Getting Your Vehicle Ready to Get Out of Dodge by Daisy Luther for The Organic Prepper
By now, you’re probably sick of the constant refrain on this website of, “don’t be there” when something dangerous is going on. While it isn’t as exciting as planning a revolution or turning your home into a supermax, it’s a boring yet essential foundational point that Toby and Selco taught us at the women’s survival course in Croatia and it holds true in just about every survival situation. And second to that is, “If you are there, then leave and don’t be there.”
Now, this goes back to a discussion we had here on the website about how the essence of survival is just – surviving. Some people have absolutely no intention of bugging out and have many valid reasons for feeling that way. This article is for people who find themselves in a dangerous situation in which leaving is the only safe option.
Why might you need to leave?
There are as many reasons you might need to leave as there are possible disasters – so – an infinite number. Here are just a few possibilities.
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- Wildfire
- Chemical spill
- Industrial accident
- Volcano
- Nuclear accident
- Hurricane
- Civil Unrest
The reason you’re leaving has some bearing on what you’ll need in your vehicle, but keeping it in a state of general preparedness for the things most likely in your area should cover you. This article is about the vehicle itself, not the process of bugging out. For more information on planning an evacuation, go here.
What kind of vehicle do you need?
There are about a billion different articles and videos on the internet about the “essential” bug-out vehicle. But to me, it’s a lot like the never-ending gun debate – the best gun (or vehicle) is the one that you have and can use immediately. There are a lot of amazing vehicles out there like the one in this video and the one in this article, but not everyone has the funds to allocate specifically for a BOV.
In light of that philosophy, this article is about using the vehicle you have – whether it’s a commuter car, a pick-up truck, a Jeep, or a minivan.
Having your vehicle well-maintained, fueled up, and properly stocked is a lot more within reach for most of us than spending $100,000 on an armored Mad-Max equipped Sprinter van.
The suggestions that follow are not comprehensive. You have to do what you can with your budget and your variables.
Maintaining your vehicle
Keeping your vehicle in good working order is essential. Here are some basic maintenance tips:
- Don’t leave that check engine light on the dash “unchecked.”
- Keep up with oil changes and tire rotations.
- Don’t hope that “funny noise” in the suspension just goes away.
- Get the measurements on your brake pads every time you get your tires rotated. If they’re less than 4mms, you need brake work. You can’t go if you can’t stop and a panic-stop is no time to discover your brakes are, in fact, toast.
- Make sure all lights are in working order.
- If your battery is older than 4 years old, get it tested with a multimeter and make sure the voltage is sufficient. You’d hate to be surprised by a dead battery at the worst possible moment.
A lot of these things are just common sense. And keep in mind, in many cases when you let a needed repair go uncompleted, it can damage other components, making your eventual bill much higher.
Stay fueled up.
Usually, I like to go by the mantra, “Half a tank is an empty tank.” I rarely let my Jeep fall below that amount of fuel.
When times are tense, I’d edit that to say once you’ve used a quarter of a tank of gas, you should stop and refill it. You could find yourself in a situation in which the ability to drive without stopping for fuel is extremely important.
