Advice on my options ( in a serious social collapse)

[tinytim]

Hello people ,
I,m new here so please bare with me.
I am well aware of the geopolitical crises and economic turmoil that we are in just now, and have been studying/researching this for 15+ years , but have only just started considering prepping as a serious subject .
My situation is i live in a densely populated area, and my property has a huge void ( almost like a cellar) underneath it which is superb for storage of provisions.
I also have a large transit van and a twin axle caravan at my home which is always ready for "the off ".

As i mentioned above the state the world is in , i personally feel that there is to be a huge social collapse that i fell will be bought on by the poor state of the economy which as you know is global,, but also unprecidented.

I still cant make up my mind (should TSHTF) whether i should have my caravan situated somewhere very rural prior to collapse , bug in , or bug out taking the caravan along with my supplies .
The void underneath my home is just big enough to hide in with supplies on a temporary basis , but i fear it may just end up as a grave when the looters come calling .

I should point out , that i have a wife and two young children ,, Any thoughts and opinions on this are greatly appreciated .

[KrisWard]

The Bug in Bug out debate is one thats come up countless times on here, and there is no definitive answer. If depends on your circumstances and that of the situation you are prepping for. I personally have opted for Buging in, at least until things seem to be turning overly nasty then maybe house jump hiding (hopefully well enough) my supplies to return to when things quiet down.

Given your options, as I look at it. I would like the options of having 2 bases. Your home and the caravan in some remote locate, with sufficient suppies. That way if you had to Bug out, you have an alternaive.

Hope that makes sence.

Stay safe.

Kris

[moocher]

The caravan will attract attention, but I would reinforce the voids walls,disguise entrance ,make sure it could not end up as your families tomb,and add to the caravan, it if you stay at home,I would think the caravan would be stolen or trashed when you reappear.

[Arzosah]

Mm, bit of a reality check here. Where would you take your caravan to? Never mind the journey there, what would it be like once you're there? How many other people would refugee there? How would you and your wife and two small children *actually* cope out there? Could you make a life there? What if there was another winter like this one, and the roof of your caravan collapsed, or the whole caravan got blown away? With you inside it? Who would tend your injuries? What would happen when the first guy with an axe passed by, and opened up your caravan like a tin can? If your cellar might need reinforcing, what protection would a caravan's walls give?

Sorry, I know its a bit stark ... but in a *serious* social collapse, thats what you'd be looking at. In spite of how bad things are, I think its very, very unlikely - I'd seriously recommend working on your house and cellar, which has a good chance of upping your standard of living now. Any chance of an emergency exit out the back? When I lived on a reallly steep hill, it was quite normal to see grills in the pavement, and a window and an opening void below the grill. Gives you light down there, and a fire/emergency exit. By all means work on the caravan as well, but I'd say its not your *first* choice.

If you do decide to bug out, tho, unless you're doing it days in advance of everyone else, leave the caravan and just take the transit - think of the worst bank holiday traffic you can imagine, and how many shunts and overheated engines there are going to be, and how many angry people spoiling for a fight, spoiling to blame someone.

Really, prep for the most likely stuff first - what if your local water main broke? Do you have enough water for two days for the family? If you were flooded, do you have at least a couple of days of no-cook food for everyone on the top floor of the house? What if there was a fire? How would you manage to get everyone out? How would you rebuild your life? Work details, addresses, insurance, any savings, family photos, the hard drive on the computer, a flash drive hidden in the shed could be really helpful, or a simple bug out bag each in the van, with an extra set of clothes, some water, some food, some games for the kids, that sort of thing. Then prep for society breaking down ... (and I've done a little bit of that myself, I know where you're coming from).

HTH

[Arzosah]

Erm, and welcome to the forum!

[Briggs]

I reckon your best bet is to ditch the wife and kids, they will only slow you down........nah, you can't do that, you love 'em right?!

If you are considering getting away from a weekend of summer student-based riots in your neighbourhood then bugging out with the caravan to a semi-rural caravan park with an electrical hook up and shower block would be a perfect option. But I would start to think about a few what ifs. What if the weekend of riots has declined and it's now spreading? What if you've been at the caravan park for a week and your supplies are getting low? What if the rioting flushes more people out to where you are and the caravan park gets raided. You're going to have to move on, but where?

My advice would be to do a trial bug-out with the family and the caravan. Throw in a few realistic scenarios such as a tyre change on an A road, a detour off the A road using B and single-track roads, finding somewhere to stop in a rural area at night and reversing the caravan at night. How far can the Transit get the caravan off-road? If you've found a spot in a rural area, what light discipline routines will you employ to stop you being the one bright beacon for miles around? Then you should plan for locals moving your family on by force in the middle of the night.

That's my advice, for what it's worth. You won't know how good the caravan plan is until you've tested it. If it fails, then at least you know why it failed and you can work on the fix or dismiss the option altogether.

[Malthouse]

Staying at home and disguising your preps is always my number one advice, leave if you have to and be as prepared to do so as you can be but only do it if there is no way you can stay. Once you are gone, you won't want to go back.

The caravan is probably next to useless, unless the scenario pans out where you can tuck it away somewhere as a preplanned bolt-hole. As described above, travelling in a SHTF scenario is best kept light and nimble.

And as a serious consideration, sell the caravan and buy a boat. Much better suited to evading looters and self sufficiency.

[Briggs]

A boat? What if he's located 50miles from the coast?

[Malthouse]

A boat? What if he's located 50miles from the coast?

Then it might not be the best idea, but he may not live that far from a river or the coast in which case worth mentioning.

Likewise anyone reading this who is in a similar situation, wondering if a caravan is the best vehicle for escaping and evading looters/robbers/zombies might find it an interesting consideration.

[tinytim]

Thanks for the imput guys,, as an avvid caravanner anyway ,, i use the sector 7 gloucester area a lot and know my way around the less popular parts,, tewksbury /forthhampton etc ,, the boat idea has come acrosss my mind on many occasions and had considered a liveaboard narrowboat ( for hollidaying not just in a collapse) i have had boats in the past , at least its slightly more difficult to be reached ? i have been collecting some legal weaponry and been practicing with it and am doing quite well with that , and also been studying bushcraft .
I have taken in all the comments, thanks