Good shtf vehicle type

[platinumdude]

What is a good shtf vehicle type if you need to get to your bug out place? 4x4 off-wheel truck or SUV?

I guess the truck can hold more cargo where the SUV will be a little better going off road in case a road or two are blocked.

[mightymanx]

M35 AKA duce and a half, they are cheap as hell at auction. They only go 50 though so not a high speed bugout but burn multiple types of fuel and get about 10mpg

[hoarder]

A stylish Lexus SUV with gold lettering, a sunroof, leather interior and 18" aluminum wheels with "cool" low profile tires to show everyone how "accomplished" and fashionable you are?

[platinumdude]

A stylish Lexus SUV with gold lettering, a sunroof, leather interior and 18" aluminum wheels with "cool" low profile tires to show everyone how "accomplished" and fashionable you are?


Ha. Well SUV meaning something like a Jeep or Xterra.

[hoarder]

The old Jeep Cherokees were good vehicles (not the Grand Cherokee). The ones with the cast iron head straight six. They had truck-like components and last 250,000 miles. Barely large enough to sleep in with the back seat down.

[Hillbilly]

Get an older Pre-1980 Suburban. Get a 3/4 or 1 ton 4x4 forget the half ton the rearends in those are just too weak and will leave you stranded. You can haul and camp with them and they four wheel pretty good too. The only advantage of the 6 lug half ton is that you can use the same wheels on toyota trucks so in a shtf situation you will have more tires and wheel to choose from.

If you were going to get the half ton I would upgrade the rear diff with a "C-Clip" eliminator kit this will keep your from loosing your wheel if the axle breaks. Ford uses that style on their 9 inch so they are good to go from a stock stand point and the heavy duty GM 3/4 and 1 tons use a floating axle that is damn near bullet proof.

Put a roof rack on it, some gas cans on the rear barn doors a big ram bumper and you got it made.

[Book]

http://www.gizmodude.com/entry_images/0308/11/mini_rickshaw_1.jpg

[beefsteak]

Book posts:
http://www.gizmodude.com/entry_images/0308/11/mini_rickshaw_1.jpg


That's not a "bug out" vehicle, Book, that's a "bug big sister" vehicle. :D

beefsteak

[Book]

That's not a "bug out" vehicle, Book, that's a "bug big sister" vehicle. :D



Might as well get them ready for their future in the USA.

:D

[Mouse]

Surplus .gov 80's CUCV scootarounds. The 1009 (blazer) variety sounds like your ticket. The trucks are lower geared and don't go very fast. I have a 1028 which is a badass farm truck. With detroit locker rear and clutch posi front axle, in the hardest packages that were ever built, the axles on my CUCV are worth more than the truck. But it isn't for interstate riding, max speed for not blowing the engine is about 60mph. In stock .gov form it will handle terrain that you would not believe, but it's not a rock crawler either. It's a damn good work horse and has proven it's worth in just having the lockers front and back with pulling neighbors out of the road to home when their 4*4 wouldn't get them there. They are 4*4 but both axles are open, so if one spins on front and back they go nowhere. These guys have posi/limited slip on both rear and front axle.....You going to get traction unless it's an ice field.

Horse would be the next answer. I need to get me one of those as well.

[Shami-Amourae]

Kinda would like something like this:

Start @2:25
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHC-vl61CMs

More:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7K6EXf-Udc

[Hillbilly]

What rear end do you have in there? is it a Dana 60 or the 14 bolt corporate?



Surplus .gov 80's CUCV scootarounds. The 1009 (blazer) variety sounds like your ticket. The trucks are lower geared and don't go very fast. I have a 1028 which is a badass farm truck. With detroit locker rear and clutch posi front axle, in the hardest packages that were ever built, the axles on my CUCV are worth more than the truck. But it isn't for interstate riding, max speed for not blowing the engine is about 60mph. In stock .gov form it will handle terrain that you would not believe, but it's not a rock crawler either. It's a damn good work horse and has proven it's worth in just having the lockers front and back with pulling neighbors out of the road to home when their 4*4 wouldn't get them there. They are 4*4 but both axles are open, so if one spins on front and back they go nowhere. These guys have posi/limited slip on both rear and front axle.....You going to get traction unless it's an ice field.

Horse would be the next answer. I need to get me one of those as well.

[ArgenteumTelum]

.....something without computer chips that can become fried by solar flares or EMP. Would like to start a list of those possibilities. Makes me pine for my old VW Bug and using a small light bulb to adjust timing. Those were good days..........
AT

[Mouse]

My truck has a Dana 60 front axle with limited slip (clutch type) and Corporate 14 bolt rear axle with Detroit Locker guts 4.56 ratio. NP-208 TC and TH400 6.2 diesel. The 1009 (blazer) was a 44 front but I think it was still a locker on the rear and higher geared to get Gomer to the dance faster.

It does have a couple solid state components in the glow plug circuit, and obviously the alternators could be abused by EMP but the glow plug stuff can be easily bypassed with a manual switch. Otherwise it's pretty much hardened. Chemical warfare proof .mil paint. I don't give a crap about hitting trees and bushes and stuff with it. Nice front grill guard, but it could use a headache rack. In stock form it's pretty badass for what I do with it which is mostly work on the farm and wood chunking. It's the go-to vehicle in bad snow over my other truck for sure. If I wrecked it I would just get new body panels from junkyard and rebuild it.

edit: my bad the 1009 (blazer) has a 10 bolt front and rear, the fronts open and the rear is Gov-lock (whatever that means, I assume it's posi)......

[Hillbilly]

If you can get a Dana or a corporate 14 bolt under that thing before shtf it would be great. GM 10 and 12 bolt rear ends are some of the weakest rears out there. At least put a c-clip eliminator kit in it otherwise if you break an axle your wheel will fall off. I know I have had that happen and it is no fun!


-

My truck has a Dana 60 front axle with limited slip (clutch type) and Corporate 14 bolt rear axle with Detroit Locker guts 4.56 ratio. NP-208 TC and TH400 6.2 diesel. The 1009 (blazer) was a 44 front but I think it was still a locker on the rear and higher geared to get Gomer to the dance faster.

It does have a couple solid state components in the glow plug circuit, and obviously the alternators could be abused by EMP but the glow plug stuff can be easily bypassed with a manual switch. Otherwise it's pretty much hardened. Chemical warfare proof .mil paint. I don't give a crap about hitting trees and bushes and stuff with it. Nice front grill guard, but it could use a headache rack. In stock form it's pretty badass for what I do with it which is mostly work on the farm and wood chunking. It's the go-to vehicle in bad snow over my other truck for sure. If I wrecked it I would just get new body panels from junkyard and rebuild it.

edit: my bad the 1009 (blazer) has a 10 bolt front and rear, the fronts open and the rear is Gov-lock (whatever that means, I assume it's posi)......

[kregener]

Anything that can get you and at least a few essentials 3 hours drive from any large city will be worth its weight in gold.

[mike88]

here's mine

[Mouse]

I don't know if you actually read my response or if you are on to someone else. The pic I posted is a generic 1009 blazer. It's not mine. My truck is 1028 which has all the goodies as described below right after I say "My truck has..." It's also rated 1.25 ton as has beefed up springs (not good for rock crawling but really nice for payload). Thanks to your tax dollars it was pretty inexpensive to procure this vehicle.

If I had a TC from one of the genset models with a TPO this could be my tractor.

edited: I was suggesting to OP that a 1009 might be the ticket. I don't have a 1009 Blazer. I have a M1028 with the heavy components. I am already in BOL.



If you can get a Dana or a corporate 14 bolt under that thing before shtf it would be great. GM 10 and 12 bolt rear ends are some of the weakest rears out there. At least put a c-clip eliminator kit in it otherwise if you break an axle your wheel will fall off. I know I have had that happen and it is no fun!


-

My truck has a Dana 60 front axle with limited slip (clutch type) and Corporate 14 bolt rear axle with Detroit Locker guts 4.56 ratio. NP-208 TC and TH400 6.2 diesel. The 1009 (blazer) was a 44 front but I think it was still a locker on the rear and higher geared to get Gomer to the dance faster.

It does have a couple solid state components in the glow plug circuit, and obviously the alternators could be abused by EMP but the glow plug stuff can be easily bypassed with a manual switch. Otherwise it's pretty much hardened. Chemical warfare proof .mil paint. I don't give a crap about hitting trees and bushes and stuff with it. Nice front grill guard, but it could use a headache rack. In stock form it's pretty badass for what I do with it which is mostly work on the farm and wood chunking. It's the go-to vehicle in bad snow over my other truck for sure. If I wrecked it I would just get new body panels from junkyard and rebuild it.

edit: my bad the 1009 (blazer) has a 10 bolt front and rear, the fronts open and the rear is Gov-lock (whatever that means, I assume it's posi)......

[Hillbilly]

Ok cool. I thought that pic was your actual rig. If you got it beefed up like that you are in great shape. I just know that the axles are the weak link in those in stock form.

Nice rig to have


Cheers



I don't know if you actually read my response or if you are on to someone else. The pic I posted is a generic 1009 blazer. It's not mine. My truck is 1028 which has all the goodies as described below right after I say "My truck has..." It's also rated 1.25 ton as has beefed up springs (not good for rock crawling but really nice for payload). Thanks to your tax dollars it was pretty inexpensive to procure this vehicle.

If I had a TC from one of the genset models with a TPO this could be my tractor.

edited: I was suggesting to OP that a 1009 might be the ticket. I don't have a 1009 Blazer. I have a M1028 with the heavy components. I am already in BOL.



If you can get a Dana or a corporate 14 bolt under that thing before shtf it would be great. GM 10 and 12 bolt rear ends are some of the weakest rears out there. At least put a c-clip eliminator kit in it otherwise if you break an axle your wheel will fall off. I know I have had that happen and it is no fun!


-

My truck has a Dana 60 front axle with limited slip (clutch type) and Corporate 14 bolt rear axle with Detroit Locker guts 4.56 ratio. NP-208 TC and TH400 6.2 diesel. The 1009 (blazer) was a 44 front but I think it was still a locker on the rear and higher geared to get Gomer to the dance faster.

It does have a couple solid state components in the glow plug circuit, and obviously the alternators could be abused by EMP but the glow plug stuff can be easily bypassed with a manual switch. Otherwise it's pretty much hardened. Chemical warfare proof .mil paint. I don't give a crap about hitting trees and bushes and stuff with it. Nice front grill guard, but it could use a headache rack. In stock form it's pretty badass for what I do with it which is mostly work on the farm and wood chunking. It's the go-to vehicle in bad snow over my other truck for sure. If I wrecked it I would just get new body panels from junkyard and rebuild it.

edit: my bad the 1009 (blazer) has a 10 bolt front and rear, the fronts open and the rear is Gov-lock (whatever that means, I assume it's posi)......

[FunnyMoney]

SHTF and a vehicle requires a little background for the provided information to be of any real use.

You have to assume the the STHF scenario doesn't remove the ability to obtain liquid fuels.
It is possible that select regions of the world could be completely cut off and energy shipments become impossible to obtain at any price.
In that situation, is there a vehicle that could be useful to your bug out location or small farming community? Bio-fuels have some potential there. But beyond the vehicle you would need to post the complete end to end system. How much fuel can be produced and the details of doing so for example.

It could be that some regions continue to receive fuel shipments but only of select types. What if you had for example a gasoline only powered vehicle at your bug out location or small functioning farm, but the only fuels that could be found within hundreds of miles were mostly nat gas? If you had already planned with a conversion kit ready then you would probably be ok, but not all vehicles work well converted.

Also, what if fuel becomes simply too expensive? A SHTF scenario where war wages in the oil producing regions of the world could seriously lower the global supply of energy to the point where unless your vehicle got really good MPG it would be too costly to run.

When providing a vehicle, I suggest you provide the whole story around why you think the vehicle will work well for you during and after a SHTF event. Otherwise the suggestion probably isn't any better than a team of horses.

[freespirit]

unimogs are probably one of the best SHTF vehicles to be had...ultimate versatility, lots of payload and very capable offroader...saw a used one fully restored, quad cab, 3-way tilt box, PTO's, on board air, etc., for like $30, 000.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZRews1U1K4

part one of three, all are worth watching.

[Hillbilly]

I think we need to distinguish between a "Shit Hit The Fan" event such as: Flood, Earth Quake etc where you need to get around but are not necessarily going to be getting out of town. from a "Bug out Vehicle" that you would employ for a: Riot, Civil Unrest or other melt down of society from a Full on "Road Warrior" Vehicle for a post Apocalyptic Dystopian Future.

You need to decide, given your position and the timing of world events which one of these vehicles you want to buy or build. If you have the money you might want all three or you might be able to have a combo vehicle that will accomplish most of what is required in any given situation.





SHTF and a vehicle requires a little background for the provided information to be of any real use.

You have to assume the the STHF scenario doesn't remove the ability to obtain liquid fuels.
It is possible that select regions of the world could be completely cut off and energy shipments become impossible to obtain at any price.
In that situation, is there a vehicle that could be useful to your bug out location or small farming community? Bio-fuels have some potential there. But beyond the vehicle you would need to post the complete end to end system. How much fuel can be produced and the details of doing so for example.

It could be that some regions continue to receive fuel shipments but only of select types. What if you had for example a gasoline only powered vehicle at your bug out location or small functioning farm, but the only fuels that could be found within hundreds of miles were mostly nat gas? If you had already planned with a conversion kit ready then you would probably be ok, but not all vehicles work well converted.

Also, what if fuel becomes simply too expensive? A SHTF scenario where war wages in the oil producing regions of the world could seriously lower the global supply of energy to the point where unless your vehicle got really good MPG it would be too costly to run.

When providing a vehicle, I suggest you provide the whole story around why you think the vehicle will work well for you during and after a SHTF event. Otherwise the suggestion probably isn't any better than a team of horses.

[mightymanx]

The lack of fuel is one of the primary reasons I went with the Duce.

The 465LDT can burn anything from used gear oil to coleman stove and lantern fuel. whild getting 10mpg on a 14K pound truck It also costs less than 1/10th of a used Unimog. Lots of Duce oners are using 75% used motor oil and 25% gasoline for daily use as a fuel.

How many abandoned cars can you drain the oil out of to keep on rolling?

[hoarder]

The lack of fuel is one of the primary reasons I went with the Duce.

The 465LDT can burn anything from used gear oil to coleman stove and lantern fuel. whild getting 10mpg on a 14K pound truck It also costs less than 1/10th of a used Unimog. Lots of Duce oners are using 75% used motor oil and 25% gasoline for daily use as a fuel.

How many abandoned cars can you drain the oil out of to keep on rolling?


What happens when you run it on fully synthetic used oil? Usually, used oil is a big question mark. Who knows what's in it?

[mightymanx]

I haven't tried it yet. If it works I'll bet I have squeaky clean injectors when after about 1 tank.

[Ash_Williams]

I'm going with suburban diesel 4x4. 45 gallon tank good for a long journey. Holds a lot of people and/or a lot of stuff. Can push smaller vehicles around if needed.

It also doesn't attract a lot of attention and it can be used day to day, so isn't just going to sit there with the fuel getting stale and parts getting dried up and corroded and the battery dying. Old military vehicles are cool as hell but they're not the kind of thing you can drive to the office in or otherwise keep a low profile.

Up here the thing that gets vehicles stuck is snow. I can't see ever needing to do rock crawling to get out of the city, or mudding. However, without the shit having hit the fan, I still drive through snow 1 - 2 feet deep several times during a normal winter. Without snow plows on the road, this would be far more frequent. Road flooding also occurs once or twice a year on average but doesn't get too deep since it's spread over a large area.

So with the snow being the main issue the Suburban is my choice. This year at a friend's farm a bunch of use tried our vehicles out on the snowy field and a stock 1500 '95 suburban 4x4 with worn all-seasons beat the hell out of the 2500 silverado, qx4(pathfinder), big-money jeep, 4runner, and subaru (useless) and two others that I've forgotten. I'd like to see it up against an Excursion but short of that I don't expect any regular street vehicles would be able to touch it in the deep snow.

And if you are on the road and a car is blocking your path, you can push it with the suburban. With my old suburban I was able to push a crown vic forwards and sideways (it was in park) on a paved dry parking lot without too much trouble. I used 4-lo but I'm not sure it was necessary. No damage done to the suburban (my bumper was already beat to shit so it looked basically the same afterwards.) If you had proper push bars on the front of a heavy truck like that I think you could push you way through jams or small roadblocks pretty easy.

[Hillbilly]

Those Suburban Gas tanks are Awesome! That is 9 Jerry Cans worth of gas. Or to think of it another way. Most regular gas tanks hold 17 to 22 gallons of gas so the Suburban enables you to carry 4 to 5 Jerry cans worth of gas all the time. You add a couple to the barn doors and you know have 55 gallons of gas!

2 things you can do to your suburban to make it tough as nails. 1) get a good Towing/4x4 shift kit put in your transmission. This will make your tranny run much cooler and live a lot longer especially if it's a 4L60. 2) Put a positraction unit in the front end this will make sure that both front wheels turn at the same time when the 4 wheel drive is engaged. Most 4 wheel drives do not come from the factory with this and it will make a night and day difference in your 4 wheeling capability.

Another good thing about the Suburban is you can build a Platform in the back so that you can stow gear under there and it will be out of site for your daily travels but ready if you need it. And you can sleep on top of it with out having to shift every thing around. I made one of these for mine and it made camping so much easier. I also. took out the ride side jump seat so now. I can sit on the edge of my Platform and my legs don't have to be sprawled out in front of me and I can put my shoes and socks on comfortably from inside now.

Suburbans might not be great rock crawlers because of their size but they have great weight distribution and that makes them excellent in the snow and mud and for pushing like Ash said.



I'm going with suburban diesel 4x4. 45 gallon tank good for a long journey. Holds a lot of people and/or a lot of stuff. Can push smaller vehicles around if needed.

It also doesn't attract a lot of attention and it can be used day to day, so isn't just going to sit there with the fuel getting stale and parts getting dried up and corroded and the battery dying. Old military vehicles are cool as hell but they're not the kind of thing you can drive to the office in or otherwise keep a low profile.

Up here the thing that gets vehicles stuck is snow. I can't see ever needing to do rock crawling to get out of the city, or mudding. However, without the shit having hit the fan, I still drive through snow 1 - 2 feet deep several times during a normal winter. Without snow plows on the road, this would be far more frequent. Road flooding also occurs once or twice a year on average but doesn't get too deep since it's spread over a large area.

So with the snow being the main issue the Suburban is my choice. This year at a friend's farm a bunch of use tried our vehicles out on the snowy field and a stock 1500 '95 suburban 4x4 with worn all-seasons beat the hell out of the 2500 silverado, qx4(pathfinder), big-money jeep, 4runner, and subaru (useless) and two others that I've forgotten. I'd like to see it up against an Excursion but short of that I don't expect any regular street vehicles would be able to touch it in the deep snow.

And if you are on the road and a car is blocking your path, you can push it with the suburban. With my old suburban I was able to push a crown vic forwards and sideways (it was in park) on a paved dry parking lot without too much trouble. I used 4-lo but I'm not sure it was necessary. No damage done to the suburban (my bumper was already beat to shit so it looked basically the same afterwards.) If you had proper push bars on the front of a heavy truck like that I think you could push you way through jams or small roadblocks pretty easy.

[solid]

I have a soft spot for Jeep Wranglers. I used to own one, and it really impressed me with it's capabilities. That little Jeep could really rock crawl and take you through some tight spots.

Plus, if you have to bug out in the winter, you could do this to it for the snow..

[Ash_Williams]

Those Suburban Gas tanks are Awesome! That is 9 Jerry Cans worth of gas. Or to think of it another way. Most regular gas tanks hold 17 to 22 gallons of gas so the Suburban enables you to carry 4 to 5 Jerry cans worth of gas all the time. You add a couple to the barn doors and you know have 55 gallons of gas!

I'm sure you could add another tank on the suburban if you needed more range, there is a lot of wasted space underneath those trucks. Or you could attach gas cans there. Even without more fuel, I'd think 700 to 800 miles should be enough. If your bug out location is any farther than that then you have other problems.

I used to think, if I ever killed someone and had to get rid of the body, I'd wrap them up good and then tie them up on the underside between the driveshaft and one of those giant frame rails. No worries about cops searching your trunk on the way to the lake/cliff/pit.