Survival cart

[Rick]

This bike used by little old VC. Only drove on week-ends. You like, GI?

[kyratshooter]

We should have a BO-Bike building contest.

It would be good practice in case there was a non political reason and bikes become the favored form of transport in the U.S.

The materials would be cheap enough, you can get bikes at the goodwill for $10 in good condition or do some dumpster diving/curb cruising and get one for free.

No more rediculious than daydreaming about the military rock crawlers we usually diverge into on these threads, and about $100,000 cheaper.

[Daniel Nighteyes]

Y' know something? We've kinda (and humorously) discounted bicycles and bicycle trailers here, but they're deserving of a fair amount of consideration.

My wife and I routinely ride our modified mountain bikes from 15 to 50 miles each weekend, and we have two (count 'em, two) 2-wheeled cargo trailers that we can -- and sometimes do -- pull behind them.

Both bikes, and both trailers, are easily loaded onto/atop my Ford Explorer, and our fundamental survival supplies loaded inside. We can drive as far as the situation will allow, then unload/stock up our bikes & trailers, and pedal our way from that point until whenever. Should we be forced to abandon our bicycles for whatever reason, we still can pull the trailers behind us as we continue.

Though I may be just a slow-talking Alabama country boy, I'm thinking that we're likely to be in far better shape for SHTF/Bug-Out situations than many others.

[This has been significantly simplified, of course.]

[Wildthang]

I have also thought about buying a UTV, you know, like a Kawasaki mule. They are 4 wheel drive, they have a truck bed on them, you can put a winch on the front, and they will haul 2 to 4 people depending on which kind you get. I would think if you had one of those, and 20 gallons of spare gasoline, you could get a long ways. And you could definately take the off road route when neccessary.
They also have a roof, windsheild and doors to keep you out of the weather, and some of them even have heaters. I would think you could get much farther on one of those than driving a car or truck. At 40 miles per gallon, that is 800 miles!

[tsitenha]

I like the idea of a cart, look at the news reels of refugees in WWII and you'll see a lot of them all styles. The dog pulling one is very smart.
Personally was thinking of a deer cart with 2 wheels each side, with a frame to allow the dog to pull it.

[whitis]

Back when I used to frequent Hamfests, basically large electronics fleamarkets usually held largely outdoors at fairgrounds, I would use a handtruck with pneumatic tires (helps a lot) loaded with several stacking folding crates held in place with bungee cords. These were the original folding crates, sold under the tasket brand, not flimsier imitations you typically see in stores now. There were also some sold under another name for a while at price club that were comparable. I could unfold the crates to carry smaller loose stuff or fold them to carry oversize heavy equipment. A folded crate on top of unfolded ones functioned as a lid and flat surface to stack other things. I was offered lots of discounts by folks who had heavy equipment because I was clearly prepared to haul away, as well as other stuff because I was obviously prepared to buy. Lots of heavy stuff went in and on those crates over semi-rough, but not wilderness, terrain and would often be carted around for hours. In a pinch, I could navigate trails that weren't too bad. I also carried a multimeter and sometimes a portable power source so I could test things under power in those crates as well as a few tools. These also work inside buildings and will fit through doors. Walmart caries some that are roughly the same size, but there is a reason they are $13/2 vs $20each. I still have the originals which I bought 30 years ago but the walmart ones are not as sturdy - i have broken some. They also don't stack properly with the real ones. The real ones should fit a half dozen #10 cans with a few inches of free space on top. Dollar store sometimes has a very small size that just barely fit DVDs; not very sturdy but useful for organizing.

crate: http://www.gaylord.com/adblock.asp?abid=16122
similar hand truck: http://www.lowes.com/pd_43319-14282-...ductId=3243120
long tongue hand truck: http://www.handtrucksrus.com/crashdetail.aspx?id=764

Now for survival use. Store your preps in the taskets, plus backpacks. When you need to bug out, you use the hand truck to transfer the loaded crates to your vehicle and throw the hand truck in on top. when you need to abandon your vehicle, you put the crates back on the hand truck. You may also put the backpack on top and save your shoulders and back. Don't load the crates over the top as that interferes with the ability to stack securely. Two five gallon buckets will fit side by side on top of a folded up crate. A hand truck with a long tongue could carry two stacks of crates or one stack of crates and one of buckets. A rain cover would be in order.

Since I already have them and they have a proven track record, this is what I would probably use in a number of situations. Just need to free up some crates. While larger carts could carry more, they might be very difficult to move up hill, through a narrow trail or gap, over a fallen tree, into a shelter so you can guard the contents, etc. My 400lb trailer is no fun to move up hill.

Doomsday Preppers S01E06 had a custom cart that functioned as either a rickshaw (carried 9 times body weight on fairly level terain) or a crude boat. So it was at least capable of going some places you could not go by foot. Could be handy in some flood situations (non-flowing water). http://newsfromthefront.wordpress.co...rs-riley-cook/
If I was going to make a large cart like that, i would probably include provisions for hitching to a vehicle and make it capable of highway speeds while still keeping weight down, or at least make sure it fits on my existing trailer, so I could bug out under power as long as the gas held out before converting to trail of tears mode. Canopy with solar panels. A lot to be said for the pedal powered trikes, too.

The traditional survival cart was the covered wagon or conestoga wagon.

One thing some of the one and two wheel cart designs fail to consider is balance. If you don't balance the load over the axle you waste a lot of energy lifting.

Prioritize stuff: Vehicle, cart, backpack.

[randyt]

I like the idea of a cart but to be honest if I had to get out of dodge. the area I'm heading a cart would not follow.

[hunter63]

Don't for get the travious, or two pole drag:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travois

Dog powered....
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[kyratshooter]

The ultimate,

EMP proof, coronal mass ejection proof, petrol shortage proof, heart healthy and universally affordable.

http://www.microcarmuseum.com/tour/velocar-h.html

[Rick]

There is also the ever popular "Run Out of Town on a Rail Bike". (women not included)

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[randyt]

Don't for get the travious, or two pole drag:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travois

Dog powered....
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travois very handy for moving windfall gain. Easy to build from found materials.

[hunter63]

Wheels get stuck on brush and branches on the ground.....travois doesn't.

Had a section of an alum extension ladder, 11' section.
Used it to climb into tree stand, but would take it out of the woods between seasons.
Worked real well for hauling out dead deer....always though about extensions to walk between the ends while carrying.

These days I use a nephew....or 4 wheeler.

[Rick]

Nephew....4 wheeler. Yeah, that's about the same.

[FSR]

Something like that first one would be good to get my Deer camp into the woods.

[Tokwan]

I would rather have something like a rickshaw, which is non fuel powered. You gotta use man power as you need to cycle. You have to remember in times of war, fuel will be impossible to come by and nukes will make all the vehicles rendered helpless. This is one way to transport your family and also your prize possession of survival items, food and comfort. You can still go on the road as you can cycle slowly and covering the miles better than walking and dragging a trolley. See below:-

http://blogs.gonomad.com/traveltales...u-Malaysia.jpg