What is your Bug Out Vehicle?

[Big Tool]

Originally Posted by JMcDonald

I actually just finished the bumper a few days ago. The reason for the tie wraps was because I had to get the turn signals mounted that night for obvious legality reasons, and I didnt know the lights didn't come with mounting hardware. Thus, tie wraps sufficed for the time being. However, I have replaced them with bolts and simply not taken new pictures.

But, you are right that I need to get on rerouting and adequately protecting those wires.



Another question: What should be kept in the BOV / what accessories would be good for a BOV?

One thing I plan on adding is a 3', 1/2" diameter steel rod with a sharpened end. In a pinch, it could be used as a weapon or stake, but its primary purpose would be to drive into the ground for the winch to grab on to if there are no trees or other obstacles to grab onto.

Zip ties ROCK.

For my BOV I would keep 100ft of decent rope, flashlights, small tent, lighter, spare gas can, one of my 9mm pistols, my ruger 10/22 with 1,000rds of ammo, and my remington 870 with a mixture of shotgun shells. I would also keep one of my field guide survival manuals, a bag of zip ties, some JB weld, my coleman lantern and plenty of snacks and medicine.

[JMcDonald]

Hmm you might be right. My reasoning would be that it would be light enough to easily carry, and also that my Samurai only weighs about 2100lbs loaded up, and the winch only pulls 3000lbs. Also, the bigger you get the exponentially more difficult it would become to drive it 3' into the ground (hell, a 1/2" one would already be quite a pain.

However, I might try something like a 1" or 2" diameter tube with like .125-.25" walls. That would be much stronger without sacrificing much in weight or ease-of-driving.


And Big Tool, so far I do have:

-Two flashlights
-50' of 300lb rope
-20' (6000lb capacity) tow strap
-Towel (2'x4').
-Paper towels.
-Duct Tape.

As you know Ill be adding that 5gal gas can to the back. I might also try to keep a blanket (if nothing else, a space blanket) back there, and Ill start stocking up on some cheap snack foods and some basic medicine.

[wunhunglo]

Originally Posted by JMcDonald

Hmm you might be right. My reasoning would be that it would be light enough to easily carry, and also that my Samurai only weighs about 2100lbs loaded up, and the winch only pulls 3000lbs. Also, the bigger you get the exponentially more difficult it would become to drive it 3' into the ground (hell, a 1/2" one would already be quite a pain.

However, I might try something like a 1" or 2" diameter tube with like .125-.25" walls. That would be much stronger without sacrificing much in weight or ease-of-driving.


And Big Tool, so far I do have:

-Two flashlights
-50' of 300lb rope
-20' (6000lb capacity) tow strap
-Towel (2'x4').
-Paper towels.
-Duct Tape.

As you know Ill be adding that 5gal gas can to the back. I might also try to keep a blanket (if nothing else, a space blanket) back there, and Ill start stocking up on some cheap snack foods and some basic medicine.

Don't know if you've done any vehicle recovery but we found one of the easiest "ground anchors" was a 3-4 foot length of "T" bar, sharpened to a point with a shackle thru the top to mount your snatch block and driven in at an angle of 30-45 degrees (so's you can then recover it easily using your 4 X 4 by driving forward and pulling it out.)

Also, I see no mention of a Hi-lift jack in there, an essential bit of off-road kit (we preferred to use a 48" version)

WHL (ex army recovery guy!)

[Rex in OTZ]

I keep my stuff in a back pack I'll use a boat or honda atv, trucks dont cruse across the tundra very well here.
For the Down States folks I think a Jap farm truck on ATV tires would be good there lite and get 40mpg and that with 4 wheel drive, since its a SHIF vehicle who is going to enforce the off road vehicle laws? If you want to go fast knock off the spot welds on the speed limiter cover plate over the #5 gear.

[Rambo]

Bug out vehicle? What'ya gonna use for fuel? Everything is supposed to hit the fan, right? That's why we're stockpiling food stuff, guns and ammo. I'm staying put and shooting out the tires of anyone I see trying to sneek outa town.

[JMcDonald]

Originally Posted by wunhunglo

Don't know if you've done any vehicle recovery but we found one of the easiest "ground anchors" was a 3-4 foot length of "T" bar, sharpened to a point with a shackle thru the top to mount your snatch block and driven in at an angle of 30-45 degrees (so's you can then recover it easily using your 4 X 4 by driving forward and pulling it out.)

Also, I see no mention of a Hi-lift jack in there, an essential bit of off-road kit (we preferred to use a 48" version)

WHL (ex army recovery guy!)

Thanks a ton for that advice! No I have never personally done recovery, just seen it done once and talked to people who've done it. I would like to eventially get a Hi-Lift though, as they seem incredibly useful from the vids Ive been watching.

And, would simply Angle-Iron work? How thick? I have a bunch of 2x2x.125" angle lying around. Or would I need like 3x3x.25" angle?

Rambo, why would you want to keep everyone from getting AWAY? That sounds a little crazy to me, heh.

[GlockMeister]

Originally Posted by JMcDonald

Can you ground electronics in a vehicle? Or does it have to actually literally be "grounded?" Also, is simply a thick metal container in the car not enough to protect them? Because yeah I was thinking about keeping spare ignition components in the car in a (probably 1/8") steel box, maybe even mounted in the engine bay.

What about simply disconnecting it? I mean how can it get messed up if it isn't hooked up to anything? Take for instance a computer. If there's an electrical storm, and you unplug it from the/a wall outlet, and that outlet takes a hit, the computer doesn't get messed up does it? So wouldn't that work the same for electronics in your car?

Yes, you'd have to either know when it was going to happen or unplug it unless you need it. But why wouldn't that work? lol

[Pope130]

With a strong enough pulse merely unplugging won't always work. Any conductor will work as an antenna, with a strong pulse even the short length of internal wiring can generate enough current to fry your electronics. Disconnecting will reduce the wire run greatly, reducing the amount of current generated. It "might" be enough. Go ahead and try, couldn't hurt.

[tonystewartfan]

This is mine.

[PONTIACDM]

Originally Posted by Rambo

Bug out vehicle? What'ya gonna use for fuel? Everything is supposed to hit the fan, right? That's why we're stockpiling food stuff, guns and ammo. I'm staying put and shooting out the tires of anyone I see trying to sneek outa town.

Just curious why would you shoot peoples tires out for leaving town? Less people to worry about.

[Deersniper]

Jeep Grand Cherokee I6. We can sleep out of it or in it.

[wunhunglo]

Originally Posted by JMcDonald

Thanks a ton for that advice! No I have never personally done recovery, just seen it done once and talked to people who've done it. I would like to eventially get a Hi-Lift though, as they seem incredibly useful from the vids Ive been watching.

And, would simply Angle-Iron work? How thick? I have a bunch of 2x2x.125" angle lying around. Or would I need like 3x3x.25" angle?

Rambo, why would you want to keep everyone from getting AWAY? That sounds a little crazy to me, heh.

Yup, angle iron welded together to form a Tee section & sharpened to a point, will work good, preferably 1/4 " thick. make sure you use a snatch block for your cable, it makes life so much easier and doesn't cost a fortune.
See my attached sketch.


WHL Ground anchor Mk1.JPG

[Rambo]

Originally Posted by PONTIACDM

Just curious why would you shoot peoples tires out for leaving town? Less people to worry about.

When food runs out, who you going to eat? Family? I think not.

[iflylow74]

Originally Posted by Rambo

When food runs out, who you going to eat? Family? I think not.

Things would have to be REAL bad before I would resort to cannibalism!

[JMcDonald]

Originally Posted by Rambo

When food runs out, who you going to eat? Family? I think not.

Wow.....
So you think you'll be able to eat the entire town? I mean, in any decent sized city, yes a majority will leave, but plenty will stay for you to get your fill for quite a while... Hell, you'd probably only finish off a person or two before they all rotted anyways...
So yeah, what's the real reason you'd be shooting people's tires out, or were those last two posts really jokes?**
**There was a time when Id immediately assume it was a joke, but after some things Ive read here I have realized that some people around here really are a little crazy...

[mos19k]

We currently have a Cherokee as our BOV but hopefully will be getting a Wrangler Unlimited this year. I'm not an off road expert but what we've used is a boat anchor. You can wrap it around a tree or plant it into the ground. In an emergency you can use your spare tire, simply bury the tire, how deep depends on the terrain, this will provide enough pull to get you unstuck. I have used the tire trick more than once. If traveling on sandy soil a good piece of chain link fence will help if the sand is to soft. Hope these help.

[JMcDonald]

I was replying to the serious notes earlier and my computer froze up.

What about using a single piece of angle iron and orienting it so that the "V" is opening toward the vehicle? That would be alot simpler than welding two 4' beads down .25" steel, heh.

Something like this:

[wunhunglo]

Originally Posted by JMcDonald

I was replying to the serious notes earlier and my computer froze up.

What about using a single piece of angle iron and orienting it so that the "V" is opening toward the vehicle? That would be alot simpler than welding two 4' beads down .25" steel, heh.

Something like this:

Going from the experience of hauling a lot of Land-rovers out of the mud, ditches etc. The flat profile in the ground is actually much more mechanically efficient, giving a larger surface area to push against the ground! we found it was one of the best self help pieces of kit for a land-rover light recovery.

As for welding two pieces of angle iron, you don't need a continuous weld the full length, just stitching it every few inches will suffice, 10 minutes job. just remember to weld a small plate on the top where you strike it with your hammer. (big Hammer!)

[Rambo]

Originally Posted by JMcDonald

Wow.....
So you think you'll be able to eat the entire town? I mean, in any decent sized city, yes a majority will leave, but plenty will stay for you to get your fill for quite a while... Hell, you'd probably only finish off a person or two before they all rotted anyways...
So yeah, what's the real reason you'd be shooting people's tires out, or were those last two posts really jokes?**
**There was a time when Id immediately assume it was a joke, but after some things Ive read here I have realized that some people around here really are a little crazy...

All in jest. I'm not even stockpiling ammo or canned food.

[JMcDonald]

Originally Posted by wunhunglo

Going from the experience of hauling a lot of Land-rovers out of the mud, ditches etc. The flat profile in the ground is actually much more mechanically efficient, giving a larger surface area to push against the ground! we found it was one of the best self help pieces of kit for a land-rover light recovery.

As for welding two pieces of angle iron, you don't need a continuous weld the full length, just stitching it every few inches will suffice, 10 minutes job. just remember to weld a small plate on the top where you strike it with your hammer. (big Hammer!)

Oh sweet thanks for the advice! Ill try it with my .125" 2x2 angle iron (to make a 4" wide Tee shape), and if it doesn't work Ill either reinforce it or move up to .1875 or .25". And yeah I am going to practice driving it into the ground to see how hard it really is to get it to sink in, heh.

*edit*

oh, Rambo... phew! Haha.

*edit*

I realize now that when I was saying 1/2" steel rod I was really meaning .75" steel rod. For some reason I was visualizing .75" but had the 1/2" number of my head, heh. I just went to my shop and looked at some stock and saw what I was thinking of. Yeah I think .5" steel rod might bend relatively easily, but I do think .75" could take the strait.