Our current emergency preparedness vehicle is a '92 Ford Explorer with over 200,000 miles. It was not originally purchased as an emergency preparedness vehicle, but as a family vehicle. Due to the fact that it was an SUV, it was easy to look upon it as an emergency preparedness vehicle as well.
If we were buying an emergency preparedness vehicle today, I would make different choices. In fact, that's just what I need to be doing.If I were going to be looking for such a vehicle, what would it need? Since our needs very from person to person, the answer for each of us will be very different. Here are some qualities I think should be in an emergency preparedness vehicle.
- It should be dependable and reliable.
- It should be capable of navigating difficult terrain.
- It should have the ability to carry cargo, as well as people.
- Some means of protecting the cargo from the elements is also a good thing.
- Good fuel mileage is desirable.
- It should have a reasonable level of comfort.
- A trailer hitch (and the power to pull a trailer) is desirable.
- A front mounted winch is a handy accessory (and something I have wished I had on occasion.)
However, in addition to normal emergency preparedness requirements, our family has an additional requirement or two for the vehicle. I can't afford to have a dedicated emergency preparedness vehicle (one which will be used only for bugging out or going for help, or that sort of thing.) Since, like most people, I can't afford to have a dedicated emergency preparedness vehicle, my emergency preparedness vehicle also has to serve as a work truck for us.
Because I need to be able to carry our dogs to the vet (or if we had to bug out), as well as cargo to and from the home center, hauling our trailer around, providing moving services for the kids and other things that require the vehicle to help pay its way, a hybrid SUV isn't the right vehicle. So right now, I think I have figured out a set of compromises and features that I will be looking for.So, I think I am looking for a pickup with crew cab (that's got more room for the passengers than an extended cab), four-wheel drive or all wheel drive, trailer hitch and appropriate towing package, and a bed topper (the boxlike cover that fits over the bed of a pickup). This combination should give me a reasonable bug out vehicle as well as a family work truck. I expect to leave the topper off for day-to-day use and put it on when I need to keep the cargo protected from the elements.
Now all I need to do is find such a vehicle at a price I can afford.What do you think? Would you choose differently? Leave a comment and tell me.
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