Hello All,

What would you recommend for use as a bob for a family of 4?

Dave

Jeep Grand Cherokee. . .

When you say a BOB for a family of 4 do you mean one bag for everyone or one bag for each member of the family. If your talking about one bag for the whole family then your going to need something along the lines of a large duffel bag or maybe a large plastic storage bin. If your talking about one bag for each make sure you get the right sizes for each member, they actually have sizes just for children and women, the choices are endless, and so are prices. Ebay is a good place to pick up new and used backpacks and duffel's for a reasonable price. I wish I could narrow it down for you a little more but your question leaves a lot of options.

I didn't know Jeeps came in a Bag

I would take a look at RedFlare's website. I will be buying a 2 person and 1 person BoB's from him after the first of the year, for my DW and DD1.

No, I am not affliated with RedFlare but I do like what he offers for sell (product line) and I will support him for the support he has provided ETS, among other reasons.

The OP didn't say bag. The idea of a family of four "bugging out" on foot carrying backpacks just doesn't play well for me. If I were in MI, I'd consider something other than a backpack/bag and snowshoes or cross-country skis.

Dave help us out here, your title for the post says BOB bag,set us straight, are you talking about a BOB = Bug Out Bag or a BOV = Bug out Vehicle ??

RAZ
Sorry

I thought the original post was titled "BOB Bag" I might be wrong, sometimes I forget to clean my glass's ......lol If we're talking about something with 4 wheels then perhaps a station wagon, mini van or extended cab truck.

Right you are, I read the text, not the title. A bag for a family of four. . . nothing comes to mind.

Yea me either without knowing if hes talking about one bag for all 4 or one for each kinda hard to make suggestions with limited information.

In case anybody didn't get my point, I have a BoB for each member of the family.

I will be making BoB's for the 4 legged "kids"-2 dogs and 1 cat during 2008.

I'm sorry for not saying that up front, I think I was having "Brain Flatulance" for a moment!!!

Is the cat gonna carry his/her own? I would love to see that, and I suspect that Blast would love to be the one to load it...

BoB for the animals, now theres something I never thought about, so they can carry their own food, toys, water & meds?

No, we'll carry their BoB's for them. Blast will not get the chance to load the cat's BoB with the appropriate amount of thermite to "cook", uh, I mean support the cat for a week.

Besides, Mr. Coconut and I have an understanding, I pet him once a day and he leaves me alone the rest of the time!!!

I think the dogs are up to carrying their own food, some water, bowls, meds, and winter type clothes that they use.

Hello Shadow and others! Well I was wondering what I should use as a BOB bag for my family of 4. My kids are young, 3 1/2 and 8 months so I figure the wifey will carry the youngest and my boy can walk himself . For the most part I will be the one carrying the bag/items we take. My wifey is pretty useless when it take any strength....

As for a vehicle, we will be taking the "man van" unless things turn bad.

Dave

I use military packs for my (Austrian Army) and my nephew's (Swedish Army) BoB's.

My DW has a commercially padded backpack and DD2 & BF have small school type backpacks for their BoB's. This pack is not a dedicated BoB which is why I am getting her a 2 person Bob from RedFlare.

DD1 has a very small back pack that holds 3 days of her "special needs" equipment. This pack is inadequate to hold the amount of supplies that she needs. I am getting her a 1 person BoB from RedFlare and I will get her something else for her "special needs" equipment. This second pack will have to fit onto the back of her wheelchair along with her BoB.

Well if it was me with a wife and 2 kids, the boy I would make a a bag for him nothing to heavy, maybe flashlight,bottle of water,granola bars, rain poncho, comfort items, favorite candy and stuffed animal etc. The wife and youngest I would use a large duffel bag, with clothes, food water etc. and also include items for the boy. Then for myself I would have a quality backpack with gear such as radios,snares,signaling,knives etc. things you wouldn't want the children getting hold of.

I'm just tossing out a few ideas, I'm sure others will either agree or disagree and have their own suggestions, read it all and sort out what works for you.

Hope some of it helps.

Good kitty...

Thanks Shadow. How do people feel about alice packs (US). I see that they can be had for around 50.00 or so with the frame.

Dave

"...How do people feel about alice packs (US)?..."

In my humble opinion, they suck. High quality, as far as materials/construction go, reasonable price, painful to carry...

If you're doing the heavy work, I'd suggest a commercial/civilian backpacking bag. Something greater than 3500 cubic inches (uh, about 70 liter). Just watch the weight; the guideline is that a bag shouldn't be more than 1/3 your weight. In my teens, while Scouting, my pack could be close to 1/2 for a week-long trip, but that was when I was young.

Your wife may just have to tough it out and carry some of the kid stuff for your youngest- bottles/bags, formula, diapers, wipes. Essentially your diaper bag. I'd avoid anything with a single sling, like purse, bag, duffel. If you have to walk any appreciable distance you're going to be hurting from that.

Your boy can probably hold a 10-15 lbs. pack. Food, some fun items, a bottle of water.

I'd focus on water purification, food (and procurement), navigation and shelter. since you're in MN I wouldn't worry about packing gallons of water; maybe 3 liters, and your son and wife with 1 each. You can stop and filter as needed. A good 4-person tent should be OK.

I don't know what you mean by "bugging out," (and I am not a fan of that concept myself), but do now expect your 3.5 year old and wife to be able to walk very far, carrying anything or not. It just won't happen...

Thanks! I am kinda torn at times if we should bug out or hunker down. At least here where we live, if things go bad, it might be better to lay low of awhile before any bug out.

Dave

Dave

Heres a link to Ebay if your interested in Alice packs, I have bought from them and they seem to have great prices, just make sure to check item descriptions to make sure everything you want is included in the auction.

http://stores.ebay.com/A-Z-Army-Navy-Military-Surplus

I know a lot of people that have Alice Packs and love them, myself I go with either Maxpedition, or Camelbak.

I also have the GI Duffel bags in case I Bug Out that way I can throw stuff in them too, besides the BoB's

I know what you mean. Well I am trying to think of situations where we would want to leave the house. I mean there are the natural disasters, tornadoes ect that could occur, but maybe terrorism is out biggest threat? I don't wanna sound paranoid, but even paranoids have enemies. :-)

Dave

Thanks!

Dave

The first question I should have asked is: where are you bugging out to? You need a destination within range of your intended mode of travel.

Next question: What is already there to support your needs once you get to your destination?

Do you really intend to walk with a toddler and an infant? Be realistic wrt your family's capabilities.

Plan A should always be to dig in. You leave only when your static preperations and shelter probably (no possibly) will be or have been compromised. With little kids, this is more critical just becuase they can't take the amount of exposure (weather-wise) and abuse that an adult can.

As others have said, it's you, your wife, bug out gear, and no offense, two pieces of squirmy luggage. I wouldn't be thinking bags. Kid carriers with some cargo capacity, and a something like a game cart or cargo sledge to carry the bulk of the gear. I wouldn't count on your eldest to be walking very far, certainly not more than five miles a day, unless he's used to it.

And honestly, I'd put terrorism near the bottom of your priority list.

Yea I know what you mean, I'm not big on leaving my home either, so most of my efforts are directed towards staying here. I will leave if I have to and I have plans for short term as well as long term. I mean in the event of a fire, flood, tornado etc. you have no choice. In that event a BOB will come in handy no doubt about it.

If you can leave by vehicle, I would suggest something like the Action Packer boxes, or the similar products by Rubbermade. Not to carry farther than from the garage to the vehicle. If you think that you will have to walk, I will go back to my original comment, it ain't gonna happen...

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.

Secondary and even tertiary roads for sure. Especially if you're familiar with the area. You can almost always make better time than being stuck on the freeway. Plus you always have options to maneuver around an obstacle (unless its a bridge) on secondary roads, something you can't do on the freeway.

Isn't whether you evacuate or not something you need to evaluate under the circumstances with which you are presented? If you are presented with a situation that involves you travelling through a dangerous area to get to someplace safe, staying put can make sense. If a hurricane, tornado, etc. is bearing down on you, evacuation may be in order. When I went to sea, I often heard about trying to put yourself in the mindset of thinking "what if" about any number of thigns that could go wrong, at that moment in time. It made it easier to act in a moment when soemthing did go wrong; your brina was prepared for something to go wrong. You thought faster and could act with a clearer mind. Think about what might go wrong in your area.

I live in NYC, so thinking about what can happen here is what I try to do. What happens with a hurricane? What happens when that whole mountain in the Canary Islands slides into the Atlantic and sends a tsunami our way? What happens when we have a black out? A dirty bomb? Etc. Not pleasant thoughts, but you are not thinking pleasant thoughts when putting your bag together.

I have a bag for each of us, but we do not have kids. Still, to the extent you can, everyone having something that they can grab and go is ideal. In your circumstances, how you might be bugging out is something else to think about. Could you be going on foot, in a vehicle, train, etc.? How could your wife be going too? You do need to think about the chance that eiither her or you could be evacuating without the other, and one of you might be evacuating without your children, perhaps one of you following the other. If for example, your wife might leave with the two children and not you, have stuff packed in something that she can move. Smaller backpacks with for each of you might be the way to go.

I would have your oldest have a small pack that was all his own to fill with what might keep him entertained, and with some of his own food, clothing etc. It may help him to feel he is helping and may help you to calm him, if he gets to help in the "adventure."

Opps Sorry about the confusion. No I have a mini-van. I meant in a emergency situation were you need to leave I can imagine that some people without cars might want yours. Or I might not be able to carry enough gas to get somewhere safe. Cars really are not going to be too safe, but if I have to leave the house walking might be the best choice. Sorry for the rambling.

Dave

Having been in several evac and dig in situations, as a general rule (and there are always exceptions) most people are friendly and helpful in the first day or so in an emergency. Don’t get me wrong there are bad people out there we need to protect ourselves from or preferably avoid all together, but most people usually won't get to the point on taking what they want till they realize that they can't run down to Wally world and buy what they want, or that the gas station is closed and they pumps don't work. Unless it’s a grab the keys and run situation you can avoid most of the rush and danger involved with Evac by leaving early enough to get ahead of the crowd. You can do this by keeping a kit in your van, making a plans with your wife and family on what to do in the event of an evac, keep another kit ready to put into the van at a moments notice, keep your van’s gas tank filled (never below a ½ tank) that way you don’t have to stop and fill up when it’s time to go, and when you do get out and you think your far enough away double the distance your at when you first think that. Most people get caught with their pants down because they don’t think and plan ahead.

OK, just checking.
I hear you on the people wanting your stuff, I have enough problems keeping my stuff mine during normal times that I'll be one of the first to bug out come any problem because I'll be way outnumbered in this neighborhood.
I've had experience with minivans in the past. Most of them are front wheel drive and when faced with stop and go traffic will get way too hot from the tightly packed transmission. Before you have to bug out put on a good transmission cooler.

Uhm... Yes.

I know, bad answer.

If I think the time to bug is nigh, I'll probably be hitting the road earlier than most people will.

If not, then there is a state route that parallels the interstate- problem is, either way I'm on that route if fate takes me back to where I want to be, as the road in question is one of only three truly east-west roads in Vermont. I've got a couple of back up routes, but both are a little interesting in winter and right now will be full of panicy ski-people trying to get home. *shrugs* Nothing is without trouble.

I hear ya. The thugs make a weekly check or so of all the garage doors in the neighborhood to see if someone forgot to lock something. They even have looked into my house windows to see if anyone was up.....I just hope they never decide to try to kick in the back door.

Dave

We had someone bust in to our shed a couple years ago. They took our bicycles and lawn mower. After that I bought a new steel door for the front of our house and moved the older steel door from the front of the house to the back replacing the old wooden door. I also put a deadbolt lock on the door from the kicthen to the garage so if someone does break into the back door they get in the garage but still have another barrier to get in the house.
Wife has seen people looking in the windows before and we have had our cars broekn into and stuff vandalized around the house as well.
The neighbors across the street are taking handouts from whomever they can get and throwing away perfectly good food,I know they will be the first to my door if they see we have power and water.

You may want to consider a good old 12 ga and a couple of boxes of no. 4 buckshot as a good addition to your survival or bug out kit. I am all about peace and such, but reality tells me that the biggest threat to my families survival is often going to be the threat posed by other people. I am "equipt to survive" in that respect as well as anyone. If someone wants possessions, they can have them. I would not kill a person for taking a bike, however When someone busts into your house its very hard to tell what their intent really is. To steal your stuff or do you harm?? To me at least, being equipt to survive means a whole lot more than carrying a psk with a plastic whistle and some matches. Anyone breaking into my house intending my family harm will have one hell of a bad day.............

Amen Brother !!!

You're living in the wrong country Taurus.

Unfortunately Canadian Law doesn't protect us in the way US law does in regards to somebody invading your home and you doing what you need to do to protect your family.

You are absolutely right!! if someone breaks into my home during the night I will simply let them do what ever they want to my family while I look at my gun cabinet and wish we had better laws. Survival is survival, plain and simple. I don't mean to sound like a jerk but as the old saying goes: better to be judged by 12 ...... Once my family is safe I will worry about dealing with the legal side of it after the fact.

Dave,

I agree with the bugging in strategy but unless you never travel having the necessities with you in the van organized in some sort of carry-all bag in case you switch vehicles is essential. We just passed the 1 year anniversary of the James Kim family tragedy so we all must take the responsibility to learn vicariously and prepare.

Also, in my humble opinion you should include your wife and your kids (when they get old enough) in the preparation. If you are incapacitated or wounded they will need to be relatively self-reliant to be safe. Good luck!

~Nemo

Hello BigDaddyTX ~ Thanks for your comments. I haven't really figured out where would be the best place to head to in times of need. I mean other than my parents place in Des Moines IA which is 250 miles from my door to theirs.



I hear ya on this point.

I have some more thinking to do on many of the points that it takes to survive.....

Hi Nemo,



I totally agree. The wifey is kinda getting the feeling that dark days are ahead of us. We are not sure what, but we are trying to be prepared the best that we can... I found a grain mill here in MN that stocks organic hard winter wheat. I am planning to stock up along with some other things.

Dave

One of these properly loaded to distribute the weight would increase your carrying capacity considerably. Balance the load to where you're just carrying a pound or two. Its easier to pull carts over any relatively large obstacles because of the direction of forces and because you can put your legs into it. BTDT with a hand truck loaded with firewood for years. I found out real quick it was easier to pull it onto the porch.

Dan, traveling on foot with young children is your absolute dead last option. If things have deteriorated that badly, you're in big trouble. If it's part of an actual plan..... start over.

You need to make a list of what kind of problems you are likely to encounter where you live, in the order you think they are likely to happen. Then break them down into whether they are shelter-in-place situations, or bug-out situations.

If you live in a high-crime area, you might choose to leave immediately, if you think there is a reasonable chance of rapid civil breakdown (which, in itself, would be half of a double-whammy).

But, before you buy your first backpack or Rubbermaid tub, you have to know where you're going. Just picking a compass point and running in panic is no plan at all. If you and your wife tend to keep at least half a tank of gas in each of your vehicles, and you have a siphon, you would probably have a full tank for one vehicle. Where can you go with one tank of gas? Can you make arrangements with family or friends?

Start with a small core of what you could take with you if you did have to run. Put it in Rubbermaid tubs and stack them in the front hall closet or something. Everything in them would still be usable in a hunker-down situation.

The basics are always the same, sometimes in a slightly different order of importance: First aid, shelter, fire, water, signalling, food. And don't forget toilet facilities.

First Aid stuff can fit in a box or bag. Bright red is good. Just pack what you know how to use.

Shelter can be a tent, or a good-sized tarp and some rope. A fairly large tarp can be both floor and roof, formed into a triangle.

Fire-making for a family should probably consist of multiple ways to start a fire, and something to burn. A pot with a folding handle, a small stove, fuel, paper plates, mugs and eating utensils, and a large spoon and some kind of knife. A cheap BBQ with extra briquets is better than nothing.

Water is easier to store in various nooks and crannies if it is in one-liter containers or smaller. One or two gallons per person per day. Rain can be caught in your Rubbermaid containers with a smallish plastic tarp or cheap emergency blanket hung on clothesline rope with clothespins.

Signalling can be cell phone with car charger, flares, mirror or any of the fancy PLBs, etc, depending on your budget. Where will you be, and whom will you be signalling?

Food should be what you're used to, esp with kids. Stuff to eat cold, heat and eat, or add water and heat. Include comfort foods.

Toilet facilities can be a plastic bag in a large coffee can, a 5-gallon bucket with a clip-on seat, etc.

A tub with just child necessities and diapers.

Just cover all the basics as you go, and increase each as you can.

The big advantage to having your stuff stacked and ready is that you don't have to take time to look for necessities that are scattered all over the house. Lots of people here in the WA flooding failed to plan ahead, and got out with virtually nothing.

Sue

I brought my old 20 gauge back from the farm so I can have something until I can buy something better. Picked up a couple small shotshell carriers to keep a few handy in the bob.

I do have to disagree with that part. Personally, I would never ever count on being able to siphon fuel out of a vehicle’s fuel tank unless I know it can be done with that particular vehicle because of doing it before. It seems that more vehicles have anti-siphon systems than not. The easiest method for these vehicles is to use the vehicle’s own fuel pump and take the fuel out of the fuel injector test port.

Everything else Susan said, though, is spot on (as usual).

You know, I'd never even thought of using the injector as way to get fuel out...

Even if I'll probably never be able to do half the things in the expanded manual for my car, I'm glad I've got it. I'll have to look to see where the port is and highlight the appropriate section.

Once again, I've been reminded that I've been dragged into the 21st century, kicking and screaming....

My car almost qualifies for antique status. Thank you for the correction on the siphoning. It did seem too simple, didn't it?

Sue

Microage97,

As head of a family of four (when DW lets me) let me share with you some of my plans.

Family: Me (39 in good shape), wife (a bit younger , a bit less physically active ), 4 yr old daughter, 2 year old daughter.

Current location: House in northern suburb of Houston, TX, righ off I-45, the main evacuation route north out of Houston.

Threats: Hurricanes, haz-mat train derailment, flooding, ice storm (in theory), civil unrest.

Current BOB vehicles: 2005 Honda Pilot, 2006 double cab Toyota Tacoma with off-road options package, two adult bicycles and a bicycle cart, canoe, wagon with "off-road" tires.

Current vehicle BOBs: The Pilot and Tacoma each has a bag with water, clothing, diapers, personal hygiene supplies, tools, radio, tarp, rope, space blankets, ponchos, radio, "dynamo" flashlight, cooksets, firestarters, etc.

House BOB: this contains four fleece sleeping bags, more changes of clothing, diapers, personal hygiene supplies, radio, earplugs, flashlights, rope, pliers, knife, screwdriver set, deck of cards, bible, etc. This gear is not designed to keep us alive in the woods, it is to simply make us comfortable while we crash at a friend's place or (shudder) a public emergency shelter during a localized disturbance.

Heading into the woods for an extended amount of time with my wife and two young kids is not a realistic option and I say this after taking the family camping a number of times. Texas summers are brutally hot and humid. Minnesota winters are brutally cold (at least they were growing up in St. Michael, MN). Trying to keep the family healthy and safe in such environments is almost futile with just the gear in a bag.

Overall, I believe the chances of the entire USA being plunged into chaos are very slim and my BOBs/BOPs reflect that belief.

-Blast

You also need to know how to run the fuel pump. For example, older GM's without a fuse block under the hood there should be a single connector hanging out of the wiring harness near where it goes above the brake booster. Newer ones with the under hood electrical center there will be a small hole next to the fuel pump relay that you can poke a wire in to. Might be a good idea to test this ahead of time, you can safely run the fuel pump on most vehicles without any problems since there is a machanical regulator and fuel return, it will simply build up pressure, the regulator will open up and the fuel will return to the tank. There are however some new returnless systems where the pressure regulator is electronic and modulates power to the pump to regulate pressure so you would need to have something connected to the test port to release the pressure even if the pump test pin is available.
The fuel pressure test ports on cars looks like a tire valve once you take off the cap. The A/C system uses the same kind of vavle too though so be sure to get the correct one. IIRC the cap on the ac is usually blue and the fuel is green.
Also note that a car pump is a high pressure low volume unlike the low pressure high volume pump at the gas station. It can take hours to drain a full tank with the cars fuel pump.

Bugging out doesn't have to mean heading to the woods. For example my primary BOL is my parents farm, which has a house with a room waiting for me.
During the ice storm we had a few years ago many people had to bug out to hotels or relatives homes. Thats what bugging out is most likely to be, you have to leave your home for another outside the disaster area.

Exactly! That's why my main BOB is set up to crash at a friend's place or a hotel room.

-Blast

Ditto. Bugging means it is time to leave, not time to become a caveman.

When I was living on the other side of the state, I had electric heat, electric cooking, and electric water pump. So after three days without power, I'd be wanting to some place else. I had friends I could go stay with, but I'd want to bring my own groceries. (I know how they stay so skinny- they don't eat.) Worst case, I head to my folks, which is normally a 90 minute drive, but as someone who's had a long history of junky cars and with only one real route there, being able to get out on foot is just a good plan.

All that went double when living in the dorms in college. I'm just glad I had a roommate who was into preps as much as I was. (Stop lurking- you know who you are.)

For a while, I was also living down valley of an industrial facility that has a building known simply as "the bunker", and contains things like hexaflorides. Figure it takes fifteen minutes for it get to where I was. Two to three minutes to get the emergency warning out if something goes wrong. Spend ONE (1) minute getting my boots on and grabbing my pack. That gave me time to get serious uphill by foot if I had to.

Or when I lived down wind of the nuclear plant...

Or across the street from the ag chem factory and railroad...

Yeah, as much my Dad can make me crazy, I'm glad I moved home. Oh, wait, they run tanker trucks on the interstate just above the house, and I've seen too many scary placards on them. It is about three quarters of a mile the way the crow flies, but also about 80 feet higher...