Disaster Recovery Vehicles versus "bug out" vehicles. There is much discussion on prepper forums about what is the ideal "bug out" vehicle. The purpose and therefor the requirements, capabilities, and configuration of a bug out vehicle are different than for a Disaster Recovery Vehicle. A bug out vehicle needs to be able to get you far away from the disaster, perhaps over damaged roads or off road. A Disaster Recovery Vehicle would normally be used as a shelter-in-place option at home when your home is uninhabitable. A Disaster Recovery Vehicle might be used to transport you away from a hazardous situation as did ours during the chlorine gas evacuation. But in that case, there were no damaged roads to deal with. If you need to escape to the mountains or the desert for your emergency preparedness scenario you will probably want a bug out vehicle that is more maneuverable and that has better performance and better fuel economy than a large RV. But a large RV can be an excellent alternative to trying to survive in a damaged house without working utilities or having to go to a crowded and ill-supplied relief center. Basically, a bug out vehicle needs to be able to transport you through possibly difficult routes to a safe location. A DRV can provide you local or on site emergency accommodations.
Storing your DRV. If you are going to use your RV as a DRV, you need to consider how and where you store it. Leaving it in a storage yard 10 miles away is OK for an RV, but pretty much useless for disaster recovery -- unless you can plan your disasters ahead. You want your vehicle close to home, but where it won't get blocked in or crushed or damaged by falling objects during an earthquake, high winds, or rising water. Always try to store it with your motor fuel and propane tanks full. If you aren't in freezing weather, keep the fresh water tanks full too. And always dump the holding tanks before storing your RV. Not only will it be ready to go when you are, it will avoid accumulation of very unpleasant odors while the vehicle is in storage. In cold weather you don't have to worry about empty holding tanks freezing.
Emergency Supplies. For your RV to serve adequately as a DRV, you will need to stock it with appropriate emergency supplies. Make sure your first aid kit is up to date. For disaster recovery purposes, it is a good idea to beef it up a bit with some triangle bandages and some heavy duty dressings. Sanitary napkins can be used as emergency dressings and are actually more absorbent than ordinary gauze dressings. By the way, many people confuse dressings and bandages. Dressings are placed directly on the wound to protect it. Bandages hold dressings in place. A gauze pad is a dresssing, a roll of gauze or adhesive tape is usually used as a bandage to hold a dressing in place. A Bandaid contains both a dressing (the pad) and a bandage (the adhesive strip). Some simple splints may also be useful. A box of latex gloves is also a good idea. You may be dealing with multiple victims and will need to change gloves for each one or at least sanitize your gloves between patients if you can. Wearing latex gloves is necessary both to prevent the spread of infection from patient to patient and more importantly to protect YOU from blood-born pathogens. If you are dealing with multiple victims in a large scale disaster you probably aren't going to have time to change gloves between patients. Your focus will be helping as many people as possible as quickly as possible. Sanitize your gloves with alcohol or soap and water or hand sanitizer between patients if you can. But remember, identifying and treating critically injured patients is more important than changing or washing your gloves. Careful size up of the situation and proper triage will help you set priorities so you can treat the most critical injuries first. Otherwise, someone you could have saved may die of a critical injury while you're dealing with your gloves or spending time on victim with non-life threatening injuries. As for spreading infection, most infections can be cured, death can't. Always have a big roll of duct tape on hand. Duct tape can be used to secure splints and dressings and to restrain unmanageable victims or interfering "do gooders" and for many emergency repairs. And, yes, there are times you may need to restrain a patient (or one of their friends or relatives) for their own safety or for the protection of others. Of course you will need emergency food on board. You can store non-perishables in the RV. Keep perishable items you may need organized in a box or bag in your home or refrigerator so you can grab it quickly in an emergency. Remember to protect your health first. The most important use of latex gloves is to protect YOU from blood born pathogens you may encounter in your victims. If you are dealing with family members or other people you know well and are confident they are safe, gloves may not be necessary. But if you are dealing with strangers as is often the case in a disaster scenario, latex gloves are essential to protect your own health.
Emergency tools. You may want to supplement your on board tool kit depending on the types of disasters you are likely to face in your area and the level of your own training to deal with them. Some basic tools that are often used in many different emergency situations includes shovels, axe, crow bars, hammers, sturdy leather gloves, hard hat, dust mask, and safety glasses or goggles. Keep a pair of sturdy boots in your RV too. You don't want to be running around dangerous debris in your flip flops, high heels, house slippers, dress shoes, or Reboks.
Emergency Facilities. In order for your RV to serve as a Disaster Recovery Vehicle, you need to make sure it is ready to use at a moments notice. Keep your fresh water tank full (if/when you can without danger of freezing), keep the holding tanks empty, keep the propane and fuel tanks full. Keep your batteries charged. Regularly check the status of your non-perishable foods and medical supplies. Take inventory of your wardrobe. You may want to include clothing for emergency preparedness that you wouldn't normally consider for camping. The same thing applies to tools. Keep track of what you have on board and keep them clean and well organized. Consider any special tools you may need in a disaster situation. You may also want to consider special medical supplies you may need in an emergency, such as splints, slings, extra dressings and bandages that you might not normally need for weekend outings. I keep a backboard handy and usually carry it with me on dirt bike outings. A backboard is needed to handle spinal injuries, which happen in violent events like earthquakes, automobile accidents and dirt bike crashes. A table top or a door may serve as an emergency backboard if you don't have one, but a properly designed back board with appropriate hand holds will be a lot easier (and safer) to use. Here is an example of a commercial back board:
You can make your own from 3/4" plywood.
Emergency Communications. In a major disaster, normal communications will be disrupted. Phone service, Internet, and U.S. Mail service may not be functioning for days or even weeks following a disaster. Walkie-talkies (FRS or GMRS radios) can be used for short-range communications within your neighborhood. A HAM radio may allow you to communicate with the outside world. There are emergency flag kits available commercially or sometimes distributed by Boy Scouts to indicate the status of your home and family to any passing emergency crews. Lacking a flag kit, you may be able to improvise. Hang the flag, or improvised signal, in a prominent front window, on the front door, or attach it to your mail box. If you don't have a flag kit, you may improvise using scraps of material or colored paper. Green means All is OK; Yellow means Need Help Soon; Red means Need Help Now; Black means there has been a death. Use green if everyone is OK or if there are only minor injuries you can deal with yourself. Use yellow for non-life threatening injuries such as broken bones and other severe but not critical wounds that you aren't qualified to deal with. Use red for life-threatening injuries such as arterial bleeding and shock or if you have victims trapped in the debris and need assistance extricating them. Use black if you have a death at the location that has not yet been reported to authorities. One of the tasks of emergency personnel will be to properly process dea bodies to prevent the spread of disease. These signals will help local emergency response personnel (professionals or C.E.R.T. or just your neighbors) to recognize and respond to your needs. Keep in mind their mission is "to do the most good for the most people" and they will have to prioritize their limited resources so they may not get to you as quickly as you would like them to, but they will get there as quickly as they can. Tagging your house with red to try to speed help could cause more delays. If they arrive and find that you don't have a life-threatening problem, they will move on to someone that does and you may find yourself way down the list for additional assistance. That is one reason YOU need to be prepared to deal with your own circumstances and you need to have patience. It is often said that YOU are the only first responder you can really count on.
Emergency Entertainment. Entertainment may not be high on most people's priority list for emergency situations, but it may be more important than you think, especially if you have small children. It is important for psychological reasons to maintain as much of a normal life style as possible. If your RV has a TV and VCR or DVD and you have a generator to power them, keep a few favorite movies on board. Books, magazines, and games (indoor and outdoor) are always a good way to pass the time. Your on-board library should include first aid references and any emergency preparedness manuals you may have. These days computers can also serve as entertainment and education centers. Since the Internet will probably be knocked out in a major disaster, stock up on games and emergency information on disk.
A note of caution: store only non-perishable foods in secure air-tight containers in your RV. RVs are attractive places for rodents and insects to set up housekeeping, especially if there is a readily available food supply. And while we're on the subject of storing things in an RV, keep in mind the vehicle will be moving and that contents of cupboards shift on turns or traveling over rough terrain. Take care how you organize things in your cupboards and refrigerator and make sure the doors are securely latched before moving the vehicle. More than one RV owner has found the contents of cupboards and fridges scattered all over the floor after a sudden lane change or unexpected stop or bump in the road. Such accidents are messy and frustrating at best and can be quite dangerous as falling contents become unguided missiles that can inflict serious damage to the human bodies in the RV and to the RV interior. Much better to invest a few bucks in extra latches for the fridge and take a few minutes to make sure all the cabinets are secured than incur the pain of injuries and the expense of repairs and save the cost of replacing damaged goods.
What about tent campers? If you don't have an RV, you can still use your camping gear as disaster recovery gear. Keep your tent and sleeping bags clean and stored where they are easily accessible. Organize your kitchen utensils and supplies in plastic tubs so they are protected from moisture, dust, insects, and vermin and are handy to transport when needed. Keep your lanterns and stoves in good repair and fueled for immediate use. If your home is damaged to the extent that is is uninhabitable, you may be able to get by living in your tent in the back yard for a while. Camping in your backyard allows you to keep an eye on things, whereas being stuck in a relief center would leave your home vulnerable to thieves and vandals and give you ready access to additional supplies if it is safe to re-enter your structures. In cold weather you will probably be more comfortable sleeping in a dome tent in your house than in an unheated bedroom. Keep your options mobile, as some disasters require evacuation. If local authorities tell you to evacuation, pack up and get out. Don't try to stay behind and play hero. Remember Harry Truman (not the president, the owner of the Mt St Helens Lodge who refused to leave when the famous volcanic eruption of 1980 was eminent). He is now under 150 feet of volcanic landslide debris!
Note: to be successful as a Disaster Recover Vehicle your RV must be accessible when disaster strikes. Recently we were in a Level 3 Evacuation zone (Get Out Now!) for the Holiday Farm fire near our home in McKenzie Bridge, Oregon. My wife used our pickup to evacuate. Because of the way our motorhome is parked, nosed in with a motorcycle trailer still attached behind it, it was not feasible for her to use it for the evacuation, even though it would have been of great value since we wouldn't be allowed back into our home for a couple of weeks.
Be safe!
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