The comments in my other thread about my Jeep got me thinking. Who has a vehicle they would consider a bugout vehicle,is it built for offroad use, and what do you keep in it?

Mine would be my 2005 Jeep Wrangler X-Edition. 4.0 Liter Inline 6, 6-cylinder, 4WD. 33"x12.5"x15" Mud Kings, welded rear diff, Aussie Locker in the front diff, Ramsey REP 8.5K winch, 2.5" Budget Boost lift, 1" body lift, 1" Brown Dog Industries motor mount lift, custom 1/4" thick rocker armor, Rusty's Offroad radiator skid plate.

What I carry in it:

a ton of tools
small air compressor
duct tape, tie-wraps
tire plug/patch kit
48" Hi-Lift
tire chocks
hand saw
flashlight
mechanic's gloves
tire pressure gauge
spare rear axle shafts
spare rear drive shaft
spare unit (wheel) bearing
spare universal joints
spare nuts and bolts

Currently, tools alone fill 4 ammo cans. I also carry oil, water, antifreeze, gear lube, brake fluid, ps fluid, grease, WD40, fix-a-flat, snatch strap, tree saver, 3/4" D-ring, 20' tow chain, and a bag of ratchet straps and bungee cords.

While I don't know what you mean by a "huge crescent wrench" (I have used a 36" Cresent in the oil fields), you seem to have more tools than some garages. Do you really need both 1/2" and 3/8" drive sockets? I don't see any spare hoses, or hose patch gizmos, spare belts, etc. I am assuming from the list that you do have the mechanical ability to use the stuff you have. I am amazed that you can get that stuff (minus the tools that are much longer than any ammo can) in only four cans! I used to do some playing in the boonies with a little bitty Suzuki Sam, I had a lot of stuff, and couldn't come close to getting in in that few cans. Happy four wheeling!!!

(I edited out the list of individual tools to make the post shorter.)

I've never bothered with spare hoses just because I've seen so many people patch a hose with duct tape or just cut the broken section out and hose clamp it back together (have hose clamps in there too). I do need to pack a spare belt though. I keep the 1/2" drive stuff in there because these tools not only get used to wrench on my Jeep, but anyone who breaks their rig and needs to borrow a tool. Some of my friends running 2 1/2 ton military axles and 53" tires need beefy tools to work on them.

I will be adding spare front axle shafts and a spare front drive shaft. I removed the rear bench seat and installed a racing bucket in the rear to give me a lot more room back there. I'm pretty good at organizing tools and use tool roll-ups and socket rails for everything to keep them where I can find them. The big crescent wrench is a 24" and it resides in a mechanic's tool bag along with anything else too big to fit in a tall 20MM ammo can.

Where the heck do you sit with all that in there? Sounds like you went to the packing school I put on just before I slung my HMMWV on 24 FEB 91.

All the liquids are stored behind the rear seat, the 3 "Fat 50" ammo cans are stacked right next to the liquids and ratch-strapped down. The larger 20MM ammo can and mechanic's toolbag sit right in front of those, next to the rear racing bucket seat. The Hi-Lift jack is mounted to the rear rollbar behind the rear seat and just above the liquids and ammo cans.

Small tools are in the "Fat 50" ammo cans - wrenches (in tool rollups), sockets (on socket rails), ratchets, extensions, screwdrivers (rollup), pliers (rollup). Bigger tools are in the mechanic's tool bag along with the 20' chain, 30' snatch strap, 8' tree saver, bungees, ratchet straps, and tiewraps. The 20MM can has grease, cotter pins, grease gun, oil gun, u-joint / balljoint press, and a spare unit bearing. The u-joints are in the console along with duct tape, 2 ponchos, a roll of toilet paper, a lighter, and the winch remote.

The spare axle shafts and driveshaft are laying in between the mechanic's toolbag and the 20MM big ammo can. My fire extinguisher is mounted on the roll cage right behind the driver's seat, the CB is on the dash, and my MP3 player is in the glove box along with a tire gauge. The tire patch/plug kit and a few other small things fit underneath the racing bucket seat, the bracket I made to mount it allows access from the back but not the front, so they don't slide out forward. I also have a steel magnetic parts bowl that goes on the inner fenderwell opposite the rear seat, and the tire chocks go under one of the front seats or in the rear floorboard opposite the rear seat.

It is a lot of stuff, but I know where everything is (even in the dark) and it fits in there pretty good. When I go for an entire weekend at the offroad park, I throw my cargo rack on the receiver hitch and bring more stuff, including jack stands and a long frame 3-ton floor jack.

Can somebody explain why they always put the winches on the front bumpers instead of the rear bumpers?
Is it just to keep them out of the way of the trailer hitch?

Winches are not there to just to save other vehicles. If you get stuck, you would generally want to get beyond where you got stuck, instead of pulling yourself backwards only to have to deal with the obstruction again.
I believe the concept is to continue forward progress.

It wasn't intended as a bug out vehicle, but my teardrop trailer certainly would be handy for that purpose. Permanently packed, comfortable, secure and diminutive. And stored 90 miles from the city, near the mountains.

I'd post a pic here if I could figure out how.

The go-to place on building or buying a teardrop:

http://www.mikenchell.com/forums/index.php

Photos of my teardrop:

http://www.mikenchell.com/forums/album_p...SC&start=48

A pic, I hope.

Several of my friends have a winch on both ends of the vehicle. They make a mount that can be moved from the front to the rear that goes in the receiver hitch, also.