No vehicle is perfect for everything. This doesn’t mean it isn’t good enough.
Your vehicle can be good enough, but you need to consider:
- Your Vehicles Capabilities
- Where you are, where you are going, and everything between

Vehicle Capabilities to consider
- Terrain during transit
- Terrain at your Bug-Out Location (BOL).
- Storage Room
- How far you can go on stored fuel
How much storage room does your vehicle have?
- Your vehicle needs to hold your family
- Your vehicle needs to hold your gear
Your Bug-Out Vehicle (BOV) needs to hold your family.
- Each adult takes a seat.
- Each child could take up more with a carseat.
- Each child not in a carseat could take half a seat.
- Car, SUV, Minivan, Van, ETC?
- Another Variable: Will you take one vehicle or two?
Your Bug-Out Vehicle (BOV) needs to hold your gear.
Assumptions:
You have a Bug-Out Bag (BOB)
A pre-stocked Bug-Out Vehicle (BOV)
When SHTF, you will grab as much stuff from your home as possible.
Your vehicle must be able to hold all of your gear.
- You will pack the back full
- Everyone will stuff items under their seats
- Can your suspension system handle this weight?
- You may add a car-top carrier
- You could add a trailer
How far can your Bug-Out Vehicle (BOV) go on stored fuel?
(I plan to go more in depth on the next podcast, but I will quickly cover a few points)
- Most vehicles can go around 350 miles on a tank of fuel… 180 miles on half a tank.
- Keep your tank full.
- Get a larger tank
- Carry extra fuel with you (safely)
You should make sure your Bug-Out Vehicle (BOV) works:
- Where you are at
- Where you are going
- And any terrain that could be on your route
You need to choose a vehicle that can carry everyone and everything you need:
- Don’t leave behind vital gear
- Worse… don’t leave behind a family member or pet because you didn’t have room.
Be responsible… choose a vehicle for travel capabilities, storage room, and fuel consumption.
Don’t become the guy with a supped-up Jeep that overheated or ran out of gas and broke down in stopped traffic. That amazing off-road vehicle isn’t so amazing anymore… is it?

