Jim:
I loved your book How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It [1]. I was surprised when I read the G.O.O.D. [2] vehicles section that you didn’t really mention old military vehicles as G.O.O.D vehicles. I was curious of your stand on this as I’m sure other readers are too. I recently purchased a 1-1/4 ton 1968 Kaiser Jeep M715 that had been converted to run on both gas and propane. It really isn’t a very complicated vehicle to work on the wiring is very basic. I believe this is a good retreat rig as the maintenance is very basic the only con is that it has a low gear ratio so top speed is maybe 55 mph. No special tools are required on it just a good socket and ratchet set, timing strobe light, a good Digital Volt Ohm Meter and a set of screwdrivers and some brake line wrenches. Those are a all you need to work on al but the most advanced repairs.
I live in Arkansas so seeing people drive old Army rigs is commonplace. So would you recommend old military rigs and why or why not? Also would you recommend a specific kind? – J.R.O.
JWR Replies: Yes, so long as you live in area where they won’t stick out like a proverbial sore thumb, military surplus vehicles can be quite practical for retreats. As previously mentioned in SurvivalBlog, here in the U.S., two of the most practical models are M35A2 2-/12 ton trucks with multifuel engines [3] for hauling fairly large loads, and diesel CUCV [4] pickup trucks for hauling light loads. One good source for CUCVs is Classic Mustangs in Denver, Colorado [5]. More obscure and hard-to-find military vehicles can often be found at Dave Uhrig’s site [6].