Category: Vehicles

Preparedness Beginnings, by “Two Dogs”

I am a retired Marine Corps officer and Naval Aviator (jets and helicopters), commercial airplane and helicopter pilot, and most recently, an aircraft operations manager for a Federal agency. I graduated from numerous military schools, including the U.S. Army Airborne (“jump”) School, U.S. Navy Divers School, Army helicopter, and Navy advanced jet schools. In addition, I have attended military “survival” courses whose primary focus was generally short-term survival off the land, escape from capture, and recovery from remote areas.  Like most Marine officers, I attended The Basic School, an 8-month school (only five during the Vietnam era – my case), …


Two Letters Re: Here Comes Winter!

Dear JWR, I enjoyed the great advice from Peter H. on being prepared in the winter. As a life-long Chicagoan and having spent lots of time snowmobiling in upper Wisconsin, please let me offer a few additional tips on dressing for cold weather. Keeping warm in the cold is all about layering underneath and waterproof on the outside. I prefer cotton clothes to the newer athletic-type wicking clothes which don’t seem to hold the heat as well. Start with cotton long underwear which is snug but not too tight. A second pair of long underwear is all you should need …


Letter Re: Distance Traveling by Waterways

Jim, Thanks for your work. I have been a faithful reader for quite a while (and a 10-Cent Challenge subscriber). After reading LDM in Colorado’s post, I had to e-mail and correct a few problems. While I know little of white water rafting, I do know about Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs). I was a Coast Guard Boarding Officer for many years, and I would like to correct some of his terminology. Unfortunately, some of his comments could place someone in danger. The rating system for PFDs is based on capabilities. Specifically, Type I: Provides 22 lbs of buoyancy and turns …


Here Comes Winter!, by Peter H.

My brother wrote me recently to ask what we do to prepare for our winters here in the inland Pacific Northwest. He lives in a warmer climate but has been reading about the global cooling underway. For the last two years our area has been colder longer and this last winter we had the most snow in over 100 years. Remembering that Boy Scout slogan, “Be prepared,” prudent people are already looking ahead for the winter soon to come. Here are my odds and ends to get your thinking processes going: Dress to Save Your Life Our heaviest coats are …


Gear Up — Appropriate and Redundant Technologies for Prepared Families

I frequently stress the importance of well-balanced preparedness in my writings. All too often, I’ve seen people that go to extremes, to the point that these extremes actually detract from the ability to survive a disaster situation. These range from the “all the gear that I’ll need to survive is in my backpack” mentality to the “a truckload of this or that” fixation. But genuine preparedness lies in comprehensive planning, strict budgeting, and moderation. Blowing your entire preparedness budget on just one category of gear is detrimental to your overall preparedness. Another common mistake that I see among my consulting …


Letter Re: Distance Traveling by Waterways

Hello Jim and Family, As a former whitewater canoeing instructor (yeah, I know – but I passed my psych evaluation) I found the recent post on traveling on water to be both enjoyable and thought provoking. I would like to add, however, that all (personal flotation devices (PFDs) are not alike. It seems that in all parts of the country, commercial rafters are in business and (for the most part) guiding people safely down some mild whitewater experiences. Occasionally, and also tragically, deaths occur when people are thrown from a raft in perfectly survivable conditions. WHY they didn’t survive has …


Distance Traveling by Waterways, by Jason C.

Often looking into the past can help solve new problems. If roads become unusable for travel, or vehicles are not available we must start looking at new solutions, or old ones in this case. Paved roads as we have today are a fairly recent innovation. Even 100 years ago very few were paved and often subject to damage by rains, floods, and environmental conditions. Winding cattle trails, wagon tracks, and horse paths were the main travelways on land. And today’s roads can easily become dangerous and impassable during bad weather, earthquakes, and mudslides. But there is an alternative for almost …


Three Letters Re: The Simple Reality of EMP — Different Than You Might Expect

Dear JWR, I read the EMP article by Andru and thought it very well done with one minor correction in the power generation area (worked in the nuclear power industry for 20 years before changing careers). The EMP E3 pulse is very dangerous to the transformers in the transmission and distribution system, and hydro-electric and nuclear will also be severely affected. Commercial generators of any output run at 8,000-10,000 volts which is fed immediately to step up transformers to feed the transmission system. The most common voltage for the transmission system is 250,000 to 500,000 volts (3 phase) which reduces …


The Simple Reality of EMP — Different Than You Might Expect, by Andru

One topic I have paid close attention to for the past 10 years has been our nation’s risk to Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP).  There are a few points I would like to make that are often overlooked—mostly dealing with the magnitude of the threat.  I don’t claim to be an expert on the subject, but I have consumed as much information as possible that doesn’t delve into the high-level physics—the kind of knowledge required to truly be an expert.  What may set me apart the most is the simple fact that I actually read the 181 page Critical National Infrastructures (CNI) …


Letter Re: Propane Tank Refilling Options

Jim, I read the article regarding BlueRhino and Amerigas (“Companies are now shorting (cheating) on propane tank refills“). I guess one could argue both sides of the issue. My personal opinion is that while the practice is sleazy, there’s nothing illegal going on, as the canisters are marked with the amount of propane they contain. It’s not unlike potato chips or breakfast cereal sold “by weight not by volume”. Manufacturers all over the place put their product in packaging far larger than the actual contents would require. Like I said, it’s sleazy, so except for one or two barbecue “emergencies” …


Letter Re: GPS for Day-to-Day Use and Survival

Hi Jim, I enjoyed that excellent GPS article [by Mike S., “GPS for Day-to-Day Use and Survival”.] It squares well with my personal experience. GPS on-board mapping has many errors. Seems worse in the hinterlands. Also pretty bad where new construction is concerned. I was amused while driving in MA that for about a half mile my GPS unit thought I was driving down railroad tracks. While snowshoeing with friends, my buddy had to demonstrate the GPS on his iPhone. All it showed was a dot in the middle of a blank screen. We were beyond the reach of cell …


GPS for Day-to-Day Use and Survival, by Mike S.

Reading accounts of people who had evacuated the Gulf Coast during Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita was a sobering experience. Evacuees who took to the interstate highways effectively ended up in giant parking lots. In contrast, those who used the back roads fared much better and were able to evacuate in a timely manner. I live sufficiently inland that hurricanes do not pose a serious threat to me, nor do other foreseeable regional natural disasters such as earthquakes pose a serious risk. However, I live in the middle of a major metropolitan area where man-made disasters and localized natural disasters …


Survey Results: Your Favorite Books on Preparedness, Self-Sufficiency, and Practical Skills

In descending order of frequency, the 78 readers that responded to my latest survey recommended the following non-fiction books on preparedness, self-sufficiency, and practical skills: The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery (Far and away the most often-mentioned book. This book is an absolute “must” for every well-prepared family!) The Foxfire Book series (in 11 volumes, but IMHO, the first five are the best) Holy Bible Where There Is No Dentist by Murray Dickson “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” Making the Best of Basics: Family Preparedness Handbook by James Talmage Stevens The “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course Crisis …


Letter Re: Some Thought on Dual-Fuel LPG Vehicles

Dear Jim, I don’t know if this applies to folks in the US, but it may be something for UK readers to consider. My main vehicle is equipped with both petrol and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) tanks, and I will also be installing an LPG system on my secondary vehicle. There are two main advantages to this: 1. LPG is less than half the price of petrol, and although you get a third less mileage than you do using petrol, it still works out cheaper – in fact, in the UK, you can get the installation costs back in around …


Letter Re: Home Heating Oil Price Fluctuations–Time to Buy Low

Hi Jim, Some older neighborhood houses [in the Pacific Northwest] have large oil tanks for heating under driveways, in basements, and buried under yards. Last winter, we saw our neighbors run dry during a rare 2-week snow/ice event that even chained fuel trucks couldn’t get around in. Portland and Seattle are notoriously under-prepared for ice/snow on roads, and actually have a “intentional neglect policy” of letting it melt without salt/de-icer rather than clearing the roads. Prepare to walk on uncleared pavement and stay around home! If the predictions of temporary global oil over-supply are correct and fuel oil drops to …