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+--- Thread: I hadn't planned for this..... (/showthread.php?tid=6536)
I hadn't planned for this..... - Lightspeed - 12 February 2014
Here's a real scenario (not hypothetical):
We live and work near to a city. The location is good for us economically, but has extremely poor prospects survival-wise.
We have prepared a remote Retreat to fall back to if things start to come unravelled. Its the best part of two hours away by car.
There are two main weak points in our contingency planning, when resident in the city. These are, early identification of treats that will cause us to evacuate to the retreat, and the vehicles needed to do so.
Vehicles, in particular, have consumed a lot of thinking and planning effort.
The vehicle of choice has been chosen and constructed for:
Mundane looking appearance
Good ground clearance
Good utility load carrying space for our needs
Simplified electrics,
Extensive preventative maintenance ,
Extended range and spare fuel tanks
Heavy duty suspension
Steel wheels with M&S type tyres with anti-puncture gel injected.
Extensive spares kits
Tool kits, and repair manuals
etc etc etc.
We even have full sets of spare tires in the store room.
Used in anger, this car can travel 5 times the distance to the Retreat. It will also carry bicycles, in case it get gridlocked in traffic, breaks down or is some other way prevented from delivering us to the Refuge. Worst case scenario we can get to the refuge by bike in 1.5 days.
I thought we had the transport situation reasonably well covered.
Until this morning.......when I was rudely awoken at 06.30 by a policeman at my door. Some little ***** had stolen all 4 wheels from the BOV in the night....
WTF?! We didn't see that one coming! The car is now sitting on the bricks that were so kindly left in place, awaiting delivery of new wheels and tyres. Right now it ain't going anywhere fast
I post this to illustrate that the best laid plans can come unstuck because of a blind spot. Ours was that we never considered loosing 4 wheels in a single strike. We'd covered off punctures, and even have spare tyres ( and tyre irons and compressors/pumps).
Although the car's wheels were mundane and somewhat rusty rims, the high quality M&S tyres with which they were shod had caught someone's attention.
If the knock on the door this morning was to tell us of an imminent event from which we would have to evacuate, our Plan A transport option would have been compromised.
OK, we have plans B and C and D. But these of course become less and less comfortable, and more and more risky. This morning we were at plan B before we'd even reached the starting line.
So, as of today a spare set of tyres does not cut it for us, now we need to find and store a full set of wheels and tyres.....just in case.
Its scary to see at first hand how quickly our best and most carefully laid plans can come unstuck.
RE: I hadn't planned for this..... - bigpaul - 12 February 2014
ah yes! the wonders of living in a city! that and "take away coffee"
RE: I hadn't planned for this..... - Lightspeed - 12 February 2014
Take-away dangly bits as well if ever I catch the little *******s
RE: I hadn't planned for this..... - bigpaul - 12 February 2014
yep, happened to me whilst living in Somerset, some little scroat went down the street and knifed about 10 or 12 tyres on about 8 cars parked on the road, the night after the local carnival.
RE: I hadn't planned for this..... - OpSecRadio - 12 February 2014
That's not good news LS - I take it there is no where off road where you could secure your vehicle? I hope you manage to sort it quickly.
73 de
OSR
RE: I hadn't planned for this..... - NorthernRaider - 12 February 2014
Did you have locking wheel nuts fitted ?
RE: I hadn't planned for this..... - Devonian - 12 February 2014
Time to order some locking wheel nuts me thinks!!
RE: I hadn't planned for this..... - NorthernRaider - 12 February 2014
both my vehickles have locking wheel nuts and a gear lever lock fitted as well as the factory fitted immobiliser, but scrotes will always find a way to bugger up your day, my friend in Hartlepool had the wheels nicked off his Landy when he was working in Hammersmith, he replaced them and fitted locking wheel nuts so the thieving scrotes in London just slashed the new tyres when they could not steal them.
RE: I hadn't planned for this..... - Lightspeed - 12 February 2014
NR have you found any effective locking nuts for steel wheels?
BOV has steelies as they are more resilient than alloys...also I can fix them with my very special tool, the FBH
RE: I hadn't planned for this..... - NorthernRaider - 12 February 2014
My motor came with them fitted, dunno where they came from sorry, but the locking key nut thingy I keep with the wheel brace in the boot. its an odd looking thing with 8 or 10 erm...... nodules and the nodules are cut to match only the special nut on each wheel.