I've got a Jeep Cherokee but as a survival vehicle it would be more of an "escape pod" and getaway vehicle than something I would be able to operate out of long term. It's fast offroad for a solid axle truck because I got hooked on the Jeepspeed desert racing craze for a couple of years but it's still a gasoline powered compact SUV and the likelihood that I will be able to find fresh gasoline for it once things got long term stupid would be minimal.
I work at a research facility with some pretty serious consequences for everyone in a 50 mile radius at the 48hr mark and to be honest nobody would want to be within 500 miles of the thing after full catastrophic event or successful military/terror attack. I carry spare fuel cans but I am working on a 32 gallon fuel cell to increase my range in the event I needed to throw some rucks in the back and get the heck out of Dodge.
I chose this rig because it has the best blend of rock crawling/obstacle clearing ability and high speed desert boogie when properly set up with reservoir shocks, long travel springs, air bump stops.
Mods:
Rubicon Express 5.5 Extreme Duty Lift Kit
Rubicon Express Heavy Duty Track Bar, Bracket, Brace
BDS 5.5 Front Coils and National Rear Leafs
Liquid Iron Shackle Relocation Brackets
Dodge Durango Steering Gear Box
Iron Rock Offroad 5/5 OTK Heim Joint Steering Linkage
Advance Adapters T-Case Slip Yoke Eliminator
Ford 31 Spline 8.8 Disc Brake Rear End
Trimmed Fenders
Bilstein Shocks
35x12.50R15 General Grabber Tires on ProComp Steelies
Home Built 2x6x3/16 A500 Steel Bumpers with Class 3 Receivers
Ramsey Patriot Winch in Class 3 Receiver Mount Cradle
Three 15 Gallon Horizontal Water Tanks and Camping Gear
Spectre Cowl Induction(keeps it out of the the water)
Dual Optima Batteries
Engine Driven York Air Compressor(with air tools)
180Amp Alternator(I can stick weld with it and 2 batteries)
Sometimes I wish I still had my 93 Cummins 1st gen 4x4 despite the fact that it was slow and lumbering beast but my current needs are more for an immediate evacuation offroad(mountain roads would be jammed) and this is just about the only sealed up vehicle that can make it down the mountain off road and still haul the mail once I get out to the desert so I am sticking with it for now.
I've since replaced my Subaru with a 2012 BMW X5 sport package diesel...the most "ready" thing about it is that I never let it go below a half tank and it's got a 600+ mile highway range. I also found that pre-DC snowpocalypse a few weeks ago, I could pull right up to the diesel pump while the lines for people trying to buy gas were out into the road.
I considered buying a more off road capable vehicle, but I've gone down that rabbit hole many times before and honestly the off road opportunities on most of the east coast are pretty piss poor - more like soft roading. Instead of getting beat up in a lifted Jeep everyday again I chose to go with the comfy ride and mid 20s mpgs. This thing is pretty sweet, closest thing to driving a sports car I found during my largeish SUV shopping quest. Also doesn't hurt that it has factory warranty and all regular maintenance free until 100k miles/august 2018.
Last edited by ChaseN; 02-06-16 at 11:18.
600 mile highway range is a HUGE asset in an emergency. Exposure=Risk and being able to put 1/5 of the width of the whole country between you and a chemical spill, volcanic eruption, civil unrest, nuclear meltdown, etc could be a life saving asset some day.
The main thrust of my mods from this point forward are safety(roll cage, 5 point harnesses) and cruising range(32 gallon fuel cell, Gerry can racks) and I can barely make it that far with a specially built long range fuel tank and two 5 gallon Gerry cans at my disposal.
I'm now a convert to Toyota. Got a 2011 Tacoma SR5 'crew cab' just like a million other people in the south. I paid not much less with 100,000 miles on it, than the original owner did! It's in completely stock form, all I'll do to it is upgrade the tires to something with more bite. The dang thing sure is fast enough... It's quicker than my Dodge with a 5.7 Hemi was.
Sorta regret not getting a F150 FX4, or a 4 door Wrangler, but I'll most likely always have a Taco parked in the driveway from now on. It is a very useful vehicle to have around.
That's all a good point, the trick is to get notified and hit the road early enough to avoid the crippling gridlock that will clog the roads in northern Virginia trying to get out of DC. If I miss that opportunity, the best bugout vehicle would literally be a dual sport motorcycle. I've never heard anybody mention it, but in a true emergency the W&OD bike trail is a 45 mile paved "road" that travels perfectly straight away from DC into the blue ridge mountains. It's too narrow to navigate in many parts by car, and might attract negative attention from LE, but would be the perfect getaway route on a motorcycle.
It really is hard to beat a Toyota, I was always a Toyota guy growing up but decided to give Chevy a shot and wasn't pleased. Now that I have my Tacoma I remember why my parents always had Toyota's. Super easy to work on and reliable, I look to have my 2015 Tacoma for many years to come. And to talk about being fast enough, I absolutely love my TRD supercharged 4.0. I would have gone 2016, but I always wanted a supercharged Tacoma and it appears they won'be offering it in the 16's.
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