I think we would all like to have more stuff in our BOBs (I would) but are restricted by weight. So much gets left out, simply because we can't carry it all. While I was slaving away at work tonight an idea popped in my head, and I thought I'd run it by y'all and see what you think.

Professional urban survivalists (a.k.a. the homeless) have long used shopping carts to haul around their possessions. Obviously a shopping cart wouldn't travel well cross-country. But what about a garden cart like this one?

I imagine it might be challenging to pull over some types of terrain, but a little creative tinkering may be able to turn it into a pretty handy pack mule.

What ya think?

Hello there CityBoy, I use one of those whenever I do carnivals,fairs etc... when I can't park my ice trailer close to where I'm doing an event (I do shaved ice, cotton candy, popcorn) sorry I digress, IMHO it would work GREAT for a BOB Cart. mine is same style just in black

Mike

I believe that a two wheel garden cart (rather than four) may be a better option if going to be on uneven terrain. Used in pull (not wheelbarrow) mode, I have found them to be more stable than the four wheel version. They tend to have larger wheels and tires as well which helps if you are not on a paved path.

Bill

Yes that would work very well. A couple summers ago, I made a trip to Denver from St. Paul MN via back highways on my vespa and I say 2 homeless guys pulling radio flyers cross country. Now I am thinking that it is going to take you forever to walk cross country. Not a bad way to go....

Dave

For one long summer, I watched a farmer haul incredible amounts of stuff with relative ease in one of these:
http://www.whiskey-rock.com/category/garden_carts?gclid=CPLdnNOEy5ACFQ2nGgodTCH8Wg

no affiliation with them; just seems like something worth considering.

+1 on the two large diameter wheeled cart concept. They are a lot easier to move on rough terrain because of the large wheels. There's a reason that many donkey carts in the third world are of a similar design. Over smooth roads the 4 wheel version takes less energy (you're not supporting the weight of the cart as much) but if I have to drag a load over field and dale (and I have) I'll take the 2 wheel cart.

For my BOB, less is more. I don't want so much stuff that it is encumbering, and a cart would be. A BOB ought to be just what you need to get you out of harm's way and where you can hopefully reorg and take care of business better. It is not meant to be expeditionary.

Most likely I would have to abandon a cart during a bug out situation, especially in an urban environment.

Your philosophy is sound, but methinks a bit mis-applied. If you are looking to securely relocate with as much as possible for extended survival mode, then a cart would be much more desirable, as would a car, or a plane. BOB is one of those "grab and go" items, at least that's how I've viewed it. In Baghdad it was the backpack full of stuff that hung next to my body armor that I would grab on the way out the door during a bunker run, an evac, or any other SHTF event. It was slung over my shoulder on my way out the door of my hooch on the run down the stairs and into the compound, usually while doing up my clothes and armor gear. A cart wouldn't have worked. That is the way I see a BOB deployment anyways. Your results may vary.

The NVA/VC used 2 wheeled bicycles as a way to move supplies during the Vietnam war. Amazing the size/weights of load they could move over rugged terrain.

A well packed mountain bike could be pushed a long way. and used as transportation.

I've used a 4 wheel heavy duty garden cart to move gear at out PWYP and Finger Lakes Rendezvous, it's part of my kit.

I think it would really depend on your circumstances. I could not imagine trying to get out of NYC while pulling that cart. It would take me a long time to pull and slow me down. Also, I would have a tough time fitting with me on a train. If I were in the suburbs of this area, I think I'd have the same answers. For my circumstances, I don't see it.

If it works for you, if the extra time it would take is available, and it does not attract too much attention, I think more (more supplies, more gear) is better. So then. I'd want it.

I think a lot depends on the terrain you plan to cover. I can not see that cart working well if you had to go over logs, piles of debris, even street curbs, and ditches of any kind.

In Worldwalk, by Steven M. Newman, he lugged a backpack around the world, but when he reached Australia he used a two wheeled golf cart, to which bicycle wheels had been added. I think something like that might handle rough terrain better than a fourwheeler...