Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media, tools, and gear of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week’s emphasis is on auxiliary fuel tanks. (Down in the Gear section.)
Books:
The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century
Fire and Ice
Movies:
Enemy at the Gates
Panic in Year Zero. The corny film that first got me thinking about TEOTWAWKI. It was recently mentioned by a SurvivalBlog reader, in an e-mail.
Instructional Videos:
The Make Magazine Youtube channel. This one needs no introduction for long-time SurviavalBlog readers,
The Kipkay Youtube channel. (Has dozens of useful “Hacks” and how-to videos.)
Podcasts:
The Daily Audio Bible
SOFRep Radio. A fascinating podcast that focuses on Special Forces troops, (current and former.)
Blogs:
The Independent (Archer Garret)
World Affairs Brief (Joel Skousen)
Gear (Auxiliary Fuel Tanks):
One of my neighbors has an after-market auxiliary fuel tank in the bed of his Dodge Ram diesel pickup truck that is amazing. It is a 100 gallon tank with an automatic transfer pump. This design is much safer than traditional gravity tanks. It gives his truck an operating range of more than 1,800 miles! It was made by Transfer Flow, Inc., in Chico, California. I recommend these tanks, especially for anyone who intends to use their diesel pickup as a “Get Out of Dodge” vehicle. The company is presently offering a $150 discount on their 100 gallon “Hauler’ black diamond plate in-bed tanks. That offer expires on June 30th. Use coupon code “SUMMER”. You can call them at: (800) 442-0056. Please mention that you heard about their tanks in SurvivalBlog. (I believe that they would be an ideal advertiser for SurvivalBlog.)
FIFO Canned Food Rack
Amazon Basics 4-Shelf Shelving Unit – Chrome
Make a Suggestion
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Fact.
Re: Auxiliary fuel tanks.
Keep in mind the weight of the fuel will affect your mileage. A gallon of gas weighs 6.3 lbs., so a 100 gallon tank will add 630 lbs to your load. Not a huge deal for a full size truck, but something to consider.
In regard to the auxiliary tank, these can only be used on diesel powered pickups, gasoline is too volatile to be used like this safely.
I have a 60 gallon tank in my pickup and it gives me a comfortable 1800 miles operating range when running empty to lightly loaded. If you have a recent model GM pickup and have a gravity flow tank it will show an empty fuel tank and throw a code after 60 to 80 miles, this can be safely ignored, things will return to normal operation once the in bed tank is empty.
Both gasoline and diesel can be safely carried in a system like this; under conditions likely in the US, and with a properly installed (and vented) tank gasoline isn’t notably more hazardous than diesel. If you decide to use either one, the tank MUST be securely fastened to the vehicle frame so it doesn’t shift in case of an accident. It is also best if the tank is in a protected position such as the front of a pickup bed.
However, the pump you use and the way it is installed must be rated for fuel/ flammable liquid use, with the proper fuel rated hoses and appropriate grounding – there have been messy, fatal fires resulting from improper installation and fueling.
Note that federal DOT regs allow up to 110 gallons of either gas or diesel before hazardous materials rules kick in, so if you install a 100 gallon tank, you can carry at most 2 5 gallons cans.
Panic in Year Zero is one of my favorites of the genre. Corny? Yes. Almost every line a cliche? Yes. I quote lines from the dialogue all the time. But, if you grew up in that era, it will remind you of that uncomfortable fear of nuclear war that you lived with every day. The black and white aspect only reinforces the dread of that time. It was a deadly serious film when made but now seems campy and comedic. If you can get past that, I highly recommend it for the overall feel of a family’s reaction during a nuclear war. Oh, that and Frankie Avalon. Too bad more movies like it were not made.
Anthropogenic (man-caused) climate change is a phony threat. So is running out of oil, at least for the next hundred years. We now have more recoverable oil in the U.S. than we’ve ever had. Coming up behind oil is “flammable ice,” (methane hydrate), a very energy-dense material that will be mined from the sea floor. There are lots of things to prep for, but running out of energy isn’t one of them. Let’s not put ourselves in the position of believing every threat is real just because we’re preparing.