Vehicle maintenance during shtf

[CamoDeafie]

Been thinking a lot on this recently. I have plenty of spare parts and stuff for my bicycles but almost nothing for my Kia Sportage daily driver... after a couple camping trips where I'm sure I added a few new dents to the floorboard/frame, I realize I could have been very much worse off.

What would be a recommended system be if one has the space?

I see that many serious 4x4/off-roaders carries a whole bunch of tools, rope, straps, cables, extra drive joints, extra axle assemblies or shafts (depending on type), portable welding and generator systems and so on... to the point that there's almost no space for people, or requiring a second support vehicle, often a pickup truck.. makes me wonder.
Should there be a disaster, roads blocked, or stores all emptied, shops closed/looted, and the like... would there be enough of the infrastructure left for people to do routine maintenance? I am familiar with oil changes, gasket replacements, brake jobs, window motor replacement/repairs... but not yet familiar with motor vehicle axle shafts/differentials/hubs/wheel bearings.

Its also why I am thinking if must travel around clogged roadways or similar, a bicycle with a trailer may be a good option.

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[cookie]

You would operate the vehicle so it wouldn't break and where would the gasoline come from?

 

[notazombie]

Here you go. Less parts, less problems.
View attachment 390589 View attachment 390590

 

[CamoDeafie]

You would operate the vehicle so it wouldn't break and where would the gasoline come from?

Right, thats also a great question, and something to consider. I am aware some people keep tanks and jerry cans full of gasoline or diesel, as well as have an above-ground fuel tank, mostly on farms with the equipment they use on a seasonal basis...

 

[CamoDeafie]

Here you go. Less parts, less problems.
View attachment 390589 View attachment 390590

Lol. My previous shtf setup was a nondedcript steel huffy bike painted coyote...

 

[cookie]

Right, thats also a great question, and something to consider. I am aware some people keep tanks and jerry cans full of gasoline or diesel, as well as have an above-ground fuel tank, mostly on farms with the equipment they use on a seasonal basis...

Yes they are prepared for every day use of their machinery and vehicles for work reasons.

 

[CountryGent]

Right, thats also a great question, and something to consider. I am aware some people keep tanks and jerry cans full of gasoline or diesel, as well as have an above-ground fuel tank, mostly on farms with the equipment they use on a seasonal basis...

I know we do. We have 500-gallon propane tank and a ton of treated gasoline in jerry cans that are rotated through with various vehicles and tools. And lesser stores of other petroleum products. Before the weather sets in, I'm going to clear out the upper shed and take an inventory again.

 

[pease]

Ivory bar soap. It will stop fuel leaking from your fuel tank.

 

[Diamondback]

Ivory bar soap. It will stop fuel leaking from your fuel tank.

Or turn it into napalm... oh, that was Ivory soap FLAKES.

 

[Lilhigbee]

The odds of having enough fuel to drive a vehicle long enough to need maintenance is pretty slim!!

 

[CamoDeafie]

The odds of having enough fuel to drive a vehicle long enough to need maintenance is pretty slim!!

It may not be simply driving, but the wear and tear from driving in excessively rough conditions such as abandoned logging roads, or through jeep trails, or muddy fields with potential for rocks in there... I do not believe our road infrastructures will continue to be as good as they are currently( ) if there is a severe economical collapse or some other thing.

 

[billdeserthills]

Today's modern vehicle are easy to stop running. If you have a serpentine belt. might wanna a spare, now everything that belt turns--Might also wants spares for that stuff also. Ignition wires, a rotor, extra coil(s), won't take long till you carry more spares than other stuff. I think you also better remember a siphon to suck the gas out of the tank, for use in the replacement vehicle

 

[woody06]

If things are really that bad where are you going to go, and what are you going to do when you get there? The only reason to go off road would be clogged highways and that would be for a short duration. Not your typical off-roading. And I don't think you would do much driving after reaching your destination since fuel would be in short supply.

 

[Oathkeeper1775]

Wood and plastic gasification; it worked in WWII.

And, a small torch set would be handy.

 

[billdeserthills]

If there were few vehicles driving, seems to me like that would make anyone driving a target

 

[CamoDeafie]

If there were few vehicles driving, seems to me like that would make anyone driving a target

Anyone moving around in vehicles would be a target maybe. What of all the potentially self sustaining farms and their vehicles? Targets or likely well defended by the farming communities?

 

[Mark W.]

In about a year my Willys Jeep will be finished. Its titled a 1948 but really I am building a NEW Willys Jeep with a few old parts. And it will within its little under seat tool box carry a complete tool kit and spares for just about every part that could need servicing in 30K miles. I'm also building an Off road camping trailer to go with it. Not that the intention is to have a Bug out vehicle but it will sure fit the bill. Not to mention with a 20 min change from the electronic trigger in the distributor to my back up Points system its EMP proof.

With a full tank, 1 Jerry can and the fuel tanks in the trailer I will have a 500 mile range on the Hwy and about 300 miles off road.

 

[The Heretic]

You would operate the vehicle so it wouldn't break and where would the gasoline come from?

In a SHTF scenario I am coming home to my BOL and staying put. I won't be commuting to work or going out for groceries once a week. If I am not running my generator, I figure the 70 or so gallons of gas I have stored in my shop, plus a full fuel tank in each of my gas vehicles, would last me for some months. If I have to going into town maybe once a month, and the roads are clear enough I do not need to take detours, I figure maybe 3 gallons a month would last me a couple of years.

I have a 275 gallon diesel storage tank and a 37 gallon tank on my big diesel truck. When I retire and move further out and build a new house, I will setup that tank and fill it with diesel. I am also planning on putting a diesel into my small truck. My daily driver is a gas car.

I filled up my diesel truck when I moved here and I have only driven it into town about 7 or 8 times, the rest of the time I use it on the property for yarding out logs and moving firewood. I have not filled it up since and it still has about an eighth of a tank - that is 5 years of use.

YMMV - literally.

 

[The Heretic]

Depending on the generation of your Sportage, it may not have a frame.

I would not be doing serious off-roading with it, especially in a SHTF situation - unless you absolutely had to. It is mostly intended for road usage where the conditions require AWD.

As for what serious off-roads carry - much of that you would not need if you do not go far off road and do not abuse the vehicle and take it easy. Much of it is not as easy to get to and repair with an AWD road car like the Sportage.

A Jeep or a pickup or an older Land Cruiser or Rover, those are quite different. Much easier to get to the driveline/etc.

If you envision your scenario bug out plan requires severe off-road use, get a different vehicle and learn what it takes to maintain it when using it like that - i.e., a LOT. It is the hard use that will require the maintenance, not the nature of the vehicle itself. BTDT.

 

[The Heretic]

The odds of having enough fuel to drive a vehicle long enough to need maintenance is pretty slim!!

Or the need.

Once you get somewhere, you are probably going to stay there. It is the getting there that can be rough. If roads are that bad, you may not be able to get there at all. I am less concerned about off-roading than I am about fallen bridges and overpasses that may make a route totally impassable.