What is the best mode of transportation for when SHTF?

I'm looking for reliability. Availability. Sustainability. Etc.

We live in the Pacific Northwest.

We have atleast three people to transport with supplies, of course.

I'm in the same area as you and I have debated this. My jeep is awesome because it can get anyplace and has a ton of room for packing everything. The downside is that my jeep doesn't get great gas mileage and is not a quite car so it would be heard from fare away.

We also have a Mini that gets great gas mileage and has a supercharger so its decent for needing to outrun somebody. I can fit a decent amount in it but unless the path is easy and paved it wont go far.

Solo I would be on my hayabusa just to get away fast and then hide. Because of the fact I'm not solo his probably happen.


What I decided was that depending on the situation I would probably do a combo of the jeep and Bike. My wife would take the jeep and I would scout ahead on the bike and use it when needed for scavenging trips. Either way we will be making our way up the gorge and hiking in and camping out.

Overall the one thing you will need to count on is your feet, so have a nice pair of hiking shoes and a bug out bag.

I'd just suggest a lot of extra gas and a good economical SUV to get you out of populated areas... Other than that a good ol' bicycle will do just fine, perhaps a horse if your lucky...

What if no electronics work?

What would be best, a bicycle maybe?

SM

Its impossible to plan for. That's why the best way is on foot or horse if you have those. You won't be able to carry as much on a bike, and that is really only going to help you on level roads anyway.

Don't count on your vehicle getting you past the range of one tank of gas(make sure you account for massive traffic jams), or possibly even outside of your metro area if you live in one.(blockades/checkpoints)

edit: I would recommend against any SHTF planning. You can't prepare for every scenario, and if you think you know exactly how the sh-- is gonna hit the fan then you are dreaming. If you are going to prepare learn about surviving after the fact.


[edit on 24-6-2010 by thedarklingthrush]

The horse has always been a good mode.

Originally posted by xX aFTeRm4Th Xx
I'd just suggest a lot of extra gas and a good economical SUV to get you out of populated areas... Other than that a good ol' bicycle will do just fine, perhaps a horse if your lucky...

We all have good mountain bikes. On an average, due to weather, we bike atleast 60 miles a month. We do need to beef up our bike kit, though--patches, tubes, pump, etc.

Two times now someone had to bike home and get the truck for retrieval due to flats.

reply to post by ..5..


It would take four or five horses, and as we live in the city, that is an impractical solution for us.

I would go with a Pleasureway if I could afford one.

It would be best to have an area set up ahead of time so you are not limited to a vehicle, but not everyone can do that.

Buy a van with 4 wheel drive, convert part of the inside to living space, sink, cabinets, etc... Use the back and top for gas storage, and the top for non-priority storage. Should give enough room inside to keep food, water, guns and sleep three comfortably until you have a more permanent residence.

When the SHTF, it will either be a massive civil insurrection, accompanied by martial law and enforcement, or it will be a scenario that includes one or more EMP's. Don't count on anything with electronic components. In either scenario, EMP's will be used. Most if not all MIL comms and electronics are hardened against EMP's........

I've always read that bicycles were best in a SHTF scenario. This is OK but my preference is to use bikes as a back up plan when the gas runs out or if you reach a terrain you need to get to but a vehicle cannot venture into.

My plan is to keep bikes in the back of my vehicle as a back up plan (I own a 4 wheel drive). Then if gas becomes unavailable or we need to venture onward without the truck, we have bikes.

In a SHTF scenario, my advice is to always have as many back up plans as possible . A bike only leaves you with one back up plan (on foot). But a vehicle with bikes leaves you with three plans total.

Vehicle then a bike then on foot.

You'll hear some survivalists swear upon using only bikes and I admit they can come in handy due to their lack of needing power but I would never take that as a first option.

What ever you get, it will be a oneway deal...one time only..and only as far as you can get that one time. Extreme exit and no turning back.

I suggest a 4x4 truck with an attached frame/side panels on the bed to haul as much and as many as possible to the destination.

Once there, forget it...there won't be any gas...there won't be electricityto pump gas... there won't be a parts store for a new u-joint or shocks or radiator or hoses ....junk it and canibalize it for parts.

From then on, your hoofin' it.

Bicycles, horses and some with buggies for those that are unable to ride.

Covered wagons were a great mode of transpotation at one time, and they are cool! We could bring those back as they are good for sleeping in, hauling supplies and weather protection.

reply to post by crazydaisy


A covered wagon? Really?

I think the op is looking for a sensible solution to get out of a city. Granted, if you happen to go through with building one and getting a horse team, please post pics.

I'm not near the coast, but this is going to affect everyone eventually.
My neighbor has horses. We've been working on a place for years that's higher in elevation above sea level than where we are now. We have two wells drilled there, one hand pump so far. If we have time to get there when TSHTF, we'll probably have to take the horses because I expect the roads will be jammed due to mass panic. We'll probably have to make several trips back if we travel by horse for the things we aren't storing there.

I would recommend a vehicle built prior to the 80's. If there's an EMP event/s your car is useless. Get a vehicle without electronic ignition and control! Find an old jeep wagoneer or blazer or something along those lines. My bug out ride is a 70's model chevy blazer k-5 4x4 with a 350 under the hood. I have a 4" cold rolled steel "bumper" that protrudes about 2' from the body of the truck. Will be useful for moving vehicles blocking the roadways or animals/ppl who jump in front of ya
I would also recommend a small trailer like landscapers use for a fourwheeler/dirtbike or bicycles,fuel cans,miscellanous stuff a "jobox" like construction contractors use would make an ideal "safe" for supplies, ammo, firearms, canned goods etc.

A bmw gs1200 with hard cases



Oh and a Glock too

mules are very economical to keep and they have a working useful life span of fifty years average . That's why poor farmers wanted them properly cared for their investment would last their entire working life and maybe at least a good portion of the kids if they took over when you got to old

reply to post by SpeedBump


My transportation is vastly superior to yours.
It takes quite a while for the batteries to die down and they are not subject to EMP. Beat That!

reply to post by ccsct203


How would you get over trees or downed power poles with a bike that heavy?