Hi Jim,
Something that has come to mind as someone with a bug out location and bug out vehicle is that specter of fuel rationing. Now, my Bug Out Vehicle has a ~60 gallon diesel capacity which gives me approximately a 1,000 mile cruising capacity – depending on load. I keep my tanks full at all times and stabilized.
As someone with a remote “country home”–that requires fuel to get to–I’m very concerned about having enough fuel to make it to my location. Fuel rationing is a new “breakpoint” that I’m adding to my bug out SOPs, as a trigger point. Reason? Because once they start rationing fuels there may be no way to replace the fuel in the vehicles that would be required to get to my safe haven. Time to think about storing and stabilizing fuels, if you have a Bug Out Location. I’m contacting local suppliers about having a couple of 55 gallon drums of diesel dropped in my garage. These are scary times indeed. – Mr. Teo
JWR Replies: For ease of handling, I don’t recommend storing anything larger than 20 gallon drums. Moving drums that are any larger requires special equipment and they are very difficult to quickly load in the back of pickup truck. (A 20 gallon drum is fairly easy for two men to handle, with the proper orchestration. ) The bulk of your diesel should be stored in an underground tank, preferably with its filler head and pump handle camouflaged.
The usual provisos: Consult your local fire code for storage limits and beware of fire safety when storing fuel cans or drums. Storing them in an attached garage is a bad idea.