Equipping Your Vehicle For Emergencies, by C.J.

A recent mechanical problem had me stranded beside the road for several hours and made me think about possible bad scenarios and what I would want to have in my car in order to survive these situations. My vehicle was stranded on the off-ramp of a major interstate, but the remoteness became apparent when I realized I only saw four cars get on or off this exit in three hours. One of those cars was a sheriff and he didn’t stop to see if I needed help. I was able to use my cell phone, but in many places, especially …




Realistic Team Training Events, by Joe Dolio

When talking about survival in a Without Rule of Law (WROL) situation, you are going to need a team. This can be a dedicated preparedness group, your family, a collection of friends, or whomever. But you absolutely need a team to survive in the coming chaos. This team needs to train together in order to be effective. The problem is that most training events go something like this: On Friday night, everyone meets at the location, has a big BBQ dinner and hangs out around the campfire. Tents and shelters are placed in a wide-open area, spread out over a …




Training Yourself For Preparedness, by Joe Dolio

So many of the people in the preparedness community build massive stockpiles of supplies, including food, camping gear, backpacks, weapons & ammo, and all that ultra tacti-cool stuff. The problem is, they rarely get off the couch and train, and they rarely get out and use their gear. It does you no good to have a cool backpacking tent, but have no idea how to set it up. Having an ultra-light backpacking stove is great, unless you have no idea how to use it. Your 70 pound “bug out bag” may very well be well-stocked, but unless you’ve trained on …




My Perspective on Bug-Out Field Gear, by H.H.

You can throw a couple of items in a backpack and say “I’m prepared”, but are you really? For everything you do to prepare, think through all the things that can go wrong. My wife says I’m too pessimistic, but being an engineer, I’ve been trained to think about what can go wrong. You don’t want the plane to fall out of the sky or the bridge to collapse. The first rule is always have more than one way of doing something. I had heard (maybe attributed to Army Rangers or SEALs) “Two is one and one is none.” If …




Lessons Learned from My First Bug Out Truck – Part 2, by H.J.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Using one side of my mechanic friend’s two-car garage, the gasoline engine was removed and the 4BT was prepared for test fitting by pressure washing the engine and scrubbing down with degreaser. One of the top killers of diesel engines is high exhaust gas temperature (EGT), which can occur under hard use and heavy loads and can melt the pistons and cylinder rings. To monitor this temperature, the turbocharger was also removed, the exhaust manifold was drilled and tapped for an aftermarket pyrometer, and the turbo re-installed. It is important when monitoring …




The Great Conservative Migration, by Brandon Smith

This article first appeared under the longer title: “The Great Conservative Migration And What It Means For The Future”, at Brandon Smith’s excellent Alt.Market web site. It is reposted with permission. — The signs really began to become visible at the end of January, 2020; there was an exodus of people brewing, and it was galvanizing fears on both sides of the political spectrum. The pandemic situation is cited by the mainstream media as the primary cause, but in reality the migration had started at least 3 years earlier. Americans were leaving certain states and cities behind by the tens …




Abandoning Home, by Francis

This essay is not about survival skills in their basic form. Rather, this is a gedankenexperiment about abandoning suburbia and getting us somewhere safely in the event of TEOTWAWKI. This is often called “Bugging Out” in the current parlance. Thus, I consider us not preppers but semi-preppers. I’ve previously written in SurvivalBlog about our preparations for survival. Because of recent events, we are concerned about our extended family’s safety. I could kick myself for not purchasing the SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick that was offered back in January. Because of the most recent events of the riots (the mainstream media would …




Vehicle Preparation – Part 1, by Traveling Mechanic

Like what seems to be most of SurvivalBlog readers, I am stuck near a city by the need to work. I have an exit plan (a.k.a. Bug-Out plan) that we are following. I decided to share some aspects of our actions. If you do the suggested vehicle maintenance and repair work then this will assist you to avoid being broken down along the road during your Bug Out exit. These checks and corrections will also benefit by eliminating typical defects that arise in normal use. The beginning part of each check is an inspection of your Bug-Out Vehicle (BOV). I …




How to Teach Situational Awareness to Children – Part 4, by T.Y.

(Continued from Part 3.) Game 4: Bug Out! Summary Teach the concept of evacuation and what is important to bring by simulating an event where their toys must leave home. Concepts Taught Strategic evacuation. Materials required You will need a favorite character toy, a bag, and some basic supplies for the toy to have such as clothes, food, water, blanket, etc. A doll with doll items would be perfect, but you can also use a superhero action figure with some play food, or even a stuffed dog with pretend dog food and bowls. Before the Activity Choose one of your …




Relocation In Catastrophes – Part 2, by J. of T.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) PREPPING WITH A DOZEN OR MORE PLANS (PLAN A, B, C….. C1, C2, Z1) Those who fail to plan, plan to fail. This precept works in business, in missions, and in prepping. I have at least a dozen plans! I also have at least that many meeting points, encase of emergency events (tornadoes, earthquakes or civil unrest). I have numerous family defense features and I’m adding new ones every month. For example, if your electronic intrusion detection and firearms fail you (and sometimes they can, in extreme weather), you’ll want a loyal …




Relocation In Catastrophes – Part 1, by J. of T.

Editor’s Introductory Note:  The author has a Christian worldview, and many years of experience as a missionary. He applies these to his family preparedness. Whether you are a Christian or not, you will probably find this article useful. — Lot was Abraham’s brother. He is mentioned in Genesis 14-19. He also receives honorable mentions in the New Testament. The Holy Scriptures don’t even hide his failures or his sin. I love God’s Word because its is brutally honest. It’s like having a best friend tell you the good and the bad about our life. Lot’s life is an example of …




Bug-In/Bug-Out Transportation, by WVA

In this articles, I will discuss some considerations for selecting and preparing your Schumer Hits The Fan (SHTF) vehicle. Nearly all post-disaster/prepper/survivalist/etc. novels follow one of two plot lines. The first, our heroes are caught away from home and forced to travel on foot when their vehicle ceases to operate due lack of fuel, mechanical failure, being stolen, etc. The second, our heroes are at/near home and are bugging-in, using the vehicle for short trips until bugging-out when the situation deteriorates. Either of these plot lines show how vital reliable and capable motorized transportation will be when the worse happens. …




The Ultimate Prepper Vehicle, by Spotlight

I will admit that the title that I chose for this article was mostly tongue-in-cheek. There is obviously, no ultimate prepper vehicle. What works for me may not work for you. However, I do want to take the opportunity to make the case for what I think is an excellent prepper vehicle: the minivan. Yes, the lowly, oft-mocked minivan. The “Loser Cruiser” as one of my buddies put it when I drove up one day. As I sensed he was attacking my manhood I responded that if he was getting his manhood from the car he drove, he had much …




Prepping at the Dollar Store, by Ani

Editor’s Note: Coincidentally, I received two very similar articles from readers in two states, in the same month. But because they have different perspectives, I’ve decided to post both of them. (The other one was posted yesterday.) — With a lot of attention being paid in the past few weeks to the spread of the novel coronavirus in China and the potential but still unknown ramifications for both the health and economy of other countries. preparedness has been getting some attention. While many of us who have been avidly following the news on this virus are experienced preppers, there are …




A Dollar Store Prepping Expedition, by T. Lee

Editor’s Note: Coincidentally, I received two very similar articles about dollar store shopping from writers in two states in the same week. But because they have different perspectives, I’ve decided to post both of them. The other one will be posted tomorrow. — I’m here visiting our oldest son in New York City, always an eye opening experience. After church, several of his friends have asked how to get started on building an everyday carry (EDC) bag after seeing our day bags. However, after seeing their respective apartments, we decided to start more basic (understanding we are teaching a few …