Vehicle Kit CONCEPTS vs CHECKLISTS

How many of you have seen checklists for bugging out, vehicle packing lists, how to make an amazing casserole just like Grandma used to.  Maybe not the casserole but checklists abound and it’s been a few years so I can’t remember but I’ve probably published some checklists here on this blog.  This evening I wanted to hit you with some concepts, your homework being to fill in the gaps.  Concepts because guess what…it’s different for all of us.  I live in the mountains and frequently travel out in the high country in some bad weather (winter) conditions, my home sits at 8500 ft elevation off of 2 miles of dirt roads and most times when I climb in my truck I’m driving 50 to 100 miles round trip.  This in contrast to someone who lives in Florida who might put 15,000 miles a year on their family sedan.  Not saying either of us are right or wrong it’s just that there is no “one size fits all” and as such, let’s review concepts and go from there.

Two Basic Ideas.

Your vehicle is your sanctuary when you aren’t at the house.  You probably have lots of “stuff” in it, including a gasoline tank that hopefully never goes below half full.  That said in any given scenario (emergency type) I’d say you most likely have two options: Stay Put or get out there On Foot.

Stay Put – Think bad weather and multi car accidents, it’s not uncommon for people to have to sleep in their vehicle on the highway in these type of incidents.  Other possibilities include running out of gas, mechanical failures or getting stuck in remote places.  FWIW, I pulled out a lady in her Subaru who was stuck in deep snow up in the high country a couple years back.  She had tried all sorts of ways to  dig out, get traction…no substitute for ground clearance.  My 12k winch made short work of her problem but hey, good times.

Key Point: What gear or supplies do you have that would enable or even hinder a stay put situation?  How would this apply in your current environment or a different environment?

On Foot – Probably not a good idea if you are in flip flops coming from the pool but hey, gotta do what you gotta do.  I suppose a scenario like this could evolve if one was truly in a remote area and some sort of emergency developed which required immediate assistance and there was no connectivity.  Or maybe some other reason, be it walking a mile for gas or 12 miles only to see some prick waiting next to a scale waiting to weigh your rucksack…wait…I digress.

Key Point:  If not on your person do you have the proper attire in your vehicle to make an on foot excursion for whatever it may be possible?  What if it’s snowing, raining, uneven terrain?

The Concepts.

What follows are some basic categories, modify as you see fit.  Again I can’t stress enough that the exercise of YOU going through and finding out what works best as opposed to blindly following some checklist has incredible value.

Safety – How many times have you seen the news reporting a civilian or Highway Patrol Officer getting hit and killed (unfortunately).  Think all sorts of devices to illuminate an area, reflective vest for yourself, cones or warning triangles are not out of the question.  I’m not sure if you have ever pulled over to help someone on the highway but it is a scary place to be while while visibility does not guarantee safety it certainly helps.  Flashlights and such fall into this category.

Medical – Think boo boo kit versus trauma kit.  One has band-aids and devices to remove splinters, the other has Tourniquets and Homeostatic dressings.  If you are going to stack the latter I suggest training that is more substantial than simply watching YouTube vids.  I recommend having both, the contents of which are entirely up to you.

Sustenance – Think short term here, if you need a week’s worth of food in your vehicle you have certainly found yourself in a sticky situation outside the norm.  What packs well, what travels well, what has a longer shelf life should all be considered.   A pork shoulder in a cooler that needs to be baked at 350 for 8 hours prob not a good idea, neither is that nasty cheap jerky that you were guilted in to buying from the boy scouts.  This might sound strange but I like food that tastes good and nasty a$$ Datrex bars don’t fit into that category.  Freeze dried is good as long as you have the necessary items to reconstitute and reheat, speaking of which water is KEY.  Bottles on bottles of water, ways to filter it (think on foot) and it’s alright if it freezes in your vehicle overnight…it will unfreeze.

Communication / Signal – Everyone has a cell phone: given.  What about other ways to communicate if there is no signal?  I have a Garmin Sat device that has maps, can send messages with my location with an SOS and also have a Iridium Sat phone.  Communication is key, consider yours and redundancy is key.

Hygiene – So here is the real deal: everyone has to poop.  At a minimum gotta have a way to wipe and clean your hands, even if you don’t get stuck in the wild for 3 days.  Maybe your bag has some toothpaste and a brush in it for comfort as well but without TP and some wipes or sanitizing solution it’s a hard (and gross) day.

Tools – Basics here.  What do you need or would you need to fix your vehicle if the need presented itself.  Think normal stuff, not boring out a cylinder head.  Flat tires, coolant hose repairs, wiper blade adjustments and other things that are within the scope of your ability to diagnose and repair (even if in a temp status).  Tire patch kits and compressors come to mind, not that big of a stretch but definitely need the storage room for these items.

Protection – I won’t get too detailed here, use your imagination.  Guns, bamboo poles, sling shots, squirt guns filled with vodka, who knows.

Miscellaneous – Really up to you based on where you live and what you think you need.  I have things like maps of my local area, towing devices, tie down straps, extra winter gear and much more.

Final Thoughts.  The exercise here is to get you to start thinking and planning, building your own load out versus simply walking through the store with a list.  Quite honestly I’m betting you won’t have to purchase much at all, quite a bit of what you probably need you already have.  Good luck.