Category: Vehicles

Bugging Out: Some Realities, by Mr. Zipph

I recently relocated from a rural suburb in a purple state to a much smaller community in a very red state. I had long-term plans to make this move, but an unexpected career change enabled me to move sooner than expected. While my new home is not a compound deep in the woods, it does provide me with more security, more privacy, the ability to expand my gardening efforts, the option of raising some chickens and/or rabbits in the future, abundant wildlife, and a smaller community where people go to church and value their freedom. When making our relocation decision, …


Road Trip Navigation, by R.T.

This is about our cross-country road trip; not about where we went, what we saw or what we did, but about how we got there and how we found our way back. Why should this journey be of interest to you? Because someday you might have to make a road trip that doesn’t go as planned, or maybe not even planned at all and with little or no technological help. My wife and I are occasional long-distance travelers. The long-distance road trips we have made have been primarily to the same destination for family events via variations of the same …


A Florida Vacation, or SHTF?, by Z.P. Wilson

Greetings from Michigan, where the summers are glorious, and the winters long and cold. My wife and I have lived here all our lives, and have endured the seasonal cold by hunkering down at home with books and television. During our work lives, I often told her that when we retired, we would travel to warmer places when the snow flies. We retired last year, so this was the first winter to put my idea into effect. I rented a house in Florida for the entire month of February. As we made plans for what to do and what to …


A 12-Month Preparedness Checklist – Part 2, by Reltney McFee

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) June June is the month to assess the animals: are their vaccinations current? How is that Veterinary Medic Bag coming along? In addition, while I am out and about, June might be a nice month to function test my generator, and, following the thought that a power failure might require my generator to function, would it not be nice to have, gosh, LIGHT, while poking around getting such things set up? Why, now that you ask, yes! Yes, light would be pleasant! I checked the batteries in January, and this month’s check …


You’ll Need Air, by Pat Cascio

How many times have you found that a tire on your vehicle was flat or halfway flat, sitting in your driveway or garage? Yeah, me too – too many times over my lifetime. I hate to change a tire, especially on our SUV or pickup truck. On these rigs, the spare tire is stowed underneath the body, and a royal pain-in-the-rump to get out to put it on your vehicle. I have the tire store check the air pressure in my spare tires, every time I go in for a rotation If you neglect to have that done, then you’ll …


Review: John Deere 110 Lawn and Garden Tractor, by Thomas Christianson

The gasoline-powered internal combustion engine is a wonderful invention. It takes the substantial amount of energy stored up in fossil fuels, and makes it conveniently available for the tasks of daily life. Gasoline engines have probably done more to ease the labors of rural living than any other single invention of the last 200 years. It is possible that I may live to see the day when gasoline-powered equipment is no longer in common use. If that day comes, it will almost certainly not be due to powerful elites looking out for the best interests of the common man. Instead, …


A Vehicle to Help Adjust Your Thinking, by R.V.

We bought a travel trailer. Our first trip took us from Georgia to North Dakota and back. The unit is built to handle changing sources of energy and limited sources of energy. It is designed to leave no trace other than tire prints. My primary motivation was to be able to join our family together on outings and make camping easier on my wife. I encourage camping and hiking. God will find you and/or you will find God in the wilderness. Our trailer was built by Grand Design. It is a 30-foot model, without slide-out extensions. (I am disclosing the …


WIN: Whip Inflation Nonconformably

In recent months, I’ve had several consulting clients ask me about how they might protect themselves from the ravages of inflation. The official rate of inflation is now at 9.2%, but everyone knows that the real-world rate is somewhere north of 14%. I’m offering some concrete suggestions that I will relate in this essay, but first, let me digress into some history: According to the Wikipedia article about the WIN campaign: “[President Gerald] Ford had taken office in August 1974 amidst one of the worst economic crises in US history, marked by high unemployment and inflation rising to 12.3% that …


Flex Seal Products, by Pat Cascio

Like many folks reading this, I’ve fallen victim to a lot of the “As Seen On TV” products – that look good and work great, but only in the commercials. Many of these products, are indeed a great idea. However, when they are actually manufactured, they fall far short of performing as they are shown on television. It is usually just poor execution of the manufacturing process. A huge number of these products are produced in China – and they are junk – plain and simple. Shop at any of the “Dollar” stores, and you’ll see what I’m talking about. …


Our Experience Living Out of a Car, by M.B.

Living in a 2008 Toyota Prius on the road in the United States during much of the 2020 and 2021 pandemic mandates was an unexpectedly rewarding growth experience. Here are the top five suggestions I have for living on the road out of your car during these times. 1. Be careful where you park when you sleep. The best locations to park for a night are highway rest stops, some Walmarts and at 24-hour gas stations. 2. Buy water by the gallon. Staying hydrated is top priority when living on the road. I like the Crystal Geyser brand spring water. …


Some Initial Guerilla Warfare Lessons From Ukraine

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the world is witnessing true Fourth Generation Warfare (4GW). According to standard references such as the Infogalactic Wiki, 4GW has these elements and characteristics: Complex and long term Employs terrorism as a tactic A non-national or transnational base – highly decentralized A direct attack on the enemy’s culture, including genocidal acts against civilians. All available pressures are used – political, economic, social, and military Occurs in low-intensity conflict, involving actors from all networks Non-combatants are tactical dilemmas Lack of hierarchy Small in size, spread out network of communication and financial support Use of insurgency …


Wheel Estate For Survival, by Pat Cascio

As a lifetime Prepper, I’m always looking at ways to improve the odds of surviving, whatever may come my way. I readily admit that no one, no matter how rich they may be, can prepare for every circumstance that may come along, that demands survival. I remember back in school, in the early 1960s, when we practiced “duck and cover” as a way of surviving a nuke going off in our city. Even back then, it was silly to believe that by  ducking under your desk while in school would add to your survival chances. Our school was huge – …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, a special edition of the column where we feature videos on Backcountry Flying, throughout the Redoubt. Region-Wide First up, here is a video from GravityKnightFlying that gives you a good taste of tundra tire backcountry piloting in the Redoubt, with some great scenery: Flying the …


Our First Camper, by The Novice

Many people include a recreational vehicle in their preparedness planning. For some, it is a part of their “Get out of Dodge” plan. For others, it offers temporary accommodation at their retreat location. Neither of these scenarios is an element in the planning that my wife and I have done. But perhaps our experiences with our first camper will be informative to some SurvivalBlog readers in their planning, and entertaining to others. Camping in Norway A little more than 30 years ago, my family and I moved to Norway. Norway is a land of rugged natural beauty as well as …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, a special edition, profiling trailer manufacturers in the American Redoubt. Idaho Double R Trailers of Nampa produces a wide range of custom-made utility enclosed trailers, toy haulers, and concession trailers. o  o  o Fox Trailers in Post Falls makes high-quality flatbed utility trailers. o  o  …