Cold Weather Precautions for Your Bug Out Vehicle – or Any Other

The Holistic Survival ShowThere are few areas in the country (or world, for that matter) that can lay claim to complete inoculation from natural disaster and bad weather. Even the normally sedate, though blistering, Arizona, has flash floods every now and then, and who knows when a nuclear train is going to crash and turn the entire desert into Ground Zero? But today’s topic is cold weather, because there are, likewise, few areas in the country completely immune from the effects of freezing temperatures and winter precipitation for at least part of the year.

The following preventative measures should be taken for any vehicle which you rely on during inclement weather to get you to school, work, or down the block to the grocery store.

Coolant
Head to your local auto parts store and buy a few gallons of anti-freeze. The stuff’s expensive, no doubt, but would you rather have your radiator freeze up and engine overheat in the midst of the blizzard of the century? Too many of us get in the habit of replacing coolant with a little bit of water to top it off. Every now and then is fine but, before you know it, you’ve got more water than anti-freeze in there when the cold snap hits.

Ice Scraper
Such a simple, inexpensive tool that saves so much frustration. Yes, you could start your car an hour before you need to leave, letting it idle with the heater running, but gas ain’t cheap. A good ice scraper, the kind with a brush on the back side, makes short work of the worst snow and ice encrusted windows,

Emergency Kit
A snow shovel and tire chains are good basic equipment to keep in the vehicle. A good set of chains and little weight in the rear end can get even the average car moving through deep snow. Other items to include would be blankets, winter clothes, flashlight, snacks, and water.

Here’s an ingenious idea we found on the forum at the website whenSHTF.com. Weight in the rear end of a non four-wheel-drive vehicle can make all the difference In the world. If you don’t have concrete blocks or hay bales, use your shovel to load up the trunk of your car with snow. That stuff gets heavy in a hurry.

The Holistic Survival Team

HolisticSurvival.com

Flickr / Linda N.