I pack everywhere and have two CCW permits, Indiana and non resident Utah. I'm debating on adding a rifle mount to the back of my blazer and a few other things including swapping a G80 into my current diff. I did it on my 04 Crew Cab s10 and the blazer is next on the hit list.

 

A rifle mount in a Blazer? Not a bad concept. I'm not above mooching off a good idea when I see one. Just post some picks for the rest of us.

 

I'm not worried about a nuke. I stay prepared at all times. Anything can happen anytime. You break down on a stretch of very rural highway in the areas I travel you need to survive & stay alive. When you grow up in real rural areas as I have that is part of your up bringing. Now that I'm an old man I have limitations & more now than ever I need to stay prepared. The Blazers 4x4 with the G80 package is hard to beat. I keep 5-6 ply LT tires on my rig, yes I buy 5 new tires at a time. That way I know my spare is in good condition.
I know little of city living. I have lived in cities when I was young so I'm not clueless. I even have extra for my dog. He even has a pack that he carries his water, food, & fold up dish for both.
Anyway good thread.

 

Read dozens of survival books. A few were even good. Even wrote one myself. First of all, it really doesn't matter what vehicle you have so long as it is properly maintained. Even a 2wd will work provided it is properly maintained. In watching evacuees from Hurricane Ike and most notably Katrina one thing was truly evident. People didn't maintain their vehicles properly. Particularly a radiator flush. Many, many vehicles overheated and died. Trying to escape an incoming hurricane with a poorly maintained vehicle is a bad thing. Wildfires as seen in Colorado earlier this year is another fine example. Another batch of Rodney King riots is something I wouldn't want to stick around for unless my position is defensible.

In the book,"Green Berets guide to getting around in grubby times", the author stated that 4wd vehicles are overrated (more things to wear out and break). The author had a 1/2 ton P/U with a limited slip had he claimed to do just fine. When he got stuck, he bolted an aluminum drum on the rear wheel and wrapped a thick rope around the drum and winched himself out. I would go a winch myself a put one on. All kinds of vids on YouTube where some dips&!t gets stuck in the mud and blows his rear end all the while going nowhere.

As for your bugout/bugin strategy, your plan is yours and may be different than mine or your neighbors. I don't plan on heading to the hills. The people already there may find my presence undesirable and let me know with a lethal headshot. Besides, too many other people plan on heading to the hills and since there isn't enough resources to support everyone with the same idea things will get tight real fast. Besides, that roadblock around that blind corner that wasn't there before may be a trap to get you to stop long enough for the guy in the treeline to get a bead you. You stop momentarily to assess the situation and KAPOW!!! Your gear is now theirs. Another consideration is how much abuse your vehicle will endure getting you to your hidey hole. How many trips will it make there and back before a U-Joint fails or an axle snaps.

As far as your vehicle goes, I have some real good advice. Know your location very well. Your current location and your destination and more important, the routes(have more than two planned) in between. Prepare your vehicle for the terrain (natural and urban) accordingly. Especially for the climate. The Northern Survivalists will have different temperatures to deal with than those in areas like Arizona and Nevada where daytime temps will get into triple digits. Northern Survivalists will be dealing with sub-zero temperatures. Know your vehicle and it's limitations. Know yours as well.

I have said it before and I will say it again. If you are serious about maintaining your vehicle, you must have a factory service manual. Not a mitchell, not a chilton and not a haynes. A FSM for your vehicle model year will prevent a lot of grief. A good set of tools and a few consumable parts will prevent even more.

I wish there was a one size fits all solution but their isn't. It is up to you and your ability to adapt to the situation.

I won't go into guns as this is the wrong forum for it. Only thing I will say is that I am more afraid of the skilled marksman with a .22 rifle than I am than the punk with a pair of AK-47's.

If nuclear bombs are falling out of the sky, well, all I will say is that all bets are off.

As for my blazer, With a mattress pad and a good sleeping bag, I can live in it for months at a time. Other things I will get are a cargo carrier for the rear receiver hitch for food and other supplies. Just try not to stick out in whatever environment your are in.

 

Awesome and very interesting thread
I'm not prepared at all I'd be the guy that's like.... oh wow you have a lifted blazer! I do too! be my friend and help me survive lol

 

Very good info. If you don't have your crap together beforehand your going to face many creeks without paddles.
As mentioned above, the environment you are in is a big factor to consider when planing anything. The boys in Arizona are gonna be facing things guys like me in Kentucky couldn't imagine and vice versa.

 

hahahahahahahahahah!!!!!!!!!!!!! that is f-ing awesome
Hope you don't mind me stealing that quote for a bit!

 

This is all crazy talk.

 

I just liked Leo_p's response lol!!

 

Take 2 quickfists,
add one...


Then attach to the rear hatch.