Preppers can spend thousands to tens of thousands of dollars on bugout vehicles. Unfortunately, most of us do not have that kind of disposable cash – even for an item of such supreme importance.
We live on oursurvival homesteading retreat and have no intention of bugging outunless completely forced to do so to save our lives, yet we stillhave multiple bugout vehicles. Well, we have multiple vehicles thatserve a dual purpose: daily essential use on our survivalhomesteading retreat that, and bugout vehicles.
Just like when you are packing your bugout bag or making a decision about EDC items, any item that has dual or multiple potential uses is a major plus. The number of potential drivers, your budget, and local terrain will dictate what type of bugout vehicles or vehicles that will best serve your needs.
There are a plethoraof articles circulating around the internet about the best bugoutvehicles – most of which are absolutely awesome – but require you tohave very deep pockets. If OPSEC is a priority (which is shouldalways be) nothing screams “A Prepper Lives Here” louder orquicker than a military style truck painted in full camo, sitting inyour driveway.
If you live in arural area like I do (and all preppers should) it would be far easierto hide such a truck, but you will still have to shell out a heftyamount to purchase, rehab, and retrofit such a hardened bugoutvehicle – and will likely be able to purchase just one. Remember thetried and true prepping mantra, “one is none and two is one.”
Now, I’m not chastising anyone with the ultimate bugout vehicle, especially if it has been hardened to hopefully withstand an EMP. I am merely doing what most best bugout vehicles reports don’t do: giving you low-cost, multi-purpose options.
You should thinkoutside the box when contemplating what actually constitutes a bugoutvehicle. That is exactly what this best bugout vehicles guide seeksto accomplish. There might just be few great bugout vehicles in themaking sitting on your property right now!
Off road capablevehicles are the best option when contemplating a bugouttransportation purchase. Not only will your vehicle need to be ableto drive off of well-maintained pavement, so will the trailer it ispulling.
The type ofterrain your bugout vehicle will have to traverse, especially if youare not fleeing your prepper retreat until well into the doomsdaydisaster, has to be taken into consideration when purchasing orretrofitting any vehicle. Carrying extra tires, parts, and tools tomake repairs quickly while on the journey will likely vastly increaseyour chances of survival.
How To Choose TheBest Bugout Vehicle
Ask yourself thesequestions before making a decision about buying bugout vehicles, orturning a vehicles(s) you already have into a quick escapetransportation option.
How many driverswill I have?
This may seem like a simple question, but it might not be. It is safe to assume typical traffic laws really won’t be enforced during a SHTF situation.
This may mean your 15-year-old can be put behind the wheel of one vehicle while you drive another, doubling how much you can take with you when bugging out – if he or she are mature enough and mentally/emotionally stable enough to handle such a task.
Our Polaris Ranger is an automatic, making it easy enough to drive that a 10-year-old has been behind the wheel – as well as my 82-year-old mother.
The Polaris Rangeris equipped with a hitch and now a sturdy wench. It can seat twoadults and two small children in the cab (and a baby on the lap) aswell as two adults and a child in the rear (or gear). It has hauledthe number of folks in the cab noted above as well as one adult andabout 250 pounds of gear in the rear while pulling a trailer loadedwith old barn wood up a steep gravel hill without any difficulties atall.
Mileage and FuelStorage
Purchasing a largemilitary style truck, old school bus, or a tractor-trailer wouldallow you to take a lot of preps with you when bugging out andprovide a place to sleep (and have space for exterior verticalgardening) as well, but each of these modes of transportation havemileage issues and will require extensive refueling if your bugoutlocation is not located fairly close.
A large bugoutvehicle will provide enough space to store extra cans of fuel,especially if make use of its sturdy roof and/or also haul a trailer.But, if the primary seasoned adult driver becomes incapacitated,killed, on a scout, or is forced to take over defensive tactics iftrouble arises, will another family member be able to assume thedriving responsibilities of such a massive vehicle?
Ideally, purchase a bugout vehicle that is graded to get a minimum of 23 to 27 miles per gallon -MPG. A higher MPG would be great, but if you go that route the vehicle will be so much smaller, so you will be sacrificing substantial storage space. Remember, MPG is almost always calculated on highway miles, not when going up hills, making frequent stops, or when the vehicle is loaded from the floorboards to the ceiling with people and gear.
Should Finding a4-Wheel Drive Diesel Bugout Vehicle Be a Priority?
There are at least two distinct advantages to purchasing a bugout vehicle that functions on a diesel engine:
- Fuel Flexibility– you can make your own biodiesel fuel after gas stations run dry orare no longer functional (or safe to drive to) and when your fuelstockpile is empty.
- Longevity– Diesel fuel remains usable long after gasoline becomes to sludgyto run through an engine – even if you use fuel stabilizer. Onaverage, diesel fuel can last up to 10 times as long as gasoline.
A bugout vehicle that is not 4WD might be useless during a SHTF event. Traveling the roads will not only likely be unsafe at least in specific areas, but there’s absolutely no guarantee the roads will not be either jammed or intentionally blocked.
Even if you are not planning on driving very far (plans can change in an instant during a bugout situation) you may need to get off the road and travel through the woods or on dirt, gravel, or muddy secondary roads. Driving a non-4WD vehicle while attempting to do so will most assuredly leave you both stranded and vulnerable.
Top 10 SUVs WithBest Gas Mileage
- Jeep Cherokee
- Land Rover
- RAV4
- Subaru Forester
- GMC Terrain
- Nissan Rogue
- Jeep Compass
- Honda CR-V
- Chevy Equinox
- Hyundai Tucson
Top 10 Pickup Trucks With Best Gas Mileage
- Dodge Ram 1500
- Chevy Colorado
- Ford F-150
- GMC Canyon
- Toyota Tacoma
- Honda Ridgeline
- Chevy Silverado
- Ford Raptor
- GMC Sierra
- Nissan Titan
Using your daily driver or a space 4WD vehicle also as a bugout vehicle means you can keep it loaded with beyond your typical EDC and bugout bag wherever you go.
This will allow you to bugout far more quickly – or get home, to your spouse’s work, or your child’s school with more than minimal supplies and bugout without having to return home for your gear – which might not be possible in either the short-term or long-term after a SHTF incident.
If a truck will be a bugout vehicle, invest in a “truck tent” that can be set up in the bed of the truck or extent to the ground for sleeping quarters – they go up and down quickly.
Keeping a locked truck bed box in the back of an SUV or pickup – or two such boxes, will allow you to haul more preps and still have room for routine storage, like groceries or a child’s sports equipment.
We keep a locked truck bed box in our daily drivers, and two backup older Chevy Blazers with enough food, water, clothing, emergency medical supplies, ammo (and tools) so that we could survive for up to a week without returning home. A space tire is mounted beneath the vehicle in addition to a donut tire in a wheel well built into the truck.
How Much Stuff AmI Taking With Me?
How much space is needed to transport preps, people, and animals (both livestock and domestic pets) will vary greatly by family or tribe (my favorite term for mutual assistance group).
Before even thinkingabout buying, building, or retrofitting a vehicle of any type tobecome a bugout vehicle you must not only take a complete inventoryof what you believe is essential to take with you, but factor in howthe extra weight will impact fuel usage, speed, and tire wear.
Thoroughly reviewthe specs of any vehicle you plan on using to bug out, and do a testrun if at all possible to make sure it will work in reality like itdoes in theory.
Do SUVs andTrucks Make Good Bugout Vehicles?
The short answer is yes, but both have their pros and cons. If you want to harden any vehicle to make it more EMP-proof and bullet resistant, there will be a substantial cost involved – especially when converting a conventional vehicle like a pickup truck or SUV into a bugout vehicle, as opposed to doing the same with a military surplus truck or heavy-duty all-terrain vehicle.
Smaller vehicles,like a 4-wheel drive Chevy Blazer will haul fewer preps and people,but will have better gas mileage than a larger SUV or truck – and canstill haul a trailer.
Benefits of Vehicles with Modular Interiors
A modular interiorvehicle basically refers to a camper or motorhome – an RV. Whenusing a recreational vehicle as a bugout vehicle you have twooptions: leave it as is, or remove the interior so it can hold moresurvival gear and people.
Even though my family’s plan is to bug in and not out, we have multiple potential bugout vehicles – including a camper and a motorhome on our property. Our plan is to use these RVs for living quarters for tribe members and outposts, but as all preppers know, even well-laid plans must be adaptable to sudden change.
Both a camper and a motorhome are multi-use bugout vehicles. They are great hiding in plain sight preps that won’t alert neighbors to your survival planning, can be used both for vacation and weekend self-reliance training purposes, as housing for members of your tribe, and as a bugout vehicle.
Reliability is keywhen purchasing any bugout vehicle. If your campers or motorhomes areprimarily stationary (as ours are), try to move them or run themoccasionally, just like you test your generators to make sure boththey and all of their components are in working order and the tiresare not allowed to bow, rot, or swell from sitting in the same placefor months or years on end.
Do ATVs Have Value as Bugout Vehicles?
The answer to that question is a resounding yes. A 4WD ATV can get you in and out of about anywhere, especially when equipped with a wench.
Depending on the type, ATVs can haul as much gear or people as a small car when a trailer is attached. Trailers must not only be durable, but equipped with quality all-terrain tires to be able to follow the 4-wheeler into rugged terrain without getting stuck or tipping.
Although an ATVmight not (and likely should not) be your primary bugout vehicle, itcan be used to scout in front of your main bugout vehicle or convoy,go on runs after you have reached your bugout location, or be used asa quick escape vehicle.
If the SUV, truck,camper, etc. gets stuck or is blocked due to stalled traffic on aroadway as conditions become too dangerous to wait for the congestionto clear up, you’ll be glad you had an ATV.
A side-by-side ATV,like our Polaris Ranger, a Gator, Rhino, or other similar modelsreadily available on the market can carry more people, supplies, andpull a heavier trailer than most 4-wheelers.
While both types ofATVs are readily capable of climbing steep and rugged hills andtraversing rugged off-road conditions as you will see in the videosbelow, the width of side-by-side ATVs can make them a bit moredifficult to navigate between trees in heavily wooded areas – as cana wide or long trailer.
Both 4-wheelers andside-by-sides are capable of hitting speeds of 40 miles-per-hour.Leading your bugout caravan with a 4-wheeler or side-by-side willalso help pave a safe path for your primary bugout vehicle.
Another advantage tousing an ATV as part of your bugout plan is their small stature. Theycan be parked on cardboard or wood inside of a standard garden shedor metal pole barn garage – turning it effectively into a Faradaycage that can protect them from an EMP.
Over the weekend, my husband and I took the Ranger through an overgrown and marshy part of our woods to clear out a path by our “private beach”, and a secluded berry picking area.
The beach is a soft section of sand about as long and wide as two pickup trucks that has a river birch tree growing on it right next to a creek. The grandkiddos love going there to play, explore, and learn self-reliance skills.
The Ranger quicklyknocked down small trees, tall weeds, briar bushes, and even someentwined grapevine that had grown over the trail we used frequentlyseveral months ago during the spring.
Should I Invest in Trailers for Bugging Out?
Every vehicle in your bugout vehicle “fleet” should also have a trailer to pull. There are trailers of a suitable weight and length to fit any ATV, UTV, camper, SUV, or truck.
Building sides onto a trailer will allow you to haul more supplies and/or people in it, as well as increasing the likelihood that it could double as sleeping quarters during a bugout situation.
Small Trailer
This trailer isideal for pulling behind an ATV or side-by-side. Ball dimensions arenot necessarily universal, you may need to purchase several to attachto hitches, so any vehicle is capable of pulling any trailer you makeor purchase.
Medium Trailer
This trailer can bepulled behind an ATV, side-by-side, SUV, or pickup truck.
Put your livestockto work for you, and train them to cart so they too can pull atrailer over rugged off-road terrain.
During a long-termdisaster, horses will make not only dependable bugout “vehicles”,but can be used on the survival homestead both now and after disasterstrikes for agriculture work, logging, and to have transportationduring the rebuilding phase after TEOTWAWKI event creates a newnormal in society.
Horses do not require traditional fuel to “run”, but you will have to stock up on bags of grain, and have enough land to bale hay for winter consumption – in addition to pasture during the warm months of the year.
If you do not haveadequate land to keep horses today, it might be possible to boardthem nearby to use during a bugout situation, and allow them to liveand eat via your fenced lawn and your neighbors (as a barter) duringa SHTF event after retrieving them from their boarded stall.
Any bugout mode of transportation that is not present at your home is not advisable. If the boarding location is located between your work and your residence, the horses could be a life-saver if roads become impassable before you can reach your home and family.
Livestock Trailer
Yes, even livestocktrailers can be highly beneficial during a bugout situation. Not onlycan they haul preps and people, they can also be easily and cheaplybe retrofitted to be used as primitive living quarters.
Having a livestock trailer in your bugout vehicle fleet will help make at least part of your survival homestead portable. If you incorporate a livestock trailer into your bugout plan, you can haul rabbits, chickens ducks, and goats – along with some feed, straw, and hay, with you to your next location – it’s the survival version of meals on wheels.
Consider investing in a section of portable step-in electrical fencing and a solar charger so you can create a small containment area for small to medium livestock. If you buy some bird netting as well, the containment area can be used to let the chickens and ducks forage for bugs, too.
Other GreatNon-Traditional Bugout ‘Vehicle’ Options
We have several other multi-use bugout vehicles in the works on our homesteading retreat. If you live in an area with waterways, or especially if a creek runs along your property, investing in a boat, canoe, kayak, or amphibious vehicle for use as a bugout “vehicle” might be especially useful.
However you chooseto define exactly what a bugout vehicle is, and determine the besttypes to suit your needs and location, three constants remain. Allbugout transportation options must be affordable, dependable, andeasily “fixable.”
When buying a vehicle of any type to use during a bugout, it is highly recommended to invest in something that not only can you fix yourself, but parts are readily available in your area to buy both new and used – and to “source’ from abandoned vehicles throughout a long-term disaster.
Charles Yor
+ posts
