheel nuts very short indeed, often requiring someone with super human strength or a piece of scaffolding pipe to free off tight wheel nuts. I strongly recommend you get hold of a chrome steel extending wheel brace, they are only about Ā£15 and also double up nicely as a defensive weapon.
Donāt forget in a real Bug Out situation the spare wheel, jack and brace need to be very easily accessible so you can change a wheel quickly and get going again ASAP, Having to unload the BOV to get at the spare is definitely bad practise to be avoided at all costs.
Also if you are likely to be sleeping overnight in the vehicle in a BO situation and end up parking off the highway it is well worth keeping four pieces of 13 or 19 mm plywood at least 18 inches x 12 inches to park the vehicle on during the stopover, this will help prevent your vehicle sinking into soft ground overnight and getting stuck. The bigger the vehicle and heavier the load the bigger the boards need to
Dont forget that many self build camper van owners increase their mobility by fitting a full width but quite shallow platform across the rear of the van to carry a small mototcycle as convenient transport.
TRANSPORTATION
In theory this bit is easy, Ideally you need to get fit enough to be able to walk long distances whilst carrying a full pack on your back containing everything you need to sustain you and your family on its journey to your place of safety. BUT in the real world we are not all fit enough, nor can we carry all we need about our persons, add to this equation a wife, two kids, a baby and an elderly in law. So you need to consider transport. Think about fuel types and its availability after a disaster, think about type and style of vehicle that suits you best, think about power to weight ratios when you have the entire family aboard plus food and other outdoor survival kit, think about having to sleep rough using you vehicle as a bedroom, think about storing your full bug out kit aboard and the family, think about maintenance, think about having to go “off road”, think about fuel tank range, and think about its suitability for your survival needs.
You need to discuss your requirements in depth with other survivalists and overland expeditioners to get the best advice you can. Most favour large bodied large diesel powered 4 wheel drive utility vehicles; though camper vans and panel van conversions are gaining popularity.
Learn new skills, If you get the chance to learn to ride a horse, grab it. Same with a motorcycle, motorboat, sailboat, quad bike etc, if the opportunity arises get on a course on how to use a 4WD properly off road then take it.
The more operator skills you gain with differing modes of transport the better your chances are in bugging out or getting home safe after a disaster.
If more members of your family or group are capable of using the methods of transport chosen then get them trained up as well?
Try and match your transport system with the environment you live in, IE in cities bicycles probably are best, In a heavily wooded hilly area horses may be best.
A FAMILY BUGGING OUT BY ROAD VEHICLE.
OK Letās say you are a prepper or at least someone taking disaster prep seriously, there’s you and your partner, couple of preteen kids and perhaps say grandma or a similar permutation of relatives.
Your prime choice of bugging out is by road (as it is for the majority of us)
So what criteria do you use when choosing what sort of vehicle to use and what to put inside it?
What I want people to try and realise that for many families or even couples that bugging out from City or Rural location is simply not rushing out and buying a big bloody 4×4 jeep with loads of gadgets fitted.
Things people need to consider are (but often ignored because a jeep looks cool and macho on the drive)
Belted Seats for everyone (itās no use piling the kids on top of the guns and fishing kit as you try and drive down a gravel slope)
Internal sleeping space (Camping out In the real world the chances are it will probably be hot/ cold/ windy/ wet/ snowy/ dusty or susceptible to being eaten live by anything from soldier ants, fleas, chiggers, ticks etc all the way up to grizzly bears and humans. You really need to be able to accommodate your peoples sleeping needs inside your BOV.)
Catering, Washing and Toilet access (face it if you have to survive for any length of time you donāt want to be washing and crapping in a stream in midwinter, and that is providing grandma or the kids can get down the slope to the stream, nor do you want to be eating or feeding your kids MRE’s Jerky or snickers bars every day possibly for weeks on end. You need a cooker, fuel, internal water supply, camping toilet, and waste water tank)
Equipment storage Itās simple your group kit needs to be carried INSIDE the vehicle on two counts, (1) SECURITY: IE to stop people stealing your kit, or advertising yourselves as fully equipped with valuable kit.
(2) CONCEALMENT, thereās nothing more likely to attract the attention of undesirables or even other survivalists than a vehicle liberally draped in winches, jacks, jerry cans, ropes, food lockers etc)
Stay sensible before you spout off about being armed, there is a damn good chance that anyone stumbling into you is better armed, better trained, more numerous and more desperate to resupply. (Itās better to still be armed for defence but to have no one even notice you.)
Range (During Hurricane Katrina and in New York State on 911 two things occurred you need consider.
(1) Down New Orleans way even some survivalist families that were fully prepared got caught out. Because of the mass evacuation order so many vehicles were on the road at one time, all heading away from the area, many drivers found themselves crawling along at 5 mph for up to 12 hours in first gear. This caused them to run out of fuel long before they reached safety even when they had a couple of Jerry cans of fuel extra on board as full tanks.
(2) In New York as soon as news broke about 911 many gas stations closed, some chose to close, other were told to close by cops who feared war had broken out. But the effect was the same, people ran out of fuel trying to flee the area. Other gas stations were simply sucked dry in hours by the surge in demand. You need to store enough fuel to travel from your home to your place of safety by the longest route possible, and having to do it in low gear.
A rough example is if your retreat is 150 miles away you really need enough fuel aboard to do 450 miles).
Fuel Safety and Availability (This bit many people hate thinking about or choose to ignore). If you need to carry lots of fuel to get to your retreat and possibly back as well it means you are carrying a lot of volatile material. The fact is that itās simply safer and fuel efficient to drive a diesel powered vehicle.
Yes your V 8 small block hemi engine is sexy, but itās also a liability in the fire and fuel availability stakes. Gasoline is simply dangerous to handle, it does not like being stored without being treated, it explodes far too easy, and after TSHTF itās much harder to get than diesel, even in the US. Currently if you wanted to get some extra gasoline you can go to the gas station along with all the panic stricken Joe Publics and thatās about it.
BUT with diesel you can try gas stations, truck stops, trucks themselves, freight depots, freight yards, locomotive stables, railroad sidings, military depots, boat yards, airports, farms, farm suppliers and other agricultural sources. Even in the US there is billions of gallons more long life diesel available than gasoline).
Flexibility ( There is simply no reason why your BOV cannot be used as your everyday drive to work vehicle, millions of people drive, panel vans, camper vans, SUVs, and Day vans as their normal means of transport. You can even use it to go on camping vacations with.)
NR: Very many thanks for the above – it has given me, and everyone else I would guess, a great deal to think about with regard to the ideal vehicle.
My own circumstances dictate that ‘bug in’ would be the mode of operation regardless of what might happen in the future. However in order to be able to get around, now, and beyond I will be needing an MPV biased piece of kit to replace my ‘car’ for everyday/general usage.
I can feel the wallet hurting. Food for thought. Once again ‘many thanks’.
BOV the opposite approach.
I have covered, and continue to cover considerable mileage in the smallest of cars to the toughest of 4×4 expedition vehicles
My BOV strategy is opposite to NR.
Small is beautiful for me, and small with a really simple but frugal diesel engine is best of all. This means FRENCH. Yep, thatās what I said Frenchā¦. Citroen, Renault or Peugeot, maybe some of the little Skodas fit in here too.
Why? Because these cars are small enough to squeeze through small spaces, light and rugged enough to do surprisingly well cross country, they are easy to fix ( especially if you have a not too computerized model) and they go a long, long way on just a little fuel.
I strongly believe that Big macho wagons will be completely boxed in and not able to use their power and muscle. They will shout out ālook at meā¦thereās stuff in here worth havingā. They will guzzle fuel at an alarming rate. When and if I have to go scavenging fuel, I want it to carry me and my gear as far as possible.
My BOV is really a disposable item for me. It has one purpose in life. To get me from my retreat to a BOL. If it makes it all the way there, its reward will be to be stripped of all useful parts. If it fails part way, itāll be abandoned and journey will be continued by bicycle.
Certainly I do not intend to flee with the masses. If I have to flee I hope it will be long after the masses have disappeared. My little camionette does not draw undue attention. Its small, nimble and with extra fuel in Jerry cans will carry us approximately 1000 Km even when fully loaded.
Iāll keep an eye open, and will wave hello as I go past, while you’re stuck in the traffic NR š
LS if we got to the high risk scenarios I would be using the van still but towing the Small Shogun 4×4 Pinin behind ( or a small motorbike if wife will let me have one)
BTW my first BOV was an 1108 cc Renault fourgonette van š
Your strategy is not opposite mine, that article is specific for folks with extended families who feel the need for a fully self contained BOV and have the space to operate it..
I also drafted this snippet for your perusal š
SMALL 4X4s
Ā© 2010 Northern Raider
Fascinating food for thought this morning, I just nipped out for an hour to watch an off road 4×4 club run a little event in a village near here.
When I got there I was fascinated by the huge variations in the type of vehicles and what levels of modifications they had received.
Standard road legal vehicles driven by families, high spec heavily modified off road specialist vehicles they had the lot.
So I started asking questions and picking brains.
OK so before I go on I will point out that the big Landies, Jeeps etc still totally dominated the event coming first in most things. But some things got me thinking VERY hard indeed.
When we as survivalists have to bug out SPEED is not the ultimate aim, Getting out swiftly but intact is the objective. If a competition Landy rolls over or gets stuck there is dozens of people and back up vehicles to help.
But if WE roll over or get stuck the chances are NO ONE will be able to help us.
Going further on this point I put it to you that we are more likely to GET STUCK than ROLL OVER.
And it was that last point that got me looking at the smaller 4x4s with the most interest.
I noted that vehicles such as short wheel based Landies, Suzuki Jimneys / Vitaras, Dihatsu Terios, Lada Niva Cossacks, WW2 era Wileys Jeeps, Austin tramps etc were getting through gaps, tight check points and spaces that were stopping or causing BIG problems for long wheel based landies, big jeep models, Land cruisers, Shoguns, Warriors etc.
These compact and sub compact 4x4s may not be able to climb the north face of the Eiger at 80 mph. BUT they were totally dominant at getting through small spaces, weaving between trees, getting past access barriers designed to stop cars using bridle ways, wading through drainage ditches, driving along pavements BETWEEN the fence and the street light (that the bigger vehicles simply could not do).
(A picture of a Terios and older model Suzuki SJ410 driving through a concrete pipe section was on show in one of the vehicles)
These little buggers could get through gaps than many of the big boys just could not get through, being either too wide or unable to turn tight enough through say 90 degrees to pass a barrier.
Soooooooo, If we consider that a 4×4 is a valuable addition to your survival kit, could we accept that generally if we had to bug out we WONT be driving through a lake, driving up the side of a quarry, or driving over a ten foot high boulder.
BUT the chances are very high we have to squeeze past a set of bollards blocking a cycle path, we may have to leave the paved road and ride down the pavement between building and street lights, we may have to drive across a very rough farmers track, we may have to drive along a railway track no more than 5 ft wide, we may find ourselves driving out of town along a path between houses and a river.
The smaller size of these still very agile 4x4s I think for many people a huge advantage over huge great full size 4x4s as EDC vehicles and as Bug out Vehicles.
Plus as well as being smaller they are usually cheaper and more plentiful as well.
These vehicles I am sure could probably really expand the survival potential for many townies and cities preppers as well as being good EDC drives for us rural preppers.
Hi NR,
Yes little 4x4s are a good option, there just don’t seem to be deisel verions in the uk.
The SJ410 used to be available with deisel power plant in france, likewise the Jimny, but never in UK.
I has a new shape Terios until a short while ago, it was awesome in two respects: The sort of terain it could tackle and the amount of fuel it consumed. In both case it was in the same territory as a land rover š & š
Small and light still get my vote though because that’s what’s worked for me over and over again.
i agree LS, my Citroen Berlingo is 1400cc Petrol( i dont like Diesel..too noisy too smelly) and goes everywhere, it is small enough to go down the deep, deep, very narrow back country Devon lanes, with the back seats down i can fill up the available space with all manner of stuff, tyres, pallets, bags of compost, bags of horse manure. when we bought it the salesman said” i hope your going to look after it?” to which my wife replied” NO, we’re going to USE it!”
i cut straight through traffic on my motorbike, its a 125cc 4stroke good for 85mph and a full tak costs me 12quid and lasts 2 weeks, i rode it in just under a foot of snow last week, definitely tested my ticker out but i got to work and back while my boss who has a 4×4 couldnt brave the treacherous road conditions, its not a dirtbike either btw its a chinese clone of a honda cbr.