Lets discuss mobile preparedness

[FastCarry]

I recently read an thread/article about planned attack tactics. Then I saw a thread about where some said they carry ar15s in their cars. That got me thinking.

If for whatever reason I need a trauma kit, id like to have one dedicated to the car, as well as a weapon.

I moved my go bag into my car, it has a FAK, trauma kit, 10 yr meal bars, water, ammo, flashlight, and knife. I thinking about making a dedicated trunk mounted case instead to include water, flashlight, trauma kit, mags and firearm. Now.. The firearm, its one of those things i hope ill never need and chances are rather low to never that ill need to grab it, but none the less. Thinking of a shotgun for cost but, I dont particularly like shot guns so I'm also thinking of another XD since I have mags and they hold 16+1 in 9mm or an AR pistol.

Tell me I'm not a crazy prepper, and tell me what you guys keep in the car.

[Breny414]

I recently read an thread/article about planned attack tactics. Then I saw a thread about where some said they carry ar15s in their cars. That got me thinking.

If for whatever reason I need a trauma kit, id like to have one dedicated to the car, as well as a weapon.

I moved my go bag into my car, it has a FAK, trauma kit, 10 yr meal bars, water, ammo, flashlight, and knife. I thinking about making a dedicated trunk mounted case instead to include water, flashlight, trauma kit, mags and firearm. Now.. The firearm, its one of those things i hope ill never need and chances are rather low to never that ill need to grab it, but none the less. Thinking of a shotgun for cost but, I dont particularly like shot guns so I'm also thinking of another XD since I have mags and they hold 16+1 in 9mm or an AR pistol.

Tell me I'm not a crazy prepper, and tell me what you guys keep in the car.

You don't sound like a crazy prepper, but it seems you're planning for the Zombie Apocalypse and not terrorism. I bought my first AR the evening of November 13th (Paris Attacks) for self defense in case Johnny ISIS comes calling. But I have since wondered how I can really use it for self defense anywhere but at home. The likelihood of a terrorist attack in my neighborhood are nil I'm sure. And for a home invasion, I think I would go for a handgun first. So I've been thinking about the car (trunk?) but I'm wondering if the risk that it were to get stolen and in the wrong hands is worth it. And in case of a terrorist attack, if you can get to your car, you should probably take the opportunity to drive away, maybe. Or do your best to protect those around you.

[jason812]

I recently read an thread/article about planned attack tactics. Then I saw a thread about where some said they carry ar15s in their cars. That got me thinking.

If for whatever reason I need a trauma kit, id like to have one dedicated to the car, as well as a weapon.

I moved my go bag into my car, it has a FAK, trauma kit, 10 yr meal bars, water, ammo, flashlight, and knife. I thinking about making a dedicated trunk mounted case instead to include water, flashlight, trauma kit, mags and firearm. Now.. The firearm, its one of those things i hope ill never need and chances are rather low to never that ill need to grab it, but none the less. Thinking of a shotgun for cost but, I dont particularly like shot guns so I'm also thinking of another XD since I have mags and they hold 16+1 in 9mm or an AR pistol.

Tell me I'm not a crazy prepper, and tell me what you guys keep in the car.

You're not crazy. I'm putting a trauma kit together with an AR pistol to keep in a backpack. Better to have and not need than need and not have. I doubt that in Central Texas I will ever need the contents in my backpack. Those in the concrete jungles are more likely to need it than me but I'm not going to take chances. I did carry backpack with an extra pistol in it at Halloween cause there were more people out than normal.

And isn't the point of being crazy means you don't know you're crazy?

[RHenriksen]

Car burglaries are so prevalent in Houston there's no way I'd leave anything of value in my car all the time

[Jago668]

I keep normal car stuff in my car either in the car cabin or in the trunk (spare taillight, full size spare, floor jack, jumper cables, one of those portable jump/inflator things, small toolkit). Then I also keep a couple of coats/jackets, a small blanket, 2 x camp chairs, spare work gloves, spare baseball cap, 4 x flashlights (one of which is a combo light/taser), one of those storebought first aid kits, binoculars, resq-me tool, toilet paper, insulated bag (for frozen/cold groceries), gallon of water, and some granola bars. Then I also keep a trauma kit I put together (chest seals, Israeli bandages, quick clot bandages, nitrile gloves, leather gloves, resq-me tool, ems shears, flashlight, headlamp, bottle alcohol, bottle hydrogen peroxide, trauma pads, gauze pads, rolls of gauze, medical tape, cat tourniquets, those shiny thermal blankets, lights sticks, knife, leatherman). Have a like a get home bag packed for about 3 days (flashlight, spare batteries, lighters, magnesium fire starter, canteen, water purification tablets, small first aid kit, some extra gauze and bandages, some of those shiny thermal blankets, toilet paper, some food bars, light sticks, road flares, compass, map of Texas, knife, leatherman, leather gloves, poncho, paracord). Then I take my rifle in and out of the trunk; only have one so want it with me when I'm home.

[CleverNickname]

- One forty-five caliber automatic
- Two boxes of ammunition
- Four days' concentrated emergency rations
- One drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills
- One miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible
- One hundred dollars in rubles
- One hundred dollars in gold
- Nine packs of chewing gum
- One issue of prophylactics
- Three lipsticks
- Three pair of nylon stockings

[tlt]

All of the above medical/ar normally, but not during the holiday robbery season, just the pack.

[Breny414]

- One forty-five caliber automatic
- Two boxes of ammunition
- Four days' concentrated emergency rations
- One drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills
- One miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible
- One hundred dollars in rubles
- One hundred dollars in gold
- Nine packs of chewing gum
- One issue of prophylactics
- Three lipsticks
- Three pair of nylon stockings

You could have yourself a good time in Vegas with all that stuff!

[LSUTiger]

- One forty-five caliber automatic
- Two boxes of ammunition
- Four days' concentrated emergency rations
- One drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills
- One miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible
- One hundred dollars in rubles
- One hundred dollars in gold
- Nine packs of chewing gum
- One issue of prophylactics
- Three lipsticks
- Three pair of nylon stockings

Only 9 packs of chewing gum, typical rookie mistake.

EDC glock 26 + spare g19 mag and ruger LC9 + spare mag backup
AR Pistol + 7-30rd mags in mag carrier
IFAK
Spare Empty Backpack-to carry water or whatever else.
8-24 oz bottles of water
Tactical Flashlight
Tactical Knife
Leatherman Wingman
Gerber knife

[jason812]

- One forty-five caliber automatic
- Two boxes of ammunition
- Four days' concentrated emergency rations
- One drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills
- One miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible
- One hundred dollars in rubles
- One hundred dollars in gold
- Nine packs of chewing gum
- One issue of prophylactics
- Three lipsticks
- Three pair of nylon stockings

Are you really John Wick?

[The Annoyed Man]

- One forty-five caliber automatic
- Two boxes of ammunition
- Four days' concentrated emergency rations
- One drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills
- One miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible
- One hundred dollars in rubles
- One hundred dollars in gold
- Nine packs of chewing gum
- One issue of prophylactics
- Three lipsticks
- Three pair of nylon stockings

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!! You forgot the silk scarf with a map, and the printed "reward" cards.

Seriously though, I'm one of those who believes in a tiered approach to prepping. There's the EDC stuff in our cars which is primarily aimed at getting my wife or me home in the event of some kind of disaster. There's the bugout bags in the house for each of us in the event that we have to get out of Dodge. And then there's the larger scale preps like food/water storage, ammo storage, and such which is being gathered for the day we can either pre-stage it on a piece of rural property, or "bug-in" at home with it.

Lately (although not 100% of the time), I have been putting an AR in the car when I'm out and about, and I always have one on road trips. I don't do it if I am just running down to the corner market. But if I am going to be gone hours, particularly to places where there are large numbers of people, I will have it. But the caveat is that my situation is different than a lot of people's. I have been semi-retired for a while, and self-employed, working from home. So I can come and go as I please. I also never go [a] where I can't keep an eye on my vehicle if I have the AR in it, and where I can't get to my vehicle fairly quickly. If I can't meet [a] and , I don't bring it along.

My concession to "war-fighting ability" [to the extent that I have any at all] when I can't bring the AR is to carry a Glock 17 with two spare magazines, all three magazine having a +2 extension. If I'm going to be gone for hours and an AR in the car isn't practical, I'll throw three extra 33 round Glock mags into my EDC bag [a Hazard4 "Rocket" sling pack]. Other things in my EDC bag include:

• a magnifying monocular or small binoculars (depending on which I grab that day)
• a multi-tool
• a tool pouch with small items like a folding razor, a folding saw blade, a small flashlight, a mirror, a length of paracord, tweezers, etc.
• a small compass
• a large CRKT folding knife
• a knife sharpener
• fire starting equipment
• a filter straw
• a bag of beef jerkey
• 2 bottles of water (I'm partial to Sobe Water for day trips)
• a pen and small notebook
• the afore-mentioned 33-round magazines (if called for, see above)
• a small first-aid kit.....soon to be supplemented by an IFAK
• a pair of fold-up reading glasses
• a Esbit pocket stove and fuel tabs (thank you AndyC for turning me on to that)
• a Toaks titanium cup
• a baggie with either some tea-bags or instant coffee packets and sweetener.

That is all of my first tier prep, and this is all stuff for getting home in an emergency. And frankly, I've used some of this stuff simply because it was useful for something I was doing at the time, unrelated to E&E. And although I haven't used the stove yet, I have to continually replace the beef jerkey and fluids. Somebody keeps consuming them. Ok... it's me. The surprising thing is how all of that fits into a fairly small pack and doesn't actually weigh that much. The water bottles are the heaviest part of it. I jokingly call it my "murse" when asked about it, and it is isn't on my person, then it is in my vehicle nearby.

Tier 2 is our bug-out bags, which are essentially 3 day assault packs. I won't bother listing everything that's in them, but suffice it to say that it includes shelter, warmth, spare socks/underwear, expanded medical ability, expanded cooking ability, extra food, extra ammunition for both pistols and ARs, power, additional tools like an entrenching shovel, etc. All of this weighs a fair amount, and if we are reduced to traveling on foot, it will be slow going, in no small part because we are not youngsters any longer. So it is my sincerest hope that we'll still have use of our vehicles. In the event that we don't, we'll still be able to carry additional stuff by slinging it over bike frames and pushing the bikes, but the core survival stuff will be in those backpacks.

Tier 3 is anything to do with the long term - beans bullets and bandages stockpiles, retreat and shelter, transportation, etc. While all of this stuff is still evolving, this tier is the one that still has the longest way to go toward completion. The EDC bags are an accomplished fact. The bug-out bags are just about complete. But this third tier involves the acquisition of as-yet un-purchased property, the acquisition of stored food (already in process), etc., and it is the part that involves the largest financial investment.

The thing is, having moved here from California, I was used to this mentality long before I "caught the prepping bug". We lived in earthquake county, and only a fool who doesn't love his family enough would live his life as if there was no possibility of being instantly homeless. We always had an "earthquake kit" stored out in the garage (a separate structure), with stuff like batteries, candles, a large tent, sleeping bags, stored food & water, etc., packed in plastic barrels. Even if the garage collapsed, it would have been a simple matter of pulling apart the rubble until we found the supplies. It wasn't about paranoia, it was about recognition of having lived through several major earthquakes in my life, where there was extensive property damage and some people were forced from their homes. So while my current setup is "prepping", it is also tornado preparedness, earthquake preparedness, etc., etc. The zombie apocalypse doesn't have to happen for you to find yourself in the position of wishing you had done more to safeguard your life, and the lives of your loved ones.

I don't think it is crazy. I think it is a responsibility.

[WildBill]

I have bought a few solar chargers that have Li-Ion batteries.
They are can be used as LED flashlights and cell phone chargers.
They are WakaWaka Power+.
I also bought a WakaWaka Base 10 charger with solar panels.
I haven't had it long enough to thoroughly evaluate it.

I wrote a short review a while back.
Since that time they have the newer model WakaWaka Power+
They aren't perfect, but they work better than anything else I have found.

viewtopic.php?f=83&t=72058&p=902465&hil ... ka#p902465

[Abraham]

Wow, I gotta git with the program.

The things in my truck: 2 Chinese food take out menus, a pen that doesn't work, a few maps, battery jumper cables, a jack, a 4 way tire tool, some old sun glasses I never use, my truck manual, a few odd tools and some scattered dirt in my floor mats.

[WildBill]

Wow, I gotta git with the program.

The things in my truck: 2 Chinese food take out menus, a pen that doesn't work, a few maps, battery jumper cables, a jack, a 4 way tire tool, some old sun glasses I never use, my truck manual, a few odd tools and some scattered dirt in my floor mats.

The take out menus are good for starting a fire, but you need to get a lighter or some matches.
Dirt is good for camouflage.

[JALLEN]

Tier 2 is our bug-out bags, which are essentially 3 day assault packs. I won't bother listing everything that's in them, but suffice it to say that it includes shelter, warmth, spare socks/underwear, expanded medical ability, expanded cooking ability, extra food, extra ammunition for both pistols and ARs, power, additional tools like an entrenching shovel, etc. All of this weighs a fair amount, and if we are reduced to traveling on foot, it will be slow going, in no small part because we are not youngsters any longer. So it is my sincerest hope that we'll still have use of our vehicles. In the event that we don't, we'll still be able to carry additional stuff by slinging it over bike frames and pushing the bikes, but the core survival stuff will be in those backpacks.

Tier 3 is anything to do with the long term - beans bullets and bandages stockpiles, retreat and shelter, transportation, etc. While all of this stuff is still evolving, this tier is the one that still has the longest way to go toward completion. The EDC bags are an accomplished fact. The bug-out bags are just about complete. But this third tier involves the acquisition of as-yet un-purchased property, the acquisition of stored food (already in process), etc., and it is the part that involves the largest financial investment.

The thing is, having moved here from California, I was used to this mentality long before I "caught the prepping bug". We lived in earthquake county, and only a fool who doesn't love his family enough would live his life as if there was no possibility of being instantly homeless. We always had an "earthquake kit" stored out in the garage (a separate structure), with stuff like batteries, candles, a large tent, sleeping bags, stored food & water, etc., packed in plastic barrels. Even if the garage collapsed, it would have been a simple matter of pulling apart the rubble until we found the supplies. It wasn't about paranoia, it was about recognition of having lived through several major earthquakes in my life, where there was extensive property damage and some people were forced from their homes. So while my current setup is "prepping", it is also tornado preparedness, earthquake preparedness, etc., etc. The zombie apocalypse doesn't have to happen for you to find yourself in the position of wishing you had done more to safeguard your life, and the lives of your loved ones.

I don't think it is crazy. I think it is a responsibility.

I've always viewed such thorough preparation with all that stuff with skepticism, not because it isn't thoughtful or thorough, but because it seems completely impractical, at least in an urban/suburban environment, and especially for bugging out.

I lived in San Diego and Coronado, and until old age and decrepitude set in, was very active, hiking, swimming, biking, boating, flying, and more besides. I dreamed up a number of lists, gear, "stuff" to have, carry, etc. I acquired a Win 94 in .357 and Ruger GP100 for this role.

If an event occurred, there were only two ways to go, north and east. Realistically, after doing some hiking in the "mountains" around there, I concluded that we weren't going anywhere, no matter how badly we wanted to.

For one thing, if an event made it a real good idea to leave, it would be a real good idea for the other 3.2 million people to leave, meaning roads would be impossible. Think Houston when Katrina approached. IIRC, I20 was a parking lot of angry, scared, frustrated people running out of gas, going nowhere. Walking is going to get you a few miles, depending on weather, terrain and the load you think you will carry. My wife and I hiked Grand Canyon every year for some years with a group of friends/marathoners/triathletes, ~17 miles at altitude, either uphill or downhill, down to the river and back, carrying only water, basic first aid and a lunch, and we didn't go out dancing that night when we got back to the rim. From Coronado, it was ~30 miles to the other side of the urban area. For you Houstonians, it might take you a week to get to the edge of town!

I had several pals who were SEALS. They could load up, 60-80 lbs and cover 50-60 miles in almost any terrain in a few days. This was when they were relatively young, in terrific shape and used to suffering. Not many can.

It would be worth your while to load up your 3 day pack, weapons, ammo, water and set out on foot, to see how far you get before you think it's a really dumb idea.

I wouldn't laugh at anyone who kept gear in his truck, truck filled with gas, etc, but for most of us, staying where we are is probably the only practical plan.