Go Bag Necessities

[PackRat]

What to put in, what to leave out?
Your meds would need to be rotated more often than food or underware/sox so you need a plan.
You might forget your wallet so some cash (couple humdred at least?). A photocopy of your Drivers License and Passport. Maybe you want a pistol/ammo? Some clothes/shoes/jackets/rain gear.

Maybe this stays at the house but if your truck/camper will be your Emergency Shelter, be sure it has propane, water, gas, food, etc for a couple weeks. Rotate it unless you plan on MREs.

I'd like to hear what others think and what their plans are. This does depend oh if the neighborhood is destroyed and your house is leveled or livable. I do have firewood and 15,000 gallons of pool water here by the way but freeways would be down in any major quake and the bridges probably as well...

"Be Prepared" the Boy Scouts taught me.

 

[klahanie]

Were I live there's really no where to go. The slightest hicup from ideal and the roads are plugged. A function of too-many-people. Expect to walk or perhaps cycle anywhere. Getting family together is priority and riding it out at home the scenario. Both could be difficult.

But I'll follow thread for ideas ...

 

[smlobx]

Since I see you're in CA am I correct you're thinking about a natural disaster like wildfire or earthquake?

I think that our truck campers our one of the best bug out vehicles you could have and if you keep your camper almost ready to roll (say with only a half hour needed to bug out) you could take just about anything you'd like.

The question is how long would you plan for? When I lived on Galveston Island TX I had a bug out bag that was actually a plastic milk crate that I would build every year in the event we had to evacuate for a hurricane. We kept a weeks worth of food plus some basic medical supplies. We also kept extra gas in the garage and rotated it monthly.

In my current home we live on a lake, have a private well and a 500 gallon propane tank and generator so we are good for a while.. our family plan is that if the SHTF our kids are to come here if possible as they live near major target areas and they keep enough gas and supplies to make it here without stopping.

 

[PackRat]

While the term "Go Bag" intimates you gotta go, it can also just mean your home/area are spared from a nearby disaster but no power or water will be available, local stores will be emptied in a flash and you can't get onto toppled freeways so you will need to sit tight and wait it out until help for the long term arrives.

They say we will be on our own; meaning don't expect the firefighters or police or ambulance services to be able to get to you. Even a nearby local hospital (I have Kaiser 6 miles away) may have disrupted service or be OUT of service with a collapse or something of that order.

Think "self-sufficient" and think for about two weeks in some cases!

After about a week, the looters will be trying to feed their families after the supermarkets are emptied out, so you may have to make some hard choices on that score. I suggest you get a meeting with the neighbors to confirm if blockading and manning intersections will help avoid violent people from making you a victim.

 

[yovik]

After watching the video below, I too want to know about my camper "go bag".

Global or regional turmoil or disasters and Marshall Law aren't motivating my curiousity. (This stuff is a separate discussion in my mind )

I am motivated by something like a vehicle fire or similar event.

What's the "bag"?
What's in it?
Where is it stashed?

https://youtu.be/afpnkCOsMFU

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

There is a difference between a "GO BAG" and a "BAILOUT BAG".

The first should be based on the theory that you're on your own for some length of time, probably with no help coming.

The second is based on keeping your self alive until the rescuers reach you.

For those of us who wander far from the beaten path, outside the range of cellphones, the number one priority should be some means of yelling for help via satellite. Which means either a Personal Locator Beacon (PL or a commercial product like a SPOT or an InReach. Personally, I prefer the PLB. We can have a separate discussion/argument about that, if anyone wants to.

Next, a canteen of water and a space blanket, one of those heavy original ones with grommets, bright orange on one side.

Ideally, these three things will summon rescuers and keep you alive until they get there.

I add the following things to my bag.

Supplementary shelter items - an old wool army blanket, a military poncho, and 50 feet of parachute cord.

Supplementary signal gear - a mirror, a whistle, a strobe light, and one of those marine smoke flares.

Water purification tablets.

A fire starting kit - magnesium bar, waterproof matches, some tinder, and a flexible wood cutting saw.

First aid stuff.

A heavy survival knife

A SureFire LED flashlight with extra batteries.

Finally, because I have it already and don't really use it for anything else anymore, my old 357 magnum revolver and extra ammo.

This can all fit into a nylon duffle bag, so in the event of a vehicle fire or similar, you can grab it and pitch it away from the vehicle. Since the smartest thing you can do would be to stay with or near your vehicle, there's no need to pack it to carry on a long hike.

 

[Ronin]

There is a difference between a "GO BAG" and a "BAILOUT BAG".

The first should be based on the theory that you're on your own for some length of time, probably with no help coming.

The second is based on keeping your self alive until the rescuers reach you.

For those of us who wander far from the beaten path, outside the range of cellphones, the number one priority should be some means of yelling for help via satellite. Which means either a Personal Locator Beacon (PL or a commercial product like a SPOT or an InReach. Personally, I prefer the PLB. We can have a separate discussion/argument about that, if anyone wants to.

Next, a canteen of water and a space blanket, one of those heavy original ones with grommets, bright orange on one side.

Ideally, these three things will summon rescuers and keep you alive until they get there.

I add the following things to my bag.

Supplementary shelter items - an old wool army blanket, a military poncho, and 50 feet of parachute cord.

Supplementary signal gear - a mirror, a whistle, a strobe light, and one of those marine smoke flares.

Water purification tablets.

A fire starting kit - magnesium bar, waterproof matches, some tinder, and a flexible wood cutting saw.

First aid stuff.

A heavy survival knife

A SureFire LED flashlight with extra batteries.

Finally, because I have it already and don't really use it for anything else anymore, my old 357 magnum revolver and extra ammo.

This can all fit into a nylon duffle bag, so in the event of a vehicle fire or similar, you can grab it and pitch it away from the vehicle. Since the smartest thing you can do would be to stay with or near your vehicle, there's no need to pack it to carry on a long hike.

John,

As I read your list I realize that I have most of your items in my truck all of the time minus the 357( I have a machete instead). I also store a fleece jacket, British Army thermal pants,gloves, beanie,balaclava, and daypack instead of a duffel bag. I recently purchased a Makita 36v chainsaw and am debating on whether to keep it in the vehicle full time or not.I live in the Ca foothills and bad things can happen anytime when you least expect it, especially in the winter when driving on icy roads can leave you at the bottom of a ravine or worse.
The most probable scenario at home is the sheriff is banging on our door at 2:00 in the morning telling us we have to evacuate immediately. We have 3 bug out boxes next to the garage door with clothes,food, and our backing packing gear ready to go. Hopefully we'd have enuff time to grab our computer hard drive, handguns,cash and passports which we have identified as priority items. I keep my Hawk" on a flatbed trailer that I could hitch up but probably wouldn't if there was fire all around us.

 

[PackRat]

Good reading fellas, the point being all these items gives everyone ideas on what to leave in and what to leave out.

I do agree that there is some disparity on what you carry to the boonies and what you keep ready at home
in case of emergency.

By the way, a friend who was away at the cabin last October lost everything except what was in the safe-deposit box, that DID contain birth certs., passports and insurance docs for home and vehicles.

Keep 'em coming….