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Emergency Preparedness, Part 3: Jack Stowage’s Fully Loaded Getaway Vehicle

18 Mar

Welcome to Part 3 of our Emergency Preparedness series. You can read Part 1 - The Intro - here and Part 2 - Heidi’s Cupboard - here.

My friend, “Jack Stowage,” is one of those larger-than-life characters with tales so tall you wouldn’t believe them if you read them in a book. Thing is, Jack’s got the credentials and is hardcore enough that I’m pretty sure his stories are true.

Here’s the bio he sent for me to publish:

Jack Stowage is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, where he served as a communicator, close combat instructor, and team leader in a scout/sniper platoon. He has worked as a Weapons and Tactics instructor and a private contractor. He is currently a sworn peace officer serving as a Sniper/SRT Team member for a major metropolitan police department.

What follows is - in Jack’s own words - the thorough description of the emergency kit in his car. I’ve edited for grammar, spelling, and punctuation in a few places, and anything I’ve added is in brackets. Oh, and I’ve linked up some of his items to my Amazon store - when appropriate. I’ve tried to approximate Jack’s gear as closely as I can; in the case of a discrepancy, I’ve chosen the item with the best Amazon ratings and reviews.

Remember, if you click through my links, I get pennies for your purchases!

Jack’s Getaway Vehicle

My BOB [Bug-Out Bag] is actually a 2004 GMC Yukon. Having a well stocked vehicle kit eliminates the need for multiple kits. The car is always in the garage when I’m home, so I don’t need to have a ‘home’ kit as well. It has room for me and the wife/kid unit, 4WD, heat, AC, and a DVD player: I’m not planning on riding out the Apocalypse without being able to watch Lonesome Dove.

Actually, since I’ve had the young’un, it’s forced me to re-evaluate my response to the various scenarios that could force me to un-ass my firebase and seek high ground.

With the addition of the Boy, it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to just ruck up and head out on foot to fight the ChiComs if things go crazy. Most likely I’ll have to hunker down, wait out the civil unrest and then make limited excursions to re-supply.

I have 2 major rivers (Deschutes and the Crooked River) within walking distance of my house and if things go bad long-term, I can always abandon vegetarianism and start hanging meat.

This is my front yard…seriously:

This is my living room:

My main threat up here (Central Oregon) is forest fire. My house is surrounded by miles of Nat’l Forest and I have 70ft. tall pine trees about 15ft from my back door (and front door, for that matter).

So, if things start burning, I’ll have to grab the wife-kid and haul ass. This means spare clothes, toiletries etc…not so much cammie paint and tripwire.

Secondary to that is the threat of being trapped on one of the three mountain passes between me and the coast. We frequently travel to Portland/coastal Oregon and there is always the chance of avalanche/rock slide/losing control and plummeting over the edge(!) or being snow-bound in the middle of a 10,000ft. mountain range.

To deal with these issues I have the man-wagon loaded with the essentials, food/water/shelter/fire/signal gear/clothing for me and the wife-kid.

This pic shows the back of my vehicle on a typical day. Kid seat in the middle, rear seats removed to make room for the K9’s.

Immediate-needs first aid kit is carabiner’d to the headrest. This is for everyday bumps and owies. Inside the warbox is a larger, more comprehensive kit that doesn’t get opened for the routine scrapes and kid-related stuff.

[24-gallon] Rubbermaid “Red Dawn” box is cargo-strapped to the floor along with a combo air-compressor/battery jumpstarter thingy. Patagonia softshell and USMC Gortex top always in the truck.

(Under the rear passenger seat, not pictured: Full-size, round-nose shovel. 2 Fire extinguishers. 3 veggie MREs. Meal replacement energy bars for my k9s. Leather gloves. Hiking boots. Flightsuit. Ice scraper for windshield. Toys and cookie crumbs…)

Front seat has a solar charger for cell phone, Garmin eTrex GPS, and some Motorola 2-way Radios.

I keep a tow chain on the front bumper of my truck for towing myself or others (or moving disabled/abandoned vehicles out of my way and clearing downed trees or large rocks from my path).

I keep the warbox loaded with everything I might need to survive if I stay with the vehicle. If I have to leave the vehicle, there is a backpack inside. I can add/remove things from the backpack depending upon the scenario.

Tucked into the dead space behind the warbox is an old climbing rope. It’s past its prime, so I’ve cut it into sections (2x25m and 1x50m):

Warbox opened:

More chow for me and wife-kid. 6 MREs total in the vehicle. Baby food is good until 2012. Large EMT-style 1st aid kit.

Spare Gortex. Fleece cap. Extra wool socks (for cold weather and also makeshift gloves for Boy since he can’t pull them off when they’re up past his elbows…
Fresh water, 12” chemlight, orange duct-tape, and some zipties.

L. to R.:
Backpack. (We’ll cover the contents in a minute.)
Gortex, fresh water, chemlight, zipties, 6mm. rope. Hi-vis orange duct-tape, M3 flashlight, UK LED divelight (AA batts), SERE [Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape] kit (contains mirror, water tabs, compass, snare kit, E1 light, water proof bag, etc..), snow shovel, road flares, wrecking bar, axe with sharpening file.

Tan backpack. Made by a pal of mine, so it’s not a “name brand” pack. Camelbak inside, SureFire E2D LED and whistle/flint/compass/match holder on outside.
4” wide OD duct tape in an outside pocket.

Pack empty:

From left to right: