Comments

Episode-283- Emergency Vehicle Preperations — 18 Comments

  1. Jack you talk about cell phones in a BOB.Have you heard about a senate bill that was passed that states in a emergency you can still call 911 and they will answer evan if you dont have a plan or minutes.I was told this was passed into law dont know if its true or not.

  2. Any cell phone as long as it can recieve signal will make a phone call to 911. I used to work for ATT when it was cingular. Some of the best phone for this are some of the old analog phones that are still floating around. Dispite all of the so called upgrades they will still pick up better in rural areas.

    Jack there was a ton of stuff covered in this podcast…. where do you store all this. It just seemed like the entire truck of some cars would be totally full.

  3. Excellent show – one other suggestion in the “flare, lantern, flashlight” category – they make excellent spotlights that you can plug into the 12V outlet – can really throw out some light. This could be very useful for extra light if needed when navigating difficult terrain, emergency vehicle maintenance, etc. I have one with a very long cord that can easily reach the engine compartment or rear tires.

  4. I thought of one other addition to the car kit – a small medical emergency kit, especially if you have kids. I know this would normally be included in the BOB, but in normal circumstances when the BOB is not in the car a Advil or bandaid can come in very handy. You may have mentioned this, but I wrote down most of the items you suggested and didn’t recall hearing you mention this one.

  5. Regarding those solar battery chargers – they’re most likely 5W or so “maintenance chargers” designed to keep batteries topped up with a trickle-charge.

    They’re great for keeping the battery in your motorcycle, summer car, boat, etc, in good shape over the winter so that you don’t have to jump-start it come spring.

    I would not count on them being able to recharge a large dead car battery; possibly a small motorcycle or dirt-bike battery.

  6. Hi Jack, in the past few years I was involved with the Kane County Office of Emergency Management and went through the training modules on dealing with catastrophic situations. Some key things: Have 4 days of food, more of water and a plan. I’ll put a vehicular list of “didi-mau” stuff. That will be a big help in making people think of how serious this all is. Get stuck in a snow bank off a blizzard encrusted road and these could be life savers.

  7. A note and warning on Fix-a-flat:
    Back in the 80’s my father kept a can of this, along with a few quarts of vehicle fluids inside a lunch cooler in his car. In the california sun, the temperature in the cooler got hot enough to detonate the can, blowing out the vehicle glass and completely coating every surface with the other fluids in the cooler.

    I do not know if the current versions are more temperature stable. His car was often hot enough to deform plastics.

  8. Jack I had to laugh at your comments on people wearing coats. 63 degrees here in Colorado is flipflops, shorts and picnic weather. Pansies! BUT at 104 degrees I look like limp spinach. Thanks for a great show like always. We were dealing with a surprise snowstorm on Monday coming home from the BOL and you saw a lot of really surprised people. Luckily the roads were passable enough that people weren’t stranded but it could have happened in a heartbeat. How many were prepared? I can make a safe bet not many if any – it was still September after all! My man was because he listens to you. Keep preaching because it is greatly needed.

  9. For those of us who only have cars: I recently purchased a soft car topper bag called a Sherpak. They are made in 11 and 15 cubic foot sizes. It works best for cars with a roof rack, but it also comes with straps that are long enough to run through the car for cars without roof racks. It worked well for my family’s last camping trip with this caveat: a couple of the electrically welded strap attachments started to come loose. The eBay seller I purchased it from was very responsive and replaced it immediately. The 11 ran about $65, a lot less expensive than one of the hard shell roof carriers and held 3 camp chairs, 5 sleeping bags, two tents and an inflatable raft with assorted stuff to fill in around the edges.

  10. Great show. I feel a bit overwhelmed, but I just have some work to do on this. I look forward to a podcast on the BOB.

    Don’t forget a small sheet of steel to place under a carjack if on a soft shoulder of road – I think Jack mentioned this in a previous podcast.

    Like Patrat said, I am concerned about the sun in baking my water, gas and other stuff. I guess that will be OK.

    Cheers

  11. Awesome show. I love the podcast.

    Two additional items that could come in handy, that I don’t think were mentioned:

    1.) Mechanic’s gloves–for car repairs and other uses.
    2.) One or more candles, in case you are stranded in blizzard/cold conditions. A candle can keep you surprisingly warm inside a car, not to mention the provision of light and the help with morale.

  12. Thanks for the show Jack, I noticed when you mentioned having a shovel in your vehicle you specifically said “not an e-tool” what is the reason for not using an entrenchment tool? Is there a problem with these?

  13. Jack,

    Excellent show! I think it is one of your best and most important to date. I’m glad you did it on a Friday, I was able to listen twice on Friday, four times Saturday, four times Sunday and once again this morning. I’m planning to leave it in my daily playlist and start each day with it. If ever there was a show to be on CD for gorilla marketing purposes, this is it.

  14. I was thinking more about this show over the weekend and had a question for you folks that do carry extra gas – doesn’t your car smell? The couple of times I have transported containers (EPA-certified ones) in our van to fill them up it reeked – I usually take the truck for this reason, but unless I had one of the tanks Jack mentioned in the show (looks like toolbox, fits in bed) or had a cap on the truck, would not want to simply store extra tanks in the back out of fear they’d be stolen. How about wrapping the tanks in a heavy-duty garbage bag or something if one must store them in the vehicle? Any other ideas?

  15. When towing a trailer with your Bugout Vehicle you will get less MPG that without one. My 2007 Cheverolet Silverado normally gets 16 – 18 MPG without a trailer and only 11 – 12 MPG when towing my 6 X 12 landscape trailer.

  16. Regarding the comment about not being able to use a winch with a car: there are self contained units that do not need to mount to the vehicle itself. They can be attached by straps or however you can rig it. Harbor Freight carries some inexpensive ones. I haven’t used one yet, but they basically look like a chainsaw motor driving the winch drum, all mounted in a sturdy frame.