Emergency preparedness.

[crazycal]

How about a section for emergency preparedness using a skoolie. Things like stocking food, beer, water, beer, radio, clothes, beer, small camping stove, propane, etc., beer, etc. With all the things happening from tornados, hurricanes, fires, floods, still waiting for locusts, it might not be a bad idea for a list of things we should have in our busses in case of emergency. Some stuff is a no brainer, but I'm sure there are things that I might not think of. Having one spot to list ideas and items might be good.

[the_experience03]

Ramen noodles. I hear Jason has a surplus following the sale of his bus.

[phillbus914]

MRE's have a shelf life of 10 years I think. I've had one before - 4 of us split it on a road trip, they're pretty good. There's a lot of them on eBay. I think a supply of these would be a good thing to have in your skoolie.

I had some store bought gallon jugs of water in my bus for a few months, when I tried to drink one of them it tasted like plastic. I don't know of a good way to store water. Anyone have any ideas?

[Griff]

Originally Posted by phillbus914

. . .I don't know of a good way to store water. Anyone have any ideas?

CrazyCal stores his in his beer!

[lapeer20m]

what a great idea!

Every year as many of you know i head off to burningman in the middle of the desert for a week to 10 days. It's just like surviving after a disaster, everything you need for the week you have to bring with you. Gas, geni, food, water, water, water, medical supplies, water. I am a really bad procrastinator and usually buy everything either a couple days before i leave, or while on the road to the event.

This year i had a great idea. Why don't i buy all of my water, non-perishible food, and other supplies now. They can serve 2 purposes. First, i won't have to scurry around at the last minute to buy all of this stuff. 2nd, if a disaster happens, i'll have at least 10 days worth of stuff handy and ready to go. Having an annual use for these supplies makes it easier to justify having them stored away too. I don't wanna be the wacko with a bomb shelter in my back yard (my appologies to anyone with a bomb shelter in their back yard)

What has actually happened is more of a hybrid. I have about 10 gallons of water, and a few days worth of food. All of these supplies are things i brough home from the desert, not stuff that i've purchased. I still plan to buy all 10 days worth of stuff before too long.

pop tarts, tuna-fish, frozen loaves of bread. (Once bread thaws out it's still good for another 10 days) miracle whip, canned food, crackers, salt/pepper, seasoning, coffee, pasta,

camp shower, TP, soap, propane, gasloline, flashlights, batteries, duct tape

as for store-bought water in plastic jugs....i think it tasts just fine.

i think you've inspired me to add a few more supplies

[Steve]

Yea I will create one if you think there will be enough discussion to warrant its own section.

[crazycal]

Originally Posted by Griff

CrazyCal stores his in his beer!

And don't forget, beer has to be rotated so it doesn't get stale.

As for the store bought water, I think you have to try a couple of different brands to find one that wouldn't taste like plastic after storage. Also, I think that storing it in a cool place might help. That is just a guess. But what ever you do, don't let the monkey play with it!

So what do you guys and gals think, is this important enough to have a separate section or maybe put it under how-to's.

[crazycal]

I know I started this post many years ago but in light of more disasters that have happened since i originally posted this idea, it might be time to bring it up again. Not only have there been natural disasters, there have been economic ones as well.

Since I live in earthquake country, I have decided to take steps to be better prepared for emergencies. I have started storing food and water supplies in a couple of different locations. My plans also include setting up the bus with emergency supplies as well once it is road ready. Jason has a head start because of burning man and it's a great idea to rotate your supplies. Everyone else can do the same thing. Anyways, I thought I would bring this topic up again because I think it's important and if you think the guberment will swoop in to save you right after some sort of disaster, I have swampland in Nevada to sell you.

[crazycal]

There are a few of us out there that know the preppers secret handshake. I am just bringing it up because some may not have ever thought about it.

I just think it's a natural fit for us skoolies to prepare our buses for bad times whatever they might be. We already have the largest part of the equation, the bus. The rest is easy. The food and water is a no-brainer. It's the other stuff that I am talking about.

Extra clothes
Underwear
First aid kit
Ammo
Tools
Bus supplies-filters, oil, hoses, etc.
Batteries
The list is endless.

Like Jason said, prep the bus before you need it instead of trying to cram stuff the last minute. Just put the key in and go. During every disaster, there is news footage of empty shelves at the supermarket.

[jkindt]

Originally Posted by timmylc

...dont talk about the "shake" <--- lmao :P

I have no idea what you are talking about... ;)

[crazycal]

Smitty, I'm not talking about TEOTWAWKI. That will be left to other forums. I am just bringing up preparedness for emergencies. Everything you mention is good and I am sure that many of us that know the handshake are working on our knowledge base, but some need to start at the beginning. Maybe they never even considered being prepared for a disaster. I've got food in different places, more than 72 hrs. worth. I just want to bring up the need for relying on yourself, not the guberment, Red Cross or anyone else. One starts with the basics and expands from there. You don't just wake up one day and say, "I'm going to run the NY Marathon" when you have never run before.

[M1031]

That's one of many reasons why we bought Mac... Tools and stuff really help out in a bind.

[Papabear]

I'm with CrazyCal on this. A specific page on preparedness, if we can keep it without TEOTWAWKI There are plenty of forums out there for that.
A quick note on water storage. If stored properly, it will last a very long time. It will go flat. You can use an Aerobic conditioner for that or just try pouring it back and forth between containers. That will put oxygen back into the water and improve the taste a lot.

Smitty.........Play nice

[crazycal]

Originally Posted by Smitty

Tell that to the people who were in Katrina.... . What exactly is the "standard" length of an emergency? Is being lost an emergency? Could being trapped on your roof in a flood with no fresh water be one? I guess it all depends on how much & what exactly you want to prepare for? If it's just a 24 hour power-outage....start with the Ben & Jerrys

Smitty

There is no excuse for what happened in Katrina. The Mayor and Governor both failed miserably at their job. But at the same time, people have to take some responsibility for the outcome. They knew days in advance that Katrina was coming. People just hung around doing nothing. We all remember the hundreds of school buses that were sitting underwater. Those could have been used to help peopIe. I would have been out of dodge days before it hit and I wouldn't have to worry about finding a motel room inland or trying to go to a store to find food and water.

Could the bus break down, sure. Could Murphy's Law happen, sure. But I don't think fishing or hunting would have been a big help during that disaster. You can't be prepared for every possible thing that could happen, but you can start somewhere. Where I live, I think earthquakes and fires are the main concern. Other places, tornadoes and hurricanes would be a bigger concern. If an earthquake happens here and your house gets red-tagged, you don't have a place to live. The same thing if you loose a house to fire. That's where I start and I go from there.

My water will be stored in 13 gallon drums. Probably 6-8 drums. I will start with potable water. If it needs to be treated when I need it, I'll treat it. Food will be a mixture of dry and canned. I won't be having surf-n-turf every night, but I will have what I need to get by. That's good enough for me.

P.S. I won't be giving up the Ben and Jerry's regardless of the disaster.

[jkindt]

Most disaster preparedness plans call for 72 hours worth of food, water, and supplies for each person. Of course there could be shorter emergencies as well as much longer ones, but a 72 hour supply is better than nothing!

[crazycal]

Originally Posted by jkindt

Most disaster preparedness plans call for 72 hours worth of food, water, and supplies for each person. Of course there could be shorter emergencies as well as much longer ones, but a 72 hour supply is better than nothing!

True, but my plan is to have at least a 30 day supply. That's not hard to do with dry and canned goods. I forgot about one area where I plan to build a house. It is in a flood zone. In 1997, it was underwater for 2 months. There was a levy break. Don't worry, my house will be up high.

[spirit_of_76]

I use 5 gal stainless steel Cornelius kegs for drinking water storage. http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shoppingcart ... -Used.html They are very portable, designed to be used for restaurant soft drink syrup. They are easily cleaned and sterilized, have quick connectors (like an air hose) and can be pressurized with a bike pump to dispense water. Get them, connectors, and sterilizer at a beer homebrewers supply store. British berkefeld gravity water filter (with the black berkey filters http://www.berkeyfilters.com/berkeytech.htm) are good to have, and come in various sizes (and you will like them for improving "city" water)

[crazycal]

I scored about a dozen of those kegs for a good price. I have them soaking right now but I was planning on using them for beer.

[jkindt]

Originally Posted by crazycal

True, but my plan is to have at least a 30 day supply. That's not hard to do with dry and canned goods...

I would have to agree. A one month supply would be nice to have on hand. The problem that I have is that during the winter half of the year my supplies would freeze in my bus. I always have at least 72 hours worth of supplies on hand for both of us, including bottled water, but more than that would take too long to move from the house to the bus if we had to evacuate in a hurry.

[timbuk]

72 HOURS? I WAS THINKIN AT LEAST 72 BEERS!keep some cash around also,keep that bus fueled up,batterys charged,good time to have solar for sure,have to keep in mind that the next evac may be guberment related...