or a superbeetle with a body transplant to resemble a kubelwagen , perhaps?

http://www.kooblekar.com/

May be better off with a Jeep Cherokee for a BOV more space and power but cost more to build up.

I have owned 2 Volkswagen Beetles. In terms of design and the ability to take a massive amount of punishment, they make terrific off-road vehicles.

Like any small vehicle though, they are hampered by a lack of storage space...even with a moderate size roof rack. By time you pack your belongings, extra food, fuel etc, you be soon wanting for more space.

At one time many people (including me) who used their Bug for their on/off-road travel would remove the back seat completely to make more room...This is a non starter if you have a family to bring along.

Today any Beetle in any reasonable condition that does not have the floorboards and fender joints rusted out and the front suspension not needing repair is going to command a good price and if you want a Beetle in great condition, I hope you have deep pockets.

Also consider that outside bigger areas, parts for Beetles are getting harder to find due to their now somewhat rarity. This is not idea if you are 200 miles west of nowhere....

Personally I would shoot for a very common, capable and fairly easy to work on vehicle. I would think one of the common pickup trucks would be ideal. The F-150 is, I have been told, the most common truck out there. The engine and suspension remained relatively unchanged for decades. If you toss out the AC and power steering the area under the hood is roomy.

A Ford Ranger or Toyota truck, both very popular, have a lot going for them.

If your main concern is vulnerability to EMP, natural or man-made, the fact that all these vehicles is common means you can go to a pull-it-yourself junkyard or used parts place and buy the ignition modules and other EMP vulnerable parts in considerable numbers cheap. Store the spares in a shielded container and switch out as needed. With practice, and possibly the creative use of connectors, the few parts shouldn't take very long to change out.

The F-150 design predated electronics and it might be possible to get one that avoids the problem entirely or retrofit a more modern F-150 with older, non-electronic, ignition system.

Any of these pickup trucks would give you far more to work with than a Beetle. They all have compact camper tops that can be fitted and all are capable of towing a trailer. Within limits and not necessarily at the same time and the full-sized F-150 gives you more capacity than the mid-sized units but all give you more than a Bug.

All three makes also have a lot of aftermarket gear available. Lift kits, winches, skid plates, heavier rear axles, performance parts are all pretty easy to find.

The things the Beetle has going for it are weigh and fuel efficiency but once you load in a bunch of gear you're going to lose a lot of those advantages.

I have to say, realistically, my bug out vehicle would be whatever I'm driving at the time. I drive a Subaru Outback, I can't afford another vehichle just for this purpose (nor would I want to, maintaining one car is enough for me), so that's it. My BOV is a Subaru Outback. Does it have any particularly great merits towards that end? I don't know, but it gets me skiing and carrys everything I need for duck hunting and fishing, and I do those things more than I Bug Out. It also gets me to work, which I suppose, if it did that a little less often, I would be okay with it

If you have a choice between a Beetle and a SuperBeetle, choose the older Beetle. The SuperBeetle uses a Macpherson strut front suspension that doesn't modify well for off road use. Gas mileage-wise though, either one will have you miles ahead of the other guys when you need it! Post some pics when you build it up!

I've always thought the Kommander Kar version of the beetle to be the cool version. It's essentially the beetle with off-road suspension, larger wheels, and racks for: water/fuel cans, spare tire, weapons, etc. I've always loved the older beetles and this off-road military version is awesome.

Kommander Kar

Cheers,

Tom