Good survivalist / prepper vehicle

[Burt Gummer]

Your gotta go to Salem to the Dodge dealers to get a Sprinter worked on now, Freightliner is a No-Go now

Freightliner was also an account of mine for many years. I know every square inch of their dealerships including what was the Sprinter facility. Same deal, they got bought out years ago and what was a family-vibe turning into a environment more like a prison camp where all employees were afraid day to day of being fired or saying the wrong thing. Never a smile to be seen.

BMW on Jefferson another example. The primary reason my work isn't nearly as fun as it used to be in the late 80s-90s-2000s when people were not reduced to minion work slaves but actually enjoyed being there. The last four years have REALLY changed everything with the slide into the abyss that is happening. Sad. Oh well, it is what it is ..........

 

[gddgunsngear]

Anything reliable with good parts availability, that you have parts for. And have multiples for your family members to carry More gear. Older and simpler the better. THAT you can fix. No gubmint kill switches.

On a related note is an Emp shield device worth buying? Its been discussed im sure.. 400 dollar Overpriced surge protector, Used by gov in vehicles, they say.. High claims but no real demonstration of its effectiveness.... Charlatan device me thinks..
They will pay you if your car gets struck by lightning and is fried...

How much confidence would you have in such device? I find it hard to believe it'll live up to said claims.
https://www.empshield.com/product/vehicle/

 

[CamoDeafie]

Anything reliable with good parts availability, that you have parts for. And have multiples for your family members to carry More gear. Older and simpler the better. THAT you can fix. No gubmint kill switches.

All more reason to have bicycles, simple carts/trailers with supplies of simple parts, buckets of lubricating fluids and the like.

 

[gddgunsngear]

All more reason to have bicycles, simple carts/trailers with supplies of simple parts, buckets of lubricating fluids and the like.

Yup, similar thought i was thinking several bicycle trikes, electric front hub driven and or 212cc predator driven off a sprocket on the rear wheel.

If you're going to go homeless or refugee mode it's better then being on foot.
.
Quality tires make a difference, puncture and durability.. : Schwalbe marathons .

 

[Burt Gummer]

All more reason to have bicycles, simple carts/trailers with supplies of simple parts, buckets of lubricating fluids and the like.

I have a bicycle even though I am of the mindset that anyone on one over 30 looks like a dork. Being old, that sliver seat really sucks. Can't feel chill on a bike when being violated lol. Should have got a cruiser with a big seat and a basket. Hate EV nonsense but an EV assisted BIKE is reasonable.

 

[CamoDeafie]

I have a bicycle even though I am of the mindset that anyone on one over 30 looks like a dork. Being old, that sliver seat really sucks. Can't feel chill on a bike when being violated lol. Should have got a cruiser with a big seat and a basket. Hate EV nonsense but an EV assisted BIKE is reasonable.

A lot of old people around here have tricycles. Particularly the disabled/special needs ones. There's also the recumbent people.. and on the coast, a lot of pedal cars/quads/trikes

 

[Burt Gummer]

No thanks I am in Old AF denial mode.

 

[CamoDeafie]

No thanks I am in Old AF denial mode.

 

[The Heretic]

How much confidence would you have in such device? I find it hard to believe it'll live up to said claims.

Snake oil

 

[Mark W.]

An update on the Willys I been working on kitting it out for camping. I got the kitchen box almost done, the cooler done and figured out the platform that will allow hauling all manner of stuff.

 

[Burt Gummer]

I will be absolutely w/o purpose and bored when retired after 40+ years of always being busy. A vehicle 'build out' really would be the perfect cure for that boredom. Have watched many vids on vehicle electronics, and nice setups.

A mobile office, hauler is more what I'd want.
As an investment it would be a dud, but don't care. Living life and getting out there is more of a big deal than safety and security to me.

 

[The Heretic]

I will be absolutely w/o purpose and bored when retired after 40+ years of always being busy.

I am plenty busy; reading books, cutting/splitting/stacking firewood, sleeping, watching TV, walking around my forest, looking at the stock market and watching my IRA balances go up and down (mostly up on average) so I can gauge when I can pull some cash for projects, sitting in the sun, weeding (lots of weeding), organizing the house and shop (bit by bit), occasionally shooting, looking on FB marketplace for an S-280 shelter for the truck build. Other stuff too.

Yesterday I did my taxes! Yahoo!

Not bored most of the time.

A vehicle 'build out' really would be the perfect cure for that boredom. Have watched many vids on vehicle electronics, and nice setups.

A mobile office, hauler is more what I'd want.
As an investment it would be a dud, but don't care. Living life and getting out there is more of a big deal than safety and security to me.

I want something I can use as a mobile basecamp, that will double as a BOV (if necessary) but that I can also pull the habitat off if I need to haul/move something large. My Toyota pickup would be a good run around vehicle (if I fix the clutch or put a diesel in it, or convert it to an EV), that can also haul most things I need to haul.

 

[CamoDeafie]

I am plenty busy; reading books, cutting/splitting/stacking firewood, sleeping, watching TV, walking around my forest, looking at the stock market and watching my IRA balances go up and down (mostly up on average) so I can gauge when I can pull some cash for projects, sitting in the sun, weeding (lots of weeding), organizing the house and shop (bit by bit), occasionally shooting, looking on FB marketplace for an S-280 shelter for the truck build. Other stuff too.

Yesterday I did my taxes! Yahoo!

Not bored most of the time.


I want something I can use as a mobile basecamp, that will double as a BOV (if necessary) but that I can also pull the habitat off if I need to haul/move something large. My Toyota pickup would be a good run around vehicle (if I fix the clutch or put a diesel in it, or convert it to an EV), that can also haul most things I need to haul.

A tilting flatbed 4x4 or 6x6 truck?

 

[The Heretic]

A tilting flatbed 4x4 or 6x6 truck?

I was thinking that I would put jacks on the habitat such that it could be removed and the flatbed used, then the habitat put back onto the flatbed.

I would like to have the truck converted to a 6x6 with a walking beam suspension, but that would be more expensive than I want to spend and not really necessary for my purposes. I just want to drive to various areas, following the good weather, and when in an area I would use my Toyota pickup (flat towed behind the truck) or a dirt bike or an ATV to explore the area.

The large expedition vehicles, even my Dodge truck ('97 3500 4x4 cab chassis with a 12' flatbed) are too large and heavy for the kind of exploration I would like to do. I am thinking a small Hiatus shell on the Toyota pickup would be good for overnight camping and/or hauling a dirt bike or ATV.

 

[Burt Gummer]

^^ Still pouting about a Cummings you found about a year ago that got away. Was $60k? Manual. All set up nice. I just wasn't ready.

 

[The Heretic]

^^ Still pouting about a Cummings you found about a year ago that got away. Was $60k? Manual. All set up nice. I just wasn't ready.

I wouldn't spend $1 for anybody's cummings.

Oh - you meant Cummins?

 

[Angie]

I have a bicycle even though I am of the mindset that anyone on one over 30 looks like a dork. Being old, that sliver seat really sucks. Can't feel chill on a bike when being violated lol. Should have got a cruiser with a big seat and a basket. Hate EV nonsense but an EV assisted BIKE is reasonable.

Just change the seat out.

 

[Burt Gummer]

Was going to do that however was told by more than three people that looks really G__ and yes although everyone says they don't care about looking like a wimp, we do LOL. I do have a crazy amount of lights on it and it has been mistaken for a police vehicle though .... hmm.... only ride at night .... scare the homeless ... no one sees the seat .....maybe.

 

[Kcee]

When I was much younger, and would drive down to Central America, I always bought an old VW Bus, 1971 was my favorite year. I'd strip them as far down as I could to make them light as possible, to get about 19 mpg, put a 1974 tranny in them, which had higher gearing for faster speeds, and keep a stock 1600cc in them, because the parts were everywhere down there. I could take the engine in and out within about 4 hours with a floor jack. I did it once to replace a throwout bearing. I also would up the rear clearance by adjusting the torsion bars, which was easy to do. One time I had one floating in a river, and luckily I made it to the other side. I wish I had kept one now, especially the camper bus with the pop top. I just hate working on old cars now.

 

[Kcee]

I figure the problem in the future will be getting gasoline. I've got an old scooter in my shed that gets about 120 mpg. When I was a kid we had Honda 90 trail bikes. I'd buy one of the new Honda 125 trail bikes, but they never have them in stock.