Lots of preppers fantasize about preparing bug-out vehicles to survive the apocalypse.
Even if you have the best bug-out truck in the world, if it’s not equipped right, you won’t survive.
In a survival scenario, failure equals DEATH.
So… have you forgotten to cover some life-or-death survival items?
Recently I spoke with expert Ryan Lee Price about the critical bug-out vehicle gear he recommends.
Here is a summary of what he told me.
Bug-Out Vehicle Survival Gear: Don’t Make These Common Mistakes
When you’re bugging out, just getting out isn’t enough.
Your vehicle has to be able to handle the travel, yes.
But getting there won’t help if the people INSIDE your vehicle aren’t well when they get there.
In other words…
…You have to be able to take care of the passengers in your bug-out vehicle.
Here are three things to make sure you cover so that you can do that.
1. Do You Have Food And Water… That You Can Prepare?
You’ve got to stay hydrated and you’ve got to stay well fed.
Otherwise, it’s going to be a pretty short trip.
You can last for a couple of weeks without food, and you’re not going to really enjoy your trip.
But you’re only going to get a couple of days, or three or four days, without water before it becomes a serious life-or-death situation.
Keep food for three days for each person in your truck.
It’s not as much as you might think.
On the market there’s nutritional bars that you can do that have 2,500 calories, or a block of them that can feed a group of people.
Granted it’s not great eats, but you’re going to stay well fed.
Don’t forget water, either: keep at least three gallons in your vehicle, which isn’t a lot.
The standard is one gallon per person per day, but that includes water for hygiene, too.
In an emergency, you can cut back on that, because a gallon will last for three or four days if you’re only drinking it.
Besides, water is very heavy, so you can’t necessarily haul a lot of it.
Remember, also, that you have to be able to prepare the food you bring, so make sure you have the necessary tools and means to start a camping fire.
3. Do You Have ENOUGH First Aid?
In an emergency scenario, the first aid equipment you have may be the ONLY medical gear you’ve got.
There is real danger someone could get hurt in a bug out situation, too.
You’ll need first aid, or a decent first aid kit, to help the people that are hurt along your way.
- You probably won’t be able to go to a hospital.
- There won’t be emergency services to come help you.
- You’ll have to take care of yourself.
Include a few different first aid kits, including a trauma kit, because these are a little more robust.
You also need things to handle cuts, bruises, and burns.
Ninety percent of the accidents you’ll experience are cuts and burns in emergencies.
As long as you have something to handle that, you’ll be okay.
A tourniquet and a suture kit are also good ideas.
2. Do You Have Shelter?
Shelter might be one that takes you by surprise, but you’ve got to stay somewhere.
You could easily say, “Well, I’ll just sleep in my truck,” or, “I’ll sleep in the back of my car.”
But say you have four people in your car.
With full gear for four people, there’s not a whole lot of comfortable places to sleep the night.
You can get away with it for a couple of nights, but…
- What if you have to abandon your vehicle?
- What if it’s stuck in the snow, or stuck in the mud, or stuck in somewhere, or it’s stuck behind a barricade you can’t get around?
- What if you’ve got to abandon it, but you’ve got to keep moving?
You’ll need some sort of tent or some sort of emergency shelter, a sleeping bag, or just an emergency tube tent.
Another alternative is a tarp with some paracord that you can fashion a tent out of.
You also have to keep warm, which is why sleeping bags matter.
(Thick wool blankets are another option.)
Make sure, when you’re bugging out, that you pay attention to your needs for food, first aid, and shelter.
These sound like basics, but you would be surprised how many people overlook these details.
