This short chapter sets the tone for the entire book. You’ll learn my thought process and reasoning behind the concept of a Bug Out Vehicle. Before we get into the nuts and bolts of choosing and outfitting a BOV, it’s important to understand a BOV’s role in your life.
I had a BOV before I knew what that phrase meant. For as long as I can remember, I’ve outfitted my vehicles with survival supplies and tools. From water to blankets to food and rescue tools, I’ve always prepared for the unexpected. In college, I kept an extra stash of breath mints in my BOV. Survival, no. Preparedness, yes. It’s just the way I’m wired. With age and experience, my “BOV mentality” matured as well. Today, I have a well-grounded and practical thought process when it comes to the function of a BOV in my life.
A BOV’s primary function is to get you, your loved ones, and your supplies from ground zero to your Bug Out Location. It is a means to an end, not the end itself. I don’t view a BOV as a long-term survival location. It is not a Bug Out Location. Some people view a BOV as the means of escape and also the final destination—a mobile Bug Out Location if you will. Are they right? Yes. Am I right? Yes. How? It’s okay to have different opinions about a BOV. This book is my opinion. We can all learn from each other. My BOV’s single purpose is to get me and my stuff from point A to point B.
BOVs should get you from point A to point B.
I love my BOV, but I love myself more. At the core of understanding what it means to Bug Out is the cold, harsh reality that you may have to leave “stuff” behind. You can’t take everything. It just doesn’t work that way. The first rule in raising farm animals for food is not to give them names. Don’t name your BOV either. It’s not a he or a she. It’s an it. It doesn’t feel pain or any kind of emotions. It doesn’t get lonely, and it has no idea you even exist.
Disasters create some of the most chaotic, violent, and horrific circumstances on Earth. It’s not hard to imagine that your BOV can only take you so far. For whatever reason, your vehicle might not be able to make the entire journey to your Bug Out Location. There are hundreds of reasons why, here are just a few:
You may very well have to leave your BOV behind and walk. This is exactly why I am not a proponent of investing your entire life savings in a BOV. It should be a vehicle that you can afford, but one that you can also afford to lose. The sooner you come to grips with the fact that you may have to abandon a BOV and everything you can’t carry, the better. We will discuss some options, such as Bug Out Carts, for carrying extra gear on foot later in the book.
Don’t get too attached to your BOV; you may need to abandon it.
You and I don’t have the same Bug Out needs. No one does. Married, single, no kids, Brady bunch, disabilities, pets, city, urban, rural, coastal, inland, mountains, plains, warm, cold—there is a never-ending list of variables that forces us to make very unique BOV decisions. It is not a black-and-white decision. There are many more than fifty shades of gray. People love to voice strong opinions about BOVs. Your choice in a BOV only has to work for you, not the know-it-all on the survival forums or the belligerent commenter on YouTube.
Bugging Out is like playing hide-and-seek with a disaster except you can’t hear the disaster counting down its approach. Disasters can strike at any moment with little to no warning. Even with all of our modern technological indicators and gadgets, forewarning is a luxury and not a guarantee. Your BOV should be locked, loaded, and ready to rock at a moment’s notice. It should need only two things: people and Bug Out Bags. You should not have to stop for anything in between ground zero and your Bug Out Location. Everything you need to make the Bug Out Journey is pre-packed into (or very close to) the BOV. No exceptions.
Fight the urge to prioritize form before function. It’s easy to let the idea of a cool-looking BOV cloud your best judgment. A disaster will not judge how your BOV looks, but it will judge how well it performs under pressure. Leave your ego at the door and focus on practical application. A common mistake I see people make is blowing their budget on bells and whistles that have no survival value, and then they don’t have money for the important necessities. What would be more useful in a disaster Bug Out—flashy chrome rims or a 9,000-pound (4,000 kg) winch? If you end up with a practical BOV for your lifestyle that also looks cool, consider it a bonus.
At the end of the day, BOV selection is driven by lifestyle. The lifestyle decisions you’ve made or plan to make will dictate what type of BOV you should choose. Let’s discuss some of these factors in the next chapter.
Vehicle Model: General Motors Military M-1028 Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle (CUCV)
Price: $5,000 (after a few fixes and upgrades, including new transmission)
Purchased: online
More photos at: www.willowhavenoutdoor.com
You are going to see this vehicle a lot throughout the book. I purchased it specifically for this project. It is a military surplus vehicle that I bought sight unseen from an online auction. It cost about five thousand dollars after a new transmission, ignition switch, a few electrical fixes/modifications, and two new 1000 CCA commercial batteries. This truck has power steering and brakes, a heater, and is rated to 1.25 tons. The 6.2L Detroit diesel engine is connected to a three-speed automatic transmission. It has a 20-gallon fuel tank and is four-wheel drive with manual locking front hubs.
I’ve owned several BOVs over the years, but never a retired military vehicle. This truck was built with combat support in mind and was probably used as a mobile command vehicle while in service. Writing this book was the perfect excuse for me to do something a bit different. The below photo is how it looked when I bought it. It is also the vehicle on the cover. You’ll see how I chose to outfit and stock it in the coming chapters.
Creek’s current BOV