{"id":665,"date":"2009-05-08T11:58:55","date_gmt":"2009-05-08T18:58:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/?p=665"},"modified":"2017-08-10T18:49:12","modified_gmt":"2017-08-11T00:49:12","slug":"bug-out-vehicle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/bug-out-vehicle\/","title":{"rendered":"What makes a good bug out vehicle?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If SHTF and you need to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/survival-glossary\/\">GOOD<\/a>, you will need a good bug out vehicle. To get to your destination you may experience obstacles like difficult terrain, bad weather, debris in the road etc. Let\u2019s explore what makes a good <strong>bug out vehicle<\/strong>.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13858 aligncenter\" title=\"bug out vehicle\" src=\"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/bug-out-vehicle.jpg\" alt=\"bug out vehicle\" width=\"650\" height=\"583\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/bug-out-vehicle.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/bug-out-vehicle-300x269.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>1. Off-road capabilities<\/h2>\n<p>Whether you need to cross a mountain trail or drive over a felled tree blocking the road, off road (four wheel drive) capability is a MUST.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"BOV\" src=\"http:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-images\/bug-out-vehicle1.jpg\" alt=\"BOV\" width=\"317\" height=\"200\" align=\"center\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>2. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Low Maintenance<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Maintenance is extremely important when it comes to bug out vehicle, the last thing you need in an emergency is a failure of some kind, be it tires or alternators. Tires are the most commonly broken car part when <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Off-roading\" class=\"broken_link\">off-roading<\/a> so this is a high priority as well.<\/p>\n<h2>3. Cargo Space<\/h2>\n<p>When bugging out, or even for other purposes, having a good amount of cargo space is important. You will need room for both supplies and people. This eliminates many of the smaller off-road vehicles.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"Bug Out Vehicle Cargo Space\" src=\"http:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-images\/bug-out-vehicle4.jpg\" alt=\"Bug Out Vehicle Cargo Space\" width=\"340\" height=\"239\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>4. Redundancy<\/h2>\n<p>Many modern vehicles are ingrained with electronics, which if compromised, will render your bug out vehicle unusable. As tempting as it is to buy the newest, badest truck or SUV, having a vehicle that is invulnerable or only semi vulnerable to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/emp-the-end-of-life-as-america-knows-it\/\">EMP<\/a> or other electronic disruptions is important and often overlooked. Some of the most durable vehicles are the older ones, in particular diesel vehicles, which have basic engines without lots of electronics.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, diesel fuel engines can run off of alternative fuels like kerosene, heating oil, and certain jet fuels. In a pinch this could be a huge advantage.<\/p>\n<h2>5. Durability<\/h2>\n<p>Vehicles used to bug out must be durable; they will need to stand up to a variety of abuses during travel. Some of the most important parts of the vehicle are the axles, drive train and engine. Many off-road vehicle come with skid plates to protect the bottom of the car, otherwise it would be good to install one. Good bumpers are also great to have (greatly help to protect the engine).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"Bug Out Vehicle\" src=\"http:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-images\/bug-out-vehicle2.jpg\" alt=\"Bug Out Vehicle\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>6. Addons + Accessories<\/h2>\n<p>Four wheel enthusiasts love to put aftermarket parts and accessories onto their vehicles. With a few exceptions, your vehicle should remain as close to stock as possible. The exceptions are add-ons that will increase your vehicles durability and off-road capabilities. There are three reasons to keep your vehicle stock:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Stock vehicles have been tested with their parts, and require much less maintenance over time<\/li>\n<li>Extra parts are expensive (good ones anyway)<\/li>\n<li>In an extreme emergency, extra parts will be easier to find if your vehicle has stock parts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"Bug Out 4x4\" src=\"http:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-images\/bug-out-vehicle5.jpg\" alt=\"Bug Out 4x4\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>7. Towing<\/h2>\n<p>The popular choice for hauling trailers is often the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&amp;location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fs%3Fie%3DUTF8%26x%3D0%26ref_%3Dnb_sb_ss_c_1_10%26y%3D0%26field-keywords%3Dball%2520hitch%26url%3Dsearch-alias%253Dautomotive%26sprefix%3Dball%2520hitch&amp;tag=survspot0e-20&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957\">ball hitch<\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=survspot0e-20&amp;l=ur2&amp;o=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" \/>. However, Pintle hitches perform much better in off-road conditions. The last thing you need when bugging out is to lose a trailer.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"Bug Out Towing\" src=\"http:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-images\/bug-out-towing.jpg\" alt=\"Bug Out Towing\" width=\"398\" height=\"250\" align=\"center\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>8. Color<\/h2>\n<p>When in a bug out situation, you may need to leave your vehicle unattended or need to hide from criminal elements. Earthy colors like brown, green and black are best, with gray and dark blue being 2nd tier choices. Avoid bright colors entirely.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"Camo Bug Out Vehicle\" src=\"http:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-images\/bug-out-vehicle3.jpg\" alt=\"Camo Bug Out Vehicle\" width=\"445\" height=\"194\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>9. Efficiency<\/h2>\n<p>While lower mpg may be a good choice, the great majority of trucks and SUV\u2019s are gas guzzling. Diesels offer a much higher fuel efficiency than regular gas vehicles in most cases. Additionally diesel vehicles historically last longer and are more durable.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>More BOV Reading <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thehighroad.org\/showthread.php?t=155890\" class=\"broken_link\">http:\/\/www.thehighroad.org\/showthread.php?t=155890<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.survivalistboards.com\/showthread.php?t=3464\" class=\"broken_link\">http:\/\/www.survivalistboards.com\/showthread.php?t=3464<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wilderness-survival.net\/forums\/showthread.php?p=12373\" class=\"broken_link\">http:\/\/www.wilderness-survival.net\/forums\/showthread.php?p=12373<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.alpharubicon.com\/bovstuff\/perfectbovbr.htm\" class=\"broken_link\">http:\/\/www.alpharubicon.com\/bovstuff\/perfectbovbr.htm<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.4x4abc.com\/jeep101\/\" class=\"broken_link\">http:\/\/www.4x4abc.com\/jeep101\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tomsebooks.com\/UltimateSurvivalVeh.pdf\">http:\/\/www.tomsebooks.com\/UltimateSurvivalVeh.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>http:\/\/www.survivalistssite.com\/~canuck\/downloads\/bov_basics.pdf<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/survivalblog.com\/an_adequate_bug_out_vehicle_bo\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"broken_link\">http:\/\/survivalblog.com\/an_adequate_bug_out_vehicle_bo\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/survivalblog.com\/how-to-choose-a-bug-out-bike-by-b-b\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"broken_link\">http:\/\/survivalblog.com\/how-to-choose-a-bug-out-bike-by-b-b\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/survivalblog.com\/the_perfect_bug_out_vehicle_by\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"broken_link\">http:\/\/survivalblog.com\/the_perfect_bug_out_vehicle_by\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If SHTF and you need to GOOD, you will need a good bug out vehicle. To get to your destination you may experience obstacles like difficult terrain, bad weather, debris in the road etc. Let\u2019s explore what makes a good bug out vehicle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[224],"tags":[440],"class_list":["post-665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-resources","tag-comment"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=665"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17800,"href":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665\/revisions\/17800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.survival-spot.com\/survival-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}