Comments

Episode-745- Prepper Vehicles and Creative Fuel Uses with Tim Glance of Old Grouch Military Surplus — 17 Comments

  1. Great points on selecting the best preparation vehicle for yourself. I would especially consider the sustainability aspect. We’re talking about fuel options, parts availability and if the SHTF, can you walk down the road for less than a mile and find a parts vehicle on the side of the road?

  2. I’d also like to add a comment that wasn’t touched on in the discussion about the benefits of diesel fuel. Even if you don’t have an older style engine that can run on kerosene, waste motor oil, waste vegetable oil, biodiesel, automatic transmission fluid, etc.. diesel fuel stores for much longer periods than gasoline. With gasoline you need to rotate your fuel every 6-24 months depending on how you store it. The ethanol in gasoline makes it store poorly. It is said that you can store diesel fuel for decades, and the only considerations might be using a biocide to prevent algae from growing in the tank. You can also recondition old diesel that was stored poorly by using a biocide, filtering the fuel to remove the gunk, and any potentially accumulated water. I don’t believe there are any reconditioning steps you can do to old gasoline that has broken down into varnish.

    In terms of sustainability, being able to put up a few hundred gallons of diesel fuel that you don’t have to rotate is a huge plus. Being able to extend that with waste oils is another plus.

    Diesel fumes are not flammable like gasoline fumes, so storing diesel is much safer. Diesel is designed to burn at extreme pressures/temperatures, it is said that you can throw a lit match into diesel fuel and it won’t ignite.

    There are concerns such as fuel gelling and algae growth, but they are at least manageable. With ethanol blended gasoline, you have no options, and I’ve yet to see any places where you can buy non-ethanol gasoline.

    • Great points- Diesel is safer and easier to store as well as carry with you. I have used untreated fuel that was at least 10 years old with no problems.

  3. I was a bit disappointed. I think the show was a bit oversold. I really enjoyed it, but you guys really limited the discussion of prepper vehicles. In the future, perhaps you could interview someone who has converted a truck to run on woodgas. Talk about a universally available source of fuel…

    • I would have spoen of wood gas, but I know pretty much nothing about it, so doing so would have been a great disservice to the listeners.

      That said, I have seen and looked at a few wood gas vehciles, and to me they all seemed quite fragile and very labor intensive. In that regard they seemed like more of a novelty to me than a seriously reliable alternative. The idea seemed like it would have more merit in a stationary application like a generator.

      Maybe Jack can get someone with knowledge of that for a future show- I would love to know more about it.

  4. I think the show was excellent and covered one aspect of prepper vehicles and diesel alternates thoroughly.

    The show notes clearly stated it would be focusing on diesel vehicles. I would prefer to listen to shows like this, that focus in detail on one portion of a subject. This seems more useful than 5-10 minute highlights of several options.

    One addition, I’d like to suggest people consider is an exhaust air jack. Especially for people who have strength or mobility issues, these devices can be great for an emergency flat or even used to lift or assist in extrication if a vehicle is in a location where a standard jack isn’t practical. Larger versions of these are used frequently for heavy vehicle and equipment recovery.

    Here’s a link to one company, but there seems to be several manufacturers.

    http://www.airjackusa.com/

    Keep up the good work Jack.

    • I do like air jacks, and you are right for someone with phyiscal issues that preclude the use of a Hi-Lift they are a good alternative.

      However, I like the Hi-Lift better because it is so versatile. It is a jack, but it is also usable as a come-a-long, I use them for pulling fence posts, pulling barbed wire tight, and so much more. Fire departments use them for lifting cars and parts of collapsed structures off of people when a hydraulic or air jack can’t be used, and even popping jammed doors open to free a trapped occupant. Last week I moved my 12×20 shed by lifting one end up, setting new blocks, and pushing the building to the side so it slid sideways.

      In fact if Jack could get them, a represenative of Hi-Lift would be great to talk about all the cool uses something as simple as a Hi-Lift jack has.

  5. Hi there,

    Really enjoyed the show, but there is something I don’t understand…there is nothing ‘grouchy’ at all about Tim…he seems like a hell of a nice guy. Maybe his father was the original old grouch.

  6. Tim…I have been trying to get Jack to buy an M1009 or M1008 for a year. Thanks for coming on the show. I too run a 50/50 split. I could run 75/25 here in Houston most the time but it’s easier to do one part and one part. I run my atf/oil/hydaulic mix through filters and then a centrifuge made by Wolferine Tech. off of steel soldiers. It’s a great centrifuge at $1000. You’re right…on my M1009 I get 21mpg on the highway which translates to about 40 miles per diesel gallon.

    On my M1008 I tried running Humvee wheels and tires to get more mpg. This created death wobble in the front end. So I replaced everything in the front end including the steering box which had way too much lash to take out. The death wobble only came back if I hit a bad pot hole. But since my wife drove it some I did the frame support modification. I say all this because I spent over $1600 in what I did and should have just went with a beefy 700r4. Sometime when you take the dive into something it becomes a money pit.

    I’m installing an OD Iron AC unit in the blazer but I think I will go to 12volts first after hearing your podcast. I can remove that pass side alt. and put the compressor there.

    Thanks for sharing.

  7. I liked the show even though at first I was not all that excited about the topic. I would like to see Tim back for a show about military surplus in general.
    What surplus backpack were they talking about that was really nice?

    • We discussed the possibility of a show about surplus in general, so that may happen in the future.

      These are the packs:

      http://store.oldgrouch.biz/itmialru.html

      So far my efforts to get more have met with no success. That is one of the things about surplus, unlike a traditional store our supply is erratic and unpredictable, so if you see something you want if you wait too long you may miss your chance to get it.

  8. OK- so this is freaky …I’m listening to Jack’s podcast this afternoon …..after making a delivery in Sylva NC ,I’m going to my next delivery in Canton NC -sitting at a light in Clyde NC ,I look over to my left and there’s the Old Grouch military surplus store with Tim’s truck with a trailer attached sitting right in front! I’m looking at his truck as they are discussing it! Small crazy world……!

  9. I enjoyed this show… and I don’t think it’ll be the last PrepVec show that Jack does.

    Yeah, what was that Italian backpacks that destroys all other backpacks?

  10. Excellent show!!! Thanks Jack and Tim!!! Since it aired I’ve been researching WMO and WVO. I like the WMO approach best. I’d like a crew cab CUCV (not dually). What model number(s) and model year(s) would be best for WMO? Any tips on what to look for to make sure one is okay to purchase?

    • @Van – the crew cab is rare as hens teeth. Good luck on that one. Check out steel soldiers dot com. There may be someone selling one on that site. Also, if you are concerned about EMPs buy one that is mechanically fed and not electonic. Someone else correct me if I am wrong but that would be pre-93 on the GMC side and pre-94? on the Ford side.