# Bug Out Test Tomorrow



## k0xxx (Oct 27, 2011)

We'll be starting a three day bug out test tomorrow, and heading off to one of the alternate BOL's via one of the alternate routes that we haven't traveled in the last two years. We plan to test our load out time, test out comms, check the route for changes, and mark GPS waypoints. 

Once there we will spend a day doing some restocking and general maintenance. Then on the way back we plan to scout out a new alternate route.


We've got a full tank of diesel, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're carrying concealed. Let's Bug Out!


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## d_saum (Jan 17, 2012)

Good luck! Can't wait to hear how it went!:2thumb:


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## PrepN4Good (Dec 23, 2011)

k0xxx said:


> We've got a full tank of diesel, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're carrying concealed. Let's Bug Out!


You also appear to be wearing sunglasses.... :teehee:

Definitely give us a report when you get back!


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

Looking forward to the aar complete with lessons learned. Good on ya for getting out and doing it. Hitting the woods a bit myself next week for a little practice (which is my codeword for primitive overnight trout fishing). Have fun


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## GrinnanBarrett (Aug 31, 2012)

Sounds like fun to me. When the kids were young we were accustomed to taking trips out to our BOL and making a fun time of it. We always wanted the kids to think of going to the BOL as a GOOD time. Even for adults it needs to be a pleasant time for our mental health. GB


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## k0xxx (Oct 27, 2011)

Well my wife got really mean with me on this one. Our usual modus operandi is for her to set the alarm without telling me the time, and then when the alarm goes off (usually 2 or 3 am) we start the bug out. This time the alarm didn't go off until 7am, but she had let all of the air out of one tire, as well as most of the air out of the spare. So in full bug out frenzy mode we had to stop and change a tire (she didn't tell me that she just let the air out until AFTER the fact), as well as put more air in the spare once it was on and we saw how low it was. Sneaky, conniving, *&%#%..., damn I love her!










The rest of the bug out went uneventful. We found that one of the back roads we traveled had some major repairs done, and it made that part of the trip much nicer.

Activities at the BOL went off without a hitch. We made repairs to the rainwater collection and filter system, restocked some items that were a little low and replaced those that were getting close to their shelf life expiring.

The secondary route that we scouted on the way back yielded a few surprises and some minor rerouting was done to bypass some less than ideal areas. We even scouted a couple of areas that would provide concealment in the case that we had to make repairs or set up a temporary camp between the two locations.

Our comms testing went well. We had to revert to alternate bands to compensate for propagation once, as well as making adjustments for frequencies that were in use. Two glitches showed up, though. The first was my new every day vehicle has one of the 1 1/4" receiver hitches, that I have my "screwdriver" antenna mounted on, and my BOV has a 2" receiver. I forgot about that when the new vehicle was purchased. I had to removed the antenna from the small hitch and place it on a spare 2" hitch. We loast about half an hour with that fiasco.We setup a multiband wire at the BOL and contacted back home and with the other BOL's, but we didn't go into setting up VHF+ comms due to the second glitch. Somebody forgot about the test and loaned out the VHF+ antenna load out case to their son, and we didn't have time to go into home brewing the antennas...  I sure hope that, should we ever have to bug out for real, it happens when my brain is engaged. lol

All in all it was a lot of fun and we accomplished what we set out to do, even though what was supposed to be 20 minutes from alarm to open road turned out to be more like 50 minutes. If everything had gone perfect, I would have probably worried the entire time that we had over looked something.

The next time we are planning to test using multiple vehicles, with a "scout" and a "rear guard" vehicles. I'm also going to look into testing one of those 12v "impact" wrench guns, 'cause though 8 lug hubs were almost as mean as the wife...


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## jnrdesertrats (Jul 3, 2010)

I don' t know I think not having you change tires in the dark was rather nice of her. Still pretty sneaky.


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## biobacon (Aug 20, 2012)

Awsome. If Getting both kids and the wife up, feed and dressed and in the car for church on sunday is any indication of how long it will take for us to bug out I sure hope I have a hell of a head start when that solar activity starts in September LOL


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## Fn/Form (Nov 6, 2008)

If you have an 18v or similar cordless drill (or have thought about it), look into their cordless impact tools. I have a ton of Makita cordless--everything from circ saw to impact--and they can come in very handy. Used the impact a few months ago on a fire change. A drill works wonders on screw jacks too. Haven't figured a quickie hookup for the Hi-Lift yet. ;-)

My laptops chargers are ~19-20v, and I've thought about trying one of the cordless batteries into the DC input...


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## BadMoose (Jan 25, 2011)

Yeah... My wife will be sitting on the pot and my daughter and I will be loaded and 1/2 to our place before she even notices were gone. artydance: She has no since of urgency for anything.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

A note on tires, a portable air tank is fairly cheap, and can speed up inflation time by a lot, if you have a leaky tire that will hold for a while, some times the tank of air will get you through. Another advantage that an air tank can give you is that you can hook the compressor to the tank as you travel, the compressor works better if the alternator is charging the battery, and the tank being full speeds up re inflation if necessary. slime or some other tire sealant would be handy at this time also.


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## k0xxx (Oct 27, 2011)

*Tirediron* I wholeheartedly agree. I have a cheap, old air tank that I bought years ago, but I dropped it and broke the pressure gauge. I've been meaning to get a new gauge for sometime, and I keep forgetting. Thanks for reminding me that I need to get off my duff and get it done.


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## Mase92 (Feb 4, 2013)

Wish you the best of luck. For the sake of "education" please let us know what was good and bad with out give up opsec.


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## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

Great job, sounds like things went relatively smooth. I'm in the middle of moving to an apartment two floors down, moving the preps took 6hrs. I definitely need to plan better, but then age is also catching up.


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## carolexan (Dec 28, 2010)

Great exercise and your wife is a keeper...I like her sense of humor too! Practice like this helps to find the weaker spots in your planning. I say you all had a sucess. Thanks for sharing with us.


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## smaj100 (Oct 17, 2012)

Yes your wife is a keeper. So is mine I think mine would have let the air outta all the tires so we would have been forced to take the horses....


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

Yep, your wife is right in the spirit of things, for sure! :laugh:

On the cordless tools, there are videos about using them on a car/truck battery for heavy jobs. And, you can run the vehicle's engine so you have full voltage all the time and a full battery when you are done. 

The trick is to use an old, dead cordless battery for its' plug in connection to the tool, rip out the NiCad cells and replace them with jumper cable wires and battery clips. Worked out good for me on 14 Volt drill, and the vids say it works on 18 volt tools, too.


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## PrepN4Good (Dec 23, 2011)

High marks for creativity to The Wife!! 




(And for die-hard fans of 'The Big Bang Theory': "Yes! It's so much more fun when everyone commits!" :teehee: )


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## GrinnanBarrett (Aug 31, 2012)

Good to have the update. Your place looks nice. GB


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## biobacon (Aug 20, 2012)

Koxxx you inspired me, sunday we did a small drill, we were just going fishing but we were only one family short of having everyone there and moving out together. What do you think, better to meet at a midway point to be less of a target or start out together for strength in numbers? Every family is well armed and equipped except for my uncles and even he is thinking about upgrading. I was kinda surprised at the number of potential ambush sites I found on our BO route. Kinda scary.


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## lovetogrow (Jan 25, 2011)

Koxxx you inspire me too - thanks for sharing, and your wife sounds like a real Hoot ! 
All the best!


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## ratfink (Nov 8, 2011)

Those diesel suburbans are great but really hard to find. They get somewhere around 20mpg and with a 40 gallon tank you should be able to go about 800 miles before filling up.


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