Your Vehicle and TEOTWAWKI, by TD

I have seen some (sort of) like minded people who are actually driving around in brand new vehicles. This would not be so bad if they were even in the least bit mechanically inclined, but they’re not. So on top of, they can’t fix it themselves, they haven’t even begun to buy the extras they will need when the SHTF. I honestly think that if you can’t lift the hood of your car and name at least ten components, you are in over your head.

The first thing I learned was get a Chilton’s Manual for your year, make and model vehicle. Open it and look at it, take the time to actually read it. If your vehicle requires you to disconnect the transmission or pull the motor to give it a tune up, then you need to get a lot more than basic tools and spend at least three times the amount for parts that you would have to on an older vehicle.
On newer cars if you don’t maintain them, they will run badly or not at all (newer cars sensors or a clogged catalytic converter). Carburetors are easier to rebuild and repair then fuel injection units, shocks and struts are much easier in older cars and trucks, there is no fuel relay in older vehicles Those built before the mid-1970s have no computer on board and have little or no emissions control equipment, the list goes on.

I had brought up in an earlier submission the fact most people can barely check their oil in their cars and I think that this topic needs more. Your car isn’t going to run forever, it will not even make it a few months after TEOTWAWKI if it’s a newer vehicle and you have no clue. Minor problems turn into major repairs when people don’t know enough to even notice early warnings.

I drive nothing new, I prefer 1970s models (or older) to anything else on the road. Why you ask? Well first off, get into an accident in an older vehicle you see less damage to an older one than in a newer one. Newer cars and trucks are made differently. Some [have body panels that] are made of a plastic that will pop back out after an accident. Not bad right? Well not bad if the frame isn’t damaged, if it is then oh well, it gets repaired and the frame is usually weakened at that spot. With some cars and trucks the motor will drop and go under the car in a collision, then you need a new one and the body (they are made that way so you don’t end up with the motor in your lap) is still damaged. Older cars handle the abuse better and are more tolerant of missed oil changes and tune ups.

To set things up for your newer vehicle, just go to the dealer or a parts place and ask them for prices on: oil filters, O2 and other sensors, fuel filters (and how many your car has), starter, alternator, belts, hoses, distributor cap, wires, plugs, rotor and tranny filter, for starters. Then go ask your mechanic how many billable hours each of those items takes to replace (some will take about 1/3 of the time, others will take every minute of it). Then look at your Chilton’s Manual and see just what a pain it’s going to be and what specialty tools you need to buy. If your car needs the transmission unhooked while you work on some of this, then you need a tranny jack. Instead of a lift you may be able to use ramps, but be prepared it could even call for the use of a hoist.

Unless you have a fully stocked and capable garage at your retreat and you’re a mechanic, you need to buy an older vehicle. An older usable vehicle can cost as little as $500 and as much as $15,000. It really depends on what will suit your needs. A $500 dollar vehicle is going to need some work and the $15,000 one is asking people to look closer at you. Nondescript is what you need, something that will cause no one to notice you at all, not now or later.

Is there a certain type of vehicle in your area that seems more available? If there is then I would look at that one, because you will have the chance to buy parts and whole vehicles cheap. One of the vehicles I had as a kid I wish there was more of them still around, the Subaru Brat, cheap, easy, go anywhere and hard to kill, they are hard to find cheap now. Look at the local junk yards and see is they have parts for older vehicles (some only carry newer parts), that may be the biggest problem for some vehicles is the lack of good used parts. Call your local car and truck clubs there is no better way to get good deals on parts than from a member. Look in back yards as you go driving, you never know what you’ll see.

Once you decide on your retreat vehicle you should try to acquire: a parts car/truck, motor and tranny, rear and front ends, gears for them, heads and head gaskets, radiators, carbs, starters, alternators, rebuild kits, tune up parts, wheel bearings, calipers, brake lines, tire repair kit, extra rims and tires, valve stems, distributor shaft and bearings, soldering iron, solder, good hand tools, block and tackle or hoist, ramps, floor jack, line bender, breaker bar, air compressor or hand pump, multi meter and a few larger than normal sockets. Also if you need specialty tools get them now and learn how to use them. [JWR Adds: Most newer vehicles have electronic ignitions, but some of them can be retrofitted to a traditional coil and rotor. Ask your mechanic.]

Get your whole group out there and teach them the basics. If the person who does the major repairs is the only one that knows anything about the vehicles, what happens if they are not right there? As a woman, if I break down on the side of some road and can’t fix my vehicle quickly and on my own the next person who stops could be the wrong one and most states will not allow the police to help in any way except to call a tow truck. I have had to change tires, fix my headlights, run a rope from my throttle arm in through my window, drive on a rim, push my car after the drive shaft let go and sit on the radiator support to try to adjust the distributor after the bearings went bad, hold the shifter together after the bolt snapped (standard) and I can usually find a way to get me car home.

Even now I see people drive around unprepared for even the smallest emergency. Make sure that your car has: a medical bag, road flares, small [explosion proof] gas can, spare tire, jack and four-way lug wrench, flashlight, utility knife, chain, jumper cables, non-perishable snacks, water and some sort of weapon. Most states will not allow you to carry a loaded gun, so get a huge Maglite that can double as a weapon or keep a tire iron handy. The way things are today it is better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it.

Letter Re: Advice on the Most Versatile Bicycle for Schumeresque Scenarios

Mr. Rawles,
I need to snag bikes for my wife and myself. We are both young and relatively fit, but we live in [Washington,] DC and take [the] metro [subway system] everywhere. We [presently] don’t have bikes, and I have no knowledge about them. The [SurvivalBlog] section on guns was helpful, I was wondering if y’all had something on the most versatile bikes, by price point. Thanks. – Jordan H.

JWR Replies: These days, I generally recommend folding bicycles. Prices have come down substantially, so they are not much more expensive than standard bicycles.They are also just a s robust as most mountain bikes. The latest generation of folding bikes are quit versatile. When folded, they can fit in an apartment closet, or in the trunk of a car.And, depending on your local laws, when folded they can also be carried onboard most trains and busses. (Using an opaque carrying case seems to remove most objections.) The Montague Paratrooper bike is an excellent choice.

For Get Out of Dodge (G.O.O.D.) purposes, you might want to get panniers and perhaps cargo trailers for both bikes. Detachable pannier bags can be kept pre-packed as G.O.O.D. kits, and clipped on very quickly.

Odds ‘n Sods:

I recently got an e-mail from reader Terrence G., who claimed that the national debt figure was “meaningless” because the Federal Government could merely “create” money, at will. But I have a dose of reality: That debt is real, it is increasingly held by foreigners, and debts must be repaid. Worst of all, it is growing at an alarming rate (See: The National Debt Clock.) OBTW, after you are done reading the rest of today’s blog, hit “reload” at that same site, and see how much debt our nation has accumulated in just those few minutes. Someday, our grandchildren will surely want to throttle us!

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You will recall that I predicted sharply higher municipal bond rates in 2008. Here is a news story from Alabama about the first of what I predict will be a wave of muni bond crises across the US. (A hat tip to DV for sending us the link.) OBTW, just wait until foreign holders of US Treasuries smell blood in the water and demand similarly high rates.

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Michael W. sent this article link: Survivalism Goes Mainstream As Middle Class And Wealthy Fear Breakdown Of Society

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The Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB) grows larger: Senate passes housing relief bill

Note from JWR:

Today we present another article for Round 16 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win two valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificates. (Worth up to $4,000!) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Round 16 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entries. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.

The ABCs of WTSHTF, by Mark B.

The ABCs of When the Schumer Hits the Fan (WTSHTF.) aren’t what you have prepared, acquired or stowed but even more basic in the preparation processes that we sometimes take for granted.
The A is the ability to learn, to adapt and to try. No matter how many classes we take or how much we have stored away there is the potential that we might have missed something or prepared for one scenario and ended up with another. We may be in the middle of TEOTWAWKI and not be fully ready but guess what, we aren’t scheduling it. Ability is not only applying something that we’ve learned but troubleshooting or working through something that we don’t have a clue about. We may not get it right the first time that we try something new but we have the ability to learn from our mistakes and go back to try again. We have the ability to learn from others mistakes and we have the ability to make changes or corrections that work for our scenario.

The B is the brains that we have to reason with to store our morals our life lessons and the memories that make us who we are. The best tool that we have at our disposal is our brain. So many people in day to day life just go on auto pilot and don’t think about what they can do to improve how they do something. In my line of work I hear that “I’ve done it that way for 20 years”. My response is that you’ve been doing it wrong for 20 years. We just get in the habit of doing things a certain way. We eat our meals at the same time even if we aren’t hungry just because it is the time we are conditioned to eat. We go to bed at a certain time and we get up at a certain time. As a culture we have stopped utilizing what we were born with. In my opinion that is a large part of why we are where we are today. The sheep just keep waiting for someone to lead them or fall prey to the ones that use their brains without the use of morals. If we just think about what we are about to do instead of just doing it we can prevent personal injury or emotional pain. A simple example would be when a loved one has done something that upset you and you just respond without thinking of how it would affect them or why they did it the way they did. The words are already spoken; you can’t take them back, or you’re cutting something with a knife and slice your finger or hand because you didn’t think about what you were doing. We should try to learn and practice as much as possible so it will at least be familiar if not second nature but if we haven’t seen or done it before it is still doable because we can reason and solve problems. The human race has faced challenges for thousands of years and we have always improved because we have the ability to think.

The C stands for two things, first is choice. Most of the dialog that I’ve seen on SurvivalBlog shows that we have made a choice to not be led into a place where we no longer have a choice. We all are at different stages in the process but our choice is to survive whatever we are dealt. The choice is yours for all situations, you may not be able to control the overall aspect but you make the choice of how you let it affect you. Have you ever been driving and had someone cut you off? You don’t have control over the other driver but you do have the ability to make the choice of letting the incident infuriate you or brushing the whole situation off. We all make choices of whom if anyone will be invited into our confidence or where our retreat will be. We make the choice of what type of armament we will utilize or the type of food we will store or grow. Some things are dependent on location or availability but it is still a choice. Our choices are a large part of what makes us who we are. The choice to have faith, the choice to be ready, and the choice to have morals are some choices that most of us here have made. Remember that no matter what the influences are the final choice is the one that you make. Right, wrong or indifferent it’s the choice that you will have to live with.

The second C is composure, always maintain your composure. If you keep your wits about you then you stand a better chance of surviving the situation. When you lose your composure you lose your ability to reason and react rationally. In an emergency situation time is critical and if you remain calm you will have a higher probability of doing it right the first time. In an emergency situation maintaining your composure could mean the difference between life and death. I don’t mean you have to become cold or callous but you can deal with your emotions after the situation subsides. If you don’t maintain your composure you might not get that chance.
I would like to thank my brothers in arms from all the services; they have helped me learn these lessons and have given me the opportunity to use what I was born with and strived to refine it and help it grow.

Remember that we started out without clothes and shelter. We started out without the ability to communicate over great distances without traveling them. We can now travel and communicate in space or around the planet all because we use our ability, our brains and by the choices that we make.

In my opinion we should absolutely continue to learn, store and prepare. We should choose who we will coexist with before, during and after the coming collapse, we should do that even if the collapse doesn’t come during our lifetime. We should continue to grow as an individual and as a group. We should not over analyze the solution to whatever problem we face. We should not assume failure if we missed something or we didn’t get the opportunity to get everything that we wanted. We should be thankful for what we have. We should remember how far we have come. We should use our brain to think the solution through. We should use our ability to reason and we should stay calm to prevail.
I have learned a great deal since I started reading SurvivalBlog and utilizing the links and resources available here. It has provoked the thought process of things that I hadn’t thought of or had a different approach about something.

There are many things that the survivalist practices that have become a lost art so to speak such as canning and the ability to survive without modern conveniences. We are in a society that does not know how to function without cell phones and computers but I can remember when we didn’t have them. We communicated either by land line telephone or my goodness how archaic, snail mail. Farther back in our history there was the Pony Express and even couriers.

[The author of the] Heartbreak Ridge [screenplay (James Carabatsos)] stated it best:” Improvise, adapt and overcome.”

Letter Re: Caustic Chlorine Troubles, and Using Dry Chlorine for Water Treatment

Dear Jim:

As you know, ordinary chlorine bleach is an item with a multitude of potential uses in survival situations. In addition to its common use in the laundry to brighten our whites, it can also purify drinking water and serve as a general disinfectant to sanitize food preparation areas and control the spread of disease causing bacteria.

Liquid chlorine bleach, however, is inconvenient to store. Only about 5.25% – 7.5% of each eight pound gallon is active sodium (or calcium) hypochlorite; the rest is just water. Yet because of the potency of its active ingredient, and the flimsiness of typical plastic bleach bottles, it poses a constant risk to everything stored near it.

One potential solution is to store concentrated dry chlorine granules; commonly available as swimming pool shock treatment. Available in a wide variety of sizes, swimming pool shock treatment typically contains from 50% – 60% active calcium hypochlorite, making it much lighter in weight and 10 times as concentrated as liquid bleach, but not susceptible to spilling and leaking risks. Theoretically, it should be possible to make your own chlorine bleach by simply combining the proper amount of water and dry granules.

I quickly discovered, however, that storing dry chlorine poses hazards of its own. Initially, I purchased two 1 pound plastic bags of swimming pool shock treatment and stored them in a small closet along with a variety of other preparedness items. The granules generated a strong chlorine smell in the closet, but when access was needed, opening the door for a minute or two would reduce the small to a tolerable level.

About a year later, however, I went to reorganize the closet, and was startled to find many things badly corroded by fumes from the granules. Several storage tins were badly rusted, some 200-hour emergency candles in tins were nearly rusted clear through, and the steel ends of some batteries were also corroded.

Surprisingly, even some lightweight cardboard boxes were so badly degraded that they virtually disintegrated when handled, and a 10-page document (about emergency water) which had been printed on our computer’s inkjet printer was virtually erased!

To combat these problems, I bought a fresh supply of (HTH brand $3.35/lb. at Wal-Mart) chlorine granules and stored them in an all-glass canister with a glass top, rubber ring, and spring wire snap latch ($4.44 at Wal-Mart) . That has solved my storage problem.

In an article on emergency water purification, in addition to the old 10 drops of bleach per gallon of clear water or 20 drops per gallon of cloudy formula; I found this recipe for using granular pool chlorine:
For use in purifying drinking water, first prepare a stock solution of one heaping teaspoon of granules dissolved in two gallons of water. This may then be mixed at the rate of 1 part
stock solution to 100 parts water for disinfection purposes. That would equal: 1 quart for 25 gallons, 6 1/2 ounces for five gallons, or 2 Tbsp. per gallon.

Jim, I wish you could help me find out: How much dry chlorine would be needed to make a one gallon batch of standard 5.25% chlorine bleach? I haven’t been able to find that information anywhere! These HTH granules are 54% calcium hypochlorite. Perhaps you or one of your chemistry-savvy readers could figure-out the correct formula. Sincerely, – Steve W

JWR Replies:

It is best to keep your sodium hypochlorate in powdered form until just before it is used. Once it is put in solution, it weakens over time. This can create confusion about its remaining concentration when it is eventually used to treat water. Back in June of 2007, SurvivalBlog reader Terry M. kindly provided some useful details on treating water with both commonly available forms of hypochlorate powder. Perhaps some readers would care to chime in about the dry measure required for making each gallon of liquid bleach. (I’m not a chemist!)

Odds ‘n Sods:

I was glad to see that gold touched $940 per ounce yesterday morning. The fact that it did so, just one day after announcement of a 403 ton IMF gold sale was quite encouraging. At this point, I don’t think the central banks will be able to stop the precious metals bull market without doing something drastic. The banksters will start to get nervous once gold passes $1,200 USD per ounce. And at $1,580 (which roughly equals €1,000 Euros per ounce), they will get truly desperate. At that point, both the Dollar and the Euro will be recognized as the toilet paper that they truly are. If gold gets that high, look for some desperate measures. These could include: more gold sales and leasing (the central banks hold nearly 40,000 tons!), increases in margin requirements on the COMEX, restrictions on taking physical delivery of futures contracts by all but industrial users, changes in tax laws that would tax gold while it is held (rather than just when it is sold), and perhaps even FDR-style restrictions on private ownership of gold bullion. There could be some sharp declines, but look at those dips as buying opportunities, since we are still in a primary bull market cycle, and it will likely continue for at least five more years.

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RBS found us this: California real estate–nowhere near the bottom yet.

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Celebrate April 19th with Appleseed! The Appleseed Project is celebrating the 233rd anniversary of “the shot heard round the world” by sponsoring 14 weekend marksmanship classes simultaneously, all across this great nation, from Florida to California

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Despite their massive vote-rigging, Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF won only 97 seats in the House of Assembly, versus 110 for the opposition. “Former Communist” dictator Robert Mugabe is dragging his feet about leaving power. Hopefully the hyperinflation-ravaged country will be spared an inter-tribal civil war. (Mugabe and his supporters are from the majority Mashona tribe, while the opposition was organized by the minority Ndebele tribe, with a stronghold in Matabeleland.) The economy is a total shambles. Clearly, Comrade Mugabe and his henchmen are doomed to lose power. It is not “if”, but “when.”

Note from JWR:

After more than two years without a change, we recently increased our advertising rates by an average of 20%. The good news is that our readership has more than quadrupled in the past two years, so our advertisers are still gettng a real bargain. (Especially when you consider that some other blogs with readership of the same scale charge up to $1,500 for banner ad!)

When shopping for preparedness gear, please patronize our paid advertisers first. If they don’t have what you need, then check out our Affiliate advertisers, such as Nitro-Pak, Lehman’s, and Northern Tool . With any of our advertisers, please mention where you saw their ad. Thanks!

Time For Retreat Logistics Stage Two–The Soft Items

If you are a regular SurvivalBlog reader, the odds are that you already have the majority of your key logistics squared away, like food storage, tools, guns, communications gear. So now it is time to stock up on “soft” and perishable items. These include over the counter medications, vitamins, chemical light sticks, matches, paper products, cleansers, spices, liquid fuels, and so forth.

You need to exercise caution when stockpiling soft items, for several reasons:

1.) Shelf Life and Deterioration. Some items like pharmaceuticals, batteries, and chemical light sticks are best stored in a refrigerator. Keep in mind that items like matches are vulnerable to humidity. (BTW, do not store matches in Mason type glass jars! Resist the urge, or else you’ll inadvertently make a glass shrapnel bomb! Instead, use a vacuum sealer, such as the Tilia FoodSaver sealers sold by Ready Made Resources. This is also a great way to keep rubber bands (including elastrator bands) from deteriorating. Exposure to sunlight, or heat, or moisture can all be deleterious to soft goods.

2.) Bulkiness. Paper products like paper towels, toilet paper, and paper napkins are extremely bulky, per dollar value. If you have limited storage space then you will need to budget that space carefully.

3.) Flammability. You should think of your stored paper products as house fire tinder, and your stored liquid fuels as potential fire accelerants and explosives. One mistake that that I’ve heard mentioned is storing numerous gasoline cans at home, in an attached garage. Most garages have a hot water heater, often fired by natural gas or propane. Uh oh! Store gas cans, oil-based paint cans, and bulk lubricants only in a well-ventilated outbuilding that is well-removed from your residence. Be sure to check your state and local fire code for permissible limits.

4.) OPSEC risk. The aforementioned bulk of stored paper products also makes them obtrusive to casual observers. This present s an OPSEC risk. If you have 500 rolls of toilet paper and paper towels in your garage, someone is likely to notice. OBTW, one item that I’ve stored as a potential barter item is sheet plywood. Those extra plywood sheets, if properly positioned can keep prying eyes away from your stockpiles.

5.) Abundance-Inspired Waste. Human nature dictates that when something is scarce, it is used frugally, but when it is abundant, it tends to get used more wastefully. I’ve seen this happen with my children, in target practice with .22 rimfire ammunition. If they know that they have just 50 rounds apiece available for a shooting session, they make every shot count. But if there is a full “brick” of ammo sitting there, it soon starts to sound like a day at Knob Creek.

In his book The Alpha Strategy, John Pugsley mentioned some friends that “invested” in stocking their own home wine cellar. They determined that it would be less expensive to buy wine by the case. But they soon had so much wine that they got in the habit of having a bottle with dinner almost every evening. So even though the per-bottle cost decreased, their monthly expense on wine actually doubled! OBTW Pugsley’s The Alpha Strategy is highly recommended. It is available for free download, but I recommend also picking up a used copy, for reference. They are often available through Amazon.com for less than $5.

Letter Re: Don’t Delay Dental Work and Elective Surgery!

Mr. Rawles and Fellow SurvivalBlog Readers-
I am recovering today from having oral surgery yesterday. It was not a tooth that was in pain but one that could give me trouble at any inopportune time. As a family we have been getting all our dental, vision including extra glasses and contacts, and other various health concerns taken care of now. After everything hits the fan or even during this coming economic crisis, getting good medical care may be a challenge. I wouldn’t want to imagine having the dental work I had done yesterday performed as a “do it yourself” job. Don’t procrastinate getting even a chronic ingrown toenail fixed! Things will be hard enough without extra health concerns. – Mt. Momma

Letter Re: Implications of High Grain Prices for Livestock Owners — Stock Up!

Dear JWR,
The prices for wheat and soy and orchard grass crop seed have risen 40% in our region this spring. And that is the farm supply co-op pricing. The N and Phos. fertilizer is pretty well matching this increase. Lime is only 20% higher than last fall. Most of the larger crop farmers (200 acres or more) in our eastern central area (which 5 years ago used to be primarily tobacco fields) are now counting on a moderate to large profit in return because these edible cash crops are being currently negotiated and purchased in bulk to be shipped to China (soy) and Egypt (wheat). The corn crops grown locally are being sold for US bio-fuel production.

Heads up! If you have large farm animals and poultry, put up a one year reserve of feed grains and feed hay or fodder now, if you can find it for a reasonable bulk purchase price and get busy breaking ground on that fallow pasture land and start planting your own rotational plots of grasses for hay, forage and feed grains! I am perplexed to how many people are selling off completely or drastically reducing the numbers of their large farm animals now at a time that they should bare caution in their reflexive reactions. Consider that this may not be the best resolution as a result of the price increases of the grains.

This is the time to ride the grain increase out until they can become self sufficient in their own home grown supply and to stock up on seed. The prices will only get much higher in a year. If they can just hold out until their own grains come on line, the inflationary prices to come will make the value of those animals worth triple or quadruple their price in the short coming years. Trying to buy new livestock is not going to get cheaper either. Now is not the time to be selling off your extra edible or working farm animals. This is a time to hold and make yourselves busy as self sufficient farmers. We’re now in this for the long haul! Think for the long term future, not just for today. – KAF

Odds ‘n Sods:

RBS flagged this: Food Prices Soar as Farmers Bail on Corn.

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Horton suggested some good commentary by Aubie Baltin, posted over at Gold-Eagle: A Time for Reflection

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Ready Made Resources now sellsan inexpensive and lightweight solar oven that works quite well. The stove with shipping (in the US) is just $44.95

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Bill from Ohio kindly sent us a plethora of recent news article links related to the world’s now scant food supplies:

Food riots in Haiti: BBC article and YouTube video.

Rising prices around the world

Rice price hits Philippines poor

Asians hit by rice pinch

World food shortages to stay: riots at risk

India and Africa urge a re-think of biofuels

New Zealand food prices demand food strategy

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"We maintain [privately-owned] arms largely because we seek to prevent violence. Those that wish to disarm us do so that they may perpetrate it with impunity." – R. Murray