its winter and you need a car survival kit!!

[hunter29180]

Dont know hoe many members read this site..but it really has a lot of good common cents advise!

A 10 day emergency car survival kit for around $25!!!

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/yago104.html

pretty much what i carry yearround in my trucks!!

[mogunner]

It was 63 here in Missouri today...

[millwright]

IMO, any "vehicle survival kit" has to match the normal seasonal conditions you
'll encounter. Yeah a sleeping bag is a nice touch, but a couple of trash bags or a "space blanket" will perform as well. Good note about wool, though ! And it works as well in hot conditions as in cold/wet ones !

For most of us I suspect a practical kit would be effective in terms of hours rather than days. Trail mix, some water, (and water purification tabs JIC), the aforementioned space blanket, and a couple of good LED lights, plus a good folding knife and a good first-aid kit augmented by some military battle dressings will do most of what you'll need in a variety of on-road incidents. >MW

[Bobitis]

10 days fer 25 bucks?

No.

Not possible unless ya already have the stuff. Even at that, it would be rice, beans, and water. I suppose a steady diet of oatmeal would work, but yer not gonna live on oatmeal.

[howlnmad]

10 days? No way, no how, no reason.

The scenerio that that guy used about that family last winter. Piss poor example. That entire misfortune could have been very easily turned out happier but the man was an idiot.

[76Highboy]

Originally Posted by howlnmad

10 days? No way, no how, no reason.

The scenerio that that guy used about that family last winter. Piss poor example. That entire misfortune could have been very easily turned out happier but the man was an idiot.

Yep.

[Zhurh]

Make your own, serious stuff in Alaska.

I have known people who died in snowbanks, froze to death at minus 47, helped bury them too.

[mjp28]

Originally Posted by hunter29180

Dont know hoe many members read this site..but it really has a lot of good common cents advise!
A 10 day emergency car survival kit for around $25!!!
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/yago104.html
pretty much what i carry yearround in my trucks!!

That's a good idea but here's some where ever you live....I got years ago from some hunting guys:

A couple big fat candles and a lot of dry matches (in zip bags) maybe some Bic lighters. If you break down in the cold or dark they can keep you warm and keep you seen on the side of the road.

A candle or two on the front and/or back dash can keep your windows clear of snow/ice and be seen a long way. Ever tried to warm your hands over candles, it works. Hey, throw in a box of cigars if you have a long wait.

Plus I got a cheapo plastic starter tool box, filled it with additional stuff like friction tape which can patch a water hose, signal mirrors, flares, other things you might need....and stuff the box with rags so it won't rattle.

[Alpo]

There is a problem with Bic lighters, in wintertime. If they get down to about 60 or less, the butane won't gas - it stay's liquid. Let's say it's 20 degrees outside but your lighter is in your pocket next to your 98 degree leg. It's warm - it will light. But if it's 20 degrees outside and your lighter is in a emergency kit, in the trunk of the car, it is also 20 degrees, and ain't no way in the world it is gonna light.

[mjp28]

Originally Posted by Alpo

There is a problem with Bic lighters, in wintertime. If they get down to about 60 or less, the butane won't gas - it stay's liquid. Let's say it's 20 degrees outside but your lighter is in your pocket next to your 98 degree leg. It's warm - it will light. But if it's 20 degrees outside and your lighter is in a emergency kit, in the trunk of the car, it is also 20 degrees, and ain't no way in the world it is gonna light.

Right. 20 degrees no, 50+ it will. That's why I say matches and Bics, I smoke cigars outside on my covered deck, watching TV (yes those old CRT TVs work in any weather) in NE OHIO 12 months a year. I put my lighters inside my clothes until it gets warm, fires up every time.

If you break down at night in any weather you need light, candles work. As it gets cold candles are nice, can save you from freezing!

Remember a box of small votive candles is OK, those big fat ones will burn for hours!

[mogunner]

I carry a lighter in my pocket all the time. People ask me why since I don't smoke. I tell them it's because I never know when I might want to set something on fire... well, it's a fact, I don't tell them that I BBQ a LOT, my shop has a wood stove, that I regularly run into smokers who DON'T have a lighter, never know when I'm going to need to light a propane torch... I guess I started carrying one way back when I used to smoke, and when I quit many many years ago it just carried on as a part of that bad habit.

Cotton balls soaked in Vaseline and carried in a pill bottle will start a fire pretty good even with one of the magnesium/flint fire starters.

[mjp28]

Yeah like on my truck keys I always had a pocket knife and my Sears 4-way screwdriver.

Like the Boy Scouts, "be prepared".

[Alpo]

Originally Posted by mjp28

Right. 20 degrees no, 50+ it will. That's why I say matches and Bics, I smoke cigars outside on my covered deck, watching TV (yes those old CRT TVs work in any weather) in NE OHIO 12 months a year. I put my lighters inside my clothes until it gets warm, fires up every time.

If you break down at night in any weather you need light, candles work. As it gets cold candles are nice, can save you from freezing!

Remember a box of small votive candles is OK, those big fat ones will burn for hours!

Not in my experience. I have a natural gas space heater. I don't leave it burning at night. If the temperature is in the 50s or lower, in the morning when I get up, I light the heater. I have three of those long-necked butane lighters that are made for lighting grills. They all have butane in them. But when it is cold enough to need to light the heater, they will not light. As an experiment, I stuck one of them in my pocket and carried it around for about two hours. Then I tried to light it. Worked fine. That tells me it is not the lighter, it is the propane reacting to the temperature.

Bottom line - have to light the heater with a match.

[Juker]

Stay alert, stay alive, think ahead, have a plan. That link has some fine ideas, but again, it depends on where you live. Everyone should have, at a minimum, a basic tool kit/first aid kit/survival gear in their vehicle at all times.

Nothing you'd get in a twist over if your vehicle was stolen.

One of my primary goals in life is to not die of stupidity.

I can't for the life of me think of a situation that myself or my wife would be in in our area that would require 10 days in supplys in our cars? I live in a highly populated area and my place of employment is a long 3.5 mile drive for me with houses in sight every step of the way.

My wife works 30 miles away and travels on roads that are highly traveled and snow routs so they are the first to get plowed. We both have 100% cell coverage

[hunter29180]

umm candles tend to melt arounf 80-90 deg so not good to store in a car trunk...and the idea was to do a easy setup for 1 person for around 10 days...sort of...can of spam or treet from dollar store..$1 each, vinna sasuages .50 cents each..bottle of water..24 for $3.98 at wally world.. so far $13 bucks..and 4 days covered...remember its emergency survival..you shouldnt be moving aroung a lot..conserve energy,and such!!

foil pack of tuna..$1 each got 4 and a box of crackers for $1.50..now have 6 days covered....2 cans pork and beans $1 each....box of instant Manchuran chiclen flavored noodles (6 to a box)..$3 buck and now have !! days meals done...$23.50 spent..cooler $1 from flea market.....total spent $24.50!! rest of stuff almost anyone has at home....

and that was the point of the article...it may not be the greatest meals you ever ate but you will survive!! where I come fron it called out of the "BOX" thinking or Ingenuity!!

and the best part of it all is we eat all the stuff at home so its not hard to rotate it out every 6 monts to keep it fresh!!

[The Duke]

Its Winter in LA this year and all ya need is a working Air Conditioner.

[goofy]

Normally I would say yes you need supplies in the car around here with all the dirt roads you have to travel to get anywhere and with little phone service you get.
BUT this year is not normal we only have gotten 8" of snow instead of 80" of snow no lake affect snow at all and the temps. have been like fall.

[howlnmad]

It's winter and you need need a car survival kit !!

The only thing my car (wifes car) needs is, the remote starter and heated leather seats .

[mjp28]

Originally Posted by hunter29180

umm candles tend to melt arounf 80-90 deg so not good to store in a car trunk...and the idea was to do a easy setup for 1 person for around 10 days...sort of...can of spam or treet from dollar store..$1 each, vinna sasuages .50 cents each..bottle of water..24 for $3.98 at wally world.. so far $13 bucks..and 4 days covered...remember its emergency survival..you shouldnt be moving aroung a lot..conserve energy,and such!!

From Sept-April (~8 months or more) in NE Ohio and a lot of up north states candles should be fine in any car trunk.

As far as this survival stuff if it's snow, cold you need more than food to save you if you skid off an icy road in a multi-day blizzard.

If it's 75 degrees pack up your grub and hike it if you can move. The whole idea is to be prepared for anything....water, shelter (heat?), food -and- lighting a signal fire would be nice.

[hunter29180]

Originally Posted by mjp28

As far as this survival stuff if it's snow, cold you need more than food to save you if you skid off an icy road in a multi-day blizzard.

If it's 75 degrees pack up your grub and hike it if you can move. The whole idea is to be prepared for anything....water, shelter (heat?), food -and- lighting a signal fire would be nice.

correct me if I am wrong..in a emergency situtation..IE car accident on rempte area or road..the suggested thing to do IS TO STAY WITH THE CAR..as history has shown time and time again...those who leave the wrecked auto have a 70% LESS chance of survival than those who stay. if you are expected and dont show up a search will be started...in 95% of searches for missing people, who were traveling by auto..the auto was found in 6 or less days..hence a 10 day setup.

as to fire and warmth..you add or subrtact what is needed as the season changes..and as i mentioned (pretty sure I mentioned this!!) the other items are things that almost every home already has..so no purchase nessary..IE no sleeping bag? (usually too bulky anyways) 2-3 blankets, matches, toilet paper, ground sheet or plastic sheet, rope, duct tape, ect can all be put in one of the vac sealed bags and take up far less room than you would think!

its up to you! I was just trying to point out a frugal way to have a kit that didnt break the bank..not justify it for any one person or situtation...but its nice to know i do have something!! never know I might get the munchies some where when I get stuck in a traffic tie up some where!! with this kit I at least have something!! including water to drink! or water for a overheated car to make it in to a repair shop.. it actually has manny uses besides emergency survival!!

[carver]

Down here in the south ya don't need all that! What you need is water, a gun with ammo, warm clothing, and a way to start a fire. I put all my survival gear in a back pack. I take in the house when I'm not in the car. When I go some where I take it with me. If I decide to stay with the car, we're OK, and if I should decide to go for help, I'm OK. Up north, or at altitude, where snow can be a real headache, the kit is a reasonable survival tool.