Sensible SHTF Vehicle-Good and Cheap??

[gunnysmith]

Originally Posted by 2ndAmendican

But Gunny, if you've been keeping up with "The Walking Dead" on AMC, the zombies eat horses!!! They don't eat the trucks though. LOL. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

They're smarter than a horse. Touche'

Nutrition
Poitou donkeys.
Donkeys' tough digestive system is somewhat less prone to colic than that of horses, can break down near-inedible vegetation and extract moisture from food very efficiently.
Behaviour

Donkeys have a notorious reputation for stubbornness, but this has been attributed to a much stronger sense of "self preservation" than exhibited by horses.[14] Likely based on a stronger prey instinct and a weaker connection with man, it is considerably more difficult to force or frighten a donkey into doing something it perceives to be dangerous for whatever reason. Once a person has earned their confidence they can be willing and companionable partners and very dependable in work.[citation needed]

Although formal studies of their behaviour and cognition are rather limited, donkeys appear to be quite intelligent, cautious, friendly, playful, and eager to learn.

[2ndamndmnt]

try a duece and a half with a multifuel engine. only draw back is no power steering

[kernelkrink]

The beauty of the Chevy truck platform is the drivetrains in them can be swapped out for an earlier setup with minimal hassle. You could buy say a 99 Suburban with a blown engine or tranny and replace them with commonly available carb engines and non-electronic shifted transmissions. That way you get a bulletproof engine and tranny setup with good parts scavenging possibilities along with a newer vehicle that blends in well, has less rust issues, and has some of the modern amenities. A carb 350 small block can be found almost anywhere, either as a crate motor or built up from a junkyard or Craigslist find. Replace the electronic 4L60E tranny with the earlier 700R4, it bolts right in as a direct replacement and only needs a 12 volt wire to supply the lockup solenoid with power. A simple internal switch rewire makes the lockup work without external controls.

Go with the original 70s-80s GM HEI ignition, and EMP is not a worry. Supply 12 volts to one terminal, you got spark. Spare whole distributers are $30-50 each at a junkyard and fit inside an ammo box for a faraday cage. You can swap them out in 10 minutes on the side of the road if needed. A GM 1 wire alternator in a metal box for a spare takes care of the other EMP parts worry.

[TRX]

Originally Posted by kernelkrink

The beauty of the Chevy truck platform is the drivetrains in them can be swapped out for an earlier setup with minimal hassle. You could buy say a 99 Suburban

Buy one older than that, and take advantage of "antique vehicle" registration if applicable in your state. Here in Arkansas, '86 and earlier is an "antique", the only restriction is "not for hire". Oh, and the plate is $7.50, one time only, no renewal needed.

A pre-computer vehicle is mostly proof against EMP. Something not as out-there as it used to be, now that a couple of companies are aggressively marketing car-zappers to police departments. The idea is they just point the antenna at a car and blow out its electrical system. So far there has been some concern about liability for a cop trashing a vehicle's entire electrical system when said vehicle might not be owned by the driver, or if they zap the wrong car. So far, nobody seems worried about zapping pacemakers or implanted insulin pumps.

But still, for even a mild SHTF situation, you need to consider fuel. Even backwoods Arkansas gas stations have full-time connections to the mothership nowadays, and if the connection goes down, they can't even make a cash sale. Like ammunition, whatever fuel is in your tank is likely to be all you're going to have, plus whatever you have in storage. In many areas, storing more than a gallon or two for the lawnmower can be a big hassle.

My '65 C-20 had the original tank in the cab and a 20-gallon booster tank under the bed on each side; it held 56 gallons total, if I remember tight. My '68 F-100 had a booster tank in the back, which reduced bed space to an annoying degree, but the combined tanks held about 40 gallons.

[Gunco]

Originally Posted by kernelkrink

The beauty of the Chevy truck platform is the drivetrains in them can be swapped out for an earlier setup with minimal hassle. You could buy say a 99 Suburban with a blown engine or tranny and replace them with commonly available carb engines and non-electronic shifted transmissions. That way you get a bulletproof engine and tranny setup with good parts scavenging possibilities along with a newer vehicle that blends in well, has less rust issues, and has some of the modern amenities. A carb 350 small block can be found almost anywhere, either as a crate motor or built up from a junkyard or Craigslist find. Replace the electronic 4L60E tranny with the earlier 700R4, it bolts right in as a direct replacement and only needs a 12 volt wire to supply the lockup solenoid with power. A simple internal switch rewire makes the lockup work without external controls.

Go with the original 70s-80s GM HEI ignition, and EMP is not a worry. Supply 12 volts to one terminal, you got spark. Spare whole distributers are $30-50 each at a junkyard and fit inside an ammo box for a faraday cage. You can swap them out in 10 minutes on the side of the road if needed. A GM 1 wire alternator in a metal box for a spare takes care of the other EMP parts worry.

Cucv all the way, Kernel is correct parts are easy to find, duece and a half not so much unless you live around a de-mill location where the stack all the old duece and a half's. There are kits out there to convert your desiel to WMO or WVO.

[Black Blade]

The only question I have is where do you find spare parts for a Deuce these days?

[2ndAmendican]

The wife and I did some looking at the CUCV's and she liked them. We are gonna take a look at some of the various auctions and see what kinda prices they are going for.

Will report back when I have time. Thanks for all the continued input guys!!!!

[TheCol.U.S.M.C.]

I forgot about rust, out here in AZ it is no problem.

To add to kernelkrink said if this is a true SHTF bug out truck you will want to blend as much as possable, yes duece and a halfs and Unimogs might go far and carry alot but it SCREAMS I prepared for this. To me thats like driving a big target. I like the idea of a newer suburban or Chevy truck. there are ton of them out there and there not flashy and you said you could turn a wrench, I would look for one with a blown engine and try to get it cheap and fix it up so you know it will get you to where you need to go

You may want to try and find one with a solid front axle(think 3/4ton 1994 maybe) The CV joints on chevy IFS need replacing every 4-5 years (might be less but in AZ thats as long as they have lasted me)

[chopper]

just build a SHTF vehicle

[twa2471]

Lamma's, they can eat anything too, haul allot and taste better when ya run outa chow. Only down side to a regular vech. they have a heat signiture that a missle can lock on to, critters don't, and they taste much better than a small block if worse comes to worse. A horse or donkey or oxen with a tram-wa, works awsome, and you can haul nearly a half ton with them without a problem. We did that on an archaeological dig with horses in the mid west a few years back at a very remote and hard to get to area, and it worked very well to haul our gear.