Choices

[Bijela]

The next question on from Lone wolf or safety in numbers...

I do get the idea of a big 4x4 as a BOV. Visions of bouncing across fields chased by zombies. But, really for the UK wouldn't something more like a Pug 107/ Citroën C1 sort of thing possibly be better ? I think that you have to class BOV in different groups.

1, Fast car/motorbike/Quadbike - BOV is to get you to a location that's not to far away in a short time.

2, The classic 4x4 - where the roads are all blocked and you will almost live in it. Heavy to move if stuck and high fuel use.

3, The lightweights - for road and flat ground. Plus for this is they don't use loads of fuel and more likely that 2 people can push it out of a hole e.t.c. I can push our 107 up the driveway alone where I can't the Focus which we both can't do together either.

4, Boat/push bike

Do you agree ? If you needed a BOV which would be your choice?

[jennyjj01]

The next question on from Lone wolf or safety in numbers...

Do you agree ? If you needed a BOV which would be your choice?

Difficulty! Fuel economy? Comfort? Maneuverability?

Ok. Initial thoughts are that in the UK we are all within 80 miles of the coast, so say within 100 miles of ideal bug out. So fuel economy with a tank of fuel is not an issue.

So, cost in some comfort and to heck with fuel consumption.
A mid sized car would be OK to sleep in for a few nights, so that gets my vote. Boot full of stuff.

BUT if SHTF roads would be blocked as seen in Ukraine. Dang it!

Which brings me towards off road capability. And if you are to maintain some comfort and load capability..... A BIG motorcycle and sidecar and trailer.

Pity I have no idea how to ride one.

Rather just stay home.

[/u]

[Vitamin c]

How can you go cross country in a 4x4 , you go through a gate if theirs a gate going in your direction your OK then the next and next and you haven't traveled a half mile .
If not your be cutting through hedges every field, surly we can agree that cross country in a car is bug out fantasy.

Green lanes do exist but are few and far between.

[Yorkshire Andy]

JCB fast track or a thwaites 6 tonne dumper


Most 4x4s are utterly useless on road let alone off modern low slung pos machines relying on a funky computer to let it move .. our boss has a big 4x4 Chelsea tractor he got it stuck on a playing field...

Most small cars are too low and you risk knocking the sump off or rupturing the fuel tank....

As for cross country forget it . Be it a potato field (you better be good with a shovel to dig it out) or a land drain you don't see ...

Green lanes are ok but even some of those are impassable be it weather or lack of maintenance

[ForgeCorvus]

Estate car or a small van..... Whatever it is the best way to make sure its available is to use it as your daily driver.
Our camper has only been laid up over winter and I keep finding stuff that needs fettling before use.

Anyone seen the standard Ukrainian BOV on the news?
A family car, a few years old with optional bomb damage and plastic fuel drums tied on the roof.

[Bijela]

Most small cars are too low and you risk knocking the sump off or rupturing the fuel tank....

You could weld or countersink some fixing bolts to a skidplate to protect it? Would still allow you to use it as a everyday car.

If someone has a BOV, what is the situation that you invision the need for one?

[Yorkshire Andy]

Most small cars are too low and you risk knocking the sump off or rupturing the fuel tank....

You could weld or countersink some fixing bolts to a skidplate to protect it? Would still allow you to use it as a everyday car.

If someone has a BOV, what is the situation that you invision the need for one?

I'm sorted the aftermarket belly pan paid for itself about 2 weeks after fitting lorry had a blow out Infront at rush hour on a duel carrigeway no chance of swerving too much traffic. Large chunk of tyre in my path I straddled it could hear the dull ring of the plate then it hit the back axle and out the back ... Straight through the bumper / grill / intercooler/ radiator and God knows what else of the following (rather too closely hence I didn't brake) Audi not sure if my axle flicked it up or nor.... I had to polish a bit of rubber off my front bumper and that was it

[jansman]

Nowhere to bug out to in our case.We also have a lot of animals to care for.It’s expensive enough fuelling my motor just for the round trip to work, so becoming a refugee would be a nightmare for re - supplying fuel.The only reason we leave here is because of storm damage,flood ,fire,gas leak etc etc. Then it will be to a dog friendly hotel. I have kipped in cars on fishing trips; it’s cold and it’s crap! I certainly wouldn’t expect my wife to endure that unnecessarily.

According to survivalist folk- lore ,the idea of the ‘Bug-Out’ ( a military term to describe a swift troop withdrawal from a ‘hot’zone) was touted when America had big gas guzzling vehicles and juice was cheap - pre 1973 Oil Embargo- and the idea was to drive out to the woods to a pre positioned and well stocked location when the Russians invaded. Then juice ,by American standards, got dearer. Not such a good idea then. Of course,Americans have a lot more space than us. Many survivalists ( the term ‘prepper’ was coined after Ruby Ridge ,as survivalists were seen as nutters) worldwide have adopted bugging out as a mantra but most of the time it is inappropriate.

Sometimes,like the Ukrainians,you are forced to leave.Sadly ,those poor folks are not ‘bugging out’ as most have no pre positioned stores and shelter. They are refugees ,and as such ,are at the mercy of other peoples’ kindness ,or lack of. Oh yes,and those traffic jams full of Ukraine refugees; estate car,4WD,tank or truck stuck in a giant car park - it’s all academic what type of motor to use when it’s going nowhere.

Here’s a good piece by Duncan Long. It was written in the 80’s but is quite relevant.When I read it for the first time,it made me change tack.

http://duncanlong.com/science-fiction-f ... ckpack.htm

[jennyjj01]

,,,
it’s all academic what type of motor to use when it’s going nowhere.

Here’s a good piece by Duncan Long. It was written in the 80’s but is quite relevant.When I read it for the first time,it made me change tack.

http://duncanlong.com/science-fiction-f ... ckpack.htm

Oh Boy. That was an uncomfortable read! Though pitched at the USA where SOME bugging out might be viable, it paints a bleak bug-out picture that's just as bleak here. Basically Nowhere to go, no chance to get there, and no welcome to be there. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

But the alternative offered was also a pipe dream.

",,,get yourself situated in a small community that could get by without outside help if things came unglued nationally or internationally. ... An area with two thousand to five thousand people in it along with a surrounding farm community would be ideal ...city. Ideally such a town would have its own power plant with a few small industries along with the usual smattering of doctors, dentists, and other professionals. ""

So basically be an Amish and start now.

So.. Hands up. Who still embraces heading out in the 4x4 or camper van with the barbie and some beans when TSHTF?

Bug-out in the UK surely has to be 'off to the Travelodge' while the WW2 UXB in your street or whatever is made safe. Nothing more.

Now, maybe we need to read the same kind of tear down for bugging in with our mountain of reserves. Review how that can turn to s**t, as our neighbours and marauding looters come knocking and besiege us. Where eve branches of neighbourhood watch mutate into marauding rival gangs. It could surely get grim.

We don't discuss weapons here, but maybe time for a few posts on home defensive strategies, medium to longer term?

[Bijela]

Interesting read, thanks