Bug Out Vehicles

 Just what is a "bug out vehicle"?  The definition may differ depending on your strategy for dealing with emergency situations.  For some folks, who have ready access to stable roads, an RV may be a good bug out vehicle because it can be set up to contain everything you need for survival (food, shelter, water, first aid supplies, and sanitation facilities) just about anywhere.  But if you live where roads may become impassable during an emergency you may need something else, perhaps a 4WD or other off road vehicle -- or maybe even a horse or mule!  Your every day car might be used as a bug out vehicle if you don't have anything else available and the roads are useable.  In a rural area, you might even use a horse or other animal as your bug out "vehicle".

First of all, what does it mean to "bug out"?  "Bug out" is a popular term for abandoning your home in favor or a more viable location to survive a disaster.  Well prepared survivalists or "preppers" have usually pre-selected one or more possible destinations they could escape to if remaining at home were no longer safe.  In the most basic usage, you might "bug out" to a designated FEMA, Red Cross, or community emergency shelter, but is is usually used to describe traveling to a new personal safe haven for you and your family, often a rural location for primitive survival.  What kind of bug out vehicle you might need will depend entirely on what your bug out plans are.  If you're only going to be going to a local designated shelter, your family car or even a bicycle might be adequate, but if you have prepared a personal or family shelter in some remote location, you will need to consider a vehicle that is capable of getting you there even if roads are damaged or closed.  Fuel range is also a consideration.  In a disaster situation it is highly likely that gas stations will be inoperable due to power outages or sold out because deliveries are delayed.

The purpose of a "bug out vehicle" is to give you a way to evacuate your home during some kind of emergency.  If you have survival plans than include escaping to a remote mountain cabin or a cave, you need to have a vehicle capable of carrying you, your family, and your supplies to reach your bug out location.  That may mean adding extra fuel tanks or gas cans if your bug out location is far from home.  Since fuel is likely to be in high demand in a disaster, try to carry it where you don't advertise that it is there.  An alternative might be to cache fuel along the way if you can find  places where it will be safe until you need it.

You don't have to be heading to some secret, remote location for a bug out vehicle to be useful.  Even if you are only "bugging out" to to nearest Red Cross, FEMA, or other community relief shelter, having your own bug out vehicle can help you get there in relative comfort and with the supplies you need for your personal health, safety, and comfort.  Community shelters aren't likely to be stocked with your specific prescription medicines, preferred OTC medications, or any special dietary needs you or your family may have.  About all you can count on is having a roof over your head and basic protection from the elements.  If you're lucky you may get a cot or a least a blanket or two to sleep on and maybe some basic restroom facilities and some simple meals.  We had to evacuate our home in a suburban community in southern California when a careless forklift operator knocked the valve off a large chlorine bulk storage tank.  We used our 28' Class A motorhome.  One of the approved shelters a few miles upwind of the chlorine gas cloud was at a church we were familiar with.  We parked our motorhome in the church parking lot and had everything we needed to last out the time it took for the toxic cloud to dissipate, without the humiliation (or risk) of sharing living spaces with hundreds of strangers.

What is the "ultimate bug out vehicle?"  You may see manufacturers make claims that they have the ultimate bug out vehicle, but as mentioned in the opening paragraph, the kind of vehicle you need will depend on where you live and where you need to or plan to bug out to.  Sure, it might be nice to have a $600,000 bullet-proof all-terrain expedition vehicle built to military specs and equipped with solar panels, elaborate water filtration systems, and a multi-fuel engine, but few of us could afford it and most most of us would never need it.  And having it might make you a target during an emergency situation.  Only YOU can determine what kind of vehicle is right for you.  I live in a rural area.  In addition to my motorhome I have an 11 1/2' camper and 1-ton 4WD pickup, plus dirt bikes and horses.  My first preference for evacuating my home should it be necessary, would be my motorhome.  Next would be my truck and camper, whose smaller size and 4WD would give me more places I could go.  If roads were impassable, I could go lots of places with my dirt bike, with my bug-out bag on my back.  If all else fails we could saddle up the horses and escape with whatever we could carry in our back packs and saddle bags.  If you live near a navigable lake or stream (or think you'll be crossing same to reach your destination) you might want to include some kind of marine transportation like a foldable or inflatable boat or raft or even a simple canoe.  I knew a guy who kept small airplane at a private airfield and a sail boat in a marina in the Los Angeles area in case he couldn't get out of town any other way.  That was in addition to a 4WD Landcruiser and some OHVs in his garage.

Security by obscurity is a valid concept that may help keep you safe from marauders in disaster situation.   Having a 10' razor wire fence around your compound may seem like a good idea but when things get desperate it screams "there's good stuff here" and may attract a lot of unwanted attention.  Likewise, a big fancy bug out vehicle may draw more attention than a beat up looking old 4x4 pickup.

Do an Internet search for "bug out vehicle" and you'll get tons of results ranging from a 10 wheel, all wheel drive behemoth RV with military ancestry to tricked out Jeeps and various tracked vehicles.   If nothing else, just looking at them is educational and entertaining!

Bug out and be safe!