Category: G. O. O. D.

Letter Re: Motorcycles as Bugout Vehicles

Hi James, After seeing and living through the nightmarish traffic jams and rerouting during the Colorado wildfire last summer, I started thinking about the wisdom and utility of having a motorcycle in SHTF scenarios.   There are pros and cons to it that I can think of, but I’d like other’s opinions.  An off-the-top of my head list:   Pros: 1)  Bypass traffic jams and stalled/out of commission cars. 2)  Saddle-bags can carry a lot more than than a human 3)  Much faster than on-foot bugout. 4)  Handles off-road with suitable tires 5)  Fewer people could drive it compared to a …


A Military Wife’s Perspective on Preparedness, by Laura M.

I take a different approach, but one that may prove useful for other ladies. My husband is military, so that would make me the military spouse. However, I can tell you from experience that there SHOULD be a survival guide to being a military spouse. Now, I don’t plan on making this some betty home maker guide; Because in my opinion there is so many other survival aspects that us ladies should be aware of when our husbands are away. Unfortunately, we are not aware of these survival tactics until some misfortune is staring us in the face and we …


Letter Re: Emergency Bags for Your Vehicle

Dear James, I wish to make a comment about the article on preparing an emergency bag for your car. This is a prudent and good idea. I currently have one for each vehicle I own. The only problem with the article is the choice of food. I have a tendency to leave my emergency bag in my car. The problem arises in the summer when the outside temps start to rise. With the outdoor temp at 100 degrees F the car’s inside temperature is 120 to 130. The MRE entrees only have a shelf life of 30 days at 120 …


Emergency Bags for Your Vehicle, by Z.T.

Most preppers probably have a pretty good handle on how to assemble a bug-out-bag (BOB). And, it’s probably so large and ungainly, that it gets stuck in the closet, just like mine. Let’s be honest, are you going to have it when you need it? I think we have covered the likelihood of being at home when “it” happens in plenty of detail in the past. We have seen that the chances of you being at home on your couch with your BOB beside you are slim. What about all the other situations? In other words, where to you spend …


Two Letters Re: Bug Out Vehicle Advice

Mr. Rawles, I have not seen the subject of a 2WD with a limited slip differential versus a 4WD addressed on your blog. If it has, I have missed it. Most 4WD vehicles have “open” differentials and if one wheel on that axle spins, then the other stops. I have seen 4WD trucks spinning the driver side front wheel and the passenger side rear wheel and nothing from the other 2 wheels (dead stop). There are vehicles with limited slip front and rear but they are uncommon unless you special order them that way new or have aftermarket parts installed. …


Staying Sane (and Happy) at Your Winter BOL, by Mrs. Icebear

I laughed my way through the entertaining and informative (even for me – I had no theoretical knowledge of waxing skis whatsoever, just did “what the other kids did”) recent article on the “exotic Norwegian” cross country skis. So I thought that maybe a couple of other Norwegian experiences might be of interest to survivalblog-readers: Having lived the first 30 years of my life in Norway and had ample experience with both skiing and offgrid living as a part of everyday life, I have some personal tips on not just surviving offgrid, but actually having a good time even though: …


Letter Re: Thoughts Trailers and Towing Capacity for Times of Fuel Scarcity

Jim: InyoKern’s comments [about living in trailers] are right on. My brother is [living] in a 21.5 foot long toy hauler and it is built stronger than a conventional trailer and you can haul a lot in it. It is very comfortable and has extra large storage capacity for fuel, water etc. He has 200 watts of photovoltaic panels on the roof and four 6 -volt golf cart batteries cabled together to provide most of his electrical needs. I have a 9 foot truck camper and though its good the trailer is much more versatile for moving about from city …


Letter Re: Thoughts Trailers and Towing Capacity for Times of Fuel Scarcity

Dear Jim, I’ve been having blinding flashes of the obvious lately that I wanted to share.   A friend of mine just got a few AS degrees in IT, not realizing just how FUBAR the business world is for his new profession. IT professionals are no longer employees. They’re contract workers, rarely working in a position more than a year, and often a lot less. They don’t get benefits or retirement packages. They get specific tasks, get done, get paid, and get shown the door. This is not conducive to stable living. The career has changed so much that they …


Rules For Living and Rules For Staying Alive, by Arizona Slim

Survival can certainly include situations that are a bit short of, and a bit more mundane than TEOTWAWKI. And as much as we wish it were otherwise, I know a lot of us are in a suburban or even urban environment. We find ourselves in a great many situations with the potential to become survival scenarios on a smaller, more personal scale. We are also subject daily to a million ridiculous rules and laws and prohibitions and warnings and  statutes and such that most of our rural brethren can go for long periods of time without even having to consider. …


The Po’ Mans TEOTWAWKI Guide, by R.B.

Useful tips and advice for the rest of us. Don’t have lots of money? Just started prepping when it hits the fan? This guide is for you. Free of charge! Tip #1: Bug-in Chances are that you won’t be in such immediate danger (dirty bomb, lava about to engulf your house, spiders like in that Arachnaphobia movie) that you actually have to leave your home. Most likely the government will stop functioning or the power grid will be down for a long time. Of course, there is always risk of civil unrest, but that is not likely to effect your …


Letter Re: Four-Tier Survival for the Newbie

James, Thanks so much for all you and your family do to keep survivalblog.com going. It is a daily read for me. Upon reading “Four-Tier Survival for the Newbie,” I reminisced about what my father would say to me while I was initially preparing my bug-out bag:  “Son, you are preparing for luxury. Back when I was a boy during the Depression we used to go out camping with just the clothes on our backs, our pocket knife and a potato in our pocket. We took a potato ’cause we generally couldn’t ‘find’ potatoes.” Being in my mid-fifties now, I …


Letter Re: One Approach at a EDC Get Home Bag

Hi James, I have gone through many variants of a BoB or EDC Bag over the years, and feel that I’ve found a really good setup for a “covert” EDC bag that can function as a get home bag (GHB) more so than a BoB.  It doesn’t draw unwanted attention to carrier, but provides what I think is essential to EDC.   As a summary, I am using a 5.11 Covrt Backpack as my bag.  It provides all the needs I want in a “tactical” bag but doesn’t scream “HEY LOOK!! I have a MOLLE bag with a bunch of …


Letter Re: Gasoline Available in a Pinch at the Big Box Store

Hi James, I was recently at the chainsaw shop and saw cans of something called TRUFUEL. It is basically one quart metal cans of gasoline, with most versions premixed for 2-stroke engines.  However, they also have a 4-stroke version that my chainsaw dealer tells me is simply 92-octane gasoline with stabilizers and other additives that would be perfectly suitable for running a car or other vehicle.  Haven’t tried it myself yet, but if plausible, big box hardware stores, power tool dealers, and some auto parts stores could have fuel available in a pinch (and I imagine for only a short …


Letter Re: Power Grid Transmission Lines for G.O.O.D.?

Mr. Rawles, I’ve browsed your site for about a year off and on, and have read Patriots, and am just starting Survivors. Great work I must say, keep up the good work! My question for you is one I’ve tickled in my mind since heading to a camping trip this last summer. While we were driving, and I was mindlessly staring out the side window, I noticed the large power grid high tension lines. (you know the ones I’m talking about with the large steel towers, holding a dozen or so lines high above the earth). I had a day …


Letter Re: Just In Case

I was glad to read in M.L.’s article “Just In Case” that he packs some form of flashlight for the train commute. I wonder if he realizes the single-most important use for it would be inside a tunnel. A grid-down situation will stop subway and above-ground light-rail trains which operate on electricity delivered by overhead wire or energized third rail. Grid-down will also bring at least a momentary stop to diesel-powered trains if the signal system goes dark. Earthquake, terror attack, or even a derailment are other ways one might find themselves onboard a train that suddenly gets stopped inside …