I hope you all had a great Christmas. I got lots of cool gear and books related to prepping, and will be reviewing them all over the next few weeks. I also gave a few pieces of gear and will review those as well.
Patriots
I sent my cousin in Northern Idaho a copy of Patriots -Surviving the Coming Collapse
for Christmas. We spoke last night and he is really liking it. He works with a guy who is from Troy, so he's getting a kick out of the local flavor, too. My cousin is a car guy, and that leads to a piece of criticism for the book. He questions the wisdom of the group buying the old Broncos and Mustangs. He says that there is not a lot of parts commonality among the Ford engines and he would suggest Chevy small blocks. They all have quite a bit of parts in common, no matter the displacement. Not being a car guy myself, I'll take his word on it. He's never lead me wrong with auto information in the past. At the risk of opening up a huge can of worms, what do you think? Ford, GM, Dodge, or some snappy little foreign jobby?My Garden
The seed catalogs are in, and I'm getting my order together. Last year was my first ever vegetable garden, and I had good luck with lettuces and cukes, not so much with tomatoes, radishes and carrots, no luck at all with peppers. I learned some things about Square Foot Gardening
, and will try another garden about the same size this year. I'm going Friday to pick up a load of horse manure to spread in the box, then staple black trash bags over top of it to warm the soil and finish the composting. Mid-January will be time to start my seeds inside. It will be here before we know it. I am going to add a pumpkin patch to a bordered section of the front yard this year. We'll see how that goes too.Coming in 2011
I really want to build If It Hits The Fan in 2011. I got Crush It, by Gary Vaynerchuk
for Christmas and have read it once already. It is a fantastic book for anyone who has the least bit of entrepreneurial spirit in them. If you want to build your personal brand, I highly recommend it. I'm not lending mine out; it will be a turn-to reference for quite a while. Using the ideas and methods that Gary discusses, expect to see me and If It Hits The Fan popping up in forums, blogs and Facebook pages whenever I have something relevent to contribute to the topic. I'm also working on a small product to sell, and maybe some t-shirts with the triangle and shield logo.I'm hoping to expand my affiliate programs and offer advertising as well in the coming months. Rest assured, any affiliates or advertisers will be based on my personal support of those companies or products, and not just anyone with a few bucks to pay. I'm also developing a family-oriented preparedness 101 training program to offer to churches, civic groups, and the public starting this spring. I'll also expand my training offerings of the FEMA Incident Command courses to private schools.
Perhaps the most exciting thing, I'm unable to give any details of yet. I can tell you that a preparedness equipment company has approached me about designing a particular product for them. I think the angle we are taking is pretty unique in the industry and will serve an unfilled need. I'm hoping we can have things finalized soon and can let you know about it.
Finally, my wonderful wife has given me registration to one of Dave Canterbury's Basic Pathfinder classes later this year. Although I spent nearly four months without being inside of a building once, and I've been camping a number of times, my wilderness survival skills are not where they ought to be. I'll bring back a full report for you!
Thanks for welcoming me into your computer for these past months. Please spread the word to your friends about us, become a fan on Facebook, buy Amazon items through my affiliate store link, patronize Survival Gear Bags and my future sponsors and affiliates, and if you buy something I talk about here, tell them you heard about them at If It Hits The Fan. Stay engaged, and Keep On Prepping!
Now I haven't read Patriots for several months to a year or more so I'm working from memory here.
ReplyDeleteI think that the vehicles in Patriots were picked based on the idea of "easy to fix" since they were old and that they were EMP resistant due to the age and type of components. I don't agree with this idea. I do agree with the concept of a "group standard", if you have an established group to simplify both spare parts on hand and repair knowledge.
While older vehicles may be easier to work on they also will likely need repair more often. There have been vast advancements in reliability over the decades. Also, parts availability for vehicles that old won't be that great anymore.
I feel that a better idea for EMP resistant vehicles would be the diesels with manual fuel pumps. I don't know enough about them to give solid recommendations but a little searching the preparedness blogs and forums should give you good info. Also, diesel is supposed to store better than gas.
In recent years the US Government has done some testing and evaluation to figure out what the effects on the US as a whole would be in the event of an EMP attack. I'm aware of 2 commission reports as well as various articles concerning all this. In the 2008 report there was some testing of vehicles. It is possible to order the 2008 report in hard copy online if you look.
http://www.empcommission.org/
While an EMP attack is on my radar so to speak it's not high on the list. Yes, it could and probably will happen at some point but I feel that severe weather, rioting, pandemic or several other scenarios are more likely to effect me.
Back to vehicles... I'd suggest taking a look at the foreign brands with excellent reliability reputations. Something that was pointed out on another preparedness blog I follow is to take a look at what vehicles are in use in the various bad areas where US troops are stationed? There seems to be a strong preference for Toyota and Nissan 4wd trucks for example. If they will survive that level of abuse and neglect they're probably worth a look. Another thought is the preference that the UN seems to have for some Jeep vehicles for third world use. Regardless of what one picks, do your research and see what the know issues are so you don't get stuck with a rig that tends to blow head gaskets for example.
Remember that until your world heads down the tubes this will be a vehicle that you either drive daily or at least should use on a regular basis. I have a several year old Jeep Grand Cherokee with an older Toyota Corolla as a daily driver (depending on weather). This way I can pound all the work miles onto the Toyota and save the Jeep for bad weather (like recently) or for when I want a nicer vehicle. The Toyota also gets around double the mileage of the Jeep which is nice as gas starts it climb back up in price.
You want another SHTF situation, how about that $5 a gallon gas that's being rumored? I remember how things were looking when it hit $4 not too long ago. At those prices, how long until the trucks either stop running as they can't afford the fuel or run less causing shortages. Got your stock or important items on hand? What about a week or two worth of stabilized fuel for your primary vehicle?
Steelheart
Steelheart - some great points, thanks for speaking up. My cousin also said that his first choice would be an older diesel 4x4, and that they are all over the place in the north Idaho region.
ReplyDeleteI share your concerns about $5 gas. It won't be pretty. I commute 112 miles round trip each day so those prices will hit me that way as well as with the supply chain.