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A Car as a Bug Out Vehicle
28 April 2014, 20:03,
#1
A Car as a Bug Out Vehicle
Just checked a post and the suggestion was that of a car as a BOV. Brilliant. I totally agree. But...and there's always a but...the comment went on about a car as a shelter.

Now, being a bushcraft nutter, I have to admit that a car would work as a brilliant water shelter and just as good as a lightning storm shelter too.

However, the one issue I have with a car as a 'general shelter' is that when the outside weather gets cold, a car will VERY QUICKLY lose heat and become a cold store. One of the reasons for this is that the car is made of metal, which will get cold very quickly. There is only a small amount of thermal mass in a normal car, so it would not hold heat for long.

In a winter situation, genuinely, if I was bugging out with my car, I would opt to build a shelter nearby. The reason is that I would be able to create a much warmer debris hut or even just use debris over a tarp shelter, as a means of creating a lot of insulation and maintaining my core temperature. I might take out the back seat from the car as a sleeping mat, but I don't think the rest of it would be any good.
Dissent is the highest form of Patriotism - Thomas Jefferson
Those who sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither - Benjamin Franklin
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28 April 2014, 20:35,
#2
RE: A Car as a Bug Out Vehicle
Yes I see what you are saying, though in the context of the previous posting I was thinking about the 'journey' from home to BOL, particularly when being compared with the use of MTB's.

However, thinking about what you have raised, which is a good point and opens up a new discussion, what if you are in the situation where you are in the process of bugging out in mid winter, as suggested, and you have your family with you.

So the options are:

1. Build several small/one larger debris shelters to house the family
2. Stay in the car/van
3. Apply the debris shelter principle to insulate the car/van
4. Starting "prepping your vehicle" to incorporate additional insulation

Now option 4 will depend on your vehicle, its not going to be very practical to start adding extra insulation to your Nissan Micra or Ford Mondeo, but if you have a van or proper Landy (or similar), then it is quite common to line the sides and roof with 25mm Celotex and then ply line over the top - so nice and snug.

So yet another prepping direction for consideration.......

But all depends on whether you need to bug out and far you may have to travel.
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28 April 2014, 21:15,
#3
RE: A Car as a Bug Out Vehicle
Definitely agree DEV. For the shelter WHILE travelling, a car would be brilliant. So good in fact, that it's the reason people use them now for transport.

For me, I would opt for number 1. But I'm a bushcraft guy. If you have not practiced the skills, doing it wrong is a great way to get yourself killed. It takes a lot of practice and experience to get it right. So start learning ASAP, if you don't already know how to do this kind of thing, and you think it may come in handy. If I had a family to take care of, I'd apply the debris shelter style to a tarp or 2. Smaller than a car, easier to manage, and easier to conceal.

I did consider the idea of using masses of debris over the car, but I think the amount of dead space, e.g. the boot, the front third or the car, from the steering wheel forwards basically, would be a hell of an effort to insulate. Plus the amount of time required and the debris quantities needed to block the heat from travelling through the bodywork, too time consuming for my liking.

I'd personally cancel out the 'stay in vehicle' option. There are stories of babies and the alike suffocating in a warm car when no windows are left open, same as dogs. So imagine a whole family in there. You'd have to leave a window open, at the least. But the glass will be a poor insulator, you've got one window open, and like the glass being a poor insulator as would the rest of the vehicle's body.

Something like a Modified VW Transporter, that would be a much more viable option, as you suggest in number 4. Down this area so many people have them all kitted out. We have a friend in a kitted out Transit van. At one of the meets, we passed by a modified old FedEx style van too. It even had a little log burner in it.
Dissent is the highest form of Patriotism - Thomas Jefferson
Those who sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither - Benjamin Franklin
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28 April 2014, 21:33,
#4
RE: A Car as a Bug Out Vehicle
As you say the VW Buses (Transporter) are perfect in this respect and plentiful in supply. They make the ideal BOV in my opinion.

The other problem with the debris shelter though, is it means leaving your vehicle and hence your supplies, even if you are only matter of feet away from it. And with you are all snug in your shelter, others may not even realise you are there and then it opens up the risk of both theft and conflict when you eventually here the thieving scrotes.....
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28 April 2014, 21:51,
#5
RE: A Car as a Bug Out Vehicle
Over here we have a very vehicle oriented society and our vehicles are thought out to our lifestyle in a much different way than most of yours, from what I can gather.

Many decades ago I decided that a pickup truck or utility vehicle of some kind was a requirement of my life. Since 1974 I have gone for only a few months total without owning a pickup, van or suv and during those brief periods I was using specialized vehicles as daily transport. Huge full sized American station wagons or tricked out off road cars, much like a European rally car only twice as big.

I will not purchase a vehicle that does not have provisions for me to lie down inside and sleep.

I camp a lot, and normally the vehicle is only used for transport of the gear, but on many occasions I have been caught in foul weather, had wind ruin a tent, or had predators or vermin intrude on my campsites. In those rare cases me and the sleeping bag head for the vehicle.

The vehicle is already dry, and already windproof, which is what you will spend the next three days trying to get your debris hut to do.

The worst vehicle I ever slept in was better than the best debris hut I ever made!
__________
Every person should view freedom of speech as an essential right.
Without it you can not tell who the idiots are.
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28 April 2014, 22:16,
#6
RE: A Car as a Bug Out Vehicle
I have slept in the car on many occasions, even whilst camping. With a bad back the car seat is bliss compared to my tent. Four of us slept in the car on Rannoch Moor one winter after getting back late and finding the road blocked by snow. We didn't freeze to death or suffocate as we were properly prepared for the conditions.

If I was bugging out with my family in a full on SHTF scenario then I can't think of a time when we'd all be asleep. Either my wife or I would keep watch over little one and I wouldn't leave the car other than to keep sentry. If I'm sat in the car and need to exit fast then I twist the ignition key and press the accelerator. I wouldn't want to be trying to round up the rest of the family, pack up and get back into the car.

With a full tank of fuel I can get a realistic 700+ mile range which means Lands End or John O'Groats or anywhere in between and runflats means I should have no need to stop and make the in car/out of car sleep decision.
“In the long history of humankind those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed” Charles Darwin
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29 April 2014, 02:21,
#7
RE: A Car as a Bug Out Vehicle
My experience parallels that of Mort Blanc. An overnight in a full-sized American sedan, SUV or pickup is OK if not in sub-zero weather or summer heat. A VW caravan or pickup camper equipped with suitable heating, AC and ventilation for conditions is ideal. While I have grabbed a nap in the reclined seat of my compact Toyota hatchback, I do not intend to make it a frequent practice.

73 de KE4SKY
In
"Almost Heaven" West Virginia
USA
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29 April 2014, 09:40,
#8
RE: A Car as a Bug Out Vehicle
I've kipped in my car on more than one occasion. How to beat the cold? Sleeping bags / blankets. If there's a family then you share body heat.

Building a debris shelter? I'll pass on that one. I can spend the time it takes doing much more important things, like setting up perimeter security.
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29 April 2014, 12:13,
#9
RE: A Car as a Bug Out Vehicle
This reminds me that it is time to check the supplies in the vehicles, replenish the food and water, trade out the down sleeping bags for the summer weight units, sharpen all the cutting edges and renew the bug spray!
__________
Every person should view freedom of speech as an essential right.
Without it you can not tell who the idiots are.
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