A interesting opinion on bugout vehicles

[Just Jim]

Fuel is important - to a degree.

However, if you are going to "bug-out", that possibly means you will be more worried about dealing with getting around obstacles than how much fuel you will be using.

Every person's situation is different, but mine is such that I live at what I consider to be my destination for a "bug out". So any of my vehicles will get me there, with a full tank of fuel, from any place I am likely to be driving them.

I am not saying a vehicle like the Prius isn't good to have as a daily driver, but if SHTF, I wouldn't be driving anything on a daily basis, much less a Prius.

My daily driver, a BMW coupe, gets reasonable fuel mileage (during the summer, it is 28 to 32 MPG in mixed driving). I drive it because of that mileage, because it is dependable, because it is comfortable and easy to drive.

But if SHTF, I would go home and stay home. If I needed to go out some place, I would probably be driving one of my 4x4 trucks, depending on what I needed to do, the small one or the large one.

I wouldn't worry too much about fuel mileage because most of the time I would be staying home. I would anticipate that my usage of fuel would be about what it is now with those trucks, maybe at most a tank of fuel a year. I also have a 250 gallon diesel tank in my shop, and once I set it up, it will be full.

If SHTF, then fuel range (not mileage, range) will be an issue for some people if their bug out destination is quite a distance, but mine isn't. Even my secondary destination (my backup BOL) is not that far.

I recommend that a prepper think about the fact that they may very likely find themselves hoofing it to their BOL, in which case a really remote BOL may be unreachable without caches and places to shelter on the way, along all of the alternate routes.

I would estimate that if a person isn't injured or sick, and doesn't have small children or elderly in their group, and they are in decent shape, they have food and water, they can make about 10 miles a day on foot. That BOL 400 miles away suddenly becomes a 40+ day hike at best (you will need days of rest, and alternate routes can make your hike a lot longer).

Sure, there are people who can, under optimum conditions, hike more than 10 miles a day. But my estimate is conservative, and it could easily get worse if you are sick, injured, etc.

Still it all boils down to fuel, you have to fuel your body for the 400 mile walk. Odds are the walk would be impossible in a mad max time. Food and water for 40 days would be difficult for anyone unless you picked a route that had what you need and no one else is on it.

 

[mjbskwim]

"My wife and I each have a Toyota Prius. Go ahead and laugh"
I'll only laugh when the power grid goes down and your 1000 mile range car is sitting next to my big truck
I'll have more room for bait so we can just fish for food lol

I'm trying,well I'm kinda there now,to have a place so I will be doing like The Heretic does,worry about getting back to the home stand.
I'm planning a move to Idaho so I can do it right.Be completely away from the ravenous hordes.
All the info above should be taken to mind.We all may be in any of these situations. All good stuff to mull over

As said,everyone will have a different situation,but every day may bring a different situation to each of us.Alls it takes is for a construction crew to decide your favorite road needs to be torn apart.

 

[jbett98]

I think a lot of enterprising folks (good & bad) will just pick up vehicles as needed to move in their intended direction.

 

[mjbskwim]

I think a lot of enterprising folks (good & bad) will just pick up vehicles as needed to move in their intended direction.

Haha or their fuel

 

[Just Jim]

I think a lot of enterprising folks (good & bad) will just pick up vehicles as needed to move in their intended direction.

Pick a place 400 miles from your home and tell me how you will get there in a mad max?

 

[The Heretic]

My "BOL" is not optimum.

It is just 30 miles from downtown Portland, so in that regard it is a bit too close.

But then, my primary reason for buying it was not as a BOL - but rather for a place that was quiet, private and had some trees. It is where I decompress after work. Not that work is stressful (at least it wasn't when I bought the place), but being borderline Aspergers, I need a place away from "the things of man".

Just the same, it would be better to bug out to here than most any place inside the urban growth boundary, or even most of the farms between here and there.

When I retire I plan to get a place further out - maybe in the woods above/behind Willamina or someplace like that, on this side of the coast range, in the foothills.

Right now I need a place close enough that the commute isn't too onerous.

 

[The Heretic]

Pick a place 400 miles from your home and tell me how you will get there in a mad max?

There are a LOT of preppers who plan on doing just that - primarily by driving.

I wish them luck, because unless they are really lucky and get out before the feces hit the fan, their chances of making it are pretty slim IMO.

 

[Just Jim]

There are a LOT of preppers who plan on doing just that - primarily by driving.

I wish them luck, because unless they are really lucky and get out before the feces hit the fan, their chances of making it are pretty slim IMO.

Travel will take more than just a gun and ammo. If you really wanted to get 400 miles you would need a light aircraft to avoid being killed. I doubt any pass over the mountains would be open as the local would not want valley people in their country. Columbia gorge would have rock slides same as highway 22,20 and 58. I 5 would be jammed tight.

 

[The Heretic]

It depends on the scenario, but I agree.

It basically boils down to the fact that the gun you have in your hand will serve you better than one you left at home, and the BOL that you can reach on foot in a few days is better than one you can't.

No matter what BOV you have, no matter how good it is, you should have backup plans that include abandoning it if you have to. When I was younger and couldn't afford reliable vehicles (or when I broke them pushing their limits while off-road), I more than once found myself on foot after a vehicle breakdown (or, embarrassingly, running out of fuel).

When I got out of the military I bought a mountain bike and started carrying that as backup transport. About a decade ago I couldn't comfortably ride bicycles anymore because of my back and neck and I gave my bike to my brother. I plan on getting a folding bike as a backup though.

 

[Just Jim]

Ever think about a motor on a bicycle? I have a couple and they work well. On idle they go what ever speed you have it set up for plus the miles per gallon are great. 15 extra pounds on the bike but if you get in a hurry they will do 35 mph with a 45 cc motor.

 

[The Heretic]

Ever think about a motor on a bicycle? I have a couple and they work well. On idle they go what ever speed you have it set up for plus the miles per gallon are great. 15 extra pounds on the bike but if you get in a hurry they will do 35 mph with a 45 cc motor.

Yes I have.

A pusher.

There is a guy in Springfield that makes a trailer for dirt bikes.

http://www.moto-mule.com/index.html



Now take something like that, put an small engine on it (like a chainsaw or a 50 to 100 cc bike engine) and have it drive the trailer wheel. Setup a hitch to push the bicycle, and you have a pusher and a trailer to haul stuff.

Here is one that moves right along (60 MPH):

You could also combine that with an electric motor.

Or you could just get an electric bicycle which would be almost silent.

The pusher would have the advantage of working with any bicycle, including a folding one.

The main advantage of any of these is is that you have something that gets you out of harms way faster, extends the distance you can make in a day, and gets you up those hills. For me this is a distinct advantage as I am very much out of shape.

Then there other options:



I may get something like that too as an adjunct for my dirt bikes after I retire.

 

[powersbj]

Some of the ebikes with a solar panel could be interesting, not fast but could solve the fuel issue.

 

[mjbskwim]

 

[Who The F R U]

Zack and his Dad @ The Toy Store in Longview Wa. built this truck.
4 wheeler and a .50 on the roof!!

 

[ROC]

Reliable and paid for.

 

[smoothbore]

View attachment 119704 I actually have a bug out vehicle, I don't have pics of it handy. I also have a Bug In vehical. I do have a pic of it

Nice!

 

[hiboyford]

Fuel, fuel, fuel.

The first issue facing most motorists will be obtaining fuel. No electricity= pumps don't work=no fuel.

The violence and fighting will take place where people are lined up waiting for fuel. Fuel lines will be choke points for desperate people who are all waiting on and competing for a limited resource. They need to be avoided like the plague.

The biggest, baddest jacked-up 4x4 is nothing but an immobile paperweight once it runs out of fuel.

My wife and I each have a Toyota Prius. Go ahead and laugh but they are front-wheel drive vehicles with a range of 400+ miles without refueling. I also own a 1996 F-250 4x4 with a trailer hitch which is a great bug-out vehicle except for the fact that it gets 10MPG.

I rarely drive the truck, so it sits at all times with 2 full tanks of fuel and whenever I do drive it I top off whichever tank it is currently using. And my wife and I never allow the tanks of our Prii to get below half full. More importantly....I keep 60 gallons of gasoline stored in 5 gallon cans preserved with Sta-Bil on hand in a shed in my back yard. Every summer when we use the truck to go camping I refuel it from the cans when we get back and then refill the cans with fresh fuel and Sta-Bil.

In a pinch, we could easily go 6 months or more without ever having to visit a gas station if we only drove our
Prii and made an effort to conserve. And the gasoline I have stored can also be used in my portable generator during a short-term power outage. It wont power my whole house but it will run the freezer and a few lights and we can get by on that.

Its all about the fuel. Can you tell I grew up watching "Road Warrior" when I was a teenager?

=-
Having been a small engine mechanic for many years Sta-Bil in not a good choice for long term storage. If you read the label fine print it will tell you. It also will cause clogs in fuel injection systems and carberators, ecspeically at the end of its life span. There are much better products out there, Seafoam. being on of them.

 

[mjbskwim]

=-
Having been a small engine mechanic for many years Sta-Bil in not a good choice for long term storage. If you read the label fine print it will tell you. It also will cause clogs in fuel injection systems and carberators, ecspeically at the end of its life span. There are much better products out there, Seafoam. being on of them.

I like sea foam but I have head the same thing said about it.
And my dad would choke his lawn mower out with stabil every fall and it would start right up every spring.
Thes debate will never end!

 

[mjbskwim]

I just found this thread. I was close to the Kobe earthquake in '95 (20 years have passed already....?). It was amazing to see which buildings failed, which didn't, and why. One of the really interesting take-aways for me was the preferred mode of transportation: Small dirt bikes, because they can go anywhere, even on mangled railway tracks. You guys who look for bicycles are assuming smooth surfaces, which will be long gone. 4 wheeled vehicles are useless, also.

I often see threads about bug-out bags and the like, practicing your various skills. Learning how to (or remembering how to) ride dirt bikes is surprisingly important.

I thought I would quote pdrake over here.The good thing about a small dirt bike is they get about 60mpg.
I started to laugh at this kid on a dirt bike by the Tacoma mall,cause he could hardly touch the ground.
Then I said to myself, 'don't laugh,it cost him 50c a day to commute'
And scooters get around 90. So you could get enough gas easily,to get out of Dodge.

 

[The Heretic]

I thought I would quote pdrake over here.The good thing about a small dirt bike is they get about 60mpg.
I started to laugh at this kid on a dirt bike by the Tacoma mall,cause he could hardly touch the ground.
Then I said to myself, 'don't laugh,it cost him 50c a day to commute'
And scooters get around 90. So you could get enough gas easily,to get out of Dodge.

Some get good mileage, some don't.

A lot depends on how and where you ride them.

I had a DR350 that got down to 38 MPG against a headwind up a hill to 65 MPG cruising with a tailwind.

The thing about motorcycles is that they are not very aerodynamic, so a lot depends on speed, whether you have a headwind or tailwind, and the kind of riding you are doing. My current dirt bike (Husaberg 570) averages around 30 to 35 MPG and can't get over 40 MPG if you are riding in normal highway traffic. My larger street bike (sold it, but a Ducati MTS) actually got better mileage being geared for the pavement and producing more power, but not much better.

It just depends on the bike and the context.

The main advantage of motorcycles is their maneuverability and for dirt bikes their ability to go places larger vehicles can't.

With regards to fuel, I worry more about range than I do about MPG. They are related, but the main thing is to get from point A to point B, and then hunker down. Once at my BOL I am not going to be commuting daily, I probably will not be going anywhere except in an emergency, so I should be fine with the fuel I have on hand for quite some time.