Is Your Trailer Part of Your Disaster Plan?

[Huck]

Do you have a disaster plan?

If so, does it include the use of your trailer?

How many weeks could you go without restocking? How about without electricity (from the grid)?

[Ron in TX]

Here is a post I made on another forum a few weeks ago.
We had a pretty high wind and storms 4 days ago. Lost electricity and was out 4 days.one member of my house hold is on oxygen ,we have a oxygen generator and some bottles ,but she cant do without it
I started some topics earlier in the year about being prepared on another forum, the things I have done sure payed off, we never missed a beat. I had a generator and 30 gallons of gas ,that was enough to run us 5 days 24 7. we kept the oxygen flowing all the freezers and fridges cold lights in critical spots and the ac when we needed it.Had 30 days of water and food and meds ,also had another 30 gallons of gas in pickup if needed. Propane ice box and stove in the Casita travel trailer and the camp chef if we needed an oven, this was the second line of survival, moving to another location was the last resort but was doable with the trailer.
All in all we had everything we needed to make it in comfort. The camping gear from hunting and kayaking and our travel trailer gave us everything we needed.
There were a lot of folks that didn't even have a flashlight , lost all there food that was in freezer and fridge. They would have been in bad shape if the scope of this storm had been bigger or more sever .
I am pleased with our gear and supplies and do feel much safer in the event of a major disaster
Ron
PS I am adding solar so we can do without the generator

[Darwin Maring]

We live next to a Nuclear power plant, It is a major part of our disaster plan.

And during/after a storm should we run out of gas for our generator(s) we can always use the camper to cook and live in until the power comes back on.

[Donna D.]

"Depends." Mostly time of the year and outside temperature. If I need to run the furnace to stay warm, that will deplete the amount of propane needed for the refrigerator and stove (and maybe hotwater heater). I think I'd run out of water before I'd run out of propane though. I can eat cold food, but some would need to be cooked first (like pasta, etc).

Either way, I'm still ahead of those that don't have a trailer (of any kind).

[Timber Wolf]

Yes, if I actually had a "plan". I do have a lot of preparations, but to call any of what I have a plan would an insult to those that actually have one. I have bought most of the bits (panels, controller, etc.) and am adding a pretty strong solar system to the Scamp. I keep several 20lb propane bottles full all the time and rotate them only using one bottle until it is empty and then taking it to be filled. I have a good smallish (2KW) generator that is serviced and ready to go. I have plenty of canned (meats, veggies, soup) and dried (rice, beans, pasta, cereal) foods in the pantry, although I actually have no clue what all is in there and how it corresponds to meals or for how long. What I do not store is water or gasoline. I do have a lot of clean water jugs (in the attic) and gas cans (out in the shed) but would need notice to fill them (and the bath tub, etc.), which may come too late. I feel OK about things as they stand but do probably need to keep 15-20 gallons of gas on hand. There is 80 gallons of water in the two water heaters.

Not to add to the current hysteria, but the Ebola thing had me wondering if I could stay home 21 days or so if I had to. I think the answer is yes, and probably a lot longer if needed, and the City does not cut the water off.

I strayed a little off using the trailer in a disaster, but yes if required the trailer would play a part in my response.

[trumpetguy]

Out trailers will make an excellent bug out shelter but only if you can stay close to home. If a crisis occurs that requires an emergency evacuation the power grid will fail early on. Everything we use needs electricity, including gasoline pumps, so how does one fill their tank to pull that little trailer? My TV has a 32 gallon tank so at 14 mpg it doesn't get me far up the road. My plan. Know someone close by with acreage who will let you dry camp for an extended period. Assure them that you are self sufficient, and will pull your own weight with chores, even work the garden or haul water.

Keep a ready pack in your vehicle in case you are caught out away from home.

Water is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing to have on hand. One gallon per person a day for basic hydration and hygeine. Then add for food preparation and house cleaning. My trailer only holds 30 gallons of potable water. I have five gallon military surplus water cans in storage than I can load into the truck bed. One should also have a supply of drinking water on hand for the most likely scenario...shelter in place. Unless there is a local outbreak of disease, or uncontrollable violence our brick and stick homes are the best place to be. You can buy fifty gallon rain barrels, or even repurpose a fifty gallon pepper, or pickle barrel. In all cases you MUST disinfect the water prior to drinking. Boiling for sixty seconds, chlorine, or other approved methods will work.

FEMA.gov has a great list of emergency items to weather a storm. Also cdc.gov

A few...
Salt
Water
MRE from www.beprepared.com
Dried beans
Toilet paper and lot's of it
Canned soups
Prescription medicines
Pet food
Auguson Farms has a good selection of Gamma sealed buckets with freeze dried foods. Order from Sam's Club
Powdered Gatorade for fluid replacement if someone has diarrhea or vomiting.
Plastic garbage sacks for lots of uses
Tooth paste, deodorant, soap, feminine items ( you know what I mean)
Google search emergency preparedness for a lot of good information

"You cannot pick your time of crisis"
"In a crisis you will only rise to the level of your preparation"



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[Fire-N-Ice]

The answer is...it depends on the disaster. Where I live in SoCal on the west edge of open space, the most common disaster is wildfire. Been evac'ed 3 times for several days per disaster. My trailer is at my son's house 2 miles west of me, so would need some advance notice to get it. The biggest problem here in any bug out situation is the roads being clogged with cars.
My plan (inspired by my roommate who is on the local community response team) is always gas up when the tank is half empty, keep a couple hundred in small bills with a grab bag of important papers, keep 5 gallons each of drinking water, an emergency tent, toilet, cooking gear and change of clothes packed in the underfloor storage of my car.
So I guess the answer is, I have more of an emergency plan involving my car than my trailer!

[Joy A]

Yes, it is.

My trailer sits at the ready for a trip at the spur of the moment. The water tank is full. I keep a box of canned goods at the ready in the house, I don't leave them in the trailer during the summer as it gets way hot here. I just need to snag the dog, some clothes and out the door I go. The additional camping items are always in the Jeep, they rarely get unloaded.

I have 2 - 5 gallon water jugs full and a gas can full and at the ready to toss in the Jeep.

When I come back from a trip I make sure I put a full propane tank on the trailer and that the generator is full of gas. I only remove dirty clothes and perishable foods. Everything else stays.

I have a bug out bag that I can quickly put important things in and it has a little money in it. I don't worry about money as debit cards do wonderous things. I'm not worried about some hugh catastrophe just a wild fire. A 1/2 tank of gas will get me 150 miles and to quite a few nearby communities.

[Huck]

I have several months of food on hand, but much of it is perishable. I can use the 3-way refrigerator in the trailer, but that will only hold a few days worth of food.

So I am trying to switchover to using more less perishable foods like freeze dried, dehydrated, and canned. Three foods I am going to experiment with are egg powder, butter powder, and full cream powder. The cream powder is supposedly real good in coffee and eggs and butter are good for baking. If these work out, it would go a long way toward freeing up space in the refrigerator. Just ordered the cream.

[Roy in TO]

Originally Posted by Joy A

I have a bug out bag that I can quickly put important things in and it has a little money in it. I don't worry about money as debit cards do wonderous things. I'm not worried about some hugh catastrophe just a wild fire. A 1/2 tank of gas will get me 150 miles and to quite a few nearby communities.

Some may want to consider a cash stash. Debit and credit cards don't work when the power is out. Years ago many retailers had paper forms as a backup for both. I don't imagine many retailers would have a huge supply of those on hand.

[Ron Merritt]

I think it's reasonable to have plans in place for a week without most services. Beyond that is kinda nutty and would require dedication of significant resources, as well as maintenance. Plan for a storm or wildfire is fine. Planning for the end of civilization is pretty looney.


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[Byron Kinnaman]

My trailer is and has always been part of my disaster plan. It sits next to the house with full water tank and full propane cylinder. As far as somebody thinking that electricity is necessary after a week, I say a little thought you can go for a very long time without electricity. Example--- The past 5 winters we've headed south, electric hookups somewhere around 4 night maybe. Length of stay 1 month, 3 months, 3.5 months, 3.5 months, 2 months.
Most "disasters" are very local and an escape for the area when possible is a good idea in my way of thinking. That could be difficult, even with FEMA's 72 hour thing. Some depends on the event. Here they keep talking about a 9+ earthquake off the coast. Escape would be difficult for a few days because of the bridges. But escaped you don't have to go far to be out of the disaster area. For me it's just a little over a hundred miles for that earthquake. High winds about the same, but you have wait for few days.
FEMA's 72 hour thingy.... You must be able to survive for 72 hours, rescue operations generally don't really kick in for 72 hours. Having been part of FEMA for a while their main focus is whose is going to get billed for services and supplies rendered.

Back to main question.... Yes my trailer is part of my disaster plan.

[KevinPete]

Nutty beyond a week? I must be Mr. Peanut, then! I could survive for a week on what I carry in my pockets every day, I have 72-hour kits in all the vehicles, and we keep enough basic supplies on hand for a lot longer. Keep in mind that 72 hours is for a very local disaster, any widespread (state/region-wide) incident or larger will pretty much mean you'll be without help for weeks, if you're lucky, or if somehow you cross out of the affected area to find help.

In an Ebola, Flu, or other pandemic, you're going to need to avoid contact for several weeks at a minimum. If you think the government is going to drop off a case of MRE's and water every couple of days, well, good luck with that. Me and my loony friends and family will be just fine. No extraordinary expenditure of resources, just a little here and there, plus a little planning and common sense. Things I would use or need in a long-term disaster are things I already have and use every day. (well, except for those 500 gas masks and geiger counters.. )

The Scamp isn't really an important part of the plan, other than maybe using it as a guest room at the farm, or maybe a quarantine area. Short of a comet or volcano, we'll be staying close to home in any disaster, wouldn't want to be in the herd while towing a camper and trying to find gas for the vehicles.

[honda03842]

We believe a little preparation is wise.

There are many different types of disasters that are possible. Local disasters are generally survivable because the rest of the country can provide relief.

A national disaster, though rare, is a possibility at some time. In that case you will not be able to count on the government in any reasonable time frame. Our policy is to have a substantial food supply, food that provides balanced caloric need (rice, beans......) and has long term storage ability (10 years). It's not expensive to do it.

We recognize that power systems can easily fail for short and long periods and practically everything we need is dependent on electricity. We do have 200 watts of solar panels and the ability to make another 100 watts. Not enough to do anything major but adequate to provide lighting and TV/radio.

Most important of all items is a good source of water. There we have a million gallon water filter. We carry the filter in our trailer so it's always with us.

We carry a multi-fuel grill, not necessarily as good as a rocket stove but adequate.

[SilverGhost]

I keep an emergency kit with rations and water in my car at all times. Trailer runs on solar except for ac and microwave. There is a case of water bottles and assorted canned food in the trailer.

Having backpacked and climbed Mt Shasta several times with my great uncle Orvis, I learned what I needed vs wanted.

Also my choice of TUG means I have 400 to 500 miles range to "get out of dodge" without refueling. More if I take it slow. And with a half dozen jerry cans in the garage (hurricane season) I could be half way across country before needing to buy fuel.

But that all depends on the disaster. If need be the trailer will serve.

Jason

[KevinPete]

I have a rocket stove, but it doesn't fit in the Scamp.


We built it to use at the farm for boiling large amounts of water, and just to see if we could. It works really well, we welded a heavier grate for the top and put it on a pallet (probably weighs 200 lbs.). Also pretty spectacular at night without a pot on top, two 4' flames shooting out of it! I have a video of it somewhere.

[honda03842]

Kevin,

There was a recent thread on grills and one mentioned was really a rocket stove, using a fan boost. The fan ran off electricity generated by the heat of the stove.

[floyd]

Short term provision is prudent, but a mouse can hardly conceive of a plow, let alone plan for it!


"Still thou art blest, compar'd wi' me
The present only toucheth thee:
But, Och! I backward cast my e'e.
On prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear!"
...Robert Burns

[KevinPete]

Originally Posted by honda03842

Kevin,

There was a recent thread on grills and one mentioned was really a rocket stove, using a fan boost. The fan ran off electricity generated by the heat of the stove.

Norm, I have a Biolite stove, pre-ordered and received one of the first. I am not happy with it at all. Mainly because of the weight, noise, and how long you'd have to keep a fire going to fully charge anything. Now I charge with folding PV panels strapped to the top of my pack. My alcohol stove with fuel for a week weighs a lot less than the Biolite, and it's silent.

I have smaller rocket stoves that I've built, there are also some fairly inexpensive ones out there to purchase that are well-made. I've looked into putting a TEG into my wood furnace to generate enough to charge my home battery bank, but for the cost I'd probably buy a Lister diesel and continuous-duty generator. Maybe someday the price and efficiency will improve.

[honda03842]

I like the Lister Generator. Every year that we're in Florida I attend at least one of the Florida Flywheelers Exhibitions near Ford Meade. A wonderful gathering of old diesels from the past.

Florida Flywheelers Antique Engine Club