Bugout Strategy: One or Two Vehicles?

The S has hit the fan and your family executes bugout plan 101, otherwise known as get the heck out of town.  Your 4×4 is loaded down with all your supplies, the trailer is hooked up, roof rack is full, gas cans strapped down.  Your bugout vehicle is a thing of beauty and comes complete with winch, tow bar on the hood, off road tires, KC lights, and a brush guard that could knock over a shipping container.  50 miles outside of town your vehicle breaks down/becomes disabled and now you and your family are screwed.  What now?  Better start walking…

Even in the world of bugout vehicles this phrase still applies: two is one and one is none.  You might have the sweetest bugout rig on the planet but if it becomes disabled it’s really nothing more than a pile of scrap metal.  In that event, hitching a ride in a 1990 Geo Metro is still better than walking.

Better than walking

Here’s the thing, it’s fine to have a souped up bugout rig which is SHTF capable.  However in the event a bugout was indeed warranted I would still have a trail vehicle which could be used in case the primary vehicle broke down.  If the trail vehicle breaks down first that’s fine too, scavenge what you can from it and keep rolling.

There are a few additional considerations when moving with two vehicles, without getting too complicated here are a few of them:

• Communication: Two way radios work well here.
• Fuel:  The secondary vehicle could also haul more fuel, which is definitely a bonus.
• Security:  I would definitely keep two people in the secondary vehicle, obviously for security and also so the driver has someone to keep them awake (no really).
• Predetermined battle drills:  Without getting too complicated, all this really means is you’ve talked through a few ways to react to certain situations that might present themselves.  Roadblocks, police checkpoints, hostile vehicles trying to run you off the road etc.
• Breakdown procedures:  What’s the best way to park in order to pull extended security while one vehicle is getting fixed?
• Procedures at a halt:  Someone has to pee, how do you position your vehicles when stopped on the side of the road?

Just some things to think about.  Again I’d rather have my SUV and someone in my daughter’s little 4 cylinder car as a trail vehicle if T-SHTF and we had to bugout.  This way if our primary vehicle decides to break down at the worst possible moment, at least we’ll have something else to squeeze into so that we could continue driving.  This option would be far better than strapping on the bugout bags and humping over unknown terrain by foot, or even worse trying to hitch a ride with strangers.  Food for thought.