Category: Vehicles

Letter Re: Safety Tips on Hi-Lift Jacks

Jim: Please warn your readers of the potential dangers of using a Hi-Lift jack (a.k.a. farm jack [or Sheepherder’s jack]). I am a member of a local Jeep club and while we require each Jeep have one on outings, we don’t allow anyone to use theirs unless they’ve been trained in their use. People have been killed by these crude (but necessary) machines and many, many, many have been injured. A fellow in our club had his jaw broken and cheekbone fractured years ago when lowering his Jeep after doing a trailside repair. When raising a load do everything to …


Are You Ready to Get Out of Dodge in Winter Weather?

Here in the northern hemisphere, winter is rapidly approaching. So it is timely that I write about vehicular mobility in winter weather. Every well-prepared family should have one or more four wheel drive vehicles with snow tires or chains. For those of you that have “11th Hour” Get Out of Dodge (G.O.O.D.) plan, I trust that you have pre-positioned the vast majority of your food and gear at your intended retreat. Towing a trailer on icy winter roads is a dicey proposition even in the best of times. In my estimation, piloting an overloaded vehicle with an overloaded trailer WTSHTF …


Three Letter Re: The Recent San Diego, California Wildfires

Jim: I have the rest of the day off due to the wildfires in the area so I am at home. The firefighting aircraft have been grounded due to wind until a couple of minutes ago. The evacuation zone is currently a 1/4 mile east of me. My northeastern and southeastern escape routes are currently out of the question. I figure that by the time I get told to Get Out of Dodge (G.O.O.D.), the Northern route will be closed off or too crowded to take. Going South into Mexico is currently not an option due to the makeup of …


Letter Re: British Army Surplus Ferret Armored Scout Cars

Jim, I was reading in the SurvivalBlog Archive and it seems that you used to own a Ferret armored car. It piqued my curiosity and I have researched it all over the Internet. I found out that it had 8-to-16mm of armor but nowhere does it say what projectiles that [armor] will stop. What ordnance are these resistant to? To .50 caliber. To .30 caliber? Bugging out in one of these would be interesting. Ideally you would want two Ferrets to bug out so you could rake the mutant zombies off of each other but will your gun punch holes …


Letter Re: Bugging Out: Taking Your Home and Gear with You, by Bob. H.

Jim, I read the 18 Oct. 2007 posting concerning Recreational Vehicles (RVs) as a retreat vehicle. Your posting’s of August 10th 2005 titled Batman Fantasy Land, Vehicular Retreating and Sea Retreating were interesting and very confusing to say the least. After reading your August 10th 2005 post here are some thoughts. With all the talk about BOVs, BOBs, and G.O.O.D. it seems like a waist of bandwidth on your part since you advocate the Siegfried or Maginot Line, Atlantic Wall type system. You know–fixed fortified emplacements. Does this mean that you would stay in your fixed retreat no matter what? …


Bugging Out: Taking Your Home and Gear with You, by Bob. H.

I am a 23-year veteran of the Recreational Vehicle (RV) industry. I have been in survival mode since the early 1980s after seeing the movies Mad Max and Red Dawn. I started selling RVs in 1984 and thought they were really cool. As the world changed and my concerns grew I started looking at them as a great survival tool. RVs have changed a lot since then. any RVs are fully self contained, meaning you have on board water for drinking bathing and cooking, toilet, climate control, refrigeration and sleeping. Many have onboard generators, deep cycle batteries, power invertors, AC …


Two Letters Re: Freeway Gridlock and G.O.O.D. Route Planning

Sir: In response to the article you posted titled: “Nightmare on Schuylkill: A first-hand account.” I can tell you first hand exactly how awful that highway is. I’ve lived in the Philadelphia region my entire life, and from the earliest memories of driving on that highway as a passenger with my mom, I can remember her calling it the “Sure Kill”, but I was too young to understand why. Now I know and understand all too well. Planning a Get Out of Dodge (G.O.O.D.) route in this area is extremely difficult, let me tell you. My current job has me …


Letter Re: A Learning Exercise with “Get Out of Dodge” Applicability

Dear Jim, I thought I’d relay an exercise I learned from last year. Every year, I do a large historical re-enactment in Pennsylvania. I take two tents totaling 300 square feet, my forge, tools, clothing and gear for a family of four down to a four poster bed, tables, chairs and workbench, plus merchandise to sell. This fills a conversion van with rear seat removed and a standard kit-built trailer. It’s great rehearsal for bugging out. Packing takes about 8 hours. Before I left, I realized the brakes were a little soft. I made a point of leaving lots of …


Two Letters Re: Bug Out Vehicles

Hi Jim, More food for thought, this time regarding vehicles. I’m hoping to someday do some expedition type of travel. This link to Expeditions West discusses and rates a few vehicles best suited for the purpose. These are not necessarily for the purpose of getting the family and supplies out of the city, hauling a huge trailer, but are more intended for long cross country unsupported ‘expedition’ type of travel. If I seriously needed to bug out and hide deep in the Yaak [River Valley of western Montana] for example, my restored 1985 short bed Toyota [pickup] with 235/85/16’s would …


Distinguishing Wants from Needs in Preparedness Planning

My consulting clients often ask me for advice on their preparedness purchasing programs. Some of the items that I’ve see them purchase in the name of “preparedness” make me wonder. For example, a family that recently relocated from Michigan to Idaho’s Clearwater River Valley purchased matching snowmobiles for every member of the family. But they now live in a climate where in some years they only have snow that “sticks” for two or three weeks. In most years they will have to put their snow machines on trailers to get up to the high country to use them much. Another …


Letter Re: Advice on Survival Retreats and Bug Out Vehicles

Hi Mr Rawles, I saw the letter from someone that was considering an Isuzu Rodeo as a BOV. That is an awful decision. They do not get “30-35 MPG”. (Look up the EPA ratings). They are not reliable, they are cheap because of their poor quality, and parts are rare. If I were buying a BOV (which I’m not, because I’m in college at the moment.) I would aim for a 1997 Ford Explorer with the V-8, which is compatible with the Mustang’s 302 for after-market parts (however, transmissions on the V-8 were upgraded in 1998 because of an issue …


Letter Re: Advice on Survival Retreats and Bug Out Vehicles

Hello, I have been reading your blog and I find it very useful in many ways. I have a couple of questions for you: 1) For a secure compound or retreat would a multi family area (with like-minded people of course) be something useful? And if so, how would you bring it to the attention of members that would be willing to invest in something like this? [JWR’s replies are in-line, in bold.] Yes, a multi-family retreat can be viable, but only if there are clearly delineated rights and responsibilities. These should spelled out formally–either contractually or covenantally–lest there be …


Letter Re: A Security Contractor’s Convoy Experience in Iraq

Dear Jim, A friend of mine who is a contractor sent this. It’s been posted elsewhere. Foul language warning. – Michael Z. Williamson Info from Iraq From Someone Who is Doing the “Run and Gun“ Yesterday a friend of mine who runs a small security company here in Iraq emailed me. He is standing up a protection detail and wanted my opinion on tactics and equipment running the roads of Iraq; Tactics, SOPs, hard car or soft? I have been giving it some thought and here is where I am at. I am willing to speculate I’m as well traveled …


Letter Re: Running Chainsaws on Ethanol & Home Alcohol Production Stills

Sir: About your comments [on Thursday] and others in regard to kerosene use in a gasoline engine: From anything I’ve experienced, you are correct about it not being as simple as some have posted. Engines that were built for “all fuel” use – including distillate and kerosene, had very low compression ratios – usually around 5 to 1. Low compression makes a low-power, inefficient engine. The carburetors were jetted differently, a twin fuel tank setup used, a selector-valve installed for quick fuel changeover, and a closeable air-shutter on the radiator to keep the engine hot. You started the engine on …


Letter Re: Running Chainsaws on Ethanol & Home Alcohol Production Stills

Hello, [As a follow-up to the letter about running gasoline engines on alcohol:] In case you don’t know it, most gasoline engines will also run on kerosene. No jet changes, all you have to do it adjust timing. Many small engines like generators and such made by Kohler and Briggs and Stratton have an adjustable timing ring. Many have markings for [setting] use to for gasoline or kerosene. It works well. Now to tell you the truth, I never tried it in a car engine. Though generally what works in small engines should work in a car, and yes, you …