The Bug OUt Caravan

[Straight Shooter]

From a cooking perspective and heat you could always create a fire pit with another pit for coals to Cook meat , cover with some earth or clay or even better a Dutch oven .

[Mortblanc]

There is a big difference between enduring in a caravan long term in an isolated spot and/or spending a weekend in one in a caravan park.

The caravan is not where one lives, it is where one sleeps and takes shelter in extreme weather.

Most of your time is spent trying to stay out of the tiny, cramped and claustrophobic metal or fiberglass box. It is for survival only. You get up and get out and do something outside as soon as daylight arrives. You stay outside until darkness drives you inside. Then you go to bed and sleep.

If possible you even arrange things so that you can stay outside in extreme weather using awnings and platforms. You acclimate to being outdoors in all temperatures and find yourself comfortable even when cold or hot.

I remember spending a very pleasant afternoon sitting under my awning and piddling with a propane cooker while 4 inches of snow fell around me on a Sunday afternoon back in 2002.

It also means that a small solar panel will keep a 200 ap/hr battery topped up and not needing attention from April until October. You will never run the lights long enough to deplete the charge. It does not get dark until 9-10pm.

[Straight Shooter]

Just a thought Joe , last year ALDI s were selling fire pits ....suspended on a tripod tubular frame with a grill that fitted over the top of the ( steel round pit ) on chains you could adjust up and down ....they were just under £30.00 but ideal for you (and me ) for timber or charcoal ...I bought one for us and one for the grandson ....we tried it out ( fire wood ) .....sausage, meat, burgers ....even toasted the baps .....Brilliant bit of kit ! Get one of those Joe .

[bigpaul]

thats the problem with most people, I have this philosophy "buy it when you see it NOT when you need it", those fire pits are probably all gone now.

[Straight Shooter]

Yes quite right BP .......when you see it grab it there and then ! Or you will miss out or regret it later , we have adopted that attitude for good reason . But if Joe go’s online he might be able to get one direct from Aldi’s Website .

[Joe]

Actually the fire pit idea is pretty good, all I would really need is a good grill and a few bricks, that would extend my duration significantly.
As for space we have one of those inflatable porch awnings and when we are away we tend to use that more than the van.

[Lightspeed]

Hi Joe,

I'm helping my daughter set up a caravan in much the way you describe.

Its often overlooked that a Caravan is a great asset, even at home. Daughter's house is 100% mains electric dependent. Heating, cooking, lighting and even sewerage systems all require 24/7 hook up to the grid. If the grid fails for more than 24 hrs she will be in trouble.

The caravan, with its gas powered heating and cooking, independent water and waste systems and 12v solar powered lighting will give her up to a month's worth of off grid independence.

But this is residential resilience, not true Bug-Out.

This Covid crisis has been a stress test to Prepper assumptions, particularly so regarding BOVs be they cars, vans, campers or caravans; All types have been stopped and turned back by police. Even those that got to the promised land of remoter parts of the country got unfriendly reception from locals.

Back in April last year did you see the you tube vid of the guy in his beefed up Range Rover and BO caravan getting forcibly turned around and sent on his way by the farmer land-owner down in Devon?..... and what about the farm trailer barricades with Go-home messages blocking access to certain villages?

For minor disruption caravan's are a valid short term option, either at home, or away, assuming you have a safe and receptive place to go to.

[Lightspeed]

BTW I agree with MB. Ditch the TV it'll simply waste electricity delivering false information that's likely to demotivate.

Receiving news from radio is a much better bet, especially if you gear up to receive world wide shortwave broadcasting. IMHO being able to listen to HAM transmissions is even better as there is muck to be gleaned from listening to the unfiltered news that passes between these guys.

[bigpaul]

(19 February 2021, 12:54)Lightspeed Wrote: Hi Joe,

I'm helping my daughter set up a caravan in much the way you describe.

Its often overlooked that a Caravan is a great asset, even at home. Daughter's house is 100% mains electric dependent. Heating, cooking, lighting and even sewerage systems all require 24/7 hook up to the grid. If the grid fails for more than 24 hrs she will be in trouble.

The caravan, with its gas powered heating and cooking, independent water and waste systems and 12v solar powered lighting will give her up to a month's worth of off grid independence.

But this is residential resilience, not true Bug-Out.

This Covid crisis has been a stress test to Prepper assumptions, particularly so regarding BOVs be they cars, vans, campers or caravans; All types have been stopped and turned back by police. Even those that got to the promised land of remoter parts of the country got unfriendly reception from locals.

Back in April last year did you see the you tube vid of the guy in his beefed up Range Rover and BO caravan getting forcibly turned around and sent on his way by the farmer land-owner down in Devon?..... and what about the farm trailer barricades with Go-home messages blocking access to certain villages?

For minor disruption caravan's are a valid short term option, either at home, or away, assuming you have a safe and receptive place to go to.

I think you will find we were in lock down in April last year and no one was supposed to be going anywhere much less a range rover and caravan. lots of people got turned back after travelling hundreds of miles to "look at the view" or go surfing or whatever the excuse was.

[Mortblanc]

I think what LS was referring to is the fact that the first thing that will happen in a crisis from this point forward is a lockdown.

All travel will be suspended to control the movement of population and "bugging out" will be impossible.

Not to mention the reaction of locals has been exactly what I have been warning for the past 8 years. Every square inch of land is owned by someone and they don't want you squatting on their property.

Unless you own the property you are bugging out to, and leave before the law closes down travel you are not going anywhere, and/or you will not last long when you get there.