lets discuss preps for disasters

[MossRoad]

A 'go bag' in your vehicle helps a little.

Around here if it comes to that, the "go bag" for a lot of folks will be a 9mm at the 7/11! Sad, but true.

 

[Wa11banger]

Hello fellow TBN'ers. Long time lurker on this thread first time poster.. I have carried a semi-serious mostly non-chalant view of prepping for most of my life.. Living in the desert when growing up has enforced a need in me to carry a case of water in my truck ever since they became available. Prior to the smaller bottles I carried gallon jugs etc. A small bag of high protein snacks is always available in the truck just in case you are sitting on the side of the road somewhere, I have a always updated first aid kit etc. You get the point. but in a time when the economy should show fairly drastic signs of improving it has remained much the same.

Housing still in a slump even though some areas are showing growth many are not ( three houses in my neighborhood have been for sale forever and its a prominent neighborhood not more that 5 miles from any and all school grade levels.

Fuel has dropped in price but most things that raised costs were due to high fuel prices have not dropped back yet. Air travel (worse than ever) vehicle costs, NG, Propane, groceries and chicken or beef. we still import everything from everywhere.

I know these are small items to the drastic measure minded folks but if I have taken notice there has to be a more bleak outlook on the future than most of people minded like me have anticipated.

I just started my "more serious" preparations phase to ensure my family is protected and we can care for each other.

I bought property far off the beaten path
My 36ft motorhome is housed there in its own enclosure to ensure the elements of time don't prematurely wear its exterior down.
Well being planned but our neighbor gets 21GPM out of their well @ 150ft depth
5.4k of off-grid solar with a 12K 220v inverter installed on site. As a good test I was able to run the AC all day this past weekend and it recovered the offbus storage batts to 100% for nighttime continuation of running the AC for all but one day (clouds). This is ok as I was not completely depleting the batteries and can more than likely go 2 days with AC needs or 4 days without them in total darkness before needing to upgrade. However, I did generate for 2 hours on that evening to finish topping off and carried on. We are not in a crisis right now and fuel is readily available.. Topping off everyday is as important as it gets.. And I had to load share NOTHING! We cooked, watched tv, used lights, etc.. In a crisis situation we could definitely be more power conscientious and save energy.

This is significant and important to me and it didn't used to be. This configuration is able to support my RV, an additional AC fridge, security camera's all across the property, and my future well pump currently. I plan on adding an additional 5.4k either in service or standing by as repairs. Additionally, this is a multi-family property and the other family has almost completely identical capabilities so we will be able to combine efforts if ever necessary.

I have started gardening (well learning about gardening) its a bit trickier than just popping seeds in dirt and getting something in return but the effort is worth it. I have a nice collection of all non-GMO/heirloom seeds being used.

I'm going to get bees. I don't have any intention of collecting their honey right now I'm just going to let them keep that until needed. Mostly getting them because bees are dying everywhere and if I can care for them and keep them alive, then the more the merrier and they will be of great benefit to the garden.

Getting ready to build a wood burning grill, wood burning pizza oven, and bought an old wood burning oven from the Amish. I will be putting these out in the middle of a small field where we plan to have a big gazebo that way we can keep the heat of cooking away from the RV/house when needed.

I want to build a small house. Somewhere in the 1000Sqft range there. I'm trying to learn to build it green, build it tough, and with little to no maintenance needs. It will be built with an emphasis on solar needs so its large surfaces will be facing solar south etc. Taking full advantage of the way the environment works. The Amish homes nearby have no power or AC but remain amazingly cool compared to the mid-high 90 degree summers we experience here. There is something to be learned there.

If nothing happens, my family and I at least have a beautiful chunk of acreage to have fun events and go camping on for all generations.. If something does happen I have all the means there I need to sustain some quality of life, protect them, and keep going.

Wow long one!

 

[SirReal63]

If nothing happens, my family and I at least have a beautiful chunk of acreage to have fun events and go camping on for all generations.. If something does happen I have all the means there I need to sustain some quality of life, protect them, and keep going.

Wow long one!

This IMO is what it is all about.

 

[cat fever]

That's what the backhoe is for.

X2, I agree fully.

 

[MossRoad]

I'd think a freezer will be pretty worthless pretty fast if the social situation gets so bad that power is out for weeks and weeks and people are roaming the land looking to scavenge food. Are you really going to want to use up your precious fuel supply running a freezer? NOPE. Get foods and meds that don't require freezing or refrigeration for that scenario.

Now, if we're talking natural disasters and relatively short-term power outages, it might not be too much of a drain on your resources to keep the freezer running. I count on my freezer to save me money by buying in bulk, or storing home-grown food. But I wouldn't count on it in a social disaster.

 

[TnAndy]

Are you really going to want to use up your precious fuel supply running a freezer? NOPE. Get foods and meds that don't require freezing or refrigeration for that scenario.

My fuel come from space, delivered most days between 8am and 4pm.

(and since this photo was taken, I've added another 5,000w on out in that sunny area)

 

[MossRoad]

Adding it in the sunny area would seem prudent.... :laughing:

Nice setup. :thumbsup:

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I'd think a freezer will be pretty worthless pretty fast if the social situation gets so bad that power is out for weeks and weeks and people are roaming the land looking to scavenge food. Are you really going to want to use up your precious fuel supply running a freezer? NOPE. Get foods and meds that don't require freezing or refrigeration for that scenario.

Now, if we're talking natural disasters and relatively short-term power outages, it might not be too much of a drain on your resources to keep the freezer running. I count on my freezer to save me money by buying in bulk, or storing home-grown food. But I wouldn't count on it in a social disaster.

With an energy star chest freezer and a tiny generator, you can keep a freezer cold on a quart of gas a day. 800 watts is plenty to run a freezer. A small lawnmower motor running a GM alternator into a battery with a 1000 watt inverter will run a freezer just fine.