Tag Archives: BOL

An RV as a Bug-Out Location?

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Recently Sarah and I have been discussing the value of a recreational vehicle as a portable Bug-Out Location (BOL).

Some background: In the future (probably two to five years) we hope to get a five to ten-acre homestead in rural Western Washington. For now, because of family, finances, and life circumstances we live in a suburban neighborhood.

Risk assessment of the area we live: In the prepper world there’s the discussion of when and why you’d bug-out or bug-in in a disaster. Each family needs to assess the risks/perils of the area they live in. Our house is in a relatively safe location: no risk of floods or landslides, earthquake damage would be negligible, too far from the coast to be affected by tsunamis, we don’t get tornadoes, forest fire risk is low and wouldn’t reach us, we’re far from urban populations and their potential civil unrest, and it never really gets too hot or too cold here. Although Mount Rainier is an active volcano, as of 2010 there was “no evidence of an imminent eruption“. Sure an eruption would be a huge deal, but even if it did erupt we’re not in a bad location: we live on a hill top community any lahars would be channeled through the valleys around us, and most of the ash would typically be blown south with the prevailing winds (we live north). Our only real complaint about our current location is the small size of our property, and the density of the neighborhood population; we’ve worked hard to get as prepared as we can here, carefully using the space and resources available. In summary, we feel that–short of a complete collapse–we could stay here.

If there was a complete collapse where would we go?: At this point, probably to nearby family or friend’s home. That’s where the RV idea comes in. If we did have to go somewhere it would be a better situation if we had our own living space; very few homes have enough room for six additional people.

There are basically two major classes of RVs: There are motor homes (the kind where the vehicle is part of the unit) and travel trailers (the kind that are towed behind a vehicle). Both are available, in decent condition, for under $10,000 (used). After weighing the pros and cons we’d go with the travel trailer option and get a medium to large 5th wheel trailer. Having decided on a 5th wheel trailer means we’d have to have a vehicle capable of towing it. We don’t have one yet, but are actively searching for a 3/4 to 1-ton diesel truck so hopefully that won’t be an issue soon.

Advantages: While $10,000 is a lot, it’s not bad when compared to $100,000 to $200,000 for a true homestead/BOL. It gives you the flexibility of where you go in a disaster; what if your BOL isn’t an option? It also allows you to use it for camping or road trips (and you should, at least for practice), so it’s not like it’s useful only if the world collapses. Plus it could be pre-stocked with additional preps and keep in a secure off-site location — so if something did happen to our home we wouldn’t lose everything (repetitive and redundant).

Another thought is that it could be used during a pandemic as a quarantine area. Whether that means pulling it in front of our home, or on our future homestead.

Review the risks at your location, and your BOL options; a mobile BOL can be a good, flexible, in-between option.

(Friday: What We Did This Week To Prep)

Book Review: Holding Their Own

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Holding Their Own, by ‘Joe Nobody’ was a fun survivalist/prepper, post-SHTF book to read. Written in 2011, and set in 2015, it is very timely. There are many situations, in the book, that aren’t far from things that could happen in our own very near future.

The book begins as the nation is entering it’s second Great Depression. Iran, seeing the weakness and, finally, an opportunity to crush the “infidel beast”, activates sleeper agents in the United States. They unleash a series of murderous terrorist attacks against the population and the nation’s infrastructure. The U.S. government responds by closing down highways and bridges, declaring martial law and inadvertently pushing the nation toward collapse.

Our protagonist, Bishop (named by his chess loving father), is a former Army peace-time administrative officer. After his discharge he was unable to find work as a chemical engineer and is recruited by an old friend to work for a civilian security corporation (think Blackwater). Bishop had been a competitive shooter prior to working for the company; that, and the additional security training, weapons and equipment he was issued from the company, made him exceptionally well prepared when things began to deteriorate.

As the local troubles in the Houston-area worsen Bishop, and his wife Terri, suddenly find life as they knew it seems to be gone, possibly forever. At first the couple assumes (hopes) that it’s just a short-term situation and they band together with the neighbors to keep their homes safe. But soon the severity becomes undeniable and they must make a decision: Should they stay where they are and hope for the best; report to the established military checkpoints for “temporary housing and duties”; or attempt to drive 600 miles to Bishop’s old family ranch where they use to go to get away from it all–and where he’d established his bug-out location (BOL)?

They leave, after struggling between loyalty to their neighbors and their own self-preservation instincts. They know they don’t have enough fuel, any longer, to make the trip and are planning to be able to barter or scavenge resources along the way. The book describes their trip west across Texas; doing their best to keep their heads down and keep moving; occasionally being forced to stop and do what they believe is the right thing and helping others when they are able. Early on, the book establishes that Bishop doesn’t tolerate ”personal injustice . . .[it] started in elementary school with playground bullies, and I just have always been that way. It gets me into, um, well, uncomfortable situations now and then.” Those “uncomfortable situations” almost always turn out worse for the “bullies”.

The story moves along well and is very readable. Some of the dialogue was corny, and the few attempts at sexual innuendos were almost painful. The characters were mostly cardboardish, either good guys or bad. As a former medical professional I found the medical treatments, and recovery, inaccurate. Bishop–though not invincible because he gets hurt several times–recovers way too quickly; he is always ready, despite serious injuries, to charge forward. And while I think there’s a lot to be learned from the author about equipment and tactics, very little advice should be taken from the first aid described.

But I really enjoyed it overall. Because of it I have added night vision equipment and ballistic body armor to my ‘security wants list’. It also has provided me with my favorite new quote, “I will personally tie your body into knots, dip it in salt, and eat it like a pretzel while enjoying a beer.”

It is definitely as good or better than any of the post-apocalyptic books that I’ve read. I plan to give copies to a couple of my prepper friends, and as soon as I finished reading it I ordered the sequel, Holding Their Own II: The Independents.

(Wednesday: Sarah’s View)

The Family You Choose

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What Is Meant When We Say Family

Our immediate family

I talk a lot about the importance of family. How we are doing this (prepping) for our families and how we have these responsibilities because of our families. But what does family mean?

Ryan my biological son & Chanse our ‘chosen’ son

There’s a quote I like that says, “There are the families that we are born into, and there are the families that we choose – our circle of friends.” Another says, “Friends are the family we choose for ourselves.” When I use the term ‘family’ I don’t just mean the family I was born with and the family I brought into this world, I also include the friends I choose to call family. I believe family is how you define it.

As preppers it is important–and I believe may become much more important–to develop significant family support. Hopefully our families will be there to assist, defend, educate, and care for us. If possible, now while things are ‘normal’, coordinate with your family. Discuss with family members what your evacuation plan is, let them know when and where you will go. Encourage and assist them in developing their own – possibly one that mimics or overlaps with yours. Talk about possible BOLs*. Do you want to find a place together? Is it better to simply be close enough for mutual support? If a family member lives in an urban area and you live in a rural area, encourage them to bug out to your home. And, if that is the plan you decide on, coordinate with them in the interim to store extra food and supplies at your home (or vice versa).

We all have family members who aren’t interested in prepping at all and see the whole concept as somewhat idiosyncratic if not downright crazy. If pushed, their entire prepping plan is to “worry about it later”. If you love them, and know that if they come knocking on your door you will let them in, then plan for them. Plan to welcome them and, to the degree you are able, prepare for them now. In a world where human labor may be required to provide food, water, shelter, security and energy; additional people–who you know and trust–will be an asset.

Booth family reunion
Adams family reunion

Just as the last couple of generations have mostly forgotten about the importance of being prepared and of “laying up stores for the winter”, many have also forgotten about the strength, support, and love that their chosen family can provide.

(Wednesday: Walk A Mile In Your Shoes)

*For my list of abbreviations and other information, open the above ‘Check Here…’ page tab.

(added 12/29/11) Great family quote: “Being a family means you are a part of something very wonderful. It means you will love and be loved for the rest of your life. No matter what.”

What I Did This Week To Prep 10/21/11

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The north side of the Olympic Peninsula near Sequim (pronounce: skwim) is the area where we hope to find our BOL. We’ve spent considerable time determining what we wanted in a BOL community before deciding on Sequim. Our goal was to find something in a rural area near a small town, with a temperate climate, that was less than three hours from our current home; a location that didn’t require us to drive through the mountains, a major metropolis, or cross a bridge to get there. We really like the resources and feeling of Sequim; now we just need to find that right piece of property.

That part is much easier said than done. We’ve been tracking available properties online for several months. We had even gone to look at a few, but hadn’t found anything that interested us. Recently I’ve been watching one online that looked promising. We researched it further and agreed it’d be worth looking at. Since Sarah had an extra couple days off we decided to head out to Sequim and look at BOL property. We spent time looking at it and walking around the acreage, and we both really liked it. The property itself is great; the structures will need some work – but it had location, location, location. I’ll keep you posted if anything comes of it.

On the way back from Sequim we stopped in Vashon Island to pick up the newest addition to our family: a seven week old female Border Collie, named Kate. We had been in contact with the breeder for several weeks and were just waiting for her to get old enough so that we could go get her and bring her home. She is a cute little thing; as Emily says, she’s “freaking adorable.” Is a dog a prepper topic? Of course it is! Not only does a dog add to the home security with it’s heightened senses and awareness, it also adds comfort and a sense of normalcy in a stressful situation. Remember, you dog needs to be included in planning your preps: storing extra dog food, and including it in your evacuation plan.

Since we needed dog food for Kate, we made our monthly trip to Costco early. (Early in the sense that their monthly coupons weren’t available for another week.) They had a good price on Duracell Daylite LED D cell flashlights, so we picked up a couple of those. We have several flashlights, but they are already distributed throughout the house; we wanted to get a couple of quality ones to put in a central location. We bough puppy food (including plenty of extra), the Kirkland brand has good ingredients at a good price. We got some extra peanut butter and plan to get more before peanut butter prices go up soon – ounce for ounce peanut butter is one of the cheapest sources of protein available. Also wool socks were on sale so we got a few extra to add to our BOBs.

What did you do?

(Monday: One Man’s Tool)

(10/16/11)

Location, Location, Location

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five basic needs: 1) food, 2) water, 3) SHELTER, 4) security, and 5) energy

Shelter, Shelter, Shelter.

All locations are not created equal; big city, suburbs, small town, rural area. Where do you live? Your location will determine what type of disasters you are more likely to encounter, what services will be available in the aftermath, and the potential risks to your family and home during that emergency. A disaster that is catastrophic in one setting, may have very little effect in another.

Example: An apartment in a large city vs. a house in a rural community when an 8.5 earthquake strikes. City: gas, water, and electric lines break, fires start, water pressure drops, buildings partially collapse, debris falls, power is out, traffic gridlocks, the dense population panics. Rural: things fall off shelves, maybe the power goes out and you have to use your generator for a few days.

Some disasters, like the earthquake or a terrorist attack, give us no notice and all we can do is work to recover afterward. But others, like a hurricane, pandemic, or flooding give us time and the opportunity to make an informed decision.

<cue Should I Stay or Should I Go? by The Clash>

The decision: Bug in or bug out (stay or go)? If you bug in, what are your contingency plans to compensate for potential lost services: food, water, security, energy? If you choose to bug out (or have to), where are you going? What do you take if you leave? What do you leave if you, um, leave? What route are you going to take to get to your bug out location (BOL)? You also need to consider the ‘leave right now’ disaster where there are only minutes to evacuate, like a fire, or a gas leak.

With so many factors affecting this decision, how do you decide to stay or go? You analyze the situation, think about your plan, and ultimately decide: Am I most likely better off if I stay, or better off if I go?

If you choose to go, having a pre-determined plan is invaluable. Once the disaster starts, people may be scared, disoriented, separated, or hurt; it may be dark and/or cold (don’t ‘these things’ alway happen at night?), if we have a plan, we all at least know where to start. A written evacuation plan needs to include: 1) a ‘short list’ of what to grab quickly before you leave your home, 2) multiple routes to get out of your area and to your BOL(s), and 3) an extensive list of contact information for people and businesses in your life.

‘I don’t have anywhere to go,’ you say. If that’s truly the case, then you stay. But a temporary BOL may be as simple as a motel in a ‘safer’ area. Determine that area, one with several motels; make a list of their numbers in your evacuation plan. If you decide to leave, call early and get reservations. Motels frequently have generators and their own disaster plan in place.

Or, talk with a friend or family member; don’t just ask if you can go to their home, but agree to be each other’s BOL if necessary. Create a plan together. If you live in the city and they are rural consider pre-staging items in their home. But, if you’re city, why would they evacuate to you? A local emergency and they just need somewhere to stay a night or two.

We plan for the most likely disruptions first: personal injury, fire, local emergency, local weather. The catastrophic ones: major natural disaster, pandemics, terrorist attacks; if they come, will still require similar plans and preps. Developing an evacuation plan costs no money, only time – take that time now when things are calm (relatively speaking) so you can be ready when things aren’t.

(Wednesday: No, You Can’t Take It)