Everyone who has spent some time on the equipped.org site knows that he/she should keep a BOB and what to keep in it.

Now, most posts or articles mention the (good) idea of keeping a car version of it.

To make it short...Which of the contents in the car version KEEP, ie. do not spoil in the >140F temperatures that a car interior or trunk reaches in the summer? [I live in a tropical island so summer means every month that ends in a consonant, plus June].

I'm particullarily concerned about those items that will fail you quietly.

Will that nasty cut get infected because the povidone iodine lost its effectiveness?

Will that cool 'bottled water' that you are sharing with your kids cause a medical urgency, just when theres no way to get to a medical facility? (Bacteria or mold grew in the non-sterile, heated containers.)

Will my main flashlight's lithium batteries 10 year shelf life, suddenly turn into 10 days in the extreme heat/cooling cycles in the parking lot?

Etc, etc, etc. Could any of you run through your car BOB contents and list any items you are "sure" will hold up.

I WILL sleep better after your comments. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Food I think is the big concern for a trunk.

Some of the many SOLAS approved lifeboat rations are designed for the heat to last years.

Rotate your water every month is a good idea as well.

Flip

Canned goods, albeit heavy to tote, are generally good until the can swells or becomes damaged.

Lithium batteries? Our weather here is at both ends of the spectrum - arctic conditions in winter, subtropical at times during summer. I've had no noticeable problems with lithiums degrading in either extreme...

M

I have some 6-packs of 500 ml or 710 ml bottled water in the car. The 6-packs hold together instead of having loose bottles all over. I've found that after a while they cave in slightly, i.e. they heat up and air gets forced out of them, and then when they cool down again, the resulting internal vacuum collapses them slightly. But I found that even after a couple years, they still taste fine. I used to reserve them for emergencies and semi-emergencies but now I just drink them when I feel like it, replenishing frequently enough to always have a supply on hand in case something happens. That ongoing consumption and replenishment (a few bottles a month or so, more if I go on a trip) eliminates the need for planned rotations or pouring out water.

I've had poor luck with larger containers than those small bottles. That expansion and vacuum effect means that the bigger bottles always leak. I also figure the bottled water in the retail 6-packs is more sterile than putting tap water into some funky old bottle.

If I were really dedicated I suppose I'd get those foil pouches or aqua blox, but those things are ridiculously expensive compared to the 6-packs.

I keep three 500ml bottles of water and a 1liter larger bottle and replace them every so often. Like paul, I use one every so often if Im really thristy or I need to clean up a spill or something and I've never had any problem with them. As for food, its less of a concern in a emergancy (unless your up to some whacky stuff <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />) so I just have three granola bars in my BOB there that I swap out every so often. I keep a few chemical light sticks in there and replace them in about 4 months cycles. Not so much that the chemical expires, just in case they were triggered by a sharp bump or what have you and have wasted away in their package. Other than that, I can't think of anything I replace or spoils. This is all in the trunk of a 94 shadow (don't laugh, we got a super deal on her) mind you not a exposed flat bed or anything.

This thread got me thinking. Some of my vehicle's mainstays of temporary foodstuffs include Deviled Ham and Fish Steaks in Hot Sauce - both of which go great with crackers and hot sauce or mustard. Does anyone know of a source for tinned (canned) crackers????

M

Jeez, now I'm hungry. <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for the feedback.

The solution you present for the water-part of the problem seems to be the best. Keep in sight, use at will, replace often.

As water is not something that will seem out of place and certainly has many uses when in a car (wash hands after wiggling dirty cables/changing tire, washing off that bug-spatter before it sets on your factory paint, etc) a six pack of bottles is convenient and CHEAP.

As for the rest, food is not specially inportant, if I decide it was, compact rations (Mainst@^ type) would be cost effective since they last a long time and most importantly can be shipped for low cost. My main concern now would be all that nice gear Doug talks about that will not be consumed during a normal year of EDcC (Every Day Car Carry). Namely First Aid supplies, water purification tablets.

Anything to add on those?

well dont foget to add to that list for water uses that even if the water isnt drinkable you can use it for your radiator if it overheats.

and while i dont have a car, some of the items i pack away are soup packets (instant noodles and cup o` soup envelopes store very easy.) and i cant see them going bad very easily unless theres a moisture problem.


and the only tin of crackers i know of are those big green tins in supermarkets.
but what about just buying a few boxes and storing them in a more solid container?

Well where I live the car also gets well over 100# for a good part of the year and here's what I can and can't carry. First off on the issue of food I highly recommend Mainstay SOS food rations. They are uneffected by such temperatures, taste great and are pretty healthy too. Now here's what I DO have a problem with and still have not found a solution. Medications..... I can not find any way to store meds (OTC or prescription) effectively. I spoke to a Pharmacist about this and she told me not to let my meds sit for more than a day or two at temps over 86#. Well that doesn't help me much. Maybe one of the doctors, pharmacists or EMTs could help with this predicament???

I for one cannot understand that if you vacumn pack meds, maybe even use nitrogen or dry ice to force out air, how do the meds lose potency?

Out in the air, I could accept it, but I find it hard to believe that 86 degree F. temperatures or higher would compromise vacumn sealed meds.

Bountyhunter <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Heat affects the chemical compounds and changes them, sometimes making them dangerous.
Oxidation is not the problem, so vacumn packing is not the answer.

The suggestions to rotate your water periodically are good ones. Remember even if you open your water and find it bad you can always boil it. Sure beats going thirsty. For that and other reasons it probably wouldn't hurt to have a small cheap stove or even just a few cans of sterno and an old coffee can stashed away in the trunk as well.

Regards, Vince

Guess I'm just S.O.L on the meds storage. Sure slims down the first aid kit in the trunk.

I wonder if they make a solar powered cooler that could be used for medications.

The 12 volt solid state coolers used to be big and use a lot of juice. Nowadays they are much smaller and more efficient. There might be a solar powered one out there.

Bountyhunter

these arent solar powered bountyhunter, but there are solar attachments ive seen available to plug things into while camping and such.

heres the solar unit
http://www.outfittersatellite.com/solar.htm

heres some coolers
http://www.cetsolar.com/minicooler.htm

http://www.cetsolar.com/snackmaster.htm

the "green can " of cracker's come's in two types.The one you want has the cracker's sealed in three to a pack, so the moist air will not make them "yuck". they pack well in a Rubber Maid #2 rectangular container. I've used a cooler with and without frozen 1 liter coke bottle's to keep stuff cooled down .

this one 's worked for a while. carrying strap, pocket's. http://www.ca-innovations.com/smartproducts.asp?page=collapsible%20products

Sorry to be controversial but something worth saying and perhaps the "experienced members" (everyone knows who they are) of equipped should remember that us ignorant brit's and perhaps many other europeans don't need/will not ever use the a "BOB" and maybe it should be conveyed the actual useage of such a kit!

Please may i add i do respect that for some it makes them feel safe. For American's inparticular you have the very real oppourtunity of Bugging Out because of the sheeer size of your country and the variety of temperature zones etc. And lastly can i say i do think having a small holdall with a change of clothes, FM radio, money, important documents and a torch is useful regardless of where you live-take the Boscastle flooodings in the South of England-these items would of come in useful! I think we must think in proportion to where and how someones lives and the options open to them before giving out advice relating to BOB's!

Sorry to go on a rant and off topic so appologies for high-jacking your thread!

Mark

No problem. I can only speak for myself but I am fascinated by what citizens of other countries consider vital or not for their kits. I confess that I feel the most affinity for those in the Scandanavian countries because they seem to have a lot in common with me: we both hunt large herbivores (I hunt elk, they hunt moose or caribou.) I don't imagine that there is a lot of that going on in Britain. Nevertheless, the needs of a human being in the western United States is probably pretty similar to that of our British cousins when it comes down to basic survival (fire, shelter, etc.) and I'm very interested in what you may have to add. I'll bet I can learn a thing or two from you, and vice-versa.

Regards, Vince

I don't visualize as many problems in bugging OUT, as I do in getting home under some circumstances.

In England (southern, anyway), you probably wouldn't be very far away from assistance. In America and some of the less populated parts of Europe, I can visualize many more problems than you are perhaps likely to have. Right here, we commonly have flooding, occasionally have earthquakes, and have a mountain that is named next likely to erupt. We sometimes get a foot of snow at a time.

If something happened and I had to walk home, it would probably be from 10 miles south, or 25 miles north. Sigh. And there is the possibility that I couldn't get home if there was a flood (again). Personally, I like to keep some stuff handy. Most of it isn't necessarily to be life-saving as much as for comfort, like water, a bit of food, or shelter or a rope.

Mind you, it would be lovely to live in a place where help is always at hand, but that isn't here.
<img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />
'Pup

I agree with your thought process, BP. I plan for the hike from my office to my home (38 miles), or any place in between, in the event of an earthquake; bridges down, etc. I don't see a need for major planning for BOBs. Here in the LA area, if everyone had to leave at once, no one would get anywhere. Being prepared to stick it out at home makes more sense.
The ability to get home and make use of what I have in the way of supplies is the extent of my vehicle BOB contents.
However, because of the abundance of firearms and the fact that I could encounter individuals along the way that might want to take advantage of the situation (I lived here during the riots), I too have planned for that contingency in my vehicle BOB.
Because the weather is generally mild and predictable, I pick items with my comfort in mind, size and weight not being key issues.