Letter Re: Vehicle Maintenance is an Important Part of Preparedness

Mr. Rawles,
As i am very new to your blog,(although it is now a morning ritual), I haven’t had time to read all of the back posts.

I was wondering if you had ever done one on vehicle readiness. One of my concerns over TEOTWAWKI is that my loved ones will go to their vehicle to get back to our retreat, and have it disabled in some way, dead battery, flat tire, et cetera.
As I am an automotive technician(with some engineering background) by trade, I have some advantages that others may not have.
Our vehicles are always serviced at the “severe” intervals in he books, and I mean serviced as in the factory recommended flushes, belts, and so forth. Some of it is very expensive, but well worth it IMO.
We have taken the precautions of have all small leaks fixed, storing extra tires (think about [the danger and difficulty of] having to stop and change a faulty tire on the run back to the retreat, whew!), we purchased a manual tire changer from harbor freight that is fairly robust, and have a few cans of ether for seating the beads. Extra batteries are a must, set on trickle chargers and rotated in stock (we have six vehicles including our scout motorcycles). Extra oil and filters also, if people think fuel is going to be hard to come by, oil will be just as bad. I think, plus you can burn the used oil in a pinch. Sorry for rambling. I just haven’t met too many people with your insight into the world situation. Thank you for your time in reading this, maybe it will be of some use to someone.
Peace to you and yours, – NiK on the Mississippi.

Letter Re: Some First Hand Experience with Mass Inflation

Dear Mr. Rawles,
I lived in Romania in 1993 and 1994 at the height of runaway inflation. It was not a pretty time to see the land of Count Dracula! A meal that cost 5 Lei in 1990, was 2500 Lei in 1993. My rent was paid in Deutsche Marks, as the landlord would not take Romanian currency. However, I had to stay three days in Bucharest prior to my departure for home. I paid nearly 4 Million Romanian Lei for the room, and it was crummy and shabby to boot! By that time, I think the Lei to Dollar rate was something like 100,000 to one. (It had been 5:1 in communist days). While I saw no wheelbarrows full of money, I had to use a large shopping bag to carry the nearly 4 million Lei from the official government exchange office to the hotel.
The largest bill at that time, was 5,000 Lei. As we waited at a bus stop, I sat the shopping bag down at the side of the bench. My “Securitate” interpreter grew agitated and told me to hold the bag close. I thanked him and said, “Thanks.”, as I didn’t want to lose my money. He said, “Your money? They will take the bag and leave the money! Then how will we carry
all the money to the hotel?”

I also was in Yugoslavia when the hyperinflation of post-communism set in. I still have a multi-billion Yugo Dinarius note. I think Nicola Tesla’s picture is on it. At the time, the bill was good for a small sandwich only. No meat on it, at that! This may yet happen here, in the good old USA. Thanks for the information that you provide. I’m a new “prepper,” but am blessed by God to have a nice remote location, with good water and good farm ground. Now all I need to find is a group, not easy to do in rural Florida. Regards, – MB

Odds ‘n Sods:

MB and Jason both mentioned an article that indicates that the mainstream media is catching on to the threat of a derivatives implosion: Derivatives the new ‘ticking bomb’ The only good news is that the number of new derivatives contracts has dropped dramatically since August of ’07. But then again, that “good” news is indicative that the global economy has stalled and is about to crash and burn.

   o o o

Eric recommended this commentary from England: Who knows there’s a food crisis? The early signals are there, but the world seems to be sleepwalking towards disaster

   o o o

Crude May Rise to $120 in Six Months, Taqa CEO Says

   o o o

Rising metal costs may see Aussie coins change

   o o o

In an e-mail, reader DAB asked about a recommended source for chimney brushes. We got ours from Lehmans.com. They have a good assortment of brushes–both round and rectangular. Should you circulate the brush with a chain or with rods? I definitely prefer rods, to reduce the time required for cleaning and to reduce the mess. Because the length of brush rod sections dictates high postage costs, I recommend getting rod sections at your local hardware store. How many rods? My suggestion is: Measure your chimney and get four extra feet of rod length than the chimney’s height. This will give you plenty of extra “throw” length, thus allowing you to brush your chimney vigorously and thoroughly.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The dignity of man is not shattered in a single blow, but slowly softened, bent, and eventually neutered. Men are seldom forced to act, but are constantly restrained from acting. Such power does not destroy outright, but prevents genuine existence. It does not tyrannize immediately, but it dampens, weakens, and ultimately suffocates, until the entire population is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid, uninspired animals, of which the government is shepherd." – Alexis de Tocqueville

Letter Re: Property Tax Rates as Criterion in Choosing Retreat Locales

Hi James,
I finally took the 10 Cent Challenge and pledge to keep it up in the coming years. Thanks for a site with a reliable source of news and resources for family survival. Thanks for referring me to a good storage food vendor. I bought 60 of the #10 cans of dehydrated food and made sure to tell them a couple of times that I heard of them on SurvivalBlog. They were prompt and delivered everything as advertised. Nice people, as I would expect from your recommendation. I am looking to get more freeze dry foods later this year from another one of your advertisers.

I currently live in Oregon which has a pretty high tax rate on real estate. I was considering a retreat location in Oregon, but now am considering property to pass on to my heirs without the burden of annual property taxes. Are there states west of the Rockies with no, or very low, real estate taxes? – JB in Oregon

JWR Replies: When evaluating retreat locales, I try to look at more than just one tax, since experience has shown that state and county governments get their taxes one way or another. (See my Retreat Locales web page for some details.) There are definitely some offsetting factors. In Oregon, for example, you have no sales tax, but high property taxes, especially in the more heavily populated counties west of the Cascade mountain chain. Nevada has no income taxes, but very high car registration fees.

Let’s back up and consider “The Big Picture”: The overall tax burden tends to be higher is states with large, pretentious, Nanny State governments. California, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado are all headed in that direction. When big city liberals move into a state, they bring their attitudes with them. They all seem to expect the same city and county services that they were accustomed to. If enough liberals move in, they eventually gain a majority (or at least a vocal minority) and get their way. Both higher taxes and busybody government soon follow.

On a side note, in the early days of SurvivalBlog, I discussed the advantages of what I call “the state line jumping line game”. This is where you live in close proximity to a state line, so that you can take advantage of differentials in taxation, just across the state line. These advantages can be dramatic. One example of this is living in Washington State, where there is no personal income tax, but shopping across the state line in Oregon, where there is no sales tax.

Regarding property taxes, keep in mind that they can vary widely within states, depending on the city and county where you reside. In general, the more lightly-populated counties have the lowest tax rates. (This is just one more reason to head to the hinterboonies!) In some states, such as Oregon, the differences between counties can be significant. Oregon also has a tax abatement program for agricultural land and timber land. This tends to skew the statistics.Also, Ballot Measure 50 changed the property tax system to a rate-based structure. This effectively slowed the increase in taxes.

One web site with a good variety of fairly up-to-date tax data is RetirementLiving.com. In particular, see their sub-page on property tax rates. Their data is based on a 2005 study by economists at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB.) I gleaned the following list of the property tax rates in my 19 “top pick” western states (shown in order of my subjective retreat potential ranking. I have added some parenthetical notes). Note that this list only includes an average of state level tax rates. (Again, they will often vary within city and county jurisdictions):

Median Property Tax Rate (Per $1,000 of Assessed Value):

US Average: $9.64

1 Idaho: $9.09 (Deep tax discounts are available for holders of agricultural or timber exemptions)
2 Montana: $9.95 (No sales tax)
3 Oregon: $9.49 (No sales tax)
4 Washington: $9.88 (No income tax)
5 Wyoming: $5.46 (No income tax)
6 Utah: $6.76 (Fairly low sales and gasoline taxes.)
7 South Dakota: $13.81 (Low sales and gasoline taxes.)
8 North Dakota: $14.97 (Low income tax and gasoline taxes.)
9 Arizona: $6.11 (No building code or permits in some rural counties. Low gasoline and income taxes.)
10 Colorado: $5.81 (Low sales and gasoline taxes.)
11 Nebraska: $16.69 (Fairly low income tax.)
12 Kansas: $12.40 (Fairly low income tax.)
13 Texas: $18.17 (The highest of any of the western states. Thankfully, however, it has no state income tax and plenty of homeschooling freedom)
14 Nevada: $5.10 (If taxes were my only criteria, Nevada and Wyoming would top my list, since neither state has an income tax.)
15 New Mexico: $5.63 (Low gasoline and income taxes.)
16 Arkansas: $5.25 (Low gasoline and income taxes.)
17 Oklahoma: $7.13 (Low income tax and gasoline taxes.)
18 Louisiana: $1.72 (Note: With a very substantial homeowner’s exemption, Louisiana has lowest property tax rate in the nation!)
19 California: $4.77 (Has a top income tax rate of 9.3%, very high building permit costs, and painfully high sales tax rates.)

Again, I believe that the total tax burden is a far more relevant figure, unless your only concern is property tax. In picking a retreat locale, look at the big picture. You have to consider climate,, length of growing season, overall self-sufficiency of the citizenry, population density, gun laws, cost of living, fuel taxes, income tax, sales tax, and many other factors. For example, consider some of the following

Overall Tax Burden by State

State Income Tax Rates

State Sales Tax Rates

Cost of Living Comparison

In my opinion, beyond just looking at taxes, the freedom factor should be a paramount consideration. For example, gun laws are crucial for most of us that are preparedness-minded. Depending on your age and interest in true independence from “the system” you might also consider factors like home schooling laws and home birth laws. In your case, you need to consider not merely how much land you will be passing on to your heirs (and its level of taxation), but also how much individual liberty you are passing on to them. Beyond property tax rates, you must also consider the cost of doing anything with a piece of land. There is often a labyrinth of zoning laws, building codes, environmental impact studies, “mitigation” fees, and expensive building permits. In the more populous parts of Oregon, just getting permits can add $20,000 to $60,000 to the cost of building a house. In contrast, consider that at least outside of city limits in many counties in Idaho, Montana, and Arizona, there are no building permits required, and in some locales there isn’t even an official building code enforced. That would seem like a veritable exodus from bondage, to many Oregonian house builders.

Again, in my estimation, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado are all getting “Californicated”. In the long term, the politics, taxes, zoning, and intrusiveness of government will soon approach levels resembling California. This cultural shift has become so obvious, that some folks in eastern Oregon and eastern Washington are now calling for secession or a re-alignment of state lines to create a new state.(Many of the people living east of the Cascades want no part of the liberal-do-gooder mentality that pervades the state capitols in Salem and Olympia.)

A Note on California: California has a splendid climate and a long growing season in much of the state. I am a fourth-generation descendant of California pioneers. I have dozens of relatives in the state. With these deep roots, you would think that I’d be motivated to live there. But I would never consider moving back to California. Why not? The state has some of the most draconian gun laws in the country. It also has plenty of crime, traffic, and unhealthful smoggy air. Also, consider that a California appellate court decision recently outlawed home schooling except by credentialed teachers. Forget California, folks!

Letter Re: Observations on Chest Freezer Efficiency

Hi Jim,
I was reading Monday’s letter regarding “Sizing a Retreat AC Power Generator”, and a thought came to mind when the author mentioned super-insulating a freezer for extended cooling durations. There are basically 2 types of freezer; the upright and the box, (what we call around here, the “coffin” freezer). Given the same basic amount of insulation included with each type, to the point where both manage the loss of cooling at the same rate, the “coffin” appears to be more efficient during access.
Cold air sinks. When the door of an upright freezer is opened, the cold air inside will pour out, much like you would expect water would pour out of it in the same circumstances. The cold sinks and falls out the front, and is replaced by warmer air from above. While the contents of the freezer chill the incoming air immediately, and give the impression that things are staying cold due to that same recently-chilled air passing over your face, in reality, heat is being absorbed by everything inside the freezer.
When you open the door of a box freezer, the cold has nowhere to go. There is disturbance of the upper layer of air as the door opens, and there is also a heat exchange effect at the boundary of the two layers, the vast majority of cold air remains in the box. A box freezer thus saves on the energy needed to take the temp down to its set level after opening the door.
Here’s a tip for preserving low temps for those with upright freezers. Keep as much food as possible inside the freezer. The more frozen stuffs you have, the less space warm air has to occupy. Cold food loses temp much much slower than displaced air does, and with this practice in place, the door may remain open for longer periods as junior tries to decide on rocky road or vanilla (the only real flavor on earth…) ice-cream. The remaining low volume of air will chill much faster after the door has been closed, and the energy required to do this will be less as well. This is good for post-TEOTWAWKI as well as everyday living.
We prefer our “coffin” for bulk storage. It’s easier to keep our prey “on ice”. – Randy in Central California

JWR Replies: I agree wholeheartedly that it is important to keep a chest freezer full. Not only will it mean less cold air spilling out, but their thermal mass will also provide more of a time lag before defrosting, in the event of a power failure. Here at the ranch, we fill up any extra chest freezer space with used one-gallon plastic milk jugs that have been 3/4ths-filled with water.

Letter Re: Consider Volunteering at a Homeless Shelter

Sir;
I once had an opportunity to volunteer at a homeless shelter in Denver, Colorado. What started as a chance to be of service, turned out to be a lesson in survival. I was surprised to learn that many of the “guests” at the shelter had become experts at existing comfortably, on a permanent basis, without benefit of a home. Here are some of the things I learned:

1) The first lesson is – The quality of your bags determines the quality of your life. If your possessions are contained in fragile garbage bags, you are limited in how much can be carried and how far it can be carried. The first step up is a simple sports bag, and better yet is a backpack. Next up is a backpack along with a wheeled carry-on bag and collapsible handle. With such equipment, you stop looking homeless, and if you and your clothes are clean, hitch hiking is easier. One creative fellow used bungee cords to lash the luggage handle to his belt, so the luggage became a trailer of sorts.

On another level was a bicycle messenger who equipped his bicycle with a trailer for his worldly possessions and panniers for making package deliveries. Before you dismiss such an arrangement, consider this: His vehicle was paid for, he had no mortgage or rent to worry him, a steady job, and a large circle of friends in the shelter community. He always had money, a smile on his face, no stress, and time to help others. Can many of us say the same?

No doubt many readers of this blog have seen a “Sidewalk Winnebago” as the homeless sometimes call them. This is a grocery cart filled to overflowing with everything the user owns. If you can gain the trust of the owner, perhaps he will show you what is in the bags. It may amaze you how well equipped they are to survive whatever comes their way.

2) Staying Clean – Walgreen’s sells a shower head on a short hose with a rubber adapter to connect to a faucet. They are meant for cleaning pets or dishes in the sink, but can also be used to shampoo your hair in a convenience store bathroom. The homeless man who showed me this trick said that if your hair is clean, you appear clean. This helped him find temporary jobs.

3) Self Defense – One man carried a sports bag with a Ka-Bar sheath knife inside. He could hold the sheath through the bag with his left hand, while drawing the knife through the open top of the bag with his right hand. Yet another had a Colt .45 in his bag.

4) I was told that a roll of toilet paper soaked in lighter fluid, charcoal starter, or alcohol makes a good improvised cooking fire.

5) Another guest showed me his cache that was buried by the river. It was a pair of five gallon plastic buckets, buried by rocks and hidden behind some trees in a remote area. One was filled with food, the other with cooking utensils. I doubt that this was his only stash.

Consider volunteering at a homeless shelter. You may be surprised what the residents there can teach you about survival. The most important lesson I learned is: I should be more grateful for what I have, and I should give thanks more often. What a precious lesson. – Doc. S.

Odds ‘n Sods:

More from economist Marc Faber’s recent speech: ‘Doom and Gloom’ has just begun. And at the risk of exceeding your maximum daily dose of Gloom and Doom, consider this article sent in by RBS: US Fed releases [another] $200 billion as credit crisis hits new depths. And for the icing on the cake, The New York Times ran this: Seeing an End to the Good Times (Such as They Were). A key data point mentioned in the article: “The median household [in the US] earned $48,201 in 2006, down from $49,244 in 1999, according to the Census Bureau.” OBTW, that $49,244 figure would equate $62,395 if adjusted for inflation! So now we can plainly see that the recent “boom” was entirely financed by debt. The magic money machine fell apart when house prices started to decline. Folks can no longer use their homes like ATMs. The party is over, America.

   o o o

Eric sent us this: A Global Need for Grain That Farms Can’t Fill.

   o o o

I heard that Rob at MURS Radios now has the Dakota Alert MURS Alert Motion Activated Transmitters (MAT) in stock. The special SurvivalBlog price is $119 each plus shipping. They offer an additional 5% discount if you purchase three or more MAT units. The also sell the MURS Alert base station ($69) and hand held units ($74).

   o o o

Another from Eric: Cattle theft still plagues ranchers. Eric’s comment: “An interesting article, especially for folks who aim to be prepared and live at their retreats where they keep cattle. As the economy continues is precipitous decline and food, fuel and just about everything becomes more and more expensive I suspect that cattle rustling will become more pervasive. If things do head south really fast we may start hearing of ranchers shooting rustlers ala the wild west. After all these are folks that are stealing your families ability to survive in a grid down situation.”

Note from JWR:

Whenever you call a talk radio show or join a Podcast discussing any topics related to survival or preparedness, please mention SurvivalBlog. Our goal is to double our readership again in 2008. Thanks!

Letter Re: Sizing a Retreat AC Power Generator

Hello Jim and SurvivalBlog Readers:
I have enjoyed reading the vast knowledge shared on this topic and the awakening you have brought to us about our fragile economy! How can one put a price on a wake up call?,… well, it’s easy, renew your 10 Cent Challenge! Admit it, your year is probably up, but the education is still coming to you!

I have not seen any talk on your site about a “miniature” diesel genset. My thought is that while the large Lister type genset’s are proven to last, … their will be a time when running something with a much lower noise signature, vibration signature, and fuel consumption will be necessary to survive. It seems foolish to fire up 5KW,10KW, 25KW, etc… Watts of power, when you may only need enough to run your furnace and the freezer. Fire up the big boy for pumping water and what not once a week, and pump as much as you can into storage containers. Not to mention that diesel engines last longer when left running, not starting and stopping all the time. Whereas the gas unit would not know the difference.

My thought is this,. at today’s price of diesel, one could afford to buy a 1,000 or 2,000 watt Honda portable unit with the savings of storing 200 stabilized gallons of gasoline vs. diesel. The Honda units are totally amazing! Almost silent running, easy to start, easy to throw into the vehicle, and the 1,000 watt unit will easily run a freezer and furnace for a day on less than a gallon of gasoline. Use your head and run the generator only as needed, (10 minutes or so several times a day to keep the freezer going), and you just greatly extended the days in which you will have portable power. Since the freezer is so important, it will be worth considering super insulating your freezer when not running.

In a post-SHTF scenario where we would be very vulnerable early on, and while gasoline is fresh, we could consider using the little guy first, expend your gasoline fuel supply, barter off the genset after that, then use caution and go with your primary Lister type genset. At the rate of one gallon of gasoline per day, you would have 200 days of run time before even really counting on your diesel genset. Use your head and run the gasoline genset 6-10 times a day for shorter duration, and you could have 400 days of gasoline portable power.

Given the cost of gasoline versus diesel, it appears that you would obtain more kilowatt hours per dollar in this scenario. It seems like the big genset could be very valuable in offering you the ability to weld, etc… at a time when most will have already been wearing out their big gensets and consuming their fuel. Here you sit with everything fresh and ready to go. Might make a fine job opportunity to be able to [arc] weld, run 220 VAC equipment, etcetera, all many moons after the onset of TEOTWAWKI.

I know this thought defies what has been discussed, but a few hundred gallons of gasoline stored almost pays for the Honda generator in savings over buying diesel [fuel] at today’s prices. Thought I would put it out there for thought, of course, run the figures with an expert to make sure you are not starving the electric motors which would prematurely burn out the appliance.
All the best! – The Wanderer

A Flooded Basement – Friends You Can Count On, and Lessons Learned

Mr. Rawles,

Once again, thank you for your research and SurvivalBlog posts. I have been a [10 Cent Challenge] contributor for a couple of years and have gotten more than my money’s worth. Thank you.

Last night my group and I met at my home. Here in New Hampshire we received a record amount of snow fall this year. (Over 108 inches!) That is the fourth largest every recorded. Yesterday it was warmer then normal there for a lot of snow melt. Last night it rained. As the group was getting ready to head to the range for night shooting I went to my basement to get my ammo. I found 18 to 24″ of water down there. All the water was running in off the roadway and into my basement.

Thank you for your writings. [Because of advice in SurvivalBlog] everything was in Mylar bags in five gallon buckets, floating. I went to turn on my submersible pump that I have not had to use for years and it did not work. I started bailing with buckets. We attempted to get a siphon going with out success. My son went to Home Depot–one of the few stores still open–and was able to rent a large 2″ diameter pump. That emptied the basement in about two hours.

The hot water heater was damaged. I had sand bags that we used in the basement to keep the water in one area once it started to rain again. It was like a water fall coming in the basement at time. The sand bags worked great creating a pool in that area for the pump to work. We dug a trench out side in the driveway to get the water to go into the back yard. Using spades, shovels and axes that we had on hand. We dug out the culvert that that the highway department should have kept opened and that I should have kept checking. Once that was open it stopped raining but it should keep the water out with everything else we did.

One of the members of our group is a tech for a propane company and he was able to get the hot water heater up and going with the tools and supplies we had on hand. He was able to make sure the furnace was going well.

A couple of lessons: You need good people that you can trust. We were going over our bug out plans and storage plans for the retreat prior to heading to the range. You have to plan for the future but live in the here and now.
We have different people with different skills. Once is a propane tech, one is a mechanic, one an administrator, one good in first aid and one security – defensive person. All of them have various skills that are needed. I had a stash of cash on hand to purchase or rent the pump and anything else needed last night.

Having a good working pump would have been invaluable. I have a stream that flows all year long in my yard and I could even use a good pump for fire control if needed. That will be on the list now.
I once again thank the Lord for his providence. – New Hampshire Hillbilly

Letter Re: Practical Bookbinding for Your Downloaded Survival References

Hi Mr. Rawles,
I hope you’re having a great day! I was tumbling around the Internet and stumbled upon a site on do-it-yourself bookbinding.

It’s got a great deal of information on binding your own books simply and easily using two bolts, two wing nuts, some wood scraps, a wet cotton ball and some Gorilla Glue. I tried it and found that this is a great way to EMP-proof my PDF collection of [public domain] WTSHTF books. Have a great evening. Best, – Ian

Odds ‘n Sods:

P.R. suggested an article in Home Power magazine on hydropower basics.

   o o o

A reminder that the Western Rifle Shooter’s Association (WRSA)’s first event scheduled for 2008 is a two day defensive handgun course, in Brookings, Oregon on March 15 & 16. The WRSA offers high quality training for very little money, so be sure to take advantage of it!

   o o o

Remember what I’ve been saying about lenders reverting to saying “No”? And do your remember my predictions on municipal bonds and their insurers” Here are a couple of recent snippets from Bill Bonner, over at The Daily Reckoning that confirm my conclusions: “Bankruptcy filings rose 18% in February. One of the big mortgage lenders, Thornburg, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, defaulted on a $320 million loan. Investors sold the stock. Just a week ago, it was a $12 stock. Now it’s a $3 stock. Everything is getting ‘marked to meltdown,’ says the Wall Street Journal. Lenders approach a new loan as they might come upon the rim of an active volcano…worried that it might blow up in their faces at any minute. Yields on auction rate financing for municipalities and hospitals have almost doubled. And when the auctions fail, they can really explode. That’s why the Port Authority found itself paying a 20% rate on money it needed.”

   o o o

TL in New York City wrote us via snail mail to ask for a recommended vendor for NBC masks and spare filters. I highly recommend JRH Enterprises. I have been doing business with them for nearly 15 years, and they have been a SurvivalBlog advertiser since shortly after the blog was launched in September of Aught Five.