Category: Vehicles

Letter Re: Experiences in the Southeastern Ice Storms

Jim, I would like to add my two cents to the discussion of the Great Carolina Blizzard of ’11. I had some similar experiences to B.H.: Deep frustration over dead batteries in cars. I had two every day drivers that just would not start. While it was fairly cold for our area, I suspect that high humidity added to the cold had a draining effect on the batteries. In the future, I would think about a short start and warm up every 8 hours or so on vehicles that I knew were to be needed on short notice.  It took …


Letter Re: Experiences in the Southeastern Ice Storms

Jim: Our family lives in a rural area of South Carolina, recently affected by a freak snow storm that shut the area down for a week, and is still affecting our area in other ways more than 10 days later. Our family was much better off than most we knew, but this little test really showed our weaknesses. We thought we were prepared, but we found some holes in our planning that came as a complete surprise. I’ve taken notes, and hope to be better prepared for next time, and hopefully can pass along some advice in the process.   First …


Letter Re: Mobile Fuel Storage System

James, Let me introduce your readers to propane and the many possibilities it offers your planning and TEOTWAWKI preps, that you will likely never have thought of before. Over the last number of years I have carefully thought out and planned a “system” if you will of key pieces of equipment which all operate on a single, inexpensive and highly efficient and large mobile fuel storage system. Naturally, I have the standard wood stove and gasoline operated family vehicle(s), but what is most interesting is some of the items I have been working on and extensively testing/ using on the side.   …


Letter Re: Taking the Plunge and Buying a Rural Retreat

James,   I may be a little late to the party, but I have spent a considerable time lately worrying about what to do if this economy of ours crashes.  I started thinking about what I would do if TSHTF. I had no answer. I have read about lot of peoples concern over solar flares, and 2012 scenarios, and while they may happen, I am more convinced of the coming collapse of the dollar and the global economy. I think this is much more of a probability and certainly less speculative that the other fears—at least at the moment. So, …


Letter Re: ATVs for Preppers

JWR: There are some aftermarket mufflers that just about silence the ATV’s.  I use one on my Yamaha when I choose to take my ATV hunting.  While it does not get rid of all the sounds, I would say that it quiets the ATV by about 80%.  ATVSilencer.com is one such vendor of many.  This is the one I use and it wasn’t too bad for me (a computer guy) to install.  The only other issue I have with the ATV bugout scenario is the effects of EMP on ATV’s.  I am in the process of designing and fabricating a …


ATVs for Preppers, by S.K.

I am sure that there are many out there that have four wheelers or other all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) part of their prepping. These are a great addition for many reasons. First they are able to get decent fuel mileage (will vary on terrain and driving style), they can carry a lot more weight than you could carry on your back, and they can cover lots of terrain that a full size vehicle would have difficulty if even possible. They are great in carrying a Get out of Dodge (G.O.O.D.) bag because they can have racks mounted on the front and …



Letter Re: Experience with Motorized Bicycles

JWR, I discovered motorized bicycles last year after going from and $80,000 annual income a year to zero. I first saw a kid riding one in Los Angeles and asked him where he got it and the details. Turned out that a distributor of these kits was located up the street from me. After much research and trial and error, I found a Diamondback beach cruiser full size bike from Dicks sporting goods with a front fork that had a gas shock, for less than $200 on sale. I then purchased a kit online and followed the instructions. Needless to …


Letter Re: Cascading Chains of Events

An early winter here in the Pacific Northwest reminded me that cascades can get you into trouble and potentially kill.   “Cascades” are what I call the series of events that take us farther and farther from the safety of home and hearth.   Let me explain what happened to me just yesterday:   Yesterday, the temperature warmed to just above freezing for the first time in about three weeks.  During those three weeks, about two feet of snow had fallen.   My tractor developed a leaky rear tire, so I took it off to take it to town to …


Letter Re: As Simple as Changing a Tire

Jim: I read with interest and nostalgia the post about flats. I grew up in an area of poorly maintained gravel roads,and hauling scrap metal for extra cash. Flats were a fact of life. Those days aren’t so far behind me as I recently learned. But thanks to the school of hard knocks I was prepared. So here’s a tip from a pro, carry a tire plugging kit plugging kit in your vehicle. Usually you will notice a tire going down long before it’s flat, and you can often plug it on the vehicle. Contrary to what most tire shops …


Letter Re: Readiness for Winter Driving Emergencies

Hi Jim, and Readers;     Winter is here! After all of the winter preparations around the house, trying to winterize the chicken coop.  The snow has come, and to date in the last better than two weeks we have had a total of about four feet of snow already. Wow!  I now have about nine hours behind the snow blower, and snow plow already. I consider this work “Better than mowing grass any day in the heat”. I try to keep my driving to a minimum, especially on our local highway as much as possible. (The only way to any …


Letter Re: Apartment Fire Lessons Learned

JWR: I am sleeping soundly when I hear a car horn then another long horn for a full minute which seems like an eternity at 4 A.M. the apartment behind mine are 70 yards from my back porch. Then I hear a slamming of metal sound and then another like a bat hitting a car. Then I kind of fall back to sleep only to hear police knocking on doors yelling police and it sounds like they are down stairs and then all this knocking. I open my eyes and there is a fireball outside my window and my dog …


Letter Re: An Adequate Bug Out Vehicle (BOV)

Hello JWR, I have a comment for the recent article by Ed in Kentucky. He listed several good points that include: debris passage, water passage, off-road ability, range, and tow capacity. I’ve seen some great pictures of School buses, Trash trucks, work vans built up to be livable and what I call “sleeper” vehicles. Imagine an ambulance in the exact same scenario. Instead of using the more common Ford E-150, and then build it up (with shelves, extra fuel tanks, interior stuff, etc.), get an Ambulance and build it down. Run through Ed’s list again – scroll down now and …


Letter Re: Modern Motor Vehicle Reliability

I have worn many hats, but the one I wore the longest was as a 12-volt installer. You know, stereos, alarms, custom fabrication; think Unique Whips, but with less drama and more snow (I live in Canada). After working as a mechanic, it seemed a lot more interesting and enjoyable than getting filthy fixing other people’s problems.                 What I have learned during my years working on vehicles has led to a personal conviction: I will never rely on a newer vehicle. I have seen too many newer vehicles  brought in on a hook with no-start issues, no-shift issues, and …


Letter Re: As Simple as Changing a Tire

Hi  JWR:           Just a quick addition to the comments about changing a tire from an earlier blog article. In a real disaster, natural or military/terrorist, the roads will likely be covered with debris, much of which may cause your Bug Out Vehicle (BOV) tires (that’s plural) to get punctured. I would certainly recommend several cans of some kind of Fix-A-Flat [or aerosol Slime] and a tire repair kit. But, even more important for us preppers who want to be ready for everything possible, we know that our vehicle’s trunk will be filled with all kinds of  emergency supplies.   Recognizing …