Pop-up campers as a post-catastrophe survival vehicle?

Apologies if this topic has been posted previously but my searches did not find anything similar. Also, Site Admins, please move the post to another area if it is not in the correct forum.

After the massive earthquake and tsunami that occurred in Japan in 2011, the quake scientists have been issuing alerts with increasing intensity that a similar or worse event is overdue off the coast of Oregon. The impact area includes Portland (which is fairly close to where we live) and the potential impacts are extremely severe due to the numerous bridges in the area. The recommendations are to be prepared to be self sufficient for at least 2 weeks.

Lately my wife and I have been thinking about our preparedness and started thinking that our FWC Fleet could be outfitted to turn it into a really useful post-catastrophe vehicle.

This line of thinking got me wondering if other pop-up owners have done something similar - hence the post. Or, conversely, whether anyone has considered the idea but determined it would not work or identified major drawbacks.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

- steelhead

Note: this post is not intended to spark a conversation about whether or not an earthquake is going to occur, it is only intended to talk about pop-ups and preparedness should one occur. Thanks!

We keep our RV (currently a Grandby) and our food/water/survival supplies (properly stored) ready at all times, they are our disaster plan. Everyone needs a plan and food/water/etc. to survive up to 3 WEEKS without government help (3 weeks comes from a recent infrastructure study in Oregon).

I am not a prepper but we are prepared.

Bill
Licensed Geologist ("the big one will come to the northwest USA coast, we just don't know when")

I also keep my Grandby stocked for two weeks of living with food, seasonally appropriate clothing and bedding. My only shortfall is with water; I only carry 7 gallons and that only when it is above freezing. In Minnesota finding water is not a problem. I also keep my truck at least 1/2 full of fuel, plus extra fuel in garage.

I also have a list (in order of importance) of things to grab if time permits: things like medications, laptop, extra gas, extra food, chargers for phone and computer, etc.

One also need a plan of escape. Being stuck on a clogged freeway trying to get out of town isn't going to do you much good (see Katrina, Sandy).

jim

I think I mentioned this in a long-ago, now buried thread. During an evacuation from a wildfire in northern New Mexico, the evacuation route used a narrow road and large RVs were either discouraged or prevented from using the route. That's another advantage to our pop-ups. During fire season, supplies and important papers stay in my FWC, ready to go.

Even for a short duration event its nice not to have to depend on others. I don't worry so much about something where I need to evacuate as where I need to survive short term. Whether its getting stuck in the snow or a breakdown in the desert, those sort of scenarios seem to me to be the most likely events. I've lately been transitioning my food stuffs from canned/dried to a more long term supply, freeze dried, mre type stuff. Just having food and shelter makes even small events (like getting stuck, no need to panic when you can just pop the top) easy to deal with.

Depending on where you live, here its likely to be floods or earthquakes, some places its tornadoes or whatever, its good to not to have to depend on whatever authorities are around to survive. In the event of an earthquake (or whatever) I like to think I can say "take care of those in real trouble, I'll be fine for a while".

I serve as the emergency manager for a small town in Oregon, with dozens (maybe hundreds) of hours of FEMA training related to emergencies (think active shooter, public works/infrastructure, weather, etc.). Your line of thinking is proactive, which is good. The Cascadia event will come, as stated in a previous post, it is just a matter of when.

I have my Hawk set up as a secondary shelter. It could be used in the event of a catastrophe for one person for three weeks, or my family for a week or two. It is just part of an overall plan though. It doesn't hold enough water for more than one person for three weeks. Depending on the time of year, it isn't likely to have enough propane to heat and cook for that period of time and it isn't insulated well enough to keep warm for three weeks in below freezing temperatures. So, it is a water source, but not the only water source. It is a cooking area, but only one.

In a major catastrophe, like a Cascadia event, it is also likely that you won't be able to purchase gasoline (not all stations have manual pumps to access their in-ground tanks), so an RV can be a great storage area for food, water and be used in the event there is damage to your house, or of course if you have to leave your house. It isn't good to put all your eggs in one basket though, and again, if you don't typically keep your rig with a full tank of gas, you may not be going very far.

There are pros and cons, but an RV (any RV, not just a pop-up) can be a very good resource if you pre-plan. You don't have to be a "prepper" to be prepared

I think most of us who own a pop-up have a similar outlook on life and a love of the out of doors. My family were campers/hikers/fisherman/ranchers who spent their lives in a small town and outdoors. I started out as a backpacker/truck camper who had a job in the woods/desert, who as he got older, one day discovered a pop-up camper and it changed his life. A frig. a heater, a roof I did not have to pitch every time i moved. A shelter from the weather and most importantly; a means to keep me in the back country as these old bones got even older and back packing miles every day no longer a viable option! Now I can drive into the back country and walk and explore as much as my bones will allow. It has been expressed by many on this site, maybe one day that this could be also a final resting site if need be !

A survival vehicle it is! It always has a few weeks of supplies, emergency gear in it and now with solar, a cold frig/freezer and light to read my books at night(even can bring a tv to watch if i desire). Now that I'm retired, it is ready to go exploring on a moments whim, and I'm gone (now) after a few hours charging. A few years ago, fire cut off Susanville from PG&E power (again) for several days and I moved frozen food and some veggies into the frig and prepared to make a run for it if i had too. Yep, I often think if I had one of these when i was working ,I might be still out in the boonies and on the job( just kidding). I could easily see this rig as a field command rig or a long term survival aid! In the mean time, it is my survival and fun rig, with heat and light to keep me in the outback and happy!

Smoke

I think we're preaching to the choir a bit here. Preparedness just comes naturally with what we do. I will have to up my game to be able to go three weeks though.

Even those of us who live in relatively safe places need to be prepared. Water mains can burst, all number of things can happen. Even in fairly flat Sacramento you can still have a conflagration. A number of years back when we had forty mile per hour winds a house caught fire, spread to two other house before they contained it. If they'd had another incident working or done less than heroic work a whole neighborhood could have gone up. Can't ever say it won't happen to you.

Thanks for the responses. I expected that many WtW'ers were doing this already because it simply makes sense. Looks though that we should prepare for 3, not 2, weeks. The only issue I see with that is water but we do have multiple water filters from our backpacking days. Lots of work but at least there are viable water sources around here.

Happy New Year everyone!

Happy New Years to everyone here as well..

We went to NH for Christmas (from VA) where most of my family lives. One of my sisters is on the board of directors for the Red Cross and we had a rather long discussion on what we have done to be prepared for some disaster.
She has (and reccomends) a three stage approach depending on the severity of the disaster.

Stage 1- a disaster that is of known origin and duration (think of a snow storm) their family will meet at their larger home where they have supplies and assets to manage comfortably for 3-5 days. I think this is the most common disaster most of us will face.

Stage 2- a disaster of larger magnitude where staying at your stage 1 location is not feasible. (Think of a fire, earthquake etc). They have a dedicated bug out location that is pre provisioned with enough food, water and supplies for several weeks.

Stage 3- a truly epic disaster ( hurricane, major terrorist attack, nuclear attack etc) they have plans to depart from their stage 2 location and actually go to Canada to where they have the means to stay there for an extended time frame. My problem with their third option is if it is in the middle of winter there might be significant challenges getting there.

I believe that our pop up campers could be outfitted to be our stage 2 and /or stage 3 option. The question we have to answer is just how many people we would be responsible for and how we can acquire the supplies to sustain everyone for anticipated length of time. Our Hallmark that is being built as we speak has been designed to maximize an extended off the grid trip if necessary.

My Dodge truck and Alaskan are always stocked (except the two fridge/freezers) and fueled and ready to go. For me the big threat is a big hurricane. With solar power I can live in it more comfortably than in a damaged house. I can also evacuate without worrying about where I will find a place to stay.


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