Any fellow survivalists utilize their truck?

Gotcha. Finding period parts is a pain in the rectum. I had an old Case VAC tractor that you could start on gasoline and then switch to diesel, kerosene, heating oil, etc. once it was warmed up. It was a neat system, but it was a pain to get the right parts for when it needed servicing. I had to wait three weeks for a carburetor rebuild kit for it because the local tractor shop showed three part #'s and we had to flip a coin on which one to order (and of course the first two were wrong).

Are any of your pumps rated for potable water?

 

Sub, great thread

 

I have the military metal jerry. I mounted them in the back of my camper, really secure, i went off roading and they didn't even move. I just heard that the fumes would cause problems, but i on occasion will up the back windows in the camper and release the cap can.

I have a short bed so putting one of those would be a real investment ha. thanks for the idea though.

[/QUOTE]I keep my spare fuel in the garage. I don't have a truck cap on mine, so I don't want to keep an extra 10 gallons of fuel out there where any jackass can wander off with it. I generally try to keep a spare 25 gallons of gasoline on hand, and rotate it out every few months. I figure even if I'm not driving, my coleman stove and lantern are both dual fuel and can run on gasoline. I usually keep 10 gallons of diesel (for the tractor) on hand as well, but that stuff stores forever and the tractor's a real fuel sipper, so it's easier.
Before they switched to ethanol gas I had a 50 gallon drum with a hand pump that I used, but the ethanol stuff doesn't store long enough for me to bother keeping that much on hand any more.[/QUOTE]

see when i use to live in califonria I would keep stare fuel and carry my MSR stove with me at all times you never knew when a fire or earthquake my hit. Im in florida now and I'm pretty sure they have hurricane warnings lol but since I've moved into an apartment i don't have the luxury of keeping things in my garage. Im now seriously interested in buy a house now lol with some land.

 

At the moment, none of them are "rated" but two are well pumps that I've tested and they have excellent lift and wouldn't hesitate to use them if needed. A third is a general purpose which I can use for irrigation or for emergencies in clearing out flood water. The other two are effectively just spare parts and while I would like to see them operational I'd really like to sell/trade them for hand pumps or other useful equipment.

I'm working with a neighbor friend to restore a belt driven trip hammer for his home blacksmith shop and we are also working on a home built horizontal wood spliter but the dual vertical spliter shown in that video I linked earlier has me intrigued.

With that said, steering back to our trucks and the gas can discussion, I always carry two five gallon cans and when I go to fill the truck up I fill it off the cans first and then top the truck and the cans back off with the pump. I know this method doesn't suit those in a hurry but it keeps relatively fresh gas in the cans and on average I only spill about a cup each time. I also actively search out and use ethanol free pumps.

 

Understood. I have a hand pump that I've rigged up in my cellar that was labeled that it isn't safe for potable water either, but I've submitted water I pumped from it to the local lab and they declared it perfectly safe for domestic use. Been using it for water whenever the power's out ever since then.

A guy at our local agricultural fair has one of those dual vertical splitters that he runs off of an old Allis Chalmers. Brings it in every year, sets it up, and splits his firewood for the year during fair week.

 

I was thinking since i use up the 10 gals in the truck before filling up eventaully i can treat the gas i have stored up.. correct? those additives are good for gas and other fuels?

 

Probably all you would need to do is to re-grease the pump with food grade grease or silicone.

A lot of things are now "non-approved" which didn't do most of us any harm. I think much if this is because companies have to be super-safe in today's litigious society on the off chance that one person with a severely compromised system will react adversely. In an emergency situation you can get by.

In the Army we had sort-of filters that would clean swamp water until you could barely see the brown then added sodium hypochlorite to the Lister bag to sterilize it. The resulting water was sort of like drinking from a swimming pool but it kept you alive and didn't kill you.

 

[/QUOTE]I keep my spare fuel in the garage. I don't have a truck cap on mine, so I don't want to keep an extra 10 gallons of fuel out there where any jackass can wander off with it. I generally try to keep a spare 25 gallons of gasoline on hand, and rotate it out every few months. I figure even if I'm not driving, my coleman stove and lantern are both dual fuel and can run on gasoline. I usually keep 10 gallons of diesel (for the tractor) on hand as well, but that stuff stores forever and the tractor's a real fuel sipper, so it's easier.
Before they switched to ethanol gas I had a 50 gallon drum with a hand pump that I used, but the ethanol stuff doesn't store long enough for me to bother keeping that much on hand any more.[/QUOTE]

I installed two d ring loops, set the cans in, and run a chain trough them to keep douchebags from stealing them. Granted someone could cut the chain but if I had a topper they could also break a window.

I'll post pics later.

Also I bolted a 50cal ammo box to the factory rails for a toolbox.

 

Exactly what I did. I bought new leathers for it, boiled them, and greased them with food grade silicone grease.
Only downside is that since it's just a backup I tear it down whenever I do use it and regrease the leathers to make sure they don't dry out by the time I need the pump again. I've got a couple of spare sets as a just-in-case, but I'd rather not have to use them up faster than I have to.

 

Well, decided against the land as the realtor could'nt get me any answers that I needed. The right place will come up eventually.

 

Sorry to hear that. You're right, though. Eventually the right place will show up.
I can't even count how many places we looked at when we were shopping for a house or land to build one on. Patience is key; I've got a couple of friends who are stuck with problems because they didn't do the research before they signed on the dotted line.

 

Thanks for the support. I mean that. I had it in my mind that if the land doesn't convince that thats where I need to be than I would listen.

 

I have build in flame thrower in the bed the my truck!

 

Hopefully your flamethrower building skills exceed your sentence building skills.

 

LMAO i was asking for that ONE! Well I burred myself with it and lost one eye and can hardly see out of one eye!

 

Smart move--- get your technicians license than get your general license and you're good to go KD0JXB---Jim

 

Not sure if it has been covered yet, but in a pinch, the rubber bed mat could be used for shelter creation.

 

This thread is why I joined TW. Just starting this mission. Like you OP, not an end of the world prepper, just a guy who would like to be a little more self sufficient than the rest. I am going to borrow some of your ideas and be sure I have better emergency provisions. Any suggestions for someone, just starting? What would you ensure you had first?

 

I've got MREs, heat blankets, fire starters, medical supplies, machete, ammo, saws, axe, knives, water, and an emergency tool kit in my truck.
Edit: Also installed a CB in my truck for when cell service goes down.

 

so what's involved with getting a ham license and what it cost to get a basic ham radio setup?