Category: Vehicles

Bug-In/Bug-Out Transportation, by WVA

57

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. …


Converting Your Pedal Bike into an E-Bike, by Mark F.

33

What are your long-term transportation plans for when SHTF? That’s right – long after the diesel and gasoline tanks run dry, how do you plan to get around in a sustained grid-down situation? Walking can only get you so far, and that saddle horse will burn through feed and water, putting an additional strain on your resources. We’ve all been there, and I know the unsettling feeling of not having a solid answer to this need for a reliable, sustainable, low-resource means of TEOTWAWKI transportation. It’s tempting to just write the whole issue off and accept the limitations of staying …


The Ultimate Prepper Vehicle, by Spotlight

38

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 …


Seven Steps to Survival, by Allen A.

12

Back in the day, when my hair was a different colour, the Seven Steps to Survival was part of the survival course that I taught.  This article will discuss those steps and how I applied them in a recent survival event that I found myself in. RECOGNITION Simple as it may sound the first step to surviving is to identify and accept that you have a problem and that it is serious.  Denial of your situation or the refusal to accept how serious it is can get you killed or injured.  Without acknowledging the nature and seriousness of the situation …


My One Month TEOTWAWKI Road Test – Part 2, by Maui Dan

29

(Continued for Part 1. This concludes the article.) I was consistent with daily hikes using them for recon practice, making maps, taking notes of locations and observing any nearby people. Judging who I thought may be friends or foes. I did take note of two males in their 20’s who appeared fairly intoxicated early in the afternoon. I hiked for the benefits of physical exercise and enjoyed the quite beauty of the land. There were several memorable hikes. The day time temperatures were now in the upper 80’s. I wore Timberline hiking boots and stripped down to shorts. Finally found …


My One Month TEOTWAWKI Road Test – Part 1, by Maui Dan

30

Backround: I’m a country boy who grew up in the farm land of Western Pennsylvania. I lived in the Amish region, observing their off-grid way of life. I was taught to take care of our animals, and that they would take care of us. Nearly everyone learned to hunt and had a knowledge of basic outdoor skills. I was a Boy Scout and learned “Be prepared.” I was a multi sport athlete in high school and  college where I made life-long friends. I have a career in physical therapy spanning 38 years, and achieved a 4th degree black belt. I’ve …


Build the Plan vs. Test the Plan – Part 2, by T.R.

17

(Continued From Part 1.) During 2018, I made a dot chart counting how many days fit into each category A, B, C and D in terms of readiness and then converted the “dots” into a percentage of time for the year. As a corollary, if things are leaning environmentally towards TEOTWAWKI, then we would already be limiting our “D” types of trips away from home and/or starting to pursue our exit via our “B” plan scenario. If things look particularly grim but quasi-temporary, then we would limit our “C” scenarios to avoid leaving home for long blocks of time and …


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

5

Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. The focus is usually on emergency communications gear, bug out bag gear, books and movies that have any tie-in to disaster preparedness, and links to “how to” self-sufficiency videos. There are also links to sources for both storage food as and food storage containers. You will also note an emphasis on history books and historical movies. This week the focus is on ambulance conversions to campers . (See the Instructional Videos section.) Books: Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times o  …


Prepared Off-Road Motorcycle Riding, by Jeff Hower

10

Riding an off-road or crossover motorcycle into parts unknown can be an exhilarating experience. But these off-the-beaten-track areas can also lead to catastrophe if one is not prepared to deal with failures of body or equipment. Preparing yourself and your equipment prior to an expedition for any of many possible malfunctions is only common sense. Most of common sense is having experienced or seen it happen before, and learning from it. Zip Code riders–that is, people who never ride out of their zip code, will probably not need much of the information presented here. But if you are one of …


Displacement Planning – Part 3, by J.M.

15

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article series.) Regardless of how you plan on loading equipment and supplies, it is critical that you document a loading plan. This should define what gets loaded in what order and where it’s loaded. How detailed this needs to be depends on your requirements – if you’re planning on walking from your location to a well-stocked bug-out compound, keeping a simple bug-out bag packed will probably meet your needs,  since you won’t need to pack much to get going. However, if any significant amount of packing or loading will be required prior to …


Age-Adjusted Prepping, by Wandering Will

84

It is said that prepping is not a movement or a philosophy. It is a way of life, and a way of life must accommodate changes in life. Having squarely arrived into my “Golden Years,” I was reluctantly forced to take a fresh look at my prepping agenda. Not exactly a newbie to the game. I’m still eating Year 2000 Problem (Y2K) food, I have accumulated food, gear, and training over the years and have reached a somewhat reasonable level of comfort. However, we all know what happens when we start feeling confident. After a few recent practice drills and …


Misadventures in Moving, by Tober

28

Editor’s Introductory Note:  I generally avoid posting rants, but this one about a Budget rental truck was genuinely epic and tragi-comic.  If you don’t enjoy rants, then only read the first section. – JWR I think sharing this story will help me a bit, as this was quite an adventure that was mentally and physically exhausting. This article is long, so I decided to put the tips at the beginning. If you want to read the story of why I thought these tips were important, continue below. Here are my mental health tips for you if you’re planning on making …


My Mobile Alternative Energy Experiences, by Captain Steve

22

All of us who think about what we’d do if the Schumer Hits The Fan (SHTF) spend a lot of time exploring options. What will I do if this thing or that happens? Will I bug out or hunker down? What should I buy and place in my long term storage? I expect that like me, most who are unwilling to just sit back and hope for the best have taken plenty of steps to protect and prepare themselves for many eventualities. Over the countless hours I’ve spent researching and planning, I’ve tried to assess and make note of where …


Going Ghost: Planning for a Low Profile Mobile Lifestyle

42

A number of my friends and consulting clients have begun talking about making contingency plans to drop entirely off the grid. One of them calls it “going ghost.” His goal: Being ready for a time of repression that would require him to drop off the radar–to essentially become mobile and invisible to authorities. He said that he wanted to have two options: 1.) In CONUS, being ready and ablrice to blend in and travel by road fairly anonymously, and 2.) being ready and able to travel internationally (OCONUS). This whole concept of “going ghost” would be daunting for most of …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

12

Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on classic cars as an investment. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: First off, at Sharps-Pixley: Silver Price Volatility at 2001 Lows as Rally Outpaces Gold, SLV Grows But GLD Shrinks o o o Is Silver (SI) on the Verge of a Breakout or Breakdown? …