Are you truly prepared?

An opportunity of a lifetime has come up. Your great uncle Chester has died and left you his Prevost motor home. The lazy lawyer calls you and tells you the keys are in it, along with a notarized transfer of title in your name. You can pick it up anytime, it’s in trust at a local storage yard. Just show your ID to the guard to gain access, before he hangs up.

You work out time off, and transportation to the next state to pick it up. En route along the five hundred mile trip you dream of cruising the highways in luxury, the envy of all other R-V’ers. While at the same time you can barely remember what uncle Chester looked like. But you decide he’s your favorite uncle anyway.

You arrive without a hitch and you are given access to the stunning million dollar luxury motor coach. That starts easily, and runs like a dream. As you pull onto the highway, it’s like riding on a cloud barreling along at seventy miles an hour.

Half an hour into the five hundred mile return trip home. The engine mysteriously dies, as does every other car and truck on the freeway.

Are you truly prepared?

 

Where is the vehicle you arrived in? and what is it?

 

In all fairness this is actually double edged sward. I am sure we all have given a lot of thought on how we would make it home. The true question is how much thought have we put into our home, if we are not there when the SHTF?
Are you truly prepared, if you make it home alive, a week or longer after the SHTF?

 

Really? double edged....grass? And I believe I asked a question or two. That could make a big difference how to answer that question.

 

You took the greyhound because you ain’t got no friends to drive you?
It’s a Lamborghini Diablo, a Ford F150, or a Bentley, makes no difference. You are weeks out, have you prepared your home for that?
Are your neighbors splittin your stash? Having their way with your dog? Or worse?

 

If it is an early Ford, like the 66 F-100 I used to have, there is very little that CAN go wrong with it. it would be an easy fix. fuel, air and spark, and you can roll start it if you have to. (I've done it many times) it wasn't fussy about sparkplugs either. Only reason I ever got rid of it, was the engine block split, and EVEN THEN it ran, until the radiator was dry.(never use Slick50...EVER)
If it is a modern car or truck, start looking for a bicycle.

 

Even if you had that truck it is no guarantee you will be able to buzz along the highway unimpeded. Besides the thousands of stranded motorists wanting a ride. You have to take into consideration the likelihood of bridges and narrow stretches being choked off. If you take back or country roads. You have to add to the mileage. Considering that five hundred miles is already beyond the fuel capacity of that truck. How will you refuel? Besides what about the real question, is your home prepared for your extended absence during a SHTF?

 

No home is completely safe from attack when the owners are gone. Part of what I do, is keep people out of places they should not be. I know dozens of ways to breach a home, or business. with and without my mainline tools. As to fuel, abandoned cars will have fuel, but you will not be able to siphon it out, as I read in all these stories. cars since the 70's have mostly all had anti-siphon fuel intakes (fill pipes) so the best bet for fuel will require a spike or screwdriver, a bucket or pan, and breaching the tank or fuel line to drain off gas. Glass jars would work just fine.

 

“No home is completely safe from attack when the owners are gone.”
As true as that statement is, it makes no difference at all when it comes to protecting your Cache. The biggest problem I can see is laziness, and lack of forethought when it comes to protecting your hard earned, and needed supplies. Filling your pantry is convenient and easy. Hiding your cache is difficult and time consuming. Especially when it comes time to rotate your goods. For some the solution will be easy just wall off a wall in a basement or storm cellar, but for others it can be much more difficult. You may have to break up your supplies and stash them separately. And yet for others there is no suitable location at all within their home, so they will have to look beyond their boundaries. Whatever your situation it is my hope that we can share ideas and aid each other in an honest and open discussion.
For me I don’t have a basement or a cellar, so I made use of the crawlspace under my home. With a shovel and some plastic water drums, I was able to make out well enough. I have to admit rotating stock is a bitch but I set aside some time every month to do my best. I also drain my water barrels and refill them with fresh water, so I make a half day of it. For me it is not a chore It makes me feel good knowing I am providing a layer of security for my family.
Hope this helps CTHorner.

 

What y'all haven't spent decades developing a network of good friends across the country that you can advise that you are coming through their neck of the woods?

tsk, tsk.

Might want to get started.

 

Plus, side note...that much water being flushed, and filled, will show anyone watching, that you are hording water, and where.

 

“Filling your pantry is convenient and easy.“ “No sir, it is not.”

You appear to be digging deep to find fault with my response.
And YOU have taken what I wrote completely out of context.

Whether this is intentional or not each person reading your reply will have to decide for themselves.

I would like to keep this as an open and honest debate, so lets try and keep it honest. The statement you refer to means putting what you have in the way of stores, is easy to put them in the pantry rather than spending time and effort to find another safer location.

No where in my posts did I imply let alone suggest the size of ones cache. Only that you can take steps to protect it. I even went to lengths to allow for people who don’t have anyplace to hide their goods. As if one lived in an apartment, rented a room or the like. They could look outside their boundaries to hide what they could.


So whether you have a thousand pounds of Mountain House, or a cup full of dried beans the strategy I suggest is the same. Take some TIME and EFFORT and hide some away. Apposed to taking the easy way out because “Filling your pantry is convenient and easy.“

And if you have nothing at all to cache, you could still share what knowledge you have for those who come here for advice.

As for me rotating my water, I already said I like to do it. I use the water to water my trees so it doesn’t go to waste. Thanks for the concern but my neighbors can’t see over my fence.

　

CTHorner.

 

Good question, there in lies the rub. I have read countless posts on get home, but not a single response on what would be happening at your home while away. So for fun I thought I would ask both at the same time, to get the reader to think it through. Answer it how you like, I just ask that you consider everything.
CTHorner.

 

Not all situations are the same, However my situation is not unique either. I live in a small town, where municipal water ends at the city limit. Everybody else is either on well water or haul their water. It is not uncommon to see trucks or trailers with large tanks of water traveling the roads. My yard is fenced as I said earlier, so in my situation I can do as I please. I enjoy working my cache, so it is not a hassle for me. And I don’t waste the water, I water my trees with it. As for my house burning down, it is likely I will loose my cache. It is impossible to cover all scenarios, but hiding my cache will keep it safe from looters, while I’m gone or from confiscation if there are door to door searches.
CTHorner.

 

My Home is Not Empty If I Am Gone. Though I am the Primary & Most Effective Defender Of My Home, It Is Still Not UnGuarded. My Truck has a 500 mile range @ Cruising Speed without additional Fuel needed. If its electrical Parts are Dead, oh well, shanks mare it is. My E&E bag kept in the truck, as well as my Everyday Bag, & a variety of items kept in the truck will be enough to see me thru on my way home. I wouldn't be capable of fighting a war all the way home, but when yer alone you pick & choose your battles. But no worries about my home, as the key to the main Firearm storage is known to only one other, an you just don't wanna piss off a Countryboy's Mother!


After all, who ya think was Shooting the first time I ever saw a Gun in Real Life!

 

I am not trying to find fault with your post. I simply don't like the assumption, if it is not your way, is is because we are lazy. In another post, I was told my way was just too hard. too much work. Are preppers responsible for the unprepared? Don't every call me lazy, You haven't a clue.