Well, now that I have a driveway, I need to save up for a new vehicle. I figure this one is the conveyance I want. Only $600k. Gotta save up, so... next year sometime. I'll need to spec the zombie package. Good for weekend camping tho. Better than a Scamp.
Ok, ok, that might be priced a bit out of reach... The 11 year old Durango may need to do the trick. What? It's been a good car. The least worry of any I've owned. The only car I've owned and really liked was an '85 Riviera, and it was a maintenance nightmare.
Why did I like it? It was a 4 bbl V8, classic 2 door land yacht. But it was good in the snow. Why? Good weight and... front wheel drive. That surprised the hell out of the emissions test people when they tried to put the rear wheels on the treadmill to spool it up to sniff the exhaust. I TOLD them. Silly motorists, they thought, doesn't know which are the drive wheels. Hey, waitaminnit...
If you want an Apoc Truck, it is way cheaper to make your own. Start with the 1960s Brinks armored truck and add your own mods. Easy to work on yourself, good mileage, 1800 mile range, bullet and EMP resistant, roomy and damn cool retro looks.
ReplyDelete...
If you need lots of room, used Army Duece-and-a Halfs can be had for under $6,000. Then go ahead and accessorize to your hearts content.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Les. $4500 for a late model M35, complete with milspec multifuel engine (not "multifuel" like civilian passengers -- pretty much any hydrocarbon liquid fuel, from bacon grease to used motor oil, heating oil, jet fuel, diesel, and both MOGAS and AVGAS gasolene. . . all without requiring you to swap parts).
ReplyDeleteThe 2.5 ton rating is the cross country rating -- double that if you're staying on reasonably firm roads. There is a military J-davit style cran kit that takes up almost no room but is fantastic for getting stuff up to the bed level. The USMC has found that adding a "fireman pole" at the rear (which can be used in conjunction with the j-davit base) makes dismounting easy-peasy, even when the troops are loaded down with full rucks.
If things go all Mad Max or Wiemar Germany, parts availability will remain high, due to the huge numbers produced and scattered around the country.
You can build a hard shelter on to the back like you were building a shed, or you can find a surplus military shelter unit (yes, they have them, generally intended as electronics workshops, commo shelters, etc.) intended for (or merely compatible with) the bed of the truck. So, you'd have a cross country RV (bullet resistance is optional * {grin}), for family camping in areas regular RVs will not reach (while fun, this is also a low-stress way to test the TEOWANKI feasibility of most of your arrangements. . . and your wife and kids never need to think of the Annual Family RV trip to the mountains as SHTF training drills.)
I do recommend that, if you have the property space, you build an earth loading ramp (preferrably with timbered sides to reduce the erosion control requirements). It'll make using the truck to move your riding lawnmower, or loading heavy things into or out of the truck, much easier. {grin} I even know a guy who has a "boat house" style lift to yank the signals shelter he uses as a camper out and rest it on a frame, so he can use the truck as a farm and utility truck most of the time.
If you don't have the room to create a loading ramp (basically, it takes a footprint of about the same size as the truck, so you have room for a reasonable ramp and a level spot at the top), look around your general area for places that have loading ramps you can access.
* By prioritizing, say driver's compartment, spare fuel stores, and the bottom 3' of the shelter, you can pretty easily and inexpensively armor against rifle fire -- although I'm talking .30-ish full bores, not .50BMG. Armor gets expensive when you insist on stopping military weapons designed for antivehicular use, or insist on 100% all-round armor. The presumption for armoring is not that we're going to go full-on Mad Max, but rather that large mobs of people in distress are highly unpredicatble, and may take offence at you refusing to stop and "share the wealth" or provide rides to "just one person".
M-35s are speed limited though... sigh
ReplyDeletei can't see you fitting comfortably in a Scamp. they're TINY things, and you're a big guy.
ReplyDeleteEh, 45mph is plenty fast enough in TEOWANKI.
ReplyDeleteIf you are worried about avoiding Colander Face Dune Buggy pursuit, slap an ACAV kit on the roof. {chuckle}.