Letter Re: Thoughts on Paracord Belts

Sir:
I’ve made a few paracord belts and would like to mention that not all paracord belts are the same. Some have fancy weaves and really look neat. (That was what I did with my first try.) But after completing that project I realized that in the event of that envisioned emergency, I would have to build a campfire, make some coffee and sit on a log for a considerable period of time undoing the braid of the belt and tying pieces together. What if I needed the paracord in a hurry? What my friend had fallen to a precarious ledge? Knit or crochet pattern belts require nothing but undoing the end and pulling. Make sure your survival belt so that it can be quickly turned into a single rope.

The second thought is to put your vanity aside and make (or buy) a belt that is several inches longer that you need. The main reason you have the belt is to hold up your pants and carry your knife or Leatherman tool. If your shoelace becomes unusable or you have to lash some poles together for a travois, you will still need a belt. Not to say you couldn’t take a couple of wraps around your waist but, not too comfortable, much better to just pull loose the excess belt and then re-secure the end. – B. Buzz

Odds ‘n Sods:

Michael Z. Williamson, SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large mentioned this fascinating TED talk: Kevin Slavin: How algorithms shape our world

   o o o

Pierre M. sent this food for thought: Global Temperature Trends From 2500 B.C. To 2040 A.D.

   o o o

J.B.G. sent this news from England: Fuel strike: pumps go dry as ministers provoke a panic. [JWR’s Comment: Politicians often make blithe statements without considering their consequences. At any given time, the average car’s gas tank is only half full. The unfilled portions collectively represent a huge reservoir. There are about 34,300,000 cars registered in the UK. Let’s assume the average gas tank is just 12 gallons. (Yes, most cars are small there.) But assuming an average of 6 gallons of available capacity, that is collectively 205,800,000 gallons. So if 80% of the population decided to “top off” in a 24-hour period, then every petrol station in the country would soon be sold out of fuel. And that’s not to mention Jerry cans…]

   o o o

My recent interview on CBC Radio’s The Current has now been archived. The editor of CanadaPrepared (who produces an interesting podcast) had this to say about the CBC show.

   o o o

Gracie, the Packing Pretty gal, reviews the CRKT M16-14SF-Tanto folding knife.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“It is painfully difficult to decide whether to abandon some of one’s core values when they seem to be becoming incompatible with survival.  At what point do we as individuals prefer to die than to compromise and live?  Millions of people in modern time have indeed faced the decision whether, to save their own life, they would be willing to betray friends or relatives, acquiesce in a vile dictatorship, live as virtual slaves, or flee their country.  Nations and societies sometimes have to make similar decisions collectively.” – Jared M. Diamond, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, 2005

Note from JWR:

Today we present two more entries for Round 39 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), and E.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo.

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol. It is a $439 value courtesy of Next Level Training. B.) A FloJak F-50 hand well pump (a $349 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. C.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, D.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and E.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value) and F.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, C.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), and D.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 39 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Key Questions For and About Your Children, by M.D.M.

Preparedness is a lifestyle and a state-of-mind. You never know what disaster or emergency will befall you, it could be something you cannot possibly prepare for, for me and my family the times we have had to use our bug-out-bags were not related to national emergencies, but to family and local emergencies. I’m not saying not to prepare, I’m saying to prepare in ways you may not have ever thought to do, and these tips I have learned over the years could help someone else. These are not so much extrinsic items for survival, but intrinsic necessities.

When you have children, how you structure your family unit and your parenting skills can either keep you all alive or be the reason none of your family survives. So if you are a parent, I have a series of questions for you to ask yourself. How would you and your family answer these questions?

QUESTION #1. Do you have a picky or finicky eater? I’m not talking about allergies, I’m talking about pickiness. My youngest grandson has a good friend who won’t eat fruit, cheese, pizza, cake or ice cream or anything normally served at a kid’s birthday party. Not because he is allergic, just because he is finicky. While he is best friends with my grandson, there is no asking him over or inviting him to parties, because he is finicky to the point of being rude. He is the product of over indulgent and even neglectful parenting skills. These parents are not preparing him for the future in an unpredictable world. A child who is a finicky eater becomes a dead child in emergency situations. If you don’t want to see your children starve to death, teach them to eat anything that is put in front of them by loving, caring parents. Don’t allow them to become so very selfish as to be picky and finicky all the time. Now I am not talking about real allergies. Allergies are real medical conditions to be dealt with through planning, food storage and professional medical care. I have a real food allergy to shell fish and sea foods. If I eat French fries cooked in the same oil with shrimp, it can put me in the hospital. I carry an epi-pen, and have one packed in our emergency bug-out bag. My whole family knows and helps me deal with my food allergies. However; an allergy is different from pickiness, like not eating strawberries because you don’t like the seeds or birthday cake because it might make you fat or pizza because it is the wrong type. Teach your children that within reason, they need to eat what is put before them and be thankful for it, some day it might just save their life.

QUESTION #2. How many times to you have to tell your children to do something? Do you ask two, three or four times? The average these days is asking about four times. What if you only had time to tell your children once?  Hearing and listening are two different sides to this issue. How many hours a day do your children or grandchildren have earplugs on? What if they could not hear you, or did not listen to you when you called for them in an emergency situation? Do you realize in a disaster situation, it could cost your child his/her life if they failed to listen or respond at a critical time? My own son hated it because I required that he respond to me the first time I spoke to him. I was not being mean in teaching him that mom would not tell him twice. I was trying to teach him an important element to being ‘ready’. This generation has iPhones, iPods and headsets on all the time. I believe it is critical to teach children to be obedient from an early age. Little children don’t need strict lessons, they only need gentle guidance, and then they grow up right. If you wait till a child is older to teach them, good luck, the learning curve is over. Don’t let this lesson come as a surprise; prepare them now by teaching them to be obedient the first time. Just today as I finish this article, there is a G2 magnetic storm and an S2 solar radiation storm. My daughter called me on her cell phone a few moments ago, it cut in and out so badly I could not hear her, I suspect due to these atmospheric storms, but I did listen to what I did hear, so I got the message. If the time ever came when there were no cell phones, iphones, ipads, ipods working, our children and grandchildren would be lost. So I encourage parents, especially parents of teenagers, to have your children put their electronic devices down for a few moments each day and teach them obedience and to respond to your first asking, not the third or fourth.  It just may save their lives some day.

QUESTION #3. When you ask your children for details about a party or event or school project, do you ever get the response, “I don’t know”. Teach yourself and your children to be observant of details. If your children are younger, this can be a good game to play in the car to prepare them, with questions like ‘what color was the last car that passed us’ or ‘what color dress did the lady have on at the filling station’. My children loved this game when they were real young. Teaching them to be observant can help them reestablish contact if they ever become separated from you. Being observant to details is not inborn in all of us, just in the technical-minded. But, I am convinced that we can all learn to be observant to details. Any police officer who has ever worked a crime with ten witnesses and no details will tell you how important it is to teach people (children) to be observant of details. I witnessed two men stuffing a lady in the trunk years ago in what was a kidnapping crime. As I gave the police officers my statement, one made the comment that I was “no help” because I did not have details. I had become emotional as I witnessed the event and in my emotions, I failed to pick up any details that would help the police find the assailants. All these years later I still carry the burden of that event in my heart, and if that lady did not survive, it was my fault for not thinking clear enough to gather details that would help find her alive. Teach your children to be observant of details all around them.

QUESTION #4. Did you ever stand in line at the grocery store and realize how very loud the world has become? Background music and noise, people talking on their cell phones (some as loud as they seem to be able), beeping from the scanner, creaking from a bad wheel on the shopping cart, rattling of paper and plastic, etc, etc.  Silence seems to be a thing of the past. Many religious societies use silence as a structuring agent, they say that when you stop using one sense, it somehow seems to heighten all the others. No one teaches the value of silence anymore. Teach your children the importance of silence. In the early 1960s, I watched a documentary about a man who had survived the Holocaust and I regret that I do not remember his name. He owed his survival to silence. He had been hidden in the floorboards of his neighbors’ home and had to stay in a coffin sized area, in silence 23 hours a day. He said sometimes he was in there 24/7. His documentary struck me so intensely; I remembered it all my life. Because of that documentary, and much to the dismay of my children, I taught my children to be silent and to sit still, one hour at a time. I was a chatterer, so are my children and grandchildren, so this has not been easy, and quite possibly the hardest lesson they had to learn. It is a lesson parents today need to teach their children, even one hour at a time, ‘silence is golden’. Others might remember another more current television show that relates to silence was a M*A*S*H* episode where a bus load of people needed to be quiet to avoid the enemy, and a Korean lady held her hand across the mouth of her crying child until the child died. It was a show with a tremendous message for any parent in a life-death situation. I would pray that never happened to anyone, and realize it was about a baby whom cannot be taught, but older children can be taught. Teach your children the importance of silence, complete silence, no shuffling, no wiggling or tapping during silent time.  

QUESTION #5. Does it ever seem you and your children’s lives are spinning out of control? Balancing your inside life to the outside life can be complex. Parents and children today have so very many distractions, schools activities, getting the grades, extracurricular activities, church activities, friends, Scouts, etc. It seems like everyone everywhere is running around like chicken with their heads cut off, especially if you have school age children. Take an evening and list your family priorities, include prepping for the future. Make another list of every activity and organization everyone in your family is associated with, and what benefit they derive from it. The world is changing fast, if you don’t do this as a family once a year or at least once every couple of years, you are going to find out your probably out of touch with your family goals and priorities. Perhaps five years ago prepping wasn’t on your family list of priorities, now it is, have you made changes? Have the courage to stop the things that aren’t working for you and your children, whatever it is. Clubs, organizations, activities that worked in the past, but not now might have to be cut in order for your family to realign themselves to new ones. One person cuts here, someone else cuts there and it will work for everyone. A family that has not readjusted and reassessed their family goals every two years, is behind and not current.
QUESTION #6. Can your family keep calm? Learning to keep calm in the face of crisis is a difficult emotional challenge, but is a skill that must be developed if you plan to get your children and yourself out of disaster alive. If parents are anxious or upset, the children will be twice as upset. Myself, I turn to the Bible, you turn to whatever gives you peace and comfort. Most religions teach hope, so if you are a religious person, turn to that hope. In a national emergency a Christian or Jew may turn to Psalm 46: 1-3  ”God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” Pick what is important to you and your family and prepare them ahead of time for any upcoming crisis. For six generations now, our family has stood on Psalm 91, by the dying wish of my great grandmother who pinned a note on her children as she lay dying, committing them to the care of angels. Giving your family faith and hope in normal times, gives them calm courage in desperate times. Pray ahead, don’t wait and let your prayers get ‘behind’ and you will be surprised at the calmness your children will display. Be honest with older children about crisis situations, they have a way of knowing anyway. 

QUESTION #7. Have you sat down with your children lately and ask them, who they are? Do your children know? Their answer might surprise you. Some say the only way to know who we are is to do an extensive genealogy. True, that will give you and your children insights into yourself, but it will not tell them their personal values. That is something kids (and adults) need to learn for themselves. I firmly believe the high school and college kids that get into trouble with drinking and drugs do so because they are trying to figure out just who they are. If they are taught family values as younger children their image of themselves will grow strong with their age. A self-identify gives a child security and courage. Hopefully, if bad times do come, your child will know themselves well enough to handle difficult situations, and have confidence to make snap decisions. Hesitation can kill, a person who knows themselves has the confidence needed to respond appropriately and quickly in any situation. You can’t hand a child self-image on a platter. It has been learned early and formed all through a lifetime. Ask your child what their values are, what their friends values are and who they identify themselves to be. Ask yourself too.

Answers to these seven questions teach your children acceptance, obedience, observance, mastery of self and emotions, prioritization, courage and faith.  If you can answer most of these questions with a ‘yes-done’ you are in good shape for any future emergency or disaster. If not, I strongly recommend you consider implementing some of this immediately. Any of these preparations can be made fun for children. They may not necessarily need these skills as a child, but they will retain them for life if you teach them while they are young. Preparations need not all be physical, the physical can disappear. Parental responsibility is not just caring for the children’s physical needs; it is caring for their mental, emotional and spiritual needs too. I encourage you to do some unseen preps soon.

A Christian’s Call to Prepare, by J.P.

In 1919, the Spanish flu killed around 75 million people in a single year (Knobler, pp. 60–61). In 1931, the China floods killed over two million people (NOVA). In 1945, America dropped two atomic bombs that killed around 200,000 people (Radiation Effects Research Foundation). In 2010, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 hit Haiti and killed 316,000 people (USGS). In the past century alone, 29 countries have had to deal with hyperinflation, causing severe economic depression, during which millions died from starvation, disease and looting. These events go to show that disaster has always been an unavoidable aspect of life, and will continue to be unavoidable as long as sin is still in this world. However, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Although it is nigh impossible to avoid these events, it is possible to lower the death toll and effect of damage by being properly prepared. Individual households can take responsibility in making their city a better and safer place to live. To learn how to be properly prepared for events like this, we must look back at these terrible catastrophes, and learn.

One such catastrophe was the Great Depression. Besides being the greatest economic crisis this country has ever seen, the Depression starved to death perhaps up to 12 million Americans–10% of the population. (Pravda.ru). [JWR Adds: This figure is disputed, primarily based on the difference between the 1930 and 1940 census, which showed a 7.3% population increase, but for comparison between 1920 and and 1930 there was a 13.7% population increase. Even excluding immigration deltas there were significant numbers of starvation deaths.] Two major events that caused the downfall of our economy are the failure of banks, which led up to the stock market crash, and the Dust Bowl, a dust storm that left 500,000 Americans homeless and destroyed most of the farmable land and crops in America (First Measured Century: PBS).

Compare the events that caused the depression to the conditions of today. For example, in the past twenty years the average number of natural disasters for a twenty-year time span is up by four hundred percent (Natural News). Yes, natural disasters fluctuate throughout history, but the severity of these events is greater than we have ever seen before. Just look at the beginning of this century: it started in 2004 with Hurricane Katrina, which caused $180 billion worth of damage. Even though the final death count of 1,833 does not seem significant, Katrina also left over 12,000 people homeless, and 25 percent of Louisiana jobless (National Climatic Data Center). Furthermore, rioting and looting became rampant because people were desperate for food and resources. However, Katrina is only one of the numerous natural disasters. Out of the ten biggest earthquakes on record, three of them happened in the past ten years. The earthquake that caused the tsunami in Japan in 2011 cost their economy $235 billion, killed 15,850 people, injured 6,011, with 3,287 missing (Damage Situation and Police Countermeasures). Nevertheless, experts speculate that the natural disasters will not subside. Sooner than later Mt. Rainer will erupt, creating a mudslide that will result in the death of thousands, and kill miles of environment (Popular Mechanics). Expert Seismologists estimate that more earthquakes of higher magnitude will hit Mississippi, as well as the Atlantic Ocean, which would cause an enormous tsunami. We live in delicate times, but not only because of these natural disasters.

Our country is in an enormous economic crisis. According to the United States National Debt Clock, provided by the Federal Reserve, our current national debt at exactly 8 o’clock pm on February 27, 2012 amounts to $15,404,053,723,986, and is increasing at an average of $48,998 per second. If we were to divide this debt between taxpayers in America, each one of them would owe $136,167. In just one month, it has increased over $180 billion, and the average taxpayer would owe another $1,000. This debt is seemingly impossible to get rid of. What is even worse than this debt is the inflation of the dollar bill. Since the beginning of the decade, the dollar has lost 24 percent of its value. Furthermore, many countries have recently dropped the dollar as their reserve currency, such as China, Japan, Switzerland, Kuwait, Libya, Iran, Russia, and Syria. They have done this because they do not trust the dollar and do not want to lose any more money than they already have. In addition to the devaluation of the dollar, more and more banks today keep closing because of the inability of Americans to pay off their own debt. From 2000 to 2009, the Federal Deposit Insurance Company recorded seventeen banks failing and having to close. Between 2010 and 2011, over 150 banks closed. The amount of debt we are in and the devaluation of our money is a very real threat to this country, one that will not end well.

As well as suffering from a fragile economy, this world is experiencing a major food shortage. According to the World Bank, 44 million people have been pushed into poverty because of rising food prices. The earth is also losing its topsoil due to the new methods of farming we have adopted. In addition, the earth has not been reproducing the natural amount of topsoil that it used to produce (Seattle PI). The World Bank also states that food prices have increased by 36 percent in the past 12 months. Even though we may not feel the effect where we live, neither did those of the 1920’s. Hedonism dominated the 1920’s, as well as the increased movement in liberal thinking. This same attitude is thriving in the times we live in today, and has taken an even greater extreme. Every type of event that led up to the Great Depression we have experienced in this past decade. The extreme natural disasters, food shortages and insane increase in bank failures are the precursors of something that will be much worse.

Nevertheless, why should we care? These events are frightening, and it is not comfortable to dwell on such things, but there comes a point where we must deal with the inevitable. The magnitude of these events is truly incredible, and is seemingly outside the scope of our influence. Fortunately, this is not the case, and there is a practical way to be prepared for such events as these. Though it is not comfortable to dwell on these events, we cannot stand around and do nothing. In light of these events and this principle of action, there are three points to show how Christians ought to handle these events. First, there is Biblical justification of a Prepper mentality. Second, the Biblical examples of physical preparation give us an example to follow. Third and finally, the practicality of Survivalism is a justifiable use of resources. Therefore, based on Biblical principles and the events of the past century, Christians have a moral and practical obligation to prepare for catastrophes.
Before dismissing what I am about to say as extremely right-winged, back woods redneck, or an advocate for the zombie apocalypse to come tomorrow, listen to why I am presenting this argument. Many Christians in America have jumped to the wrong side of the topic because liberal America has exaggerated, skewed, and falsified the reality of Survivalism.  I am presenting this argument in its true light from two different standpoints: the cost to benefit aspect, and the morality of preparation.

When a Christian is facing any decision, the first place to look is the Scriptures. Scripture says, “The fear of the Lord is the Beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” The book of Proverbs is full of wisdom, written by the wisest man to ever walk the earth, Solomon. Proverbs 2:1-5 describes how we need to cry out for wisdom, and seek her as silver. Verse 5 declares, “Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.” To find the knowledge of God, it is necessary to have wisdom.

Therefore, when Proverbs 22:3 states, “A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished,” we need to listen and act upon this insight into becoming godly men. Seeing how important it is to align our views with the Lord’s, look at the man who does not listen and take action, but rather continues in his folly. Different versions of the Bible calls the person in this verse different names, such as simple, thoughtless, naïve, gullible, and fool. Throughout Proverbs, we see how much God disdains the fool. In this case, the fool is the one who disregards preparation and continues with his life like there is nothing wrong in this world. Do you want to be in that category of person who ignores wisdom, scorns prudence, and disregards foreseeable danger? On the other hand, will you listen to wisdom, and acknowledge the Biblical standard of living?

This Biblical standard of living is one of action. The ethic of working and collecting for yourself is spread throughout the Bible. Proverbs 6:6-8 gives an example. “Go to the ant you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, which, having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers food in the harvest.” The ant creates and stores up food for when she will need it, while the sluggard does not, and will pay the consequences. We are to rely on Christ, but that does not mean we stand around and just wait for Him to come back. Look at the example of Noah. God told him he was going to destroy the world, and then told him to build an ark. God demanded action of Noah, just as He always expects action from us. James 2:26 tells us that faith without works is dead. Many Christians apply this to their life, but it also needs to apply to the upcoming catastrophes. Christians need to see the danger coming ahead, and take action by preparing for it.

As well as the Biblical example of reason why to prepare, the practicality of preparing for catastrophes makes it inexcusable to be unprepared. Almost everybody will agree that preparation is necessary for certain events, such as fire drills and lock downs, because people see the cost to benefit ratio as much more practical than a hassle. It is worth the time for the reward. Why do these people not apply this to preparation of emergencies on a much larger scale? To fathers and future fathers, how much is it worth to you to keep your family safe? You buy life, automotive, house, medical, and who else knows what type of insurance, but what are you going to do when an earthquake hits and the grocery store is empty. Alternatively, maybe the bank cannot give you your money because it just does not have it due to others not paying off their debts. Will you have to look into their eyes and tell them you will have to deal with being hungry for a little bit? What if that little bit has been a week, and one of them is getting sick. No good father is going to sit around and let his child die. Citywide anarchy, starvation, and a gigantic increase in crime are to be expected once more people come to the same realization. I realize this seems very far-fetched and there is little chance of this happening. That is what Sarah Luker thought, an average Betty Crocker housewife. Then Hurricane Ike destroyed their house and her family had nothing to live on. Since then, Sarah has embraced the Prepper mindset, canning food and storing resources so that she will be ready for catastrophe the next time it strikes. More and more “normal” people are seeing the benefits of preparing. Costco is now providing survival kits in handy backpacks, with food for two weeks, knives, hatchets, a tent, and other essentials to survival. This is the reasoning of ordinary people who see the danger coming, and the obvious reason to prepare for them. Nevertheless, people question how much of a priority this should take. You apply this same reasoning to insurance. You pay so that when something bad happens, you will be able to fix your care, or get a new house. Apply this mindset to preparing for catastrophe. Is it not identical to buying life insurance? People pay money just in case they die and cannot take care of their family. How about buying resources to sustain your family just in case something goes horribly awry?  Christ says to love your neighbor as yourself, but if you are unable to love and take care of your own family in times of trouble, how are you going to be an example of Christ like love for his children?

Nevertheless, how much is enough? While some will buy a two-week survival kit and call it good, others will pay thousands of dollars to have a nuclear bunker in their backyard. Where is the line drawn that says this is enough? Frankly, there is no such line. However, the principle I am advocating requires one to know what is going on around them. Therefore, when the time we live in is in direct comparison to the time of the Great Depression, one ought to prepare to be ready for an event such as this. It is your responsibility to be well informed on the current events of today that will affect whether or not you are prepared enough. Proverbs declares that the wise man seeks out council; this applies to understanding how much to be prepared! There are hundreds of books and web sites about preparation and today’s current events. There is no excuse to ignorant of the world around you.

However, many Christians are still weary of embracing this Survivalist mindset, for three overarching reasons. First, that the events that people prepare for are farfetched and blown out of proportion by the stereotypical doomsayer. Another is that the call of dependence, that to depend on God implies dependence in all things, and that we need not worry about tomorrow. Finally, many object to Survivalism because they cannot afford to spend the money, and that it is a waste of resources.

The first daunting enemy that stands in the way of justification for Survivalism is the stereotype people have given those who are labeled as Survivalist, Doomsayers, Preppers, or even Zombie hunters. Though being a Prepper or Survivalist is what I am advocating, the baggage that society associates with these groups is unjustified. Though there are antisocial groups who would love it if they had the opportunity to blow a couple zombie heads off or maybe start a fire sale, Survivalists or Preppers do not fall into this category. All that Survivalists or Preppers stand for is the mindset of being prepared for the unpredictable events of life; they are not hoping for the end of the world to come tomorrow.

These same people also claim that the coming events Preppers warn society of are “doomsayer exaggerations.” This comes only from ignorance of the current and past events. Looking at the events of the past century, it would be foolish to disregard them just because it is socially awkward to accept the solution that Preppers are providing. As I explained earlier, these events are in direct comparison to those of the Great Depression. In addition, the numbers and examples I gave came from sources unrelated to the topic of Survivalism, such as PBS, The Federal Insurance Corporation, and the World Bank. The events are not skewed or twisted to try to advocate the end of the world. They are only to show that there are events that have the potential to destroy lives in the future, and it is only wise to prepare for events such as these.

Finally, the next objection many Christians have is the call of dependence on God, which is based on the Scripture passage in Luke 12:22-29, where Christ gives the Parable of the lilies.
Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.  Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?  And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

Most people look at this verse and automatically jump to the conclusion that we cannot justify Survivalist principles because they imply that we are worrying about tomorrow. The problem with this judgment is that these people misinterpret the principles of preparation as worry. The principles I am justifying are not those of worry, but those of preparation. Again, we come back to Proverbs 22:3, which tells us the wise man foresees danger and hides himself. He takes action. Yes, the Bible tells us to be dependent on God, but this does not absolve us from preparing for catastrophe or storing resources for hard times. Look at the example of Joseph. When God told Joseph there would be seven years of plenty and seven years of famine, did Joseph just sit back and expect God to do the work? On the contrary, he immediately went to work, preparing for this time of hardship by storing food and taking action so he and his country would be ready for these seven years of famine. This is the same action Christians need to take when preparing for foreseeable catastrophes in the nearby future.

The final objection is that many people do not have the money to prepare for these events. There is no set amount on how much money you should spend: there is no percentage or complex formula to show what is enough or not. The principle I am advocating is a mindset, not a calculated amount. Only the person preparing can know what enough is. The only way a person can be certain they can know this is by doing research, and analyzing one’s budget to match a survival plan. The amount of preparation can only come from a knowledge gained through research and understanding of the world around us. Then will we know how to prepare for the future.

Nobody wants another Great Depression. Nobody wants another Hurricane Katrina. Nobody wants worldwide pandemic, food shortage, or any other catastrophes. Nevertheless, catastrophes are inevitable, no matter how much we despise them. God has placed these trials in our lives to fulfill His ultimate plan. However, that does not imply that we sit back and watch these events destroy us. There are many Biblical examples of physical preparation that coincide with dependence on God; examples that we need to follow. I pray that you do not just leave this room and keep on living your life as if nothing bad will happen to you, but rather, as Christians, step up to the examples set for us. Therefore, based on Biblical principles and the events of the past century, it is vital that we as Christians prepare for disasters.

 

Works Cited:
“Biblical Inspiration For Troubled Times.” Emergency Preparedness – Practical Survival and Disaster Planning. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2011.
Fire, The National. “Family Disaster Plan.” The Disaster Center – Home Page. National Disaster Education Coalition, n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.
Gano, Ray. “Survival 4 Christians.” Survival 4 Christians. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.
Gano, Ray. Survive the Coming Storm. Crane, Missouri: Defender, 2011. Print.
Government, Federal. “FEMA | Federal Emergency Management Agency.” FEMA | Federal Emergency Management Agency. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2011
“Home | Ready.gov.” Home | Ready.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2011.
Moses Et Al, and John MacArthur. The MacArthur Study Bible New King James Version.. Los Angeles, CA: Thomas Nelson Inc., 2005. Print.
Piper, John. When the Darkness Will Not Lift. Wheaton, Illinois : Crossway Books, 2007. Print.
Rawles, James Wesley. “SurvivalBlog.com.” SurvivalBlog.com. James Wesley Rawles, Web. 8 Dec. 2011.
Rawles, James Wesley. Patriots: a novel of survival in the coming collapse. 4th ed. Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press :, 2009. Print.
Rawles, James Wesley. How to survive the end of the world as we know it: tactics, techniques, and technologies for uncertain times. New York, N.Y.: Plume/Penguin Group, 2009. Print.
Ryrie, Charles Caldwell. Balancing the Christian life. Chicago: Moody Press, 1969. Print.
“Should Christians stockpile food/supplies in preparation for a possible future disaster?” Bible Questions Answered. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2011.
Taylor, Gene. “The Role of the Man in the Home.” www.expositorysermonoutlines.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2011.
“The Christian Survival Guide Blog, Video Channel, and Forum.” The Christian Survival Guide Blog, Video Channel, and Forum. WordPress, n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.
“The Christian Survivalist: A Biblical View of Preparedness” – Mark12 ministries Weblog.”  Mark12ministries’s Weblog. WordPress, 9 Oct. 2008. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.
Welter, William, and Jean Egmon. The prepared mind of a leader: eight skills leaders use to innovate, make decisions, and solve problems. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2006. Print.

Letter Re: Salt Storage Advice

Sir,
How would you recommend that I store the many salt blocks I have been stocking up on  (cattle type – various kinds of salt and mineral blocks)?
 
I was out in the shop today and did a brief walk through and noticed a bunch of moisture (water/liquid) developing around the blocks. Some of them are noticeably deteriorating. A few are on card board, others are stacked on back of a parked trailer. Am I setting myself up for disaster? Will these salt blocks eventually corrode the metals nearby? Where is the best place to store them? 
 
I have a two bedroom farm house from the early 1920’s. There is literally no more room for supplies that do not have to be in the home.
 
While I am on the topic, my order of 500 plus pounds of culinary salt is waiting for me to put up. They are in bags now. I have three large plastic drums coming soon (40-50 gal size). I plan to put the salt in them. Do I need to find room in the house to keep them? There are a lot of moisture troubles/humidity where I live in northwestern Kansas. 
 
BTW, in case you are wondering why salt, — well, it’s a God thing I guess. I felt a very strong feeling to purchase large quantities. I now have pink salt (Himalayan), iodine salt, and sea salt. 
 
I don’t want this to happen! (Advance the player to 2:40 if you are in a hurry).
 
Thank you for your time, – Tess of Kansas

JWR Replies: Yes, storing salt can be a challenge, but nothing insurmountable. Salty air (salt molecules suspended in water vapor) can be controlled by keeping humidity low in your storage area and by keeping your salt supplies dry and airtight. Use sealed plastic containers as much as possible. But if you lack the requisite containers, then at least use multiple wraps of plastic around all salt blocks, bags, and boxes. And regardless, always store your salt in a separate building from your tools, hardware, and canned goods. (Id est, store your salt storage buckets in a wooden cabinet in your hay barn, not in your garage or shop.)

Economics and Investing:

Reader Bill V. suggested this: Measuring the yield famine in food. And here is a related article: How the Fed Hurts Retirees..

G.G. found this over at New Scientist: Metal detector knows how much cash is in your wallet

Items from The Economatrix:

Bernanke’s Words Drive Wall Street Up 1%

Doug Casey:  It’s A Dead-Man-Walking Economy

America awash in cheap credit and monetization: Rasmussen Consumer Index Reaches Highest Level Since 2008

Gold’s Getting Ready To Go Extreme

Bernanke:  Job Market Weak Despite Gains

Gold Rises 1.5% On Renewed US Easing Hopes

Odds ‘n Sods:

Odds ‘n Sods:

F.J. mentioned that the clever folks over at Instructables have a lot of new article topics that are relevant to preparedness, including: Palletized Water Storage, Raised Garden Bed, Gravity Powered Water Filter, How to Clean a Fish, Altoids Tin Candle, and many more.

   o o o

Linda U. suggested this: Butchers making comeback

   o o o

Kevin S. mentioned this handy tool: Wire Bending Jig

   o o o

Bram recommended this piece by Charles Hugh Smith: Welcome to the United States of Orwell, Part 1: Our One Last Chance to Preserve the Bill of Rights

   o o o

Top secret Visa data center banks on security, even has a moat. (Thanks to Pierre M. for the link.)

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"I am afraid the ordinary citizen will not like that the banks can and do create money.  And they who control the credit of the nation direct the policy of the Governments and hold in the hollow of their hand the destiny of the people." – Reginald McKenna, Chairman of Midland Bank, 1924

Note from JWR:

Today we present two more entries for Round 39 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), and E.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo.

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol. It is a $439 value courtesy of Next Level Training. B.) A FloJak F-50 hand well pump (a $349 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. C.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, D.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and E.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value) and F.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, C.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), and D.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 39 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

My Gardening Journey, by Mr. Black Thumb Turned Green

Planting a garden is a sure way to find out about yourself.  Are you impatient and reckless?  Are you detail-oriented and methodical?  If you haven’t figured it out yet, you will when you till up some soil.  Three years ago at this time, I hadn’t ever planted a garden.  The last time I was even in a garden was when I was 10 years old at my grandma’s house many seasons ago.  I found out that year that I didn’t like gardening as my experience with it was mostly weeding.  Sure, I got to eat some carrots or turnips out of that garden, but they sure weren’t worth all the time spent scorching in the sun crawling around in the dirt.  Looking back, I should have learned all I could from my grandma about gardening—right or wrong. 

Many years later I began to enjoy cooking and one thing I learned was, if you had some quality spices, you could take some mediocre food and make it really good.  I would plant an herb garden!  But as often is the case, the best laid plans…  I never did plant an herb garden, but a few years ago I decided it was time to try my hand at growing my own food. 
What prompted me to start this journey?  A lot of things really.  One, I thought it was a good outdoor activity for me and my family.  I want my kids growing up doing outdoor activities that are productive to them and beneficial later in their lives, not wasting time with video games and television like I did as a child.  Each year I look forward to more of their contributions in the garden—even a two year old can help by retrieving something for me while I work. 

Another reason to plant a garden was the economy.  Things aren’t getting any better out there.  I could save a bundle by growing a lot of things myself.  I was without work for almost a year and the garden really helped out a lot during that time.  And, if things get really ugly, it will help me feed my family or possibly help others by teaching them what I have learned. 

However, the biggest reason for me to start a garden was that I know what is in a lot of the food we buy in grocery stores.  One of my hobbies is fitness and nutrition and when it comes to nutrition, ignorance is bliss.  If you knew exactly what it was you were eating, you may not eat that particular item ever again.  Not only is processed food terrible for you from a macronutrient standpoint, but the chemicals and processes used to create it are downright evil.  We have an epidemic in this country with fat children and diabetes.  I wonder if it is because everything has corn syrup in it…  There isn’t enough money in Obamacare to fix all of the problems these kids are going to have down the line.  My rule is, the further away the final product is from its initial state (the more processed it is), the less I want to eat it. 

The first year I wanted to start a garden I didn’t really know what I was doing.  Fortunately, I had a good friend that was an expert in gardening and he had recently moved into a condo, so he had no space to garden himself.  He gladly showed me the ropes.  He ordered seeds for me and even started them in planters.  After laying out the plot, we used a sod cutter to remove what we could and then tilled the mostly clay soil with some peat moss, chicken droppings, bone meal and blood meal.  I rented a big 8.5 horsepower tiller since it was the first time the soil had been disturbed and the clay made for a real mess.  I put in the contractors edging (deeper than standard edging) around the garden to keep the burrowing pests out.  Then I put up some wooden posts and a plastic fencing.  After smoothing soil, we planted a raised bed down the middle and a few mounds for the vine vegetables. 

I watered ever day waiting for some green sprouts to pop out of the ground.  When they did I was like a kid in a candy store.  I was amazed that you could take a tiny seed, put it into the earth, water it and watch as God made a plant emerge from the dirt.  Sure, I had to weed plenty—I did it every day in the morning before work.  And I had to check the broccoli leaves for green cabbage worms twice daily.  These worms were tiny but had ravenous appetites.  They would wreak havoc later on if not eliminated immediately.  I even started a compost pile and religiously put every appropriate scrap, no matter how small in the pile. 

The harvest was amazing.  I remember that first spinach salad.  What was that funny taste?  I don’t use any chemicals so it couldn’t be that.  I triple washed it, so it couldn’t be dirt.  Then we figured it out—it was the lack of any kind of processing.  No sprays applied by the harvester or at the grocery store to keep it looking fresh.  The funny taste was nothing at all. It was natural food.  It’s what spinach should taste like.  I was amazed.  And hooked.  That summer we ate like kings.  We canned dozens of jars of tomatoes, froze a years supply of shredded zucchinis and peppers and ate enough salad to feed a herd of cattle.  As fall came and went, I looked forward to the next growing season.  I remember feeling a tinge of depression as my green slice of paradise, dried up and blew away with the winter wind.  I also learned that using wood posts was a fools errant—they mostly rotted out and the plastic fencing was eaten through by varmints. 

I planned the next season’s garden and ordered my seeds.  This time, I would attempt to do my own “starts” and I would expand my garden size.  This turned out to be a season of learning and errors.  The first error was that I waited until the spring to till the soil.  I am sure the worms weren’t too happy about it.  The next group of errors centers around my potted plant starters.  Since I left heat pad on them after they sprouted, they become gangly and moved towards the sun.  I wasn’t smart enough to remember my 6th grade biology class and rotate the plants so they wouldn’t be at a 45° angle from the ground. 

Another mistake I made was not using fish emulsion to feed the plants the proper nutrients—they were not very green and the stems were not thick at all.  When I transferred the starts to bigger pots, I suddenly became economical and decided not to fill the new pots to the top with dirt.  That was brilliant as I shrunk the available space for the roots to grow—this was not helpful for making the plants stronger.  Not sufficiently hardening the plants to outdoor conditions before planting was another blunder.  I put them out for a few hours each day, but should have kept them out a lot longer.  Maybe start with an hour or two and by the end of the week keep them out there during all daylight hours.  Finally, when I went to plan the starts in the ground, I failed to wet the pots beforehand and likely damaged some of the roots when I transplanted them into the garden. 

After a particularly windy night, almost all of my tomatoes and my eggplant and broccoli were wiped out.  I had to do the unthinkable—go to Lowe’s to buy my plants.  I was amazed at the difference between their thick stemmed plants and the spindly “weeds” I had planted.  The new plants took off and things seemed to be going well.  But then more problems arose.  This gardening was tough!

I had used a section of the garden as the dumping ground for bad produce or produce that had fallen off and started to rot.  I just piled it up the summer before and then it got tiled under that spring.  Well, I was answering for that mistake now.  Volunteers started popping up all over the garden.  At first I didn’t know what I had, but over time, dozens of tomato and other plants were everywhere.  I also had a lot of weeds that I didn’t have the previous season and didn’t recognize at all.  My curiosity got the better of me on this one and I learned that anything that isn’t planted by me needed to go—they basically ruined my raised bed.  I must have had five or six dozen tomato volunteers.  As a side note, a friend of mine didn’t have a chance to plan anything so he took 4 of the volunteers and they produced well for him!  I suppose in certain situations, I could sell the volunteers to people that needed them for food, but as long as my garden is just for me, I will not let them grow in the future.  It was interesting that hybrid seeds from one season’s vegetables produced actual usable vegetables the next season. 

Some of the other lessons I learned, include: 
1)      My red onions did poorly—they need more sun and were partially shaded.  I need to move them to a north side of the garden.
2)      I need to stake my pepper plants immediately after planting.  It seems every year there is a wind storm that ruins some plants and we are in an area that has no shield from wind.
3)      I need to kill the grass on the outside of the edging to protect the onions and other “weaker crops.”  The grass is mixing in with the onions and taking away nutrients and water from them.   My onions seem to get a lot of their water from the surface, so they don’t have deep roots. 
4)     
I need to strengthen my chicken cage fence around my garden with a few more posts. 
5)      Here’s an obvious one—I can’t have a tall plant, like tomatoes near my underground sprinkler head in the garden.  The tall plant blocks the water flow and prevents other things from getting watered later in the season.  Plus it gets soaked and over watered as it is basically blocking the water flow. 

This was a hard season of learning, but I still managed a healthy crop of produce and even increased my volume on a few vegetables.  Most importantly, I have acquired a “book of knowledge” which I can use to help me not repeat the same mistakes this season again.  I’ve noticed that as the summer goes on, I get a bit lazy and don’t weed as diligently as I do early on.  Also, I need to plant a second crop of vegetables later in the spring to have a late summer crop and a third planting in the summer to have a fall crop.  I might as well squeeze every calorie out the garden that I can! 

As I desire to become more self-sufficient with my food, I also planted four fruit trees, some garlic, some blueberries and a few other things.  I plan on expanding that more with an herb garden and possibly a raspberry patch in the next season.  I will also enlarge my garden both in terms of size and types of produce.  I am starting to get a feel for what grows well and what doesn’t as well as what I like out of my garden and what is more cost/time effective for me to get at a store.  I will rotate my crops once again and add a few new items to keep things fresh.  I need to do a soil exchange with a friend that has sandy soil to get better balance in my clay dominated soil.  I am hoping more sand will help with my root and vine vegetables. 

I am glad to be learning these hard lessons now, when I can recover, rather than later on, when making these mistakes can be the difference between feeding your children or watching them starve.  There is a lot of start-up work expended in a garden, but not a lot to do day-to-day.  I recommend everyone try their hand at it to see how they do.  Even with all the challenges I encountered, it is still a great hobby and very enjoyable for me.  I just started my peppers and tomato seeds this year with my 2 year old’s help and can’t wait to see them sprout! 

Pickup Truck Campers as Bug Out Vehicles, by Wade on the Road

A few years ago, I found myself widowed after 36 years of marriage.   Seven months later, I buried my mother after she lost a long battle with colon cancer.   I was only 59 but my kids were gone and suddenly I had no family nearby and no one dependent on me.  It took a few months to mentally adjust, but during that time I began thinking about re-engaging my life and setting new goals….sort of a bucket list if you will.  Two of the things that were on that list were traveling around our country and retiring early if possible. 

Retire, I did, and my travels have, and will in the future, include visiting the great national parks and wilderness areas of our country.  Also, I am an unabashed fan of Virginia Tech football and enjoy tailgating at the game.   My parents had a truck camper when I was a young man and it occurred to me that a truck camper would allow me greater access and enjoyment for both traveling and football games.  My parents’ camper and truck were gone decades ago, so I began doing my research on the various makes and models and what they offered.  I quickly found out that the capabilities and amenities modern truck campers offered were light years beyond what I had experienced using my parents’ camper.

I have slept in the open and under shelter halves as a Marine. I’ve also tent camped with my son’s scout troop, put up big old wall tents, cooked over a campfire, and used a cat hole.  I decided that roughing it is no longer my thing.  I wanted to go for more comfort and I decided that I was going to get a camper with a lot of features and buy used to save money.  I also needed a truck to transport it.  To make a long story short I bought a 2003 Lance 1130 camper and a 2004 F-350 dual rear wheel (“dually”) pickup to haul it.   Admittedly even for truck campers, this is a big combination but it had all the features I wanted and by buying used I saved thousands of dollars getting both truck and camper combined for around $36,000.    Before you sigh and close this article because of the cost, let me assure you that you can buy much less expensive truck campers that can be carried on standard pickups which I bet many of you already have.    A quick search on one RV web site while writing this article, yielded 12 campers in the Mid-Atlantic region for sale under $10,000 and at least one was an 11′ foot 2011 model.  

Good fortune smiled on me and quite unexpectedly, I was recently joined in life by a beautiful lady who had been a neighbor for years.  We were acquaintances but didn’t really know each other, but our respective kids swam together on swim team, went to the same schools and we had much in common that drew us together.  We were married last year and one of our delights has been using the truck camper for camping and tailgating.  My wife has told me that this camper is definitely her idea of “camping,” and our tailgating friends are amazed at the amenities we have right in the parking lot. 

We have both been very concerned about our nation’s political situation, the danger to our economy and non-conventional threats to our society.  We recently began serious prepping activity and are on our way to self-sufficiency should the Schumer hit.   We live in a rural area and hope to stay in place if things aren’t too bad, but if we have to, we will bug out and we have what I think is darn near the perfect bug out vehicle.  Let me tell you why I think so and why I highly recommend a truck camper.

First, here are some basics for those of you unfamiliar with truck campers.  Far from the “camper” shells you see on pickups, a truck camper has at a minimum the following features:  A bed, refrigerator, stove, kitchen sink, lighting, heat, and almost all have at least a portable “potty.”   The camper sits in the bed of your pickup and has a connection to your truck’s electrical system.   The interior is high enough that a six footer can walk easily down the aisle of the camper.  A bed rests in the “cab over” section of the camper over the roof of your truck.  Most manufacturers’ model numbers reflect the length of the floor of the camper not counting the cab over section.  In our case, we have a Lance 1130 which translates to approximately 11 feet of cabin length.  Our camper requires a long bed truck but dozens of models are available for short bed trucks.  I think all will require you to remove the tailgate.  Minimal modifications need to be made to most trucks in the form of tie down brackets and electrical connection and can be installed by an RV dealer for just a few hundred dollars or for much less if you do it yourself.

Most truck campers have many more features than listed above and you’d be hard pressed to find a camper with just those.  I’ll use mine as an example and while it has physical capacities larger than most due to its exceptional size, almost all campers have the same features just on a smaller scale.

We have a queen size bed over the cab.  This is pretty standard on truck campers these days.  Our dinette which seats 4, converts to a bed and over that is a fold down bunk for a child giving us the ability to sleep 4.  Most truck campers will sleep 3 or 4 fairly easily.

We have a 40 gallon fresh water tank, 25 gallon gray water tank, and 24 gallon black water tank.  The gray and black tanks have a sewer hose for dumping into an RV park’s sewer, or emptying into their dump station or in a pinch, somewhere else  We have an electric water pump or can hook up to a standard outdoor water faucet with our fresh water hose. We have A/C and a furnace.  The furnace runs on propane  The A/C runs on regular 110 volt power but we also have a built in Generac generator.  When “shore” power is available such as at a campground, we use it, connecting via a 30 AMP power cable.   While we seldom run the A/C when not connected to external power, we can if we want to by using the generator.

Our galley has a 3 burner propane stove, an oven, a microwave and a double sink with counter space.  We have a 6 cubic foot “3 way” refrigerator with freezer that runs on A/C, propane or battery power.  It automatically switches between power sources based on settings you can manage.  We have a hot water heater that can run on propane or electricity.  We have cabinet space for utensils, pots and pans, food and cleaning supplies.  This doesn’t count the multiple cabinets for clothes, supplies and gear.

Our bathroom (head) has a sink with hot and cold water, a medicine cabinet, a shower stall, powered exhaust vent, and a flush toilet.
We have a flat screen television, with crank up external antenna, AM/FM radio and a Blu Ray player.  Other amenities include a back door awning and a large awning on the side. Our windows are generous and all except the front window have screens to allow us plenty of fresh air. We have a powerful ceiling exhaust fan. Outside are power outlets and a gas nipple for connecting an outdoor grill.  There is also an external, stow able shower head with hot and cold water.

Despite all of these amenities, a truck camper is designed to be able to ‘boondock” for weeks at a time with no external connections.  Our camper has two deep cycle Interstate marine batteries.  It has two onboard 30 lb. propane tanks.  All of the lighting is 12 volt as are the fans.  There is an inverter to run electrical devices from the batteries and we have easily run the lights, television, Blu-Ray player and other things while barely drawing down the batteries.  With widely available solar panel re-chargers, and conservative usage of power, you can have power indefinitely.  But the campers also have an interface to your vehicle’s electrical system, so by running the truck engine for a while you can charge up your onboard batteries.  Also, our onboard Generac can charge the batteries but in a bug out scenario, you’d probably want to avoid that as well as running the truck engine.

Speaking of bug out scenarios, we could load our camper with supplies and be on our way very quickly.  As I mentioned, we have an F-350.  The truck has huge diesel fuel tanks giving us almost 400 miles range.  We have the crew cab which gives us a large cargo area when the rear seats are folded down.  Our truck has 4WD and is a dually.  Even with the camper mounted, we can still park it in a standard parking space.  Now since our rig is pretty long compared to most, we’re not as maneuverable as some but we can still go almost anywhere we want.   We could easily drive into the woods, pull it into a secluded spot, throw some camo netting over it and disappear.  If you could find a spot near fresh water and be able to expose your solar panel, you could stay out for a long time.  Obviously, there are other considerations, such as OPSEC, how much food you brought along or that you cached, and sanitary disposal but there are ways to deal with that and go beyond this article. 

A situation that would be most favorable would be owning your own remote piece of land, with water, pre-cached supplies, and good hunting potential.   You wouldn’t have to build a shelter or cabin, just drive your camper there.  Obviously, a truck camper doesn’t take the place of a cabin or bunker, but it also gives you flexibility and much more comfort than living out in the open.  I strongly encourage you to check truck campers out as a family emergency vehicle (FEV) and as something you can enjoy right now while things are “normal.”   Many of the prepper’s purchases are something we buy and put away.  This is one that you can enjoy all year long, yet can save your life if things get bad.

JWR Adds: Because of space and weight constraints, virtually all vehicular retreat approaches are doomed to failure in anything longer than just a short term disaster. That is, unless you heed Wade’s advice. I agree with him that you will need to cache a lot of food, fuel, tools, and other bulky items such as rolls of fencing wire at your retreat property. Without a pre-positioned deep larder, you will become just another statistic. Mobility is great, but inevitably it is just a means to get yourself to a locale with supplies stored in depth and where you have fertile soil and plentiful water to grow crops.

Letter Re: Renewing Your Google Street View Opt-Out

Jim:
Regarding the post of the guy in California that Google can take a photo from the public street, and see his electric meter and objects in his open windows: the problem is not so much Google as his choice to live so close to a public road that anyone could do this.  I used Street View to “sorta” see my gate, and that is all you can see–just a gate. Google Map’s satellite photos show far more detail about the layout of my “spread”, though the detail is fairly fuzzy. – Andy G.