Hi SurvivalBloggers,
I just watched this video: Bug Out Vehicle – Re-Inventing the Car Trunk (more of a slide show) that was mentioned in SurvivalBlog. I see a couple of obvious problems.
Firstly; If he is going through all of this trouble to provide space for emergency/survival gear in case of emergency, why is he leaving the small donut spare tire in there? They are not rated for high speed, heavy loads, or extended distances. Go pick up a spare rim and tire! Yes, a full size spare weighs more, and takes up a bit more room… but in my experience, it is worth it! And you can pack items into the ‘void’ of the rim, so you won’t be losing all that space.
Secondly; That looks glaringly obvious to anyone who opens the trunk! Why cut the carpet material? Why put a handle and hinges on it? Why not build up the floor, build a removable panel (or several for easier access to side areas), but leave the carpet in one piece. Fasten it down with velcro. If you need access to items stored in the floor (like the spare tire), you’re going to have to empty out the trunk anyway. If you leave the carpet in one piece, you significantly improve your OPSEC!
And a side-note for the spare tire issue; Where I live, we have two sets of tires. One set of “all-seasons” for spring/summer/fall, one set of [dedicated studded] snow tires for winter driving. Both sets are on their own rims. Whatever set isn’t on the car, one of those tires is in the car as the spare. An all-season spare tire is much better in the winter than an essentially bald ‘donut’ spare tire! Cheers, – D.T.