SHTF Militia Forums

the short answer is no. during the recent wild fires in san diego i was in the path of the the fire and on standby to evacuate for 5 days, we didnt end up having to evac but we did get an oppurtunity to learn some lessons the biggest being "if it can go wrong at absolutely the worst time it will".

scenario: i was at work when i found out that we were in danger, i called home and my woman informed me that she was ready to go with the basics (bug out bag and such) and would meet me at a predetermined location, this was all great as far as the basics were concerned we were ready, but we live here because of my job and have a our property in AZ where will being buggin into when we move in may, all of our stuff is here, our preps, everything that we have spent thousands on.
FIRST LESSON: move it or put it in a tailer so all we have to do is connect it and go.
Since we were not in iminent danger we had time to load all our stuff (45 mins) and be ready to go in under a minute. so here we are with all our stuff loaded in two vehicles parked in front of the house out there for everyone to see and vulnerable to theft(i didnt sleep for 5 days).
SECOND LESSON: have a way to secure our stuff (buy an enclosed trailer)
then about the third day i went out to check everything, and start the vehicles, truck battery was dead of course, so i go to get the (very expensive/high quality)jumper cables and they are not there, now at this point i am dumbfounded, how is it that someone as prepared as myself can not have made regular checks to make sure all his equipment is present and operating properly.
THIRD LESSON:dont assume that just because you are prepared that everthing will be perfect, check then recheck, inventory often, dont loan out your STHF supplies/tools/equipment.

so i got a back up pair of cables, got mine back from freind in need, i am currently looking for an enclosed trailer to lock all my stuff up in and have labeled everything that is SHTF apopiatley, if has a label it doesnt get loaned out or used for any other purpose.
I have taken these lessons very seriously and i think everyone should have some kind of drill or event to test there preparedness. i thought i was ready and i wasnt.
ovaerall lesson: you can never be too ready!

THAT WAS A TOUGH LESSON TO SWALLOW, ONE I WOULDNT HAVE WANTED TO LEARN IN WORSE CASE SCENARIO THATS FOR SURE!

it sounds like yoiu have a vary well thoght out plan but is sounds like you have to much stuff think KISS murfys law and murffy is f**King Iorny and she is a B!tch ok so you want to get a trailer now there was a traffic jam and it is grid locked no time ? what now ?

I remember reading about a test run with a trailer full of Y2K preps in bug out mode.
Things were going well until 20 miles from home , when the trailer hitch broke. Lucky for them it was just a test run. Luckly a tow truck was handy and was able to tow the trailer to a welding shop. So a couple of hours and a few hundred dollars, they were back on the road.
Testing your equipment and your plan is the prudent thing to do.
Can you imagine finding a tow truck and a welding shop if we were really in a S.H.T.H. situation..........Alaskan

That is why we have this set-up.

The camper contains lots of gear and is ready to go at any time and can be pulled with the truck or jeep, or in a really bad scenario the tractor. This is besides BOB's in the house and vehicles. It stays ready behind a locked gate with a hitch lock on it. 5 minutes and it is ready to go.

We take it up to the land periodically and stay in it to test our preps.

Just an idea. It is enclosed and serves other purposes as well as storage.

Stainless; Just a thought.
I've seen a lot of pop-up tent trailers broke down along side the hiwy's here. The main reason is overloading them. The axles just wont take the heavy loads.
Might consider loading a beefier axle under it and larger tires. Just a thought..
.........................Alaskan....

Its rated for 2,100# and loaded it runs about 1,900#. I removed all non-essential items and modified storage areas. It is well under the weight concerns. If I beefed it up, I would have a hard time pulling it behind the Jeep (2,000# cap). But, you are correct, they are not designed for major weight, but for SHTF BOG they are more than capable.

3 BOB @ 50# ea - 150#
5 gal H2O - 40#
Food supplies - 50#
Extra Gear - #100
Ammo - #100
Trailer/camper - #1500

Biggest problem with campers is also people not keeping hubs lubed and keeping good rubber under them. I service after each trip and keep three spare tires (I haul it in the woods behind the jeep).

Stainless: Sounds like your on top of it.
Most of the trailers I see broken down have had plates for the "lower 48"
and probably they never checked the tire pressure since they left home in Dallas or Los Angeles or ?. Let alone checking the wheel bearings.
As you were !...........Alaskan

as far as dead batteries and broken hitches go...

They make a kit for trucks that will allow you to add a second battery to your vehicle. The second battery is wired to teh first, and can be used to jump start it without having a second vehicle. If ya'll would like I can try to find the link again and post it.

for broken trailer hitches...
a set of jumper cables and a welding rod make a decent makeshift welder. if needed you can attach one end (pos&neg) to a battery, and put the welding rod on the other positive. ground teh negative to the back bumper and weld away. ( I believe thats how its wired... been awhile since I've done it) don't forget to add a welding mask to your BOV and you have a makeshift welder just in case teh SHTF on your vehicle while the SHTF all around you...

unreconstructed1 wrote:as far as dead batteries and broken hitches go...

They make a kit for trucks that will allow you to add a second battery to your vehicle. The second battery is wired to teh first, and can be used to jump start it without having a second vehicle. If ya'll would like I can try to find the link again and post it.

for broken trailer hitches...
a set of jumper cables and a welding rod make a decent makeshift welder. if needed you can attach one end (pos&neg) to a battery, and put the welding rod on the other positive. ground teh negative to the back bumper and weld away. ( I believe thats how its wired... been awhile since I've done it) don't forget to add a welding mask to your BOV and you have a makeshift welder just in case teh SHTF on your vehicle while the SHTF all around you...

WOW! I had no clue you could do that, thanks for the advice.

Adam wrote:WOW! I had no clue you could do that, thanks for the advice.

yeah, like I said, you'll have to try the ground wires in a couple of different configurations, because I really can't remember teh exact way, but it works. it's basically the same idea as a regular stick welder anyways... stick+ metal+ electricity= fresh made weld...

Often we have customers put a second battery in their vehicle. I usually suggest a battery switch, or a battery isolator. The battery switch can manually switch your secondary battery on. One of the best i've seen lately is a boat battery switch. With this you can choose battery one, battery two, or both. Drawback is that you have to remember to switch to the secondary battery occasionally to keep the battery charged. The battery isolator will let juice flow in to charge the battery, but will not let juice out to start the battery. You will need to jump from one to the other, but it is always charged. If you go with the isolator, hook all of your accessories to that. A radio left on may drain your secondary battery, but your starting battery is still fresh..

thanks for the info, just copied it off.
I have a regular camping trailer, and it is stocked, just hook on and go.

You can hook two batteries in parallel with a switch between them. Put a diode (rated for higher amperage than the alternator) across the switch with the anode toward the primary battery. This will allow the secondary battery to charge but will not allow it to feed power back into the electrical system unless the switch is closed.

thanks, i had no clue about this either.