And the Winner is...

Last week we discussed alternatives to the traditional G.O.O.D. vehicle and noted the strengths and weaknesses of each. This week, as promised, we will look at what are likely the most versatile bug-out vehicles of all. In my opinion, such as it is, these are the most flexible options available.

The first of those options is the horse. Humans have used horses nearly as long as we have had anything we can call civilization, and in fact, the horse is largely responsible for our success as a species. The ability to use the horse as personal transportation and for haulage has been pivotal in the success or lack of it in any number of societies.

The horse certainly has its weaknesses as a method of bugging out. It requires accommodation near you, it can fall prey to disease, theft, hunger and thirst. It requires skill to handle, train, ride and care for, and it and its gear can be expensive to acquire and maintain. They are also quite large. Not as large as an SUV, perhaps, but certainly harder to hide than a person. But then there are no perfect bug-out vehicles, are there?

There are quite a few strengths to consider as well. Primary among these is mobility. I strongly feel that having the ability to get off of the roads, both large and small, is paramount to a successful bug-out. The stealthier you can be and the farther you can stay from others will determine how quickly and safely you can get where you’re going. As well, a horse can go where no vehicle could ever hope to be. Rivers, steep slopes, swamp, deep snow, and forest are all navigable by a horse to a far greater extent than any vehicle.

The second advantage of the horse is fuel. All vehicles are limited by the amount of fuel available to run them. A horse is self-fueling on the landscape around it for much of the year. Even in winter, there is vegetation to be found under the snow, and grain can be carried as a supplement.

By the way, your horse will still start after a natural or man-made EMP. Also, you can’t eat an SUV if you’re starving….

Another advantage is load capacity. While the horse is a large and strong animal, it has a smaller load capacity than most people think. Most equine experts recommend that horses not carry a load equivalent to more than 25% of their body weight. This means that a larger riding horse of 500-600 kg (1100-1300 pounds) shouldn’t be required to carry more than about 150kg (330 pounds) for any length of time. That might seem like a small load, but if that load is you and 50 kg (110 pounds) of gear, that’s not bad at all. That is at least as good as a bicycle, and maybe better.

That load can be increased if a cart or wagon is employed. The horse will be able to pull three or four times what it could carry, making for a very respectable payload. The vehicle is relatively simple to maintain and repair, and is nearly as reliable as the horse itself. However, the increased payload comes with a tradeoff in mobility, which might make it a less appealing option.

Another option can be seen by looking at the picture accompanying this article. You a riding horse and two pack horses means you're hauling in 350 kg of gear (~700 pounds), which is not too shoddy.

Horses are a relatively quick mode of travel. While they don’t walk all that much quicker than humans, a trotting or cantering horse is significantly faster, and at a gallop reaching 40 to 50 kph (25 to 30 mph), there is no comparison. And speed, combined with the ability to avoid the more traveled routes might make the difference between making it to your refuge in good time, or not making it at all.

Those are just the high points, and before you jump on this option, do a LOT of research, and ensure you have all the necessary skills required.

The final bug-out vehicle is you. Over the centuries, humans have proved that they can cover amazing distances, navigate the most inhospitable environments and difficult terrains, travel through almost any weather from blizzard to blistering heat, are stealthy, reasonably fast (12 to 20 miles a day is not uncommon among seasoned hikers), and keep going when food, water and hope are all but exhausted.

Our main weakness is that we can’t carry a lot. When you limit it to a sustainable 25% of bodyweight, it means a 90-kilogram (200 pound) man is carrying only about 22 kilograms (fifty pounds) of load. That’s not a lot, especially if you are carrying shelter, weapons, clothing, and medicine besides water and food. And the smaller the person, the lighter the load.

Again, like the horse, you can get around that by pulling or pushing a cart, or pulling a pulk in the winter. And like the horse, it can negate your primary advantage, mobility. The lack of capacity can be negated somewhat by pre-positioning supplies in caches, or by being very careful in what you carry. With a little forethought, a week of food can be carried. Hikers on the West Coast Trail do it all the time.

So there you have a number of alternatives to the traditional SUV bug-out vehicle. Whether you have that and stick to it, or perhaps have or will select one or more of the alternatives I’ve mentioned is up to you. The main thing here is to select, using your best judgment, the method you think has the highest probability of success for you and yours.

Don’t let me or anyone else convince you we know best. Think about your own situation, make a decision, and act. Oh, and have a Plan B to get out. Just in case.

Originally posted July 10, 2010 @ MPN

Alternative Bug Out Vehicles

Let’s continue our discussion of bugging out. Previously, we listed the reasons why the usual bug out vehicle (typically a 4WD SUV or truck) was far from a sure bet to get you to your safe haven. We’ll look at alternatives to the classic bug out vehicle, and you’ll notice everything is smaller than an SUV, as everything that size or bigger has the same problems.

First, we have the motorcycle. For me, this vehicle still possesses most of the disadvantages of its four tired cousins, and sacrifices the major advantage. The motorcycle is still subject to needing fuel and decent roads for the most part, is subject to breakdown, and lacks cargo capacity and inherent stability. That said, it is more maneuverable than a car, can possibly negotiate routes blocked by traffic or debris, and might get you to your haven faster than anything else. Still, it wouldn’t be top of my list.

Next up is the ubiquitous four-wheeler. Made by a variety of manufacturers, they are all touted as off road vehicles that can get you where you need to go. To a certain extent, this is true. The machines tend to be light, agile, and small enough to go where you’d never get to in a car or truck. That said, they are no handier in thick brush than anything else, are as stopped by deep water as easily as a bigger vehicle, and are subject to your range being limited by fuel. They have the advantage of being able to carry a goodly amount of gear, and tow even more on a trailer. This might be my choice if I had a secluded off road route I had reconnoitered beforehand and knew was passable for this type of machine.

These vehicles also come in a light truck style with a small cargo bed. This might be worth looking at as well. Regardless of style, the four-wheeler must give way to the snowmobile in winter.

Snowmobiles are the off road recreational vehicle of choice for many Manitobans and a working vehicle for many more. They are likely the speediest way to bug out in the winter, and have all of the advantages of the four-wheeler. The snowmobile can maneuver across country in conditions that will stop almost every other vehicle dead, or limit them at the very least to maintained roads. The ability to tow cargo sleds is important, as carrying shelter, fuel, food, and other supplies will be of paramount importance in a winter bug-out.

Again, they are limited by terrain to an extent, although less so than most of the fairer weather choices. The main problem I have with these is the distressingly high breakdown rate when used hard.

There are other specialized motorized vehicles that may or may not make a good choice of bug out vehicle. Getting your hands on a Flex-Track might be ideal for some preppers’ purposes, or a railway capable vehicle might be just the ticket for others. These options would be situation specific, and a highly individual choice. So let’s move on to the only non- motorized vehicle worthy of consideration.

The venerable bicycle is the obvious choice. The motor is you, the fuel something you consume anyway, and your ability to repair mechanical breakdowns is high. The cargo capacity can be quite amazing all things considered. The Viet Cong moved massive loads by bicycle during the Viet Nam war, and while you might prefer to ride rather than walk pushing a bike loaded with hundreds of pounds of stuff, your cargo capacity is not bad, considering. Panniers front and back, frame and handlebar bags, a backpack for you and a trailer for the bike allow a decent if not overwhelming cargo capacity.

Limitations are the need for at least some sort of trail, lower cargo capacity than other options, and a lack of speed. Crossing water is still a problem, but solvable by either preparation or pre-positioning (I know one person that has an inflatable raft cached at a likely crossing point!). Bicycles are pretty much out of the picture for winter, as well.

You’ll notice I haven’t included aircraft. While the ability, financial and otherwise, to get a pilot’s license is beyond a lot of us and the possibility of owning our own aircraft is an option open to even fewer, it is not my primary reason for discarding it. The likelihood of getting to it, and then being allowed to even take off seems iffy in a major crisis. But again, it may be a solution for a few in specific circumstances. Of course, there is always the flying car option (see pic above).

Likewise, I’ve ignored watercraft of all types. I believe you are too restricted in your path, too exposed to hostile intent, and since many cities and towns are located on rivers, it is too much like having to bug out multiple times. Again, this situation I feel applies to the majority, and may have exceptions. It’s up to you. The purpose of this article is to make you think about what's best for you, not rule anything out.

Next, we’ll look at two of the best bug out vehicles available!

Published originally July 01. 2010 @ MPN

Wheels and Reality

Almost every other column or article on survival seems to concern the bug-out vehicle. If it’s not what constitutes the perfect bug out vehicle, then the article is about the perfect load for the vehicle, the perfect accessories, or the perfect plan on how to get into it and get out. All good as far as it goes.

The problem is that the chances of a successful vehicular bug-out involving a longish distance from one area to another area are pretty iffy at best. These plans always seem to assume that the writer and his merry band, jaws firmly set, will manage whatever small inconveniences that occur to arrive safely at their destination. Unfortunately for those that will need to leave a major urban center, this isn’t likely. Let’s look at the reasons why:

Vehicle Failure: Whether a blown piston, EMP, or simply one too many flats from broken glass and rubble, the possibility of your bug-out vehicle letting you down is significant. You can reduce the chances of failure by keeping your vehicle well maintained and having a certain amount of spares and tools on board, but you can’t eliminate it.

Lack of Fuel: This to me is a high probability scenario. Fuel shortages might make it impossible to have enough fuel on hand. If you do have fuel, traffic jams that have you crawling along wasting fuel and unplanned detours can conspire to make what seemed like a surplus of fuel into a shortage. Obtaining more along the route will be exorbitantly expensive, if not impossible. Seem unlikely? Just look at the evacuation of New Orleans to see all of the above in action.

Infrastructure Destruction: If the route to your safe haven crosses even one potentially fallen bridge, one underpass that may be flooded, or one road along a hillside that might be buried by avalanche or swept away in a mudslide, you can be stopped dead. We forget that our vehicles depend on carefully prepared and maintained roads to function. The next time you drive anywhere, imagine the bridges you cross are down, the underpasses are blocked, the pavement heaved or washed away. Imagine your route blocked bumper to bumper and side to side with abandoned cars. How would you proceed?

Weather: In all of that post-apocalypse fiction did you ever notice how the end of the world always occurs in the warm, dry summer? How about if it comes during a January blizzard? In Manitoba, the possibility of having to make it from point A to point B in bad weather is pretty good. What happens to you if your vehicle is stuck in the snow and out of gas five miles from your destination in -30C? What happens to your supplies if you have to leave them in your vehicle in sight of a main road because the dirt road to your safe zone is a sea of mud because of rain?

Government Action: In a crisis, governments will do their best to control the situation. Often, this will result in curfews or bans on travel into or out of certain areas. Vehicles, perhaps yours, might be requisitioned by emergency services or police, and items seen as hazardous to the public good, such as firearms, might be confiscated. A vehicle loaded to the max with goods might make you look like a looter to an overworked cop, and there is a possibility that you might be arrested and held until the authorities ‘sort it out’. Perhaps your goods and vehicle might even still be there when they let you out, if it’s not too late by then.

Civil Disorder: While I’m not a ‘Golden Horde’ fantasist, the likelihood of some opportunistic crime and looting taking place in the wake of a really big disaster is almost certain. Being caught in a riot and having your vehicle disabled, or being ambushed and robbed of everything you own are possible scenarios. The greater the scale of the crisis, and the longer it continues, the greater the chance of civil unrest.

So there are just a few ways you might wind up without your carefully prepared and stocked bug-out vehicle. Not that I’m advocating that you should abandon a plan involving a vehicular bug-out. Just that that you are not assured of making it where you need to be by driving. You need to have a plan B. And maybe a Plan C as well. Next we’ll look at Plan B and the alternatives to the bug-out vehicle.

Originally posted June 22, 2010 @ MPN