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White76Knight's Survival Plan - Page One
| White76Knight's Survival Plan | ||
| Page One: Bugging In and Bugging Out | Page Two: Digging In for Awhile | Page Three: Living in the Aftermath |
| Page Two B: Fortifying The Citadel | Page Two C: The Curtain Wall |
| Page Note: Most of the images on these pages are "clickable", with links to provide larger versions of the image itself, further information on how the pictured item is supposed to work, or information on where it should be obtained. Should you have any questions, therefore, or if anything doesn't make proper sense as written, feel free to browse these links before you ask, to see if that information makes the situation any clearer. Now, on with the show... Section A: Bugging In In this section I will detail how I would fortify and defend my current home, making it a secure place for only short term shelter after an outbreak, and how I will prepare a Bug Out Bag. I shall, perhaps, start by saying that should my easily fortified dream home (described in detail in Page 2: Digging In and Page 3: Living) ever be completed in full, then I will be bugging in for the long haul. Sections A and B hereafter would then be rendered moot, as my BOL would no longer be a destination that my group has to reach, but rather a location that my family would live in full time, all year round, well stocked up with food and other supplies, and easily defensible to hold out against all those expected unruly mobs of walking undead that we all spend so much time talking about. In any case, on with the show... (UPDATE - Having grown tired of the drug use and gang/criminal element, both of which were far too prevalent in and around the apartment buildings in which we lived on first moving back to this province, my family has packed up and relocated one more time. We are still living in the same city, though our new place is a house rather than an apartment in a building (ironically, the VERY SAME HOUSE that we were renting when we were living here in this city over ten years ago), and this has good points and bad points as far as defensibility and preparations are concerned. Having lived in this city once before, we have a pretty good idea of the lay of the land, and this is still the most positive thing about the move. This is actually our sixth move in about four years, and alas, it turns out that it will NOT be our last in the foreseeable future, despite all our wishes to the contrary. Planning is somewhat more difficult when you don't know where you'll live from one year to the next.) The new home does seem to be fairly defensible. There are three exterior doors in this house, all accessible from ground level. One door, on the basement level, is already dead-bolted and barricaded from the inside with boxes and furniture. In the event of a zombie outbreak, the front door on the upper floor can be barricaded in the same way. The side door on the upper floor is raised about four feet off the ground, and this will be used as our primary entrance and exit once the steps have been destroyed. Both doors on the upper level are equipped with nice big windows, which is great for keeping good sight lines and letting in light, but sucks for defensive purposes, leaving both doors as potential points of vulnerability unless those windows are covered, which in turn restricts both light and line of fire. Perhaps some type of perforated metal or security bars could be set to cover the window, at least on the door that we will be using as our own point of access, as this could still allow light in and bullets out while still preventing the unwanted intrusion of grasping hands. Some kind of security camera or peephole lens would need to be installed near the other doors, as the windows on those sides of the house are large and will all need to be barricaded/bricked over, and doing so could prevent us from seeing anybody standing at or near the doors.  There are three windows easily accessible from the ground, all of which would be more than large enough to admit zombies or other intruders, so After the SHTF, I'd endeavor to brick them over entirely. One could do this Before the SHTF but the house is a rental and I really don't think our landlord would approve. If we had no time to brick over all of these windows, they would be equipped with Strong Back barricades, such as the ones seen to the right and described near the bottom of this page. There are also two small windows facing to the rear of the house, but they are all about ten or twelve feet above ground level. Just to be safe, though, they could be bricked over after the SHTF too, or at least Strong Backed, or equipped with bars or security screens made with chain link fencing. As things were done in Britain during WW-II, all of these windows could also be equipped with black-out curtains, and all unnecessary usage of light after dark restricted. This would hopefully help us avoid drawing any unwanted attention to ourselves from either Zeds or from Raiders by masking our movements during the daylight hours and hiding the lights from view after night has fallen.If my home WERE attacked, I will defend it with any and all weapons at my disposal. Unfortunately, this does not include a single firearm at the present time, but this is a situation that I am hoping to remedy soon. We do have a variety of bladed and blunt force weapons all around the house, if it came to that, but any hammer would come a very, very poor second to a 12 gauge. Again, I hope to correct this problem sooner rather than later. I would stockpile sufficient quantities of food, water and other supplies to last us for a duration of at least three to four weeks, with a larger stockpile of supplies at my BOL. (Addendum: This stockpiling of three to four weeks of food and supplies may prove problematic in this apartment, as storage space is somewhat limited, but I am sure we'll figure out some way. Our new home shall hopefully include more storage space, that this problem might be avoided). This smaller amount of supplies is only intended to be enough to see us through the initial Panic that would follow any outbreak scenario or other disaster, allowing us to shelter in place until the worst of the danger have passed. In this way we can stay put in a relatively secure location and off the roads for at least awhile, thus avoiding drawing any undue attention to ourselves. Then we could relocate to the primary BOL, a place that will be better stocked up with food and supplies, after the situation has died down a little, but before many folks start getting too desperate. In any case, once these supplies are exhausted or should my defenses fail, it will be time to... Bug Out! Section B: Bugging Out NOTE: The contents of my Scramble Set and my Bug-Out Bag shall be described in further detail on my Survival Gear page. I'll be providing additional information on most of the items, and also explaining why the items would be included in my kit. There are many items in both these descriptions that I do not own as yet, but the Scramble Set and Bug-Out Bag are both works in progress. The descriptions that follow are representative of what I'd hope the two kits will look like once they have both been fully completed. My Scramble Set: For those times when things have gotten bad, but not quite so bad that Bugging Out is required, or when you're away from your primary Bug-Out Bag and you just need some basic supplies to hold you over until you get back to it, it can be useful to have a smaller secondary kit available.  I am partial to the Dual Load set up suggested by FreeLancer47. Such a set up would consist of two individual kits. First, the daily carry bag which is intended, as is implied by the name, to be carried on your person at all times. In my case this is currently the Leapers UTG Tactical Messenger Bag as shown to the left. It holds items that can be useful on a daily basis, but save for a pocket knife it is devoid of weaponry due to any restriction imposed either by local laws (or federal laws as in my case) or by company policies at your workplace. The bag is still important, though, because even when you are restricted in WHAT you are allowed to carry around on your person, you CAN still carry usable gear with you. More information and the actual contents of this Every Day Carry kit, as noted above, will be described in further detail on my Survival Gear page.  Should I happen to find myself living and working anyplace that does not allow the daily carry of weapons of any sort, I have this Cold Steel Shillelagh. Anybody who doesn't know better will think it a simple walking stick, and they'd be right, as that is exactly what the shillelagh really is. If Z-Day ever occurs, however, (or during any other emergency for that matter) this humble little walking stick will instantly transform itself into three feet of Skull Busting goodness. Even the most restrictive of workplaces can't realistically ban a walking stick, especially if you claim to have some form of "old sports injury" that acts up from time to time, and you are occasionally seen using a Shillelagh as an actual walking stick to lend some credibility to your story.  The second component of the Dual Load Set is a Scramble Bag, which is a light weight kit, quickly grabbed, consisting almost totally of "weapons and ammo". It is intended to be snatched up on the go from your home or vehicle in the event of an emergency egress, during any such emergencies as should require you to defend yourself. The actual Scramble Bag would be, in my case, a Tactical Vest with two Drop Leg platforms and, as stated earlier, this vest and its contents are described in greater detail on my Survival Gear page. My primary weapon (This Sig 716 CQB with an underbarrel MasterKey Shotgun derived from a Dominion Arms Grizzly-Mag, as shown below to the right) can be secured somewhere very close to the load carrying tactical rig and Bug Out Bag so that any or all may be grabbed in a hurry if needed.  Should my fully fortified Live-In BOL ever be completed, I should still use a Daily Carry bag above as described, but the Bug Out Bag described hereafter could be modified somewhat (along with the BOBs of my family) to serve as vehicular Bug Out Kits, which shall be intended primarily to see us securely back to our fortified home in the event that we are away. The Scramble Vests, alas, containing all of our weapons and ammo, would have to be left at home, as Canadian Law does not currently permit law abiding citizens to bear most firearms in their vehicle (and none on their person) outside of their own home, unless said firearm is being transported to or from a licensed shooting range (and even then we have to apply for a Permit to Transport in advance) or to the designated hunting area during any current hunting season (in which case, such Permits to Transport is implied by your hunting license). Ain't Canadian Gun Laws great? Or not! My Bug Out Bag: I have finally begun preparations for my own Bug Out Bag, it isn't finished as of yet (are they ever?), but I believe that if a real emergency occurred, and if I were forced to survive only with what I have assembled so far, I should be able to do okay. I wouldn't enjoy it, but I'd survive, and that is, after all, the goal. In any case, my Bug-Out bag shown below is still a work in progress, but this is what it looks like at the moment:  As I have a wife and four children that I will be traveling with, I will also be assembling a Bug-Out Bag for each of them too. Once assembled, my wife's kit will likely resemble my own, but until now I've seen myself at something of a loss concerning what to prepare for our children. I have just stumbled, though, upon a Children's BOBs page written by Kinelta, which also seems to certainly be taking steps in the right direction.
Alas, the rest of my Bug-Out part of my Survival Plan is yet woefully undeveloped, as I currently have nowhere to Bug Out to. If things should go from bad to worse, though, I could easily see myself being forced to Bug Out with my family, whether with a destination in mind or not. Should this actually occur, I will need a vehicle of some kind. Right at the moment, the only vehicle I have access to is a Ford Windstar minivan. It is not a newer model, to say the least (We refer to her as a little old lady named Agatha - LOL) and we couldn't trust her to get us to where we need to go if any emergency situation were to occur. (Addendum: Agatha has passed, at long last, to her faithful rest. She served us well until, finally, she could serve us no more. We mourn her passing, and we recognize that it leaves us bereft, both of her presence and of any vehicle at all for the moment.) My vehicle of choice for after the SHTF is a 4WD pickup truck, so I'll probably end up stea... I mean borrowing, yeah that's it, borrowing one of those after the situation has devolved, and gotten bad enough that its previous owners have no further need of it. Now, I do have one Wish List vehicle that I believe would make for a BOV-from-Hell, as shown below, but I highly doubt that I'll ever actually be able to own it, because I have looked into these, and they cost more than my entire family combined earns in about ten years, and that's BEFORE taxes. But here it is anyway...  The Dakar Trophy Truck is designed to tackle some of the most punishing terrain that mother nature has ever designed, and to do it at high speeds. A little bit of an aftermarket mod-job should turn one of these into one ideal multipurpose, After-the-SHTF transport vehicle. If they're able to handle this brutal off-road endurance race, they won't balk at a few knocks if I have to drive off the beaten path every now and then to go around any obstacle that I may encounter (like roads blocked by abandoned cars and things like that), and all while being zippy enough to outpace (especially when used off-road) any other vehicle that raiders would be likely to be using, and all the hordes of walking dead alike. Given that a Dakar Trophy Truck like these will probably be unavailable, my dream vehicle (hereafter referred to as the Bug-Out Buggy, or Buggy for short) would begin it's life as a 4WD, 4-door (or maybe even 6-door) pickup truck. If not built from scratch entirely, it would be retrofitted with a roll cage, A-Frame suspension and a Zombie Crushing skid plates below the undercarriage of the truck (boat hull shaped, likely made of aluminum plate on a tubular frame, mounted on shock absorbers) to protect the underside from damage. I will probably not attempt to armor the Buggy against human raiders, as unless we have ready access to military grade parts and materials, there would be little point. By the time one adds enough layers of improvised armor to a vehicle to make it proof against even small arms fire, they have probably also added more weight than its drive train and suspension were designed to handle, thereby reducing their vehicles maneuverability and top speed to unacceptable levels.  The rear cargo bed of this Bug-Out Buggy would be enclosed by a protective cage made out of chain link fencing which has been welded to a tubular steel frame. This can protect our cargo from theft, and additional passengers (in a pinch) from the grasping hands of any undead, while still allowing the occupants a nearly unobstructed outgoing field of fire (picture Tallahassee locked in that little security cage at the Pacific Playland amusement park in Zombieland, as shown on the right, but on wheels). A steel firing cage over the rear cargo bed would probably raise a few eyebrows Before the SHTF, and since we have no wish to attract any undue attention to ourselves, it should be a simple task to make this cage removable, much in the manner of modern day truck caps.  (Addendum: Both to increase the useability of this space, and to forestall such questions as might be asked by observers of the vehicle, I have been toying with the idea of replacing that cage with a Truck Bed Camper which could then be modified to serve the same end. Such a camper must include plenty of windows, and each one can be outfitted with screens of chain link fence welded to the frame to allow the same capability of outgoing fire as described above. This camper also serves to provide a portable living space, allowing several occupants to call it home while on the road). As another poster pointed out to me, many of these camper models will include a sunroof in the ceiling. As long as we either pick a camper with a sunroof large enough for somebody to climb up through, or enlarge it as need be, we should only have to add a decent extension ladder to the rooftop to allow us access to balconies or second story windows, building roofs, etc. This will facilitate easy entry for foraging purposes into any building that had been barricaded at the ground floor, and it will also allow us to rescue such folk as were foolish enough to believe Max Brooks and the ZSG and strand themselves on their own roofs, all while keeping ourselves safely out of reach of any nearby Zombies on the ground. After the Fall, while adding greatly to the defensibility of the Bug-Out Buggy, either the cage or the camper would also take away from the trucks useable cargo space, at least for as long as it is being employed as either a living space or a firing position. Fortunately, I have an idea for correcting this problem as well.  Shown here to the right is a Bug-Out Trailer, or BOT, that can be kept loaded up with food, water, weapons and all of your other supplies at all times. Then, in the event that the SHTF, I'd need only to install our Cage or Camper, hook up the BOT and hit the road. The preloaded dedicated BOV may be more ideal, but a full vehicle is a much larger investment than a trailer. Some folk only barely manage to afford the regular vehicle that they use all the time these days, let alone having to lay out costs associated with a second vehicle that they hopefully never have to drive. I can't see sinking that much money into buying myself a secondary vehicle, just to load it up and park it somewhere and never use it.The Bug Out Trailer, on the other hand, is much cheaper than a vehicle, so I don't think it would sting as much to lay out cash for one and then not use it all the time. If we opt to use a truck bed camper as a portable temporary BOL, rather than the firing cage mentioned above, it too will be kept loaded with supplies all the time. That way it can still be ready to go at a moments notice, but it doesn't look all that unusual driving down the road Before the Fall. This would allow for extra passenger space if we end up with more people in the group than the truck alone can accommodate. It should also still allow the towing of a trailer and it would still be less expensive than buying a second vehicle. Further, this would give us the additional security of having some portion of our supplies in the camper, so that we needn't be left with nothing should the trailer be lost. Aside from that, just about any utility trailer will have more cargo space than just about any other vehicle, short of a full sized van. For example, my family had a minivan (dear lord how did I get that old? LOL) and I could load it up with just as much as I would fit in a trailer, but I would have to take all the seats out to do it, so I'd only end up with a van load of supplies, but no room for my family. With the trailer we can still load the supplies while leaving the space in the vehicle for all of our passengers.  This particular trailer is based on the Canadian M101 Military Trailer and so it should have no problem handling any off-road terrain that the truck itself can handle. As seen here to the left, is has also been outfitted with a Roof Top Tent that can provide extra sleeping space for two or three more bodies, should we have to camp out anyplace overnight before reaching our BOL. This, of course, may be far less secure than sleeping inside of the Truck Bed Camper, but might be necessary depending on how many bodies we end up having along for the ride.All supplies that cannot, for one reason or another, be kept loaded in the camper or trailer at all times will be stored in wheeled bins, or on a pallet in the garage along with an overhead winch, to facilitate loading in the least amount of time possible if an emergency occurs. These wheeled bins would be of the smaller variety where possible, as when playing a game of Tetris with your various belongings, it is almost always easier to find a space for two smaller containers rather than one large one, and such smaller bins are stackable and easier to carry anyway. Speaking as someone who has moved more than twenty times since I was eighteen (for either work, medical or family reasons), fourteen in the past twelve years, five just in the span of one year alone (btw, that really sucked, don't move that often if you can in any way avoid it - LOL), I can say with certainty that just about anything we can do to make any vehicle or trailer easier to load and unload is a Certified "Good Thing".  If whatever trailer we ended up using is large enough, it should also be used to tow a pair of dirt bikes or an ATV as seen to the right. In doing so, we'd have a secondary means of transport that could be utilized so that a single rider could scout ahead or make a quick scavenging run. The Dirt Bikes might be the way to go here, as either the trailer or the truck itself could readily be equipped with homemade Carriers, thus allowing us to carry the bike without sacrificing cargo space inside the vehicle. On the other hand, if the trailer is small enough, it can even be towed BY an ATV in a pinch, thus making it less likely that we'd have to leave it behind if we all have to get somewhere that trucks can't go. This puts the ATV back in the running again over Dirt Bikes. Hmm, decisions, decisions. Another option is a bicycle. A good mountain bike is relatively lightweight and maneuverable, can get into places that other vehicles just can't, doesn't require any source of fuel, and is portable enough to be carried if you have to take it indoors or whatever. There is, though, one major problem that I see with the use of a bike... While they don't require gasoline or diesel fuel for operation, they DO still require a power source; namely you! The riding of a bike, especially over any long distance, and especially if heavily laden with other gear, will burn calories which will increase food consumption. How much food will we have available? More importantly, riding a bike, especially over long distances, and especially if heavily laden with other gear, will also tire you out. My fear would be encountering zeds or raiders or other threats after I am exhausted from riding all day. The last thing that I'd want would be to find myself chased by a bunch of zeds when I was too tired to run or fight effectively. That's the kind of thing that could get you killed.  Still, all is not lost. I have also been doing a little bit of research into Motor Assisted Bikes. It gives you all of the advantages of a normal bike, but at the expense of a relatively small weight increase, they have a small motor (the one in the pic is gas powered, and electric models are also available) that will do some or even all of the work for you, leaving a rider less tired. They also retain the conventional pedals so that if you run out of gas (or if your battery is depleted in the case of the electric models) you can still operate the bike in the normal way. The gasoline powered models should be quite easy on gas, given their size, and if you have a little mechanical know how, you could probably jury rig one from a lawn mower motor or the like rather than buying it pre-made. Given the alternative power sources that we already plan to have at our BOL, an electrical model can even be recharged with wind, solar or any other means at our disposal, eliminating any need for fuel entirely.One final possibility: Most of the gas powered models have a small motor that mounts inside the frame just above the pedals, whereas the electric models mostly seem to have their motor mounted in an entirely different location on the frame over the front or rear tire. Do you see where I'm going with this? It may be possible to rig up a motor assisted bike that used BOTH systems (of course, I admittedly have no idea how much these things weigh, so by that point we may have added enough additional weight that you have defeated the purpose of using the bike in the first place). In any case, if such a double system IS feasible, we could use one motor for regular use (say the electric one which can be recharged at the BOL to conserve precious fuel), then turn on the other one in case we were stranded with a depleted battery (thus burning fuel only in emergencies). Plus we can still fall back on pedal power as a last resort. At this point I should also point out that I am not now, nor have I ever been, a gearhead. Everything I know about vehicles and engines could be written on the back of a postage stamp. So anybody who actually IS a gearhead might just read the section that follows, and say, "This guy is a total d!ckhead if he really believes that any of this could actually work." But speaking as an uninformed layman, I'd suggest that these ideas are at least feasible.  I have kept several alternative power plants in mind for my Bug Out Buggy. I had originally wanted to use a diesel engine, as a diesel engine can run on a few alternative fuels, such as that bio-diesel processed out of corn oil and farmed algae, with little if any modifications. The problem, as I see it, is that processing bio-diesel out of corn oil means that you'd have to use some of your acreage of valuable cropland to grow corn that is not then used for food. The byproducts can be used for animal feed, but I'm not interested in wasting any more labor than I have to, and growing crops for feeding animals rather than feeding people is just such a waste of labor (and space). It seems easier to keep no more livestock than is absolutely necessary, and even then picking only livestock that can feed itself on natural wild forage (as opposed to specially planted forage such as pasture lands) if possible, then get the bulk of the fresh meat in our diet out of fish and wild game. Algae, on the other hand, can theoretically produce HUGE yields of bio-diesel from the same amount of land, a whole order of magnitude greater than most other oil producing crops (ie - 5,000 to 20,000 gallons of oil per acre, compared to less than 1,000 gallons for any other oil bearing crop). It damn near grows itself, and it won't take up more valuable cropland because it can usually thrive where most other food crops wouldn't grow anyway, like bogs and high salinity soils. The trouble is that there's no such thing as a free lunch. My research, consisting of nothing but a quick Google search, has indicated that growing algae of the proper quality is an EXTREMELY twitchy process, with temperatures and nutrients and external contamination and, and, and... Ugh! All sorts of critical factors, and all bound to screw you up if you don't know what you're doing. Furthermore, even once you have your algae, and you have pressed all the oil out of it, going from this unprocessed oil known as "green crude" to actual working bio-diesel that you can put in your vehicle is another long involved technical procedure, using several barely pronounceable chemicals that you wouldn't likely be able to get your hands on after the SHTF anyway. Algae bio-diesel has potential, HUGE potential, but it is, as yet, a technology too undeveloped to be feasible for we Post Z-Day survivors. After they've taken a few more years to iron out the kinks it will no doubt be worth reconsidering but, for the time being, algae is out.  Another possibility is Alcohol (Ethanol) burning engines. Alcohol Fuels could be produced very simply by survivors using the fairly simple process of microbial fermentation of sugars (ie - sugar cane) and starches (ie - corn), but again, the problem is that production of Ethanol fuel from corn or other crops means that we'd have to use some of our acreage of valuable cropland to grow corn that is not then used for food, thereby wasting labor and crop space. If you have cropland to spare, though, Ethanol is much simpler to produce than biodiesel. This fermentation of sugars into alcohol is hardly rocket surgery; the alcohol found in Ethanol Fuel is essentially the same as that found in alcoholic beverages. For such ethanol to be usable as fuel, once fermented, the majority of the water must be removed. Most of the water is removed by distillation, likely in an apparatus like this one, but the  purity is limited to 95-96%. The mixture is called hydrous ethanol and can be used as a fuel alone, but the percentage of water that remains can render it immiscible with gasoline. For modern day blended fuels, therefore, all this water must be removed, but for any Post Z-Day survivor this should largely be irrelevant, as we would most likely have little if any gasoline with which to mix the ethanol anyway and thus will be using the ethanol unmixed. The problem with straight Ethanol Fuel, though, is that it tends to be more corrosive than its petroleum counterparts, To prevent this corrosion the fuel system must be made of suitable materials, electrical wires must be properly insulated and so on, meaning that modifications to the vehicle itself often prove necessary. Typical upgrades often include modifications of: fuel tanks, fuel tank electrical wiring, fuel level sensors, fuel pumps, fuel filters, filler tubes, fuel lines, fuel pressure regulators, various gaskets and seals, fuel injectors, fuel rails, inlet valves and valve seats, etc. Such upgraded parts may be easy to find for modern alcohol fueled vehicles, but such vehicles aren't yet commonplace enough that one could rely on being to get replacement components After the SHTF. So if this option is chosen, we will have to be sure to lay in an ample supply of these parts against future maintenance and repair issues.  I have also considered wood burning Steam Engines. I mean, steam power has been put into use hauling freight trains around for two hundred years or more, so it should have no problems moving any regular sized vehicle, and there are even a couple of the modern designed steam vehicles in this link provided here that I think could be adapted to the purpose. The strength of the steam engine for the survivors purposes lies in its ability to convert heat from almost any source into mechanical work, so whether you are burning wood, dried animal dung, old tires, or whatever, a steam engine will still run just fine, unlike the internal combustion engine, which must rely on a single fuel source. Old fashioned steam power... think about it! UPDATE:  As an alternative to a traditional steam engine, I'm also considering a Wood Gasifier system. I've done quite a bit of research into these, and put simply, these use the hot flammable gases produced by burning wood, coal or other material to fuel traditional gasoline engines, with little if any modification to the engine itself. Wood gases can be used to power most diesel engines as well, but for the diesel engine some diesel fuel is still needed to ignite its gas mixture, so a ready source of fuel will still be needed. Firewood can be used to power any vehicle that has an ordinary internal combustion engine if that vehicle is outfitted with a wood gasifier. This was quite popular during World War II in many European, African and Asian countries because the War had prevented simple and cost-effective access to oil, and what oil they did have had to be diverted to the war effort. What all of this means is that this is proven technology, the wood burning devices have already been used to operate vehicles when traditional fuels became unavailable. If they could do it, so can we.I am leaning toward using these Wood Gasifier systems for my Bug-Out Buggy, and for any other gasoline powered thing belonging to my group, from ATV's to generators. Whether from algae farming, corn crops, or whatever, some small scale bio-diesel processing will still be undertaken so that fuel may be available for such diesel engines as are unavoidable. For example, I'd like to have a backhoe-loader available at my compound, and so far as I know, beasts such as these will feed on diesel only. These can be equipped with gasifiers as well to lighten fuel consumption (by up to 95%, so it's well worth it) but, as mentioned above, in a diesel engine some conventional diesel fuel is still needed to ignite the gas mixture, so a ready source of fuel is still required, hence the biodiesel.  No matter what power plant I eventually decide on, I've also been considering the hybrid electric vehicles, they combine the conventional power plant with a fully electric propulsion system. The addition of the electric power train is meant to achieve better fuel economy than conventional vehicles. An HEV can also make use of efficiency-improving technology such as regenerative braking, which converts the vehicle's kinetic energy to battery-replenishing electric energy, rather than wasting it as heat energy as conventional brakes do. A Series-Hybrid HEV uses an internal combustion engine only to generate electricity by spinning an electrical generator, to either recharge their batteries or to directly power its electric drive motors. Hybrid-electrics produce less emissions from their ICE than comparably-sized gasoline vehicles, since its gasoline engine is usually smaller than that of a comparably-sized gasoline-burning vehicle and, more importantly to the Post-Apocalyptic Survivor, if it is not used to directly drive the car, its conventional engine can be geared to run at maximum efficiency, further improving fuel economy.  One variety of Hybrid Electric Vehicle is known as a Plug-In Hybrid, which is a vehicle that has rechargeable batteries that can be restored to full charge by connecting the plug to external electric power sources. PHEVs share the characteristics of both a conventional hybrid electric, having both an electric motor and an internal combustion engine; and of all-electric vehicles, having a plug to connect to the electrical grid. The PHEV has much larger range in all-electric mode as compared to the conventional gas-electric hybrids, and also eliminate the "range anxiety" that is often associated with an all-electric vehicles, because the combustion engine will work as a backup when the batteries are depleted. As I have already planned to have my eventual BOL outfitted with a couple alternative power sources, to be used even after the main grid is gone, I could pre-charge the internal battery banks in the Buggy to allow all-electric operation, both reducing fuel usage even further and also allowing 'silent running' for such runs as where a quiet running vehicle could be advantageous (ie - scouting runs in territory frequented by raiders or infected). I admittedly have no idea what would be involved in modifying a trophy truck to operate on any of these systems, or if its even possible at all. I know I may be giving up some speed and acceleration for some of them, depending on how the system is set up, but as fuel shortages are bound to occur after the fall, I can't help but think that having an option or two available is a good idea. In any case, should my fully fortified Live-In BOL ever be completed, I would still like to own the Bug-Out buggy that is described here, as I think it would still make a great rapid response vehicle to be used for scouting and supply runs. So to put it all together, a 4WD truck with a Series-Hybrid power plant that uses an internal combustion engine (fed by a Wood Gasifier unit) to produce electricity by powering an electrical generator. This could be augmented by onboard Plug-In battery banks that could be recharged at base and could still operate the vehicle independently even when the Wood Gasifier and gasoline engine aren't running. I will throw on some Run Flat Tires (carry a couple of spares), and install a decent plow for clearing obstacles (and Zeds), and put a Dirt Bike Carrier over the rear bumper. I will prepare a Truck Bed Camper that can be mounted or dismounted quickly during any emergency and keep it fully stocked with supplies, and I will build an off-road Bug Out Trailer to carry either an ATV or additional supplies (or both). So as long as the truck, dirt bikes, ATV (if used), Truck Bed Camper and Bug Out Trailer are always fully stocked with supplies, maintained in a proper state of readiness and kept in good repair at all times, we'll be all set. That way when the SHTF and the time has come to "Nut Up or Shut Up," we will be ready to Rock and Roll. Section C: Digging In Bugging Out is of little use unless we have somewhere in mind to Bug Out to, and to that end, I have been working on a self sustainable "fortress" of sorts, which I refer to as The Castle. The first part of the description of said Castle can be found in Page 2: Digging In. |
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| White76Knight's Survival Plan | ||
| Page One: Bugging In and Bugging Out | Page Two: Digging In for Awhile | Page Three: Living in the Aftermath |
| Page Two B: Fortifying The Citadel | Page Two C: The Curtain Wall |
White76Knight |
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Keyword tags:
Personal Survival Plan
More Info: links to this page
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| White76Knight | White76Knight's Survival Plan (page: 1 2) | 34 | May 30 2011, 10:49 AM EDT by White76Knight | ||
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Thread started: Mar 21 2011, 10:56 AM EDT
Watch
As it is written, so let it be done...
Okay boys and girls, it has taken me over four months to finish typing it all out, but my Survival Plan is finally done. It should be linked at the top of this thread but, for the sake of convenience, it can be found here: http://www.zombiesurvivalwiki.com/page/White76Knight%27s+Survival+Plan Before anyone asks "how will you protect all this if you are attacked?", I'll state that another page will be forthcoming concerning the physical construction of my compound, and the defensive features thereof. This page here is mainly concerned with general sustainability and life After the Fall. So... What do you think? Any questions or concerns? Now's the time. If nothing else, should I break all this up into separate pages to make it a little easier to digest?
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Keyword tags:
Personal Survival Plan
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| White76Knight | As it is written, so let it be done... | 2 | Mar 21 2011, 3:03 PM EDT by PedroAsani | ||
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Thread started: Mar 20 2011, 11:16 PM EDT
Watch
As it is written, so let it be done...
Okay boys and girls, it has taken me over four months to finish typing it all out, but my Survival Plan is finished. It should be linked at the top of this thread but, for the sake of convenience, it can be found here: http://www.zombiesurvivalwiki.com/page/White76Knight%27s+Survival+Plan Before anyone asks "how will you protect all this if you are attacked?", I'll state that another page will be forthcoming concerning the physical construction of my compound, and the defensive features thereof. This page here is mainly concerned with general sustainability and life After the Fall. So... What do you think? Any questions or concerns? Now's the time. If nothing else, should I break all this up into separate pages to make it a little easier to digest?
Do you find this valuable?
Keyword tags:
Personal Survival Plan
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| Sharpie41 | PO R308 | 1 | Nov 29 2010, 12:13 AM EST by AlexHigginbotham | ||
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Thread started: Nov 28 2010, 10:53 PM EST
Watch
how much did that PO R308 set you back? honestly I'd go with a manually operated firearm because of the ****** gun laws in Canada
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Personal Survival Plan
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Showing 3 of 3 threads for this page
