The recent SurvivalBlog piece titled “Survival Tips for the Business Traveler”, by F. Russell was well written with lots of good information. I also travel on business and didn’t see anything I disagreed with but I would add a couple of items if you care to link my comments to the article.
1) No matter how well you plan, if you travel much over the road you are going to be places where the fuel in your tank is not enough to get you home. Be that because of the distance you are from “home” or that traffic congestion or your attempts to find back road routes burns more fuel than normal. The assumption is that obtaining fuel, especially along interstates during a melt down will be Nye on impossible as either the electricity is out and they cant pump fuel or the lines are so long that waiting puts you in danger.
Build your own 12 volt fuel transfer pump (better yet build two). Go to your local auto parts supply store and order or purchase a fuel pump with as much GPM as you can afford. The one I got was about $100 for the pump. Then purchase a good fuel filter, a cigarette lighter “plug” with an in line switch and 25 feet of tubing. I mounted mine to plywood squares that are about 10″ X 10″. With that device you can pull up next to another vehicle or even into the gas station and put your hose down into the ground tanks at the station and transfer fuel into your tank. I am not suggesting stealing the fuel…this device has saved my bacon already.
2) Cary a bicycle with you. You can go to pawn shops and get pretty decent bikes for $40. Put some extra tubes and patch kits and bike pump in your BOB. I frequently travel to a city that is 180 miles from home. That’s only a three hour drive but it would take someone even in good shape a long time to walk. IF you could cover 20 miles a day it would take you nine straight days to walk home. That’s a long walk. On a bike however its a much different matter. Riding a bike 100 miles in a day is a hell of a workout but it can be done.
3) Consider putting an EMP ground on your vehicle, especially if you perceive high risk time frames.
4) If you have the resources, this may not be the ultimate road warrior machine but its up there. I travel in a 2007 Itasca Navion (The Winnebago “View” is basically the same vehicle) At 24 feet in length its not much longer than my pickup and on the Sprinter chassis its more maneuverable than my pickup. Its Mercedes Benz 5 cylinder turbo diesel engine and Mercedes transmission run like a sewing machine. There are stories of people getting 22 MPG. I haven’t done as well but did get around 19 MPG. Small enough that you can parallel park in downtown name the city but large enough to be fully self contained and carry a lot of stuff. Rest stops and truck stops are dangerous places…you don’t need to “go there” as you have your bathroom and your kitchen with you…the only stops you need to make are for business and fuel. If you have a large distance to cover in an emergency you can run that engine for days without shutting it off..do that in gas motor car and you could be in for trouble.
Regards, – B.H.