Category Archives: TRANSPORTATION

Anything to do with moving people and “stuff” from one place to another.

travel entertainment

Leave a reply

Travel by Car – Just for Fun!

Materials: one or more bored children (or adults)

Idea 1: Choose a color and watch for a car of that color. Whoever spots the car first calls out, “(color) car!” and then that player gets to choose a different color for the next car.

Idea 2: Watch out the car window for the number 1 through 9 in order. First person to reach 9 wins.

Idea 3: Prior to the start of the trip, make a written lists of things to look for; such as a dog, police car, flashing traffic light, railroad tracks, etc. There should be a different list for each person so that there is no arguments as to who saw what first. The first person to complete their list wins.

Idea 4: The first person to spot a field of cows gets to keep the cows in the field for their count. (You may have to guess as to how many cows are in a herd if there are too many to count.) Keep track of each person’s cow count. First person to see a church double their cow count, because the cows “got married”. First person with 500 cows wins.

Idea 5: Each person chooses a license plate, such as “New Hampshire” or “Wyoming”. The only state players cannot select is the state being traveled through. The first person to see the license plate they chose ahead of time wins.
Idea 6: To keep kids entertained on long trips, make a goody bag for each kid-full of stickers, crayons, coloring books, a disposable camera, etc.

Idea 7: Every time you see a different license plate, write it down. The purpose isn’t to compete, but to see how many of the 50 states are written down before the end of the trip. This can be done competitively, but be ready for heated discussions as to whom first sees a particular license plate.

What other ‘games’ can you plan for your trip?

spare tires 2

Leave a reply

spare tires 2

Last time we talked about a couple of ideas for spare tires to make logistics easier. Here is another idea to cut down on the spare parts you have to stock.

Little Wink had a cargo trailer that he would take out into the woods with him or into town for supplies and deliveries. It was a combination of cargo trailer and camper. What he had changed on it was the wheels. He replaced the factory set up with one that would take the same rims and tires as his truck. That way he could get by with less extra parts.

One of the ways Little Wink earned a living was by cutting fire wood and selling it in town to the city folk. The up side of this was that he could work around his ‘day’ job during the year. The down side was that he didn’t get paid for cutting wood until the fall when folks realized that they were going to need wood for heat. He only sold seasoned fire wood so this years worth of work he did get paid for until the following year.

What he did then was when the tires were worn down to the point that they needed to come off of the truck he could still use them on the trailer out in the country. The other issue was that by extending the useful life of the tires that way he could schedule replacing the tires for when he got his tax refund.

A bit about Little Wink and his family. Today they would be off the grid back to the landers. They raised chickens, goats and a few pigs. They had fruit & nut trees along with the acres of black berries. Closer to the house they had a large garden with a roadside stand for the produce and eggs. On that part of the mountain the people who had a phone to use it was a party line and you had to take turns. Back in the day this was how most of us country folks lived and did business.

http://www.preparesurvivethrive.us/spare-tires/

Spare Tires

1 Reply

Spare tires

This time we are not talking about the spare tire around your middle. We will save the tire for another day. Today we are discussing your vehicles spare tires. A friend was up on the hill hunting last year and some how had a blown out tire about 15 miles from the paved road. He did change the tire; it was a good thing that he had a ‘real’ spare tire to put on instead of the normal undersized ‘idiot’ tire that is only good for 50 miles IF that. To be on the safe side he did go into the nearest town to have the tire fixed. Unfortunately the tire was beyond repair so he had to buy a new tire. They did not have the same tread pattern as was already on the truck so he actually bought 2 tires so that they would match on the axel.

With the economy doing as well as it is this year [tongue firmly in cheek] it may be hard to afford at this time, but it is easier to do ahead of time, go ahead and get 2 rims that will match your other tires. If you are buying a new vehicle you can order it with 6 rims [4 on the vehicle and 2 spares] with matching tires and the price will be rolled into the total price. If you are not getting a new vehicle you can still order the extra rims from the dealer or an after market supply house. A more economical source for rims is at the ‘junk yard or ‘U pull-it” place and get rims and maybe even reasonably good tires to act as your spares. Generally it costs less than ¼ the amount for rims and tires doing it with the u pull it route. One person that I know went that route and got 6 [six] full sized rims and decent tires for his vehicle so that he had basically 2 complete sets of wheels / tires and he would have a one set of studded snow tires for the winter and regular all season for the rest of the year.

Another alternative with that idea is to have them all the same and then you can rotate them and if you are out hunting [or post SHTF] you will have the extra as spares when you may not be able to get good tires mounted. When the economy gets worse than it is now you will have already bought your next set of tires ahead of time and most likely for way cheaper – just like food storage.

Years ago a family friend [Little Wink is what he was called] made his own super studded tires for out in the forest. He took a well used set of tires for his truck and drilled holes all around the tire in 4 rows. He then took ½ inch bolts and large washers and put them in the holes that he had drilled. When he went into the woods he would put those tires on and even though it did take a little bit of extra time and work to do that he never had to dig his truck out of the snow and mud because he was stuck. His system worked way better than chains. I am not sure how well it worked on dry pavement but he also never got stuck going to town during or right after a snow storm.

www.PrepareSurviveThrive.US

spring storms

Leave a reply

spring storms

Here it is Mother’s Day [2014-05-11]  and we have a spring storm. The storm started the day bad enough that all church services and meetings were cancel today for safety reasons. The ‘winter’ storm warning will last at least until 0900 Monday [so less than 9 hours from right now].

At 1700 hours Sunday we were getting reports from around town about the depth of the snow. A few of the reports were poultry 10 inches of snow – NOT drifted. Other reports were for 18 inches of snow on the flats.

Looking at the webcams on the interstate show very poor driving conditions. Portions of the interstate both east – west AND north south are closed. Hopefully the truckers and other drivers got hunkered down before the storm hit. I have not heard any reports of accidents of any size nor of any injuries.

One conversation that I had this afternoon we discussed how “Spring storms typically kill more people than winter storms because they are unexpected.” This is great truth in this. All the more reason that we should all stay prepared for the storms of life.

Some of the ‘normal’ preps that most of us carry in our vehicles ALL the time include;

Sleeping bags and or blankets enough for everyone normally in the vehicle

CB radios to get road reports and to call for help should you need it

Weather alert radio [which is sometimes also on the CB] for current weather reports and road closures.

Car charger for your cell phone and other electronic gadgets.

A power inverter can come in handy too. These typically plug into the lighter socket of the car. Regardless of what the unit is rated at it can only handle about 150 watts safely, unless they are hard wired to the vehicle battery.

A strobe light would be of use should you slide off the road.

Candles in a can are of use to keep you warmer.

Jumper cables of at least 20 feet length.

Kitty liter often helps provide traction for your tires.

Toilet paper, #10 can and properly sized garbage bags to use a toilet. This is safer than going outside during a blizzard.

50 feet of light rope such as 550 parachute line. IF you HAVE to get out of the vehicle, tie one end of the rope to the steering wheel of the vehicle and the other end to you so that you can find your way back into the car. Do this even if you are only heading to the trunk  to get stuff. Yes, you can get lost in that short of trip. If you get lost from your vehicle in a storm you most likely WILL die.

Winter [spring] storms can be true life or death survival situations, but you prepare such storms can be just a small inconvenience.

What other ‘stuff’ do you carry in your vehicle for survival?

The apple trees had already blossomed – hopefully they will not be too damaged

Ready? or not

3 Replies

a bit taken from the book

Ready-Not-Things-WILL-Happen Quick start survival guide.

http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Not-Things-WILL-Happen/dp/1496022947/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395604161&sr=1-1&keywords=Richard+Calton

FIRST AID KIT TO INCLUDE:

  • Olive Oil,
  • First Aid Manual, or NOLS First Aid Handbook,
  • Aromatic Spirits of Ammonia,
  • Water Purification Tablets,
  • Table Salt,
  • Baking Soda,
  • K+ (Potassium),
  • Aspirin or ibuprofen (for both children and adults),
  • Petroleum Jelly (Vaseline),
  • Diarrhea medication,
  • Laxative (mom or colace),
  • 30 days of Prescriptions,
  • Safety Pins,
  • Adhesive and/or paper tape,
  • betadine,
  • Bandages,
  • Gauze Roll,
  • Coban elastic bandage (or Ace Bandage),
  • Heavy String,
  • And you may need Tetanus immunization every five years.

see also www.preparesurvivethrive.us

http://www.preparesurvivethrive.us/a-time-for-travel-the-christmas-project/

traffic circles

Leave a reply

We have a new round about / traffic circle in our town, this makes a total of 4. as far as I know, we are the only town in our state which has them. I have driven in other countries that have round abouts and they are not [generally] bad or hard to deal with. Part of my duties in some of the countries that I have been to was manning an ambulance and picking up after traffic accidents. Typically those round about accidents have been worse than accidents on other road ways. Having said that, I do like them, but only where the general population is used to driving on them.

 

Earlier today I coming from the other side of town and going through the new round about which has 2 lanes with a high center decorative feature which blocks the view of the rest of the circle, the speed limit is 30 miles per hour. Many people drive faster than that. I was in the right hand lane intending to stay on the outside as I was going to exit the round about onto the first road. To the left of me was another car who turned LEFT onto the round about and proceeded to drive in the wrong direction. Fortunately traffic was light and he/she did not meet up with anyone head on.  IF everyone were doing the speed limit, a head on crash would have been at a combined speed of at least 60 mph which easily could have been fatal for both cars.

 

I, like most people, have seen too many people going the wrong way on one way streets. This is one of the big reasons that I always drive in the right hand lane no matter what type of road that I am on.

September 11th revisited

Leave a reply

I remember exactly where I was on September 11, 2001. We were on our way to the office and had just got to the building, when Paul, the elevator operator (and yes it is the only people operated elevator left in the state) told us about the twin towers asked us if we were ready to go to war. Paul was a military veteran like most of us in the group. I remember watching about it all day and even into the night and could not believe my eyes. I sat there and could not move for hours. How could this happen in the United States?  We were attacked once before in 1993, however, this was not publicized as well as this time. We were watching it happen in real time and no one could stop it.  And then to find out that the Pentagon was also attacked and that another plane was suppose to attack the White House, but got stopped by civilians on flight 93. These were such brave people. What would we do if we were in a situation like this? Would we be willing to sacrifice our lives especially if we knew we were going to die either way? Will we at one time in our lives have to decide this?

We were always safe in our own country and on our own soil. Then you get to thinking are they through? Is something else going to happen?  At first it was like a nightmare. Was I still sleeping? No, I was among the millions who were in a state of shock.  It took days, even weeks to get back to what was normal.  Or will we ever be normal again? Even today I remember it vividly; still it is difficult on the emotions to remember.  Then all planes stop flying except military for 3 days.  When they started flying again I noticed I watched them carefully, to make sure they were not going to crash. I was even a prepper back then (or so I thought, but I did not have the mentality of a prepper) and still could not believe our country could be attacked and by our own planes. Of course the news did not help with playing the footage over and over.  It brought memories back to Waco and what I remembered about when the tank went through the wall. We were watching it in real time, and again no one stopped it, it felt like a movie.

There are many theories about what actually happened at the TwinTowers, however the fact is we were attacked either from without or from within.  Either way, it happened and 3,000 people died all told, Including 340 Firefighters and 23 police officers.  Our mental attitude needs to change if we are to survive what is to come. Whether it be a job loss or a nuclear attack. That mental attitude, our fight or flight needs to be trained. We will discuss this on another blog. On this day remember the sights and sounds that you saw and heard that day.  Remember how you felt, where you frozen in fear? Even though something happens clear across the country does that mean nothing can happen throughout the rest of the country at the same time?  Do you remember Red Dawn, it happened all over the country at the same time. Right now be happy this is still a free country and honor those who gave their lives, that others might be saved. Honor those who were just doing their job. But in the back of your mind keep track of all of this for in the next few days we will talk about the mental attitude of disasters.

Please share your recollections of 12 years ago and how you coped and are copping today.

And, please remember the families of those we lost that day [and a year ago too] along with our military men and women in our prayers.

full time RV

Leave a reply

Can you give me some input on RV full timing?  Your opinion on best type of rig, size, must haves, etc.?  I’m thinking Class A or 5th wheel — but no experience

Our Response

Currently we have a Winnebago type 20+ foot camper because that is what was available when we needed it and in our price range.

The up side for the driver compartment being connected to the cabin portion is that you can spread out a bit and still be able to talk with each other. Your co-pilot can get cold drinks from the frig without stopping or make you a sandwich too. In the morning if you want an early start, you can get up and just start driving without the hassle of going outside to the truck. You can, depending on how you have the thing configured have a bread machine making bread for you while you drive. Others can sleep comfortable while one drives.

The down side is that your whole house goes with you to the store and if /when you have mechanical issues or need the engine serviced your whole house is in the shop for however long and you have to figure out where to live and how to get around during that time.

PULL behind

I like the bumper hitch type over a 5th wheel. A 5th wheel interrupts the use of the bed of the truck. I would want a camper shell for ‘extra’ hauling or to put stuff from the store or lumber whatever else you may want to haul. Several people that I know have an external gas tank mounted in the bed. I have seen 100 gal tank as a single and with 2 of the tanks- so 1600 – 1700 lbs of fuel. One guy that I talked with at church this summer has 1 – 109 gal tank and his range is from here in Wyoming to south Florida without refueling.

Generally the other up side to a pull behind is that it can be parked either at a park or free standing and left behind when you go shopping or to the movies or appointments ect, when the truck needs serviced you can still use your home on wheels. Also when the miles build up and you switch out the truck for a newer one the house stays the same, which is cheaper.

The down side is that everyone has to move from the camper to the truck when you are on the road. Given your situation ¾ to 1 ton crew cab may be a good choice.

POWER issues

We have 4 [I would like to expand this to 8] deep cycle marine batteries wired into the camper along with an 800 watt power converter so that it charges while we drive. The o2 concentrator and C-pap [s] run off the same system and we can set up stationary for 2 days before the batteries need to be charged again. We do have solar panels that help extend that time. We plan on adding a couple of 600 watt wind gens at a later date. We do have a 5,000 watt gen set as back up. At some point I would like to change that out for one in the 800-900 watt range as it will use less gas and will be easier to move around.

With some of the newer security systems out there you can alarm the door[s] and windows along with the truck & perimeter with wireless motion alarms and even have CC with a recorder.