While we’ve considered and support home schooling we are not sure if that will be a good fit for our family. Several of our friends (as well as some fellow authors) have or do home school. In fact, my youngest sister is being home schooled now. This of course would eliminate this as a problem from a school perspective, but what about other situations? Whether it is out at a friend’s house, playing sports or in a church sponsored activity, my children are not going to be near our preps all the time. I personally have by get home bag, but I want my children to be trained and to feel prepared and confident in the case of an emergency.

Valerie over at Prepared LDS Family posted on this topic today and explains what she has done for her school age children. There is some good information in her post and it gave me something to think about. My children will likely find a little note with pictures of our family comforting. I also can’t build a small kit that contains everything my child might need, especially in a size a child will be able to keep in their backpack everyday. However, a few juice boxes and granola bars and a space blanket could make all the diferrence.

I know Phil has invested significant time in preparing his children for an emergency. What have you done? How much is too much? I look forward to hearing the conversation on this in our comments section.

Wrap-It-Ice by Shield-Safety

Today I decided to write a little review on a product that I really wish I didn’t have to do. The reason for this is not for a lack of quality in the product, but the fact that I actually needed to use it. Yes, this is a first-aid bandage that I’ve had sitting in my cabinet waiting until needed, and now it is.

Several months ago I met with Mike at Shield-Safety, and went through their sales pitch about some first-aid products they had.  While a lot of what they did was not new, they had several things that did pique my interest and stand out as something I wanted to buy. Now I’m not normally a person to give into a home sales pitch, but the Shield-Safety people approached us a little bit differently, they taught first-aid basics, and how to actually use the different items that you should have available in a home first-aid station. One of the products they had that got my attention was a sealed wrap for sprains.

I’ve always had a nice supply of compression wrap bandages to deal with my always twisting ankles. So why would I need something different? Well one of the main things you always need after a sprain is to keep the wounded area cold. The common way to do this is to surround with ice, however ice is too cold and to keep from causing more damage you follow the pattern of icing for fifteen minutes, then keeping it off for fifteen.  The Wrap-It-Ice product helps with this by taking your gauze wrap, and keeps it soaked in Ethanol, Arnica, and Menthol.

Ethanol

Ethanol is included for two reasons that I can easily see. First the wood-grain alcohol has a good, known evaporation rate. This evaporation acts like sweating to actually cool the compressed area down.  Secondly, while I wouldn’t want this on an open wound obviously, it does act as an antiseptic helping keep things clean.

Arnica

This was a new one for me. Apparently Arnica refers to several plants related to the sunflower that collectively contain traces of thymol. And since I’m sure that leaves you with questions the same way it left me let me summarize some things I found online. Thymol is used in liniments and ointments because it is clinically proven to help with surface capillary damage (bruises), both in pain and in restoration. Also it seems to be used as a fungicide, and antiseptic. Not bad for extra features.

Menthol

This is another great “multitasker” in sprain or bruise treatment. Menthol provides:

• A local/topical analgesic – gets rid of some of the pain
• Is a smooth muscle relaxant – lowers the tension and pain
• Is antipruritic – reduces itching
• Increases the cooling “sensation” – Feels better
• Essential – Usually made up from essential oils, and provides a smell that has a psychologically calming effect.

Getting Wrapped

After a rather hard week at work, my wife and I decided to join several other couples last week at a volleyball night at our church. The fun evening ended (I should have expected it) when I landed wrong, and quite severely rolled my ankle. Having plenty of experience in the matter, I quickly got my shoe off, some ice on, and elevated my foot to quickly stabilize myself.  After a few minutes, and allowing myself to get over the “CRAP THIS HURTS”, we went home so I could give it a little better treatment. My wife went to grab a bandage, and came back with one of the Wrap-It-Ice packages, deciding that now was as good of a time as any to see if it really lived up to its claims.  We opened the pouch and dressed the ankle as normal, the only difference in that the bandage was quite wet.

For the first minute or so, I really didn’t feel much (outside of the “CRAP THIS HURTS”), but shortly after I began to feel what I’d hoped for.  A nice cool sensation was starting to penetrate into my skin, and the aforementioned pain started getting pushed away.  While I wouldn’t expect this to get rid of all pain, it very quickly made a notable difference, and after my ibuprofen kicked in, I was feeling quite well about things as long as I didn’t step on the darn foot.

Conclusion

The bandages claim that they will provide “An hour of instant cooling and compression”.  Well about a minute to cut through a very painful sprain is about as instant as I think you can get, and that really did impress me.  As for an hour, it seemed to go a bit longer. And yes, it was quite cool, but not frigid like ice so I didn’t have to rotate.  It kept my ankle and a very steady temperature the whole time. I really do think it helped prevent the heavy bruising that I was expecting, and minimized my swelling (along with the proper procedures of elevating, and taking ibuprofen of course).

Now, could you make this yourself? I’m sure you could add alcohol and some essential oils to your bandage and get at least some of the benefits of this product. Even better if you can find a source and the proper dosage of that Arnica. I’d go so far as to say that would be a very good thing to learn and have on hand no matter what. BUT, this was actually a quite impressive product, at a pretty sane price for a medical item.  They come in a nice sealed container so you don’t have to take the time to mix it together, and they’re made for a local company that seems to be trying pretty hard to not just sell first-aid equipment, but really wants to teach you how to use it.

For me, yeah, I want to learn how to do it myself. But I know I’ll be buying a replacement for my medicine cabinet as well. It’s a well-made product that really delivered as promised. And while I would have rather not had the opportunity to review it, I’m really glad it came out well in this real-world test. Go check it out for yourself: Wrap-It-Ice.

As handy as the device is, there were some shortcomings.  First off, the device I most wanted to use on it is extremely finicky with what it allows to charge (yeah, it’s an iPhone), and the variability of solar electricity meant that the iPhone didn’t like accepting the charge.  Secondly, some of my devices simply take AA or AAA batteries, and I didn’t have a good charger that would run off the USB adaptor that the 7m provides.

Thankfully there is a relatively new product that addresses these shortcomings, their Goal0 Guide 10.  In short, it’s a battery charger, that doubles as a combined power pack for those devices you would most likely charge from the panel.

Key Features

The Guide 10 is a very simple device, that makes lightweight solar usage possible for a backpacker. It starts as a simple AA or AAA charger. It just plugs in to your 7m (or other panel) through their simple adaptor, and you can lay it out in the sun. If you are hiking, the 7m already has loops to tie on to your pack, and the Guide 10 has a nice metal cable so you can attach with a carabiner. The Guide 10 is operated via simple three way switch. On allows you to charge devices from the rechargeable batteries, Off allows you to stop providing power to external devices to stop phantom power drains and recharge the batteries at a faster rate through your solar panel. The third position turns on an integrated LED light. Simple and handy, this proved quite functional when using my kit. Charging may also come via a standard USB Mini-B adaptor, which plugs into a standard usb in case you wanted to charge from a computer or other device.  Using the device means simply either taking out the batteries to use them, or plugging into the full-size USB port and flipping the switch to run in ‘power pack’ mode.

Inline Charging

For devices like my phone that don’t like the variables associated with solar charging, the Guide 10 really helps provide a clean power source.  If I simply plug in the phone to the pack, and the pack to the panel, I get the correct amount of power to my phone even if a cloud decides to get in the way. Even if your electronics are too finicky, it’s a lot easier on them to be treated this way!

Storing For Later

Sure, a power pack of four AA batteries isn’t going to power my laptop, but I have a lot of devices that work quite well on that much electricity. While I could provide a lot of light with one of Goal0′s Light-a-Life’s, they are rather large and too bright for backpacking.

Using a small USB powered light stick though works extremely well.  During my last campout I would plug in one of the Luna Lights into a battery pack, and have just an amazing flood of light for our group. Best of all it barely sipped the power even from these AA batteries.  Using the light for several hours during the night, I still only needed a small charge during the day to get back to full power. I could have easily still gone to charge a phone or other devices along with my lights, which I think is the critical test I needed to prove this was the right size for my needs.

According to the product site, the 7m panel takes approximately 3 hours to charge the Guide 10 while a 3.5 watt panel takes approximately 6 hours.

What’s Missing

When looking online, I noticed them using AA and AAA batteries. However in the package, it doesn’t have the plastic insert you need if you want to charge the AAA batteries, unless you buy that specific model.  This was my one strike against the product.  You get the insert supposedly by purchasing a pack of their Goal0 branded rechargeable batteries (you can use any NiMH rechargeable though). Personally I’d suggest just getting the one pack of their batteries for the adaptor, and then using your preferred brand. Nothing wrong with theirs, which are a nice modern battery, but there are plenty of options in that space.

Apparently though, James bought the full Adventure kit, and that did come with the AAA piece. It seems it doesn’t come with just the standalone Guide 10 (in the two that I purchased).

 Conclusion

To me, the Guide 10 pack is what really makes the Adventure Kit worthwhile. While the set with the speakers and panel is nifty, the real usefulness exists only when you add this into the mix. If you haven’t already bought one, they now sell it with the batteries and charger instead of the speaker as the Goal0 Guide 10 Adventure Kit.  If you are building any kind of Get Home Bag, BOB, or similar emergency kit where you want to be able to maintain a charge on some small communications or light devices, this is the best product on the market for lightweight solar charging. It’s extremely simple to use, doesn’t have unnecessary pieces, and will easily attach to your pack.

Email edited for screen readability only (spacing), and redacting names.

——-

This was sent to a friend of ours March 13, and I’ve edited out names,they felt we could learn from this experience about a ‘real’ emergency. Hope it helps someone here.

Hi Everyone, We’re doing “fine” here. Considering what is going on around us. When the first big quake hit, around 2:45 in the afternoon on Friday, I ran to ***** room and grabbed him out of his crib. We’ve had plenty of earthquakes in the 2.5 years we’ve been here, but this one was huge. ***** started crying and calling for me –I got him too and we huddled on the stairs away from windows and light fixtures. The two boys were walking home from school and came in while the house was still shaking. They thought it was exciting. I yelled at them to “GET BACK OUTSIDE!” because I’d just been told if you’re outside, you’re supposed to stay outside! I sat on the stairs praying: “Please protect my kids, please protect my kids, please protect my kids…” It seemed to last forever (around 5 minutes I’ve heard) and then the aftershocks just kept coming and coming. They’re still coming.

They evacuated the hospital and **** was able to come home around 4. [I can't tell you what a relief it was to have my whole entire family safe and together. And how upsetting it was/is to think of people all over Japan who have family unaccounted for. It's really hard for me whenever one of the husbands has to leave.]

Since then, the power has been out and we haven’t had any heat or access to phones (to the states) or Internet (except ***** getting one e-mail out from the hospital.) Friday evening we moved our friends in with us (**** and **** and three kids) since they just shipped   their stuff to the states in preparation for their move in two weeks. It’s been nice to have them around because everyone is on edge and extremely stressed.

Yesterday (Saturday) they opened the commissary (No lights, cash only) and we grabbed some extra food, water and diapers. Since we have the standard Mormon “food storage” I wasn’t too worried about running out of food or water, but I didn’t have any spare diapers so was happy to buy three big boxes yesterday for *****. (And yes,I bought two big cans of hot chocolate. Priorities, people!)

We went to church for a shortened meeting to take the sacrament and get the news today. All members of the branch have been accounted for and we’ve heard that all the missionaries in Japan are accounted for also. (Big relief.)
The power is now back on off-base which is how I have Internet access right now. We’re at ***** house. Hopefully it stays on.

We were asked at church to see what extra coats, blankets, food and water we can round up to donate to the Japanese people nearby. I feel heart sick thinking of those who’ve lost homes and loved ones. Although you probably know much more than me, I hear the devastation is extremely great. We were lucky to be so safe on base and grateful our off-base friends and neighbors were okay.

The earthquakes (aftershocks) haven’t stopped and I spent all night last night having nightmares about running from collapsing and buckling buildings. The kids are on edge and tantrums are at an all time high. They keep busy playing during the day, but when it gets dark and we have to ration flashlights and candles it gets extra hard to keep the peace.
A few things I’ve been wanting to tell people and note for the future:

• Get an old school, corded phone. If the power goes out, your cordless won’t work. We were lucky to have a corded phone upstairs which helped ***** coordinate with the Branch President to get accountability of church members. (The phones have worked on-base off and on, but we were never able to get a call through to the states.)
• Speaking of accountability, in an emergency, if you’re going to leave your house–leave a note on the door saying where you are going so when guys from church or work coming looking, they’ll know where you are.
• When the power went out, people off base couldn’t get their cars out of their garage. Turns out there is a special crank to use but most of our friends didn’t have it or know what it was. Luckily ***** had parked outside and was able to get her kids to our house Friday.
• We’ve been cooking with our camping equipment. Note to self: Buy a 20 pack of small propane tanks. We’ve also used our outdoor BBQ (in the cold) and I’m wishing I had a spare tank of Propane for that.(We still don’t have power and don’t know when it will come back on On Base. Estimates have said 24 hours (we’re way past that) to 1 week, to indefinite.)
• Do you have an extra refill of your prescriptions in your 72 hour kit? It’s terrifying to imagine running out of the things you take every day. Also, the thought of my kids getting sick and not having enough Children’s Advil and/or Tylenol made me pretty nervous until I verified we had some of each.
• For ONCE I was glad to be doing Dave Ramsey yesterday when we had plenty of cash on hand to shop at the commissary. But we also have a cash and yen emergency fund hidden in the house for back-up which was very comforting.
• While I’m making notes to myself: Buy a hand crank wheat grinder and blender! (We have a freezer full of frozen fruit to make smoothies but no way to blend anything.)
• Flashlights are a pain in my butt. All of our stupid Rayovac crappy-**** batteries that I had stored for an emergency, LEAKED! So the flashlights are all slowly dying, being over used by the children, and being misplaced. The best source of light the last two nights has been the pillar candles I’ve had in the cupboard for fancy table settings. They seem to burn pretty slow and shed a lot of light. I’ve gone through 3 and have 1 left. Wish I had a 20 pack of those in my 72 hour pack. It would be nice not to worry about running out. Small, light weight, energy efficient lanterns would be nice too.
• Also, my next house will have a wood burning fire place. This all would have been much easier if we could have been warm.
• Also, I’m buying all my kids a down comforter. We have one on our bed and we’ve been fine at night, but the kids need 20 blankets piled up to stay warm. (Actually, the older boys each have a two layer fleece blanket which is pretty warm, but unfortunately, they’re not very big.)

(Poor little ***** had to spend yesterday in his snow suit to stay warm. The poor little guy must be sensing the stress because he’s been quite out of sorts. He’s always shivering (even when bundled) and very clingy. The kids are all confused and upset but mostly hanging in there. Like I said, it’s been nice to have friends to keep us company.)

Sorry, I’m rambling on and on but I’ve had all this stress for the last two days and my main way to process is by writing my thoughts down. So I’ve been going a little nuts feeling so disconnected.

A few more random thoughts: The last two days this thought kept running through my head “All are safely gathered in.” I can’t express enough how glad I was/am to have my family around me. Please say a prayer for our many many friends with deployed spouses. This is a very stressful time here and it’s really sucky for them to be apart. Also, please pray forall the Japanese people who are missing or displaced. So sad.

We were very blessed on base to have running (freezing cold) water. Off base, sewer lines broke and contaminated the water supply they weren’t even supposed to touch it.

Today we sang “I Need Thee Every Hour” at church. Has a lot of meaning right now.

Okay, there are other people who need to use this computer. Everyone on base is coming off base to try to contact family.

***** husband (Pilot) is at work trying to coordinate rescue efforts so I should go down and help her take care of the multitude of children and get everyone some lunch.

Please pray for us (us being everyone in Japan) and if you feel so inclined, find a way to send some warm blankets to people who’ve lost their homes. Don’t know when I’ll be back on-line again, but hopefully soon.

Thanks to everyone for your concern. I knew (figured) there were people praying for us back in the states and it helped to think about.

Buying a dedicated camper, pop-up tent, RV would be nice, but they are generally more than I want to spend, are single purpose and often require separate registration here in Utah. I often find a need for a small utility trailer for hauling mulch, compost, etc. and here in Utah, smaller trailers under a certain weight and size don’t need to be registered. When I obtained an old home built utility trailer recently, I decided to jump head first into a home built adventure trailer build.

The trailer I started with appears to be completely home built using a ’50′s Chevy truck axle and springs with thick angle iron completing the frame. The sides were made of weathered wood and close inspection showed that the wood sides was only attached to the frame with four bolts. I quickly removed these four bolts and the floors to get the frame down to bare essentials.

Once to this state, I sandblasted the frame to ensure that the rust present was only surface rust. Once this was confirmed, the trailer was off to my friendly neighborhood welding specialist at Horvath Hot Rods just down the road in Spanish Fork. Joe and I worked together to determine the side height, tail gate configuration and rack design.

I also ordered my ARB Roof Top Tent and Annex from Cruiser Outfitters around this time. While Roof Top Tents are generally meant to mount to the roof of a 4×4 vehicle, they work well mounted to trailers too. An added bonus with mounting it on a trailer is that you can also unhook the trailer to drive around without needing to pack up the tent. Roof Top Tents contain a thick foam padded mattress and get you up off the ground away from dirt and critters. They set up by unfolding and take about 10 minutes to get completely set up. Putting them away is about the same. The rack system we designed for the trailer allows the tent to deployed at about about 4 1/2 feet tall with the rack lowered or at 6′ 2″ with it raised. Raising the tent also allow the Annex to be attached which provides a large area for changing, getting things out of the weather or extra sleeping space.

After about a week, the trailer was nearly ready, just in time for a camping trip over Independence Day weekend. The trailer at this point lacked a few features before I could call it complete, but was ready to be used for a simple camp ground camping trip.

The trailer worked great on the trip, hauling everything we needed for the long weekend and providing a comfortable sleeping area.

Once back home, I was finally able to find some fenders which had proven hard to source. I took the trailer back in to Joe Horvath and he mounted the fenders, built in some steps for the fenders, moved the spare tire to one side, built a Cooler rack and moved the propane carrier. I also added an ARB awning to add some shade.

Then we were off to Montana for a week of camping. Again, the trailer proved to be a great place to sleep. I’ve added some LED lights from Ikea that provide a ton of light in the tent and as soon as I solve some issues with the switch will get the wiring affixed more permanently. Once I have that and a few more things buttoned up, we’ll store the trailer in the garage, loaded up with our camping gear, some food, water, etc. so we can be off and camping in minutes, providing a larger scale 96 hour + kit for the whole family.

Below are some pictures of the build process. Please let me know what you think.

Three MonoVaults, 107, 212 and 152

Recently, some of the Utah Preppers authors met at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show in Salt Lake City. This is where we first met PolyFarm. After some discussions to learn about their production, they were kind enough to provide us with sample of one of their smaller MonoVaults to review and to beat up with some tests. I really like the idea of the product so I purchased a couple larger sizes so that we will be able to review several different sizes.

Above are the three models that we have on hand to test. As you can see, they range from small to very large. The large one is more than capable of holding two full size long guns with scopes attached with some room left over for other gear. The base product number is listed in each of the pictures below. All the models I have are “s” or Standard Models. They also offer “t” models that have an extra think sidewall for increased protection. Given their already sturdy construction, I don’t know if this is necessary for most applications.

Description of the tubes

The tubes are made from a “Heavy duty polyethylene extrusion” with a machined area to securely mount a Gamma Seal lid. Those of our readers familiar with food storage products are probably already familiar with these fantastic lids. If not, check out the link.

Gamma Seal lids are great, but aren’t particularly heavy duty. To account for this, Poly Farm developed a “Burial Shield” that slips securely over the lid to protect it. The burial shield acts as a heavy duty protective cap.  From their site:

In burial applications, the Burial Shield directs moisture away from the gasketed lid, keeps the lid area clean, protects the lid from soils and foot traffic, and protects the lid from excavation damage in recovery.

Of particular interest on their site, they show promotional pictures they took when testing some of the tubes, by loading a truck, as well as a front-end loader on top of the tube, in order to display the strength.  Worth checking out if you have some interest.  We might try that, but only after our burial tests.

Although Gamma Shield lids are great, I doubt they would hold up to repeated pounding with a shovel. The burial shield on the other hand appears to be proof against just about any sort of battery it is likely to see while buried or during recovery.

The shield goes on tightly but I doubt it is waterproof. If that is a concern for your application I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to use a silicone sealer for enhanced water/moisture protection of your valuables.

An interesting note is that PolyFarm told us that it takes as much work to make a large tube as it does to make a small one. The extrusion process is the least of the work in both time and effort. Machining the lid area to securely mount the Gamma Seal lid is the most critical and time intensive part of the manufacturing process. This process leaves a one piece tube with no joints below the lid assembly. With the shield properly attached and waterproofed water should have no means of reaching the contents of the tube.

Below are some pictures showing the 212 model in grey.

MonoVault 212 empty

MonoVault 212 Cap off

MonoVault 212 protective cap

MonoVault 212 opened

The Green 107 model is shown below in several pictures and with a book to provide some perspective as to the depth of the container. This is the smallest model PolyFarm produces.

MonoVault 107 empty

MonoVault 107 with a Triple Combination inside to show size

MonoVault 107 Cap Off

MonoVault 107 top

In an upcoming post we will be burying several of these tubes and comparing their performance over a 30 day burial with the cheaper PVC pipe alternative.

Stay Tuned!

Mossberg 500 JIC

I have to admit that I have been a little obsessed with finding a decent option for burying, sinking or otherwise hiding a firearm and other preps since I first saw Mossberg’s Just In Case line of products a number of years ago.

In case you aren’t familiar with it, the line includes a Mossberg 500 shotgun in a pistol grip configuration, a highly durable waterproof tube and depending on the version a survival kit, multi-tool, etc. For some reason I just fell in love with the idea of being able to tie a concrete block to a tube and toss it into a pond to hide it, or bury it somewhere up in the woods.

I can add my own survival kit and tools instead of relying on what I am sure is cheap Chinese made junk and I already own a number of shotguns and have never been a fan of the 500′s so I was more interested in the tube itself. Unfortunately, Mossberg doesn’t sell the tube by itself nor have I been able to discern the manufacturer.

In the few years since the JIC was introduced I’ve read a fair number of articles, reviews and opinion pieces on the Interwebs concerned with burying firearms or other supplies. People seem to have very differing opinions on all aspects of the subject, ranging from whether it will ever be necessary or even prudent to whether there is any way to successfully store a firearm in the ground for any period of time.

In my mind, the question was answered in January 2008 when an author for Backwoods Home magazine wrote an article describing his 15 year experiment burying and finding a Ruger Mini-14 The author used grease, mylar bags and PVC pipe to successfully bury, store and retrieve a rifle, ammunition and some tools in a wooded area for 15 years.

Some take-aways from this article

• Preparation is key. Be sure to properly prep and seal the contents and container against the elements.
• Find at least three immovable landmarks and measure from them to your burial location.
• Landscapes change over time and memories become distorted. Take non-descript pictures if possible before you dig
• Scout out your location before hand. Be familiar with the area you are planning to use. Know when people are there and when

In addition to PVC piping there are now a number of companies providing burial tubes and other products of a similar nature to preppers. The folk at PolyFarm of Idaho were kind enough to provide us with a sample of one of their products which we will review and test in a follow up post.

Our plan is to review the products offered by PolyFarm; then in a subsequent post start a one month side by side burial test to compare the PolyFarm MonoVault to the cheaper PVC alternative. We will also plan to discuss the methods we used to triangulate the location and some methods to help disguise the location from metal detectors or other detection techniques.

Stay tuned!

The Bug Out Vehicle (BOV) is an essential part of every preppers inventory.  It is the means by which, should we find ourselves in a SHTF scenario, you will get you and your family to safety.  It should be able to not only provide reliable transportation for the family, but to haul all the gear you plan to take with you.  Alternatively it can also provide shelter, depending on your needs and how you see yourself bugging out.

Other considerations include fuel, water, comfort, heat, etc.  For me personally, I’ve wanted to have an RV as my bugout vehicle for a long time.  Until now my plan has included my 15 passenger van pulling a trailer as transport and someone else in my family driving my truck pulling a trailer as needed.  Our shelter plan was to sleep in one of our large tents and use our potty tent and a bucket toilet.  We have several stoves that we planned to use for food prep and several coolers for food storage.  Many know I have 8 kids – this plan would have worked but it was never optimal to me.  What I wanted was to have an RV that would provide transportation, shelter, food prep, etc all in one.

I’ve been looking for my RV solution for a long time.  As most of you probably know, they’re ridiculously expensive!  Since I refuse to go in debt for it (for anything really) I’ve been hunting for the right deal.  One of my buddies is a mechanic and I let him and several others know I was looking.   Months later, that finally came through for me when the buddy I mentioned found me an older RV that was in cherry mechanical condition that would sleep my whole family.  It’s old and the inside needs to be almost completely re-done, but it’s totally serviceable.  The great part is, I got it for $900.00!

My plan is to be able to park the RV, position the back of the box truck by the passenger door so supplies are readily available and pitch a large wall tent about 8 feet past the door to the RV with a pavilion pitched towards the rear of the RV.  That will allow us a comfortable, open air if we want it, setup where we can live pretty easily.   Now that I have the RV I’m several steps closer to having my bugout plan in place!

So, this fall I’m hoping to make several posts showing the projects we’re doing with it.  I plan to outfit it as a total BOV that we will keep stocked and ready to go.  I’m also still looking for a box truck (like a Ryder moving truck) to complete my bug out plan (to take that instead of my truck).  I already have trailers to pull behind each vehicle so we’re able to take everything with us that we need to.

I’m going to pretty much gut the inside of the RV, replace the beds, carpeting, etc.  Redo the shower, re-upholster all the cushions, install new batteries, replace all the catches on the cupboards, replace the propane fridge with one that works, install a small flatscreen tv, install a HAM and CB radio, install a computer station, figure out a satellite internet solution, fully stock it with non-perishable food, dishes, cooking gear, camping gear, clothes, guns, etc.  I basically plan to redo the entire inside and fully stock it to bug out, should be a fun project!

Here are some pictures of what it looks like right now:

She ain’t all that pretty, but I like it that way!  It’s a 1978 Ford Econoline.

Looking to the front from the kitchen area, sleeping area up top, couch and dining area that convert to beds, fridge barely on the right and the sink on the left.

Looking towards the back from the kitchen – Master Bedroom, bathroom with sink, toilet and shower.  Stove and cooking area on the right.

Our physical needs prioritized – The Rule of 3′s

1. 3 minutes without Air or Blood
2. 3 hours without Shelter/Warmth
3. 3 days without Water
4. 3 weeks without Food

But, you won’t be bleeding or without air in every emergency situation so this list is not perfectly prioritized and it is lacking some priorities.

One of the biggest challenges to becoming prepared is, “Where Do I Start” and “What Are My Priorities?”  Phil has shared his Evacuation Preparedness List which took a tremendous amount of time and experience to evaluate, prepare and share with all of us. Some people might become overwhelmed looking at a list like this because it could take years to afford everything on this list, or indecision as to where to start could lead to not doing anything. Phil intended his list to be “all inclusive” and then pared down to personal needs/skills/desires. So where to start?

Start With The Priorities. Priorities create a framework against which to evaluate each preparedness item and idea. With each item you consider adding to your list to acquire, learn or do, ask yourself, “Do I have higher priorities than this that I haven’t taken care of yet?” For example: What good will your food storage be if you freeze to death the first day or die from some other cause weeks before you would have starved to death? What will kill your fragile fleshy body the fastest? Take care of these priorities first. Your priorities may be different than mine, but you must have in your mind a priority framework so that everything you learn and evaluate makes sense and has a prioritized place.

I submit the following list of Priorities for your consideration. Over the past week I have contemplated the following list and the Rule of 3′s above. I have re-arranged the lists, questioned each item, combined them, etc. and finally whole-heartedly accepted the list below as my own priority framework. I learned the list below from Jim Phillips, but now I have completely internalized this list and it is now mine, exactly as I learned it.

Emergency Preparedness Priorities:

1. Clothing
2. Water
3. Sanitation
4. Special Needs

Clothing
I would submit that Utahns in general are less prepared in this area than any other area of preparedness. Clothing is your first layer of protection against danger. You can quickly be in trouble and even die at 60° F if you become wet and cold. It only takes 3 hours or less to die in the cold and 93% of Utahns (yes I did calculate this) live where cold is the norm for most of the year. Just today, mid-June, ice fell from the sky at my house. More people die above freezing than below zero because we just simply are not prepared to live, not just visit for a few hours, but live 24/7/365 in the cold without the heated boxes we live and transport ourselves in. Clothing is our protection, our portable shelter and our heat source. Proper clothing is the least expensive, longest term, universal solution for dealing with the cold. It is only without proper clothing that we must use shelter, fire, etc.

Water
3 days without water. That’s all we get whether we are in an emergency situation or not. I would submit that this is the second area where Utahns are least prepared. We need clean water with us, we must know how to find it,  we must be able to collect it, we must know how to purify it and have the tools/expertise to do so.

Sanitation
1 day to several weeks. Sanitation includes protection from anything we might contract through the air or by touching. It also includes the elimination of fecal matter or anything else that would endanger our health. Even if it takes several weeks to die from lack of sanitation, you still died and all your other preps become worthless. Sanitation is much more than toilet paper and disposing of bodily waste. We must have the knowledge, skill and products to sanitize surfaces, keep from touching unsanitary objects and disposing of dead animals/bodies. Sanitation is a frequently avoided subject since, well, it is an uncomfortable subject. Talking about manly tools is cool. Talking about food storage is, comfortable. Sanitation? Uncomfortable, but essential. Get over it. Become an expert. Protect yourself and your family. Sanitation is a priority no matter what the emergency is.

Previous sanitation posts include DIY Homemade Sanitizer and Pandemic Quarantine Preparedness.

Special Needs
Some people might die within minutes or hours without electricity to keep life-support machines working or critical medications. You can bleed to death in 3 minutes or less. Personal protection may be the top priority is some scenarios. As you evaluate your personal life-sustaining needs, is there something that is absolutely essential to your survival? For some people there may not be any Special Needs.

What is missing? In Utah where Emergency Preparedness=Food Storage, I’m sure there are many that believe food is a priority. Food is not a life-saving priority! It takes 30-40 days to starve to death depending on who you ask (but yes you will get progressively weaker). In the majority of emergency scenarios, things will be fairly normal within 30 days. The chance of starving to death in most emergencies is slim to none. I personally have gone 8 days without eating. I’m still alive.  My point is very simple. If you haven’t taken care of the other priorities, you won’t be alive long enough to even touch your food storage.

Now that I have risked offending everyone reading this, food storage IS important. Being able to produce, acquire and grow food IS very important. Everyone SHOULD have a 2-year supply of food. I am just submitting for your consideration that a 2-year supply of food will be worthless if you haven’t taken care of the other priorities first.

Emergency scenarios fall into two categories, stay-at-home or evacuation. When prioritizing your list of things to learn, acquire, etc. remember to consider both scenarios to ensure you are protected whether at home or away.

My challenge for you is to establish  your own priority framework, re-prioritize your own “lists” against this framework and then acquire, do, learn those items on your list according to your priorities. From my experience this exercise will transform your lists into becoming manageable and less stressful as things are done in “order”. You will also find that you will be less inclined to buy everything someone says you “need” to become prepared as you compare each item against your priority framework.