RV for Camping, Traveling and as a Bug Out Vehicle ?

Hmmm, living on the east coast I suppose I have a different outlook on the need for a bug out vehicle. :E

My toyhauler is parked at the house. Everything except fresh food is loaded and ready to go. I even keep a separate supply of ammunition for the weapons I plan on carrying. All tanks topped off at all times. Just have to hook up, grab fresh food and weapons, load motorcycle and I am gone. 30 min tops.

atreis wrote:
Personally, I'd rather use my time and energy helping society avoid developing "hot zones" than putting together the stuff needed to escape one.

Hmmmm ... the trouble with that is ... the catastrophe that will precipitate hot zones probably will happen long before all the good folks can ever get rid of the conditions that give rise to hot zones in the first place.

I keep remembering that Kevin Costner movie "The Postman". In that post WWIII world, certain folks from the "hot zone" traveled all over taking whatever they wanted wherever they wanted ... including out in fairly remote areas. To get away from hot-zone-bred perverts like them, a bug-out RV would have to be parked/camped very well hidden out in the middle of nowhere and very long-term provisioned, indeed.

A general rule probably goes something like this: Live your life in a home as far from populated areas as possible and also keep a fully stocked RV always ready too ... just in case your home isn't remote enough.

tankgod82 wrote:
I would keep mine ready to go. I the DW doesn't want to own 2 of everything. So every trip she takes all the stuff from our home and moves it to the TT. Then when we return we have to move it all back. I say the reason we have a TT is so we don't have to load stuff for a trip. It should be ready at all times.

Before the ink was dry on the contract to purchase I was online ordering kitchen stuff plus several local trips to purchase stuff and going through the house getting out some of the duplicates we already own. :B

DH has also gone through and pulled some duplicates from his workshop and bought some RV only items.

I find it very liberating to only pack a few toiletries, clothes and fresh food. On our trip on Tuesday I believe we are to the point where that should be the plan.

I cannot imagine stocking and unstocking the RV every time we use it. Plus, we live in a raised beach cottage - that is an awful lot of steps to haul stuff down to the RV and back up.

I would keep mine ready to go. I the DW doesn't want to own 2 of everything. So every trip she takes all the stuff from our home and moves it to the TT. Then when we return we have to move it all back. I say the reason we have a TT is so we don't have to load stuff for a trip. It should be ready at all times.

Personally, I'd rather use my time and energy helping society avoid developing "hot zones" than putting together the stuff needed to escape one.

I've thought about it if we are evacuated for a hurricane. That has not been an issue since we've lived here (14 years) but you never know. We keep it pretty much ready to go so just need to add fresh water, fresh and canned food.

In an evacuation we would probably drive 2 cars to the storage facility on the west side of the Intercoastal and leave my car there and DH would drive his Solara where ever we are headed and I will drive the RV. Biggest problem will be trying to get back across the waterway to take the southern evac route. HWY 501 is much too crowded in an emergency.

locster wrote:
I have never considered the RV as a bug out vehicle. An RV will be too slow to get us away from the hot zone. Roads will be blocked, bandits on the roads, limited maneuverability....

I prefer my AWD SUV.

... maybe that's because you've never had one of these kind of RVs. By anticipating the tipping point within a hot zone just a little ahead of the rest of the guys, one of these - especially with a fuel range of, say, 1000 miles - just might bug you and your family out of the heat:

http://www.sportsmobile.com/ultimate.html

I have never considered the RV as a bug out vehicle. An RV will be too slow to get us away from the hot zone. Roads will be blocked, bandits on the roads, limited maneuverability....

I prefer my AWD SUV.

Regarding historical bad weather not necessarily dictating any special need for keeping your RV stocked and ready to go ... IMHO, past history of weather patterns is no longer valid. It might be best to keep your RV stocked and ready to go wherever you now live.

Personally, I no longer trust Mother Nature to act the way she used to act - just read the news reports nowadays to see what I mean.