Agree. I'm not a pack mule. If I bug out it will be in a fully packed truck, otherwise, I'm staying at home.

I agree, but mine will be a Yukon if I leave. LOL.

I second what OBG said about the rubbermaid Action Pakers. The small and med. sizes are easy to carry even when loaded with stuff. My car camping stuff gets thrown in those and into the car.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to post your answers. I agree that the kids and wife are not going to be able hike very far if bugging out. One situation I am concerned with is one that happened in New Orleans, no car no leaving ect. You just never know.

Dave

Does that mean you don't have a car?
If you have no room for a car, then consider bicycles, motorcycle, anything else with wheels that you can push or pull easily so you still stand a chance. You definatly don't want to be in a NOLA situation where your stuck in a governmet run shelter.

Agree with the majority that buggin' in is better than hiking cross country, especially with small children. In my case I have the limitations of being older and my wife having knee replacements. We aren't walking out. I have BOB's in each car, each good for one person for a couple of days if stuck in a snowstorm. In the house I have larger 3 day kits in plastic containers (more food, shelter, water, FAK, etc.)

So if I need to get out of the house the personal BOB's go in the AWD wagon along with the house 3 day kits, 5 gallons of water (or more), tent, sleeping bags, pet food in plastic pails, pets in carriers, couple of Ham radios, GPS, and whatever clothing my wife can pack in the 15 minutes it will take to pack the car.

The car will handle the kits, my wife and I, and my mom and DD1 who live nearby. If I have to I can strap some additional stuff to the roof. The trick is to get to my siblings homes at 100, 700, and 850 miles (in 3 different directions) or far enough upstream to find a hotel or shelter. The weak link (the one I see) is I'll only get about 350 miles on a tank of gas. Do I keep some gas in containers and take it along or hope for gas at 300 miles distance?

One question for the group. If you need to bug out in a vehicle do you trust the interstates or head cross country on the secondary roads?

Andy

As far as the gas issue goes I would surely have at least two 5 gal cans of gas besides the full tank and also carry a hose. And as far at routes, I guess that would be determined by the emergency and the direction I was going. I almost always take secondary roads and have at least three routes to chose from.

Dave

If you don't have a car think about those plastic sleds they pull easy even on dry ground or perhaps a wagon they come in different sizes like the sleds.

I hope you have some way to carry the gas externally and not inside the car. I have noticed that most cars are designed around a 300-400 mile range. It seems that as the gas maileage goes up the tank gets smaller so the range stays the same. So haveing some way to safely carry extra gas puts you at an advantage over others.



from being stuck in traffic jams in the past I'm betting the highways will be a parking lot. Even a simple accident during rush hour will cause problems. However back roads may not be any better. Usually the first or second closest to side road will be packed as well from people getting off the highway looking for another route. My plans are currently to take a route that is somewhat diagonal when compared to the main highway to avoid the roads most traveled. So part of my prep plans are #1 extra gas since I'll be adding more miles to my route, #2, good maps, not just a road atlas or state map, you need county level to show all the small roads, #3 CB radio and scanner to listen to what is goin on when near the main roads and #4 get familair with some of those roads, find state parks and go have a picnic at one on a weekend to get on some of those roads and get familair with them. This also makes a good bug out test, get up on a sat morning this sping and and decide to take a trip since it looks so nice out, grab your bob and some gear and load it and go. then see what you needed and didn;t have or should have taken with you and add those to the bob.

During the evac during Katrina all the traffic was routed to the interstates going north. Once you were away from the city some of the smaller towns blocked the exits into their towns and blocking access to the back roads. If you want to travel the back roads you need to leave early. There are possible advantages of being on the interstate, there are a lot of people to help if there is a problem, I saw more than one person shareing gas. One of the problems on the interstate is there are a lot of people on the interstate that can cause problems thankfully I didn't see any problems of this kind.

Secondary roads can be hit or miss. Around here the secondary highways can be some of the highest quality blacktop around...conversely they can be very poorly maintained and in bad need of repair (which never happens).

A few years ago I was riding North on hwy 2 from Calgary to Edmonton. I could see a huge storm coming. I'd just mounted my GPS on the handlebars and decided to be sneaky...dodge the storm on the secondary highways.

At first I was delighted as the quality of road was better, the scenery was beautiful (it was in the fall) and there was no traffic...I was regularly taking liberties with the speed limit (*cough* 100+ mph) and was having a blast.

Then a sign came up which said: "Pavement ends 100 Meters". I had to hit the brakes hard to not hit the gravel at full speed...and it was the mother of all gravel. Loose, dusty, and very pea like.

I spent the next hour riding in the dust because I couldn't go faster tahn 20mph. If I did the front tire would start to plane and drift. An hour later I hit an intersecting highway and I was white head to toe. My detour had kept me dry but I was late, tired, and dirty...not to mention the possibility of having an accident.

In the end I went looking for rain so I could clean up a bit before getting home...would have been better to stay in the traffic...though that is risky too when you're on 2 wheels.

One other point which is sort of related...in a state of emergency like Katrina, the interstates will be where the aid is...be it medical, military, or voluntary...the side roads won't have this and if they're blocked off even more so.