It seems to make perfect sense. You have thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars invested in a trailer, 5th wheel, or motor home. You use it as your recreational getaway vehicle for family fun. And there it sits, all self-contained, a second home on wheels, either ready to roll at a moment’s notice, or at least with a short hookup. But is counting on your recreational vehicle the smartest plan to have for an emergency? Let’s look at both sides of the coin:
YES! Talk about getting out of town quickly. If you have a cache of emergency gear and supplies in a trailer or motor home, no wild scrambling when the call or knock at the door comes. You just back up your tow vehicle, or with a motor home, hop in the cab, and you are both prepared and outta there. RV’s all have a water tank-though you will probably want more-, propane tank for cooking and possibly heat, and the necessities of shelter built right in. Plus your family will be familiar and comfortable staying there because undoubtedly you have camped out in it before. Don’t underestimate the value of a familiar bed in times of stress. Plus in really inclement weather, you are going to stay a lot drier and thus warmer and safer behind a wall of aluminum than nylon or canvas.
It goes without saying that even using an RV, it’s not just load up and forget. Your food and water will be subject to the outdoor temperatures common to your area, so rotation is a must to ensure that your supplies are fresh and ready when and if they are called upon.
Related Article: Convert Your ‘Pavement Queen’ RV Into A Mean Off-Road Prepper Machine
NO WAY! Remember that old movie “Independence Day” and the scene where everyone who had this same “hop in the RV” plan is suddenly heading across the desert, straight for Area 51? That’s what an emergency evacuation will look like, except without the big dry lake bed. You and your rolling luxury pad will be stuck on the interstate, along with all the other geniuses who had the same brilliant idea. All while the hurricane/flood/fire bears inexorably down on you. Guess who else will notice your 35 foot food locker? Anyone who was dumb enough to not prepare a bugout bag, but smart enough to realize others did. And while there will be some risk for everyone, who makes the more attractive target, a quiet family in their Ford, probably able to negotiate the back roads away from danger, or a land yacht that practically screams enough food and water for half a city? If it’s a calm evacuation for a couple of days, not likely to be a problem, in an emergency, you often see the best side of people. But if things get gritty, that can change. Not to mention human nature is to postpone rotating the snacks and water until it is way past their expiration date. Granola bars after two summers out in the heat-sounds yummy.
In those circumstances, rather than relying on your home away from home that is big enough to attract the attention of aliens with hostile intent, I’ll stake my families safety on something a little more low key, along with the skills we have practiced and prepared.
In the end, either option is better than no preparations at all. Do your best, and whether it involves hooking up the big screen TV in the living room of your bus, or putting up your tent stealthily back in the woods where you are less likely to be disturbed, you place your bets and you take your chances. And we would like to know-which angle are you preparing in case of evacuation-deluxe or Spartan?
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How about the best of both worlds? Our RV is parked on our land waaaayyyyy up in the mountains. Food is buried in lockers (rotating periodically).
Me, I like the idea my neighbor has a shell on a pick-up. Crew cab, shell, keep it loaded. Can be used to sleep in during inclement weather, fast, off road, easy to hide with one dark tarp or camo drape. But I guess if there’s a family you run into problems but for one or two, not too shabby.
I have a camp trailer out at a friends place in the country. It has supplies stocked in case I have to evacuate the city and head south. I have a bag in my van just in case I have to ditch, but knowing I have a cache elsewhere makes it easier for me to up and get while others are debating and packing.
Another aspects to consider is prepping in steps, you have an rv but also bikes and tents. If the situation forces you to abandon the rv and vehicle, you have a back plan that doesn’t take much space.
A more creative type could take an rv and make mods for survivability to turn turn the rv into a homestead, like alternate sources of heat and lights.
I think a self encased RV such as a Class C could be a great idea depending on your current enviroment. I live in Montana and a RV is very popular here, even in the city of Missoula which is 35 minutes away. An RV is quite a vehicle in my area. I chose the 1985 Tioga Arrow Class C as an optional vehicle should i have a need to go somewhere.
There are a few reason why i chose the RV over the truck. First was that it does blend in here and it gives you commodities.
Secondly it offers more storage capacity than a truck and self encased.
And last, i can tow another vehicle and strap stuff to it if necessary.
While my RV is not 4 wheel drive it has made many back road treks in its life time. I used to live in Vancouver, WA and i drove the RV to Montana which is a 9hr drive, in dead of winter. It faired quite nicely i must say, even without snow chains on it.
An RV can offer a place to sleep, shower, eat and relax. But it does come at a modest cost.
Maintenance can be more stressful, parts can be difficult to find and you need to moniter your water intake and gray water as well as propane use. It does get a slow 10 miles to the gallon and a 9hr drive usually takes about 2 fuel ups with 2 stops and a few steep incline at a few passes.
While it isnt a speed demon it can do its own on the back roads and muddy conditions. But its not an off road vehicle by any means. But the cool thing about an RV is that it can also tow other vehicle or a storage trailer. Which if you know how trailers are, can be difficult to drive with at times.
An RV offers considerable more space for storage as well. My RV can fit 5 people. 2 up front and 3 in the back. While pretty comfortable, sleeping arrangements can be interesting. It does have a queen size bed which can sleep 2 people, but the Table can fold down and a bed can be made of it, and there is room on the floor for a spot to sleep on with a small mattress. Hardly the best sleep but a way better sleep than just a Ford F150.
As i said before, i live in a Rural enviroment that is an outdoors centered area. Thats means RV’s, hunting, military gear and fishing are very popular and is considered “blending in”.
I also live near a few national forests and rivers about less than 20 minutes away. All with highway and back road access.
The closest towns boast a population of 1000 people. Very low population with no rush hour traffic. So i think location is quite important in deciding a vehicle.
And while every vehicle has its own Achilles Heel, they also have their own benefits. The choice is whether or not those benefits outweight the costs. And for me, an RV is a great choice, especially a 20′ one.
odd note: BVAC and HSM ammunition is up the road