We’ve started working on one of our prepping needs, a bug out vehicle (BOV).
Bug out vehicles are a rich topic of discussion in the prepping community, and we have several articles about there here on Beans, Bullets, Bandages and You.
There are as many types of vehicles as there are theories about how they will be needed, and a vehicle that works for us may well not work for your needs at all.
Let’s talk about our decision process, then take a look at the vehicle we chose to start our project with.
The BOV Decision Tree
When considering buying a vehicle then putting together a bug out supply package for that vehicle, I think there are several points that have to be considered up front.
- What can we afford?
- Even if we can afford it, is the money best spent elsewhere?
- Will the vehicle be in everyday, or at least regular, use? If so, how practical is it?
- What are we planning on bugging out from?
- Will owning this vehicle destroy our OPSEC?
There are obviously other considerations and we will get to those in future articles about the progress of our BOV project. Let’s address these six points after first talking a bit about the vehicle we have purchased to convert.
The 3BY Bug Out Van
So here it is, in all it’s glory… the 3BY Bug Out Van, before we’ve done any work whatever to it.
I know, right? Not what you were expecting. It’s a mid ’90’s Ram high-top conversion. Is it EMP proof? Will it climb the side of a mountain? Will it impress the neighbors?
No, no and no.
What it does do is check the marks off for us on the list we created up above. Let’s go back and look at those again.
Can we afford it?
We set a strict budget for buying a van, probably less than a lot of people would spend. There are several reasons for our low-cost limitation, not the least of which is that this van is, in fact, an experiment. It’s a trial project, and we didn’t want to wrap up a ton of our money on something that we might not be happy with down the road.
Our self-inposed budget limit for the vehicle was $5,000, and this van fell well under that limit. After talking the seller down several hundred dollars, we paid $3,500 for the BOV as it sits.
I’ve got to admit, I looked at A LOT of full-size conversion vans before I found this one. I’ve been searching for over a year to find one that was in excellent condition yet that was in my price range. Finally, I found one listed for sale by a private owner in a community about 100 miles away that fit both the budget and also the requirements.
Personal requirements were everything core on the vehicle (motor, transmission, drive train, etc.) fully functional and demonstrably well maintained. It also needed to be rust-free, converted by a well-known major company, and have standard-sized glass. It had to have windows in the back that open as well.
I’m sure there are many people in the online prepping community who’s personal BOV’s would have to have needs that don’t match my list. This van isn’t EMP proof. It’s not four-wheel drive. It’s not a whole lot of other stuff. I’ll address those concerns here in a bit.
Even if we can afford it, is the money best spent elsewhere?
For people on a tight prepping budget, this is a really important consideration… will buying a BOV stop us from doing other critical preps, or running up debts that we don’t need?
This is a question only you can decide. For us? Keeping the costs low make this a reasonable purchase, and the multi-use nature of the vehicle further helps it make a lot of sense.
Will the vehicle be in everyday, or at least regular, use? If so, how practical is it?
One of the reasons that we purchased a full-size van as opposed to, say, a mini-van is that the larger vehicle will make a better camping van for us.
Salty is an avid nature photographer, and Spice is an avid hiker and kayaker, and both enjoy riding bicycles on long, lovely trails in the spring and fall (and on nice summer days as well).
We also have The Place that we need to maintain
We needed a van that is easy to convert back and forth between a camper, a cargo van and a vehicle that can transport up to seven people comfortably. Check, check and check.
What are we planning on bugging out from?
Here’s an important part of our choice of bugout vehicles… what are we planning on bugging out from, and as an extension where are we planning on going to?
The most likely scenario we would bug out from, considering we live in a very rural area of the Midwest, is regional natural disaster. For us, that would likely be something along the lines of a massive earthquake on the New Madrid Fault line that would damage the local infrastructure beyond quick repair.
The second most likely event we would bug out from is a pandemic, where we would seek isolation from all people… for us, that would mean a move to the place, where our BOV would be one of our main support tools.
This is where we come back to assessing your own needs. Your needs are very likely entirely different from outs.
For example, many people want EMP proof vehicles to bug out from the city or the suburbs if an EMP or extremely damaging natural electrical disruption were to occur. That’s not really an issue for us, since our home is in an area that’s where people would want to bug out to.
Others might want four-wheel drives, and I certainly understand that. Four wheel drive vans, however, are very expensive and out of our first price range. Perhaps if the concept works, our next BOV will be one of those.
Will owning this vehicle destroy our Operational Security?
If you own a BOV that looks like it’s strait out of a Mad Max movie, then yes, it will.
Our van? Once we slap a few “tailgating” stickers of our favorite sports team on the bumper of this rig, put a spare tire cover with that team’s logo, and nobody will give the van a second thought. That’s what these things were made for, after all.
So what’s the plan?
Well, we purchased the vehicle, brought it home, ran it through all the state inspection stuff so that’s out of the way. Next up is an assessment of the various things that need immediate attention, and we will get those knocked out quickly.
The van, as it sits, has no spare tire or tire changing tools. That’s first up on the list to fix, I’m not driving a vehicle anywhere without having tire repair options.
I’ve started my “fine tooth comb” exam of the vehicle and I’m finding the little things that need addressed as time goes by… the headlights are not very good, I’m going to replace them with HID lights. The wiper blades are sub-par (they work and were good enough to pass inspection, but I’m not satisfied), the windshield needs Rain-X’d, the passenger taillight cover is cracked and will eventually need replaced so I will start looking around for one of those, etc.
After that, we need to start considering things like what communication radios to put in the van, and start planning both the “shore power” 110 system that we are going to install plus the offline inverter system/solar powered generator independent battery power setup for off grid… and a whole lot more.
Expect to see a lot more in the future as we develop this van.
Looks like a nice start. Does it come with the 5.9 engine ? Curious if the 12 v Cummings would bolt in.
Anyways glad to see a fellow homesteader.
Here is our channel as well
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgh13wfFsuimkzewcYGq33g
It is the 5.9 indeed. Not sure about the Cummins would bolt up to the existing tranny. Been doing a bit of minor work, have pulled the back seat, done some electrical upgrades/repairs, fixed some basic stuff (new wipers, headlights, etc.)
Great Article!!
Spent a year living in a van at one point in my life. Little older than yours but basically the same.
Your insulation sucks, most likely not even installed on the floor. You gotta upgrade that, especially if your looking at bugging out in a midwestern winter.
Install more batteries both on your house and motor. Keep the two systems separate. But I did install some cables and switch to charge the house batteries off the motor.
Generators are heavy and require fuel, solar panels and inverters are easy. Just remember all the numbers you look at online are peak output so install more than you think you need. I also had a wind generator, but it was loud and takes up a lot of space.
Good point on the solar… I’m in Australia… and it’s incredibly common to see anything that’s even remotely a camper-van here with solar panels. Even camping trailers and general family 4WD dirt running vehicles carry them as near standard issue/first thing you put on after the roof racks.
A couple of smallish solar panels connected to an inverter can charge up your batteries, run your onboard fridge/freezer and any i-devices as well. Then you have lights, books and chilled beer at night. I’m not sure what wind turbine SASQUASH used, but generally there’s small fan sized ones available in Australia, that go up on a small mast – a small amount of noise, and not too big….
Separate systems is wise, and not hard to wire. There’s a million setup plans online. If you are doing a reskin and retire consider putting in USB power points to charge things to as well as your regular plug in ones. Possibly even consider running two sets of wiring – mains fed if you are going that way plus solar panel/inverter/battery fed. It’s not a lot more effort at the time…
Having been through a similar effort, here’s a few things to put on the ‘think about it’ list:
— Battery charger/conditioner. They have gotten better (lower) in price, but beware of ‘really low’ prices.
— Additional battery/ies. Nice to have a battery to light the inside lights at night, but also nice to have a battery (separate battery) to start the engine in the morning.
— Change ALL interior lighting to LEDs. The lights in my van sucked 12+ Amps when all were on, using incandescent lamps. With LEDs it went down to 1.1 Amps.
— Check ALL egress points in the floor/walls. I found out, the hard way, that ants AND squirrels will find each and every entrance point.
— Put in your own insulation. Generic automotive insulation is far from being a ‘workable’ solution.
— Solar panels. You’ll probably only get two on the top. That’s OK. As long as you don’t park under trees. Parallel the solar controller with the charger/conditioner to keep the ‘interior’ battery/s charged. (Diode isolation is good also.)
— Take the ladder off of the back door and put on a spare tire mount. (Learned the hard way) A two-tire mount is really nice!
— Load light above rear doors…..on the outside
— Git rid of stock mirrors. They ain’t worth using.
— Rear view camera. Worth every penny you pay for it. Actually TWO is gooder. One looking straight back and one looking down from roof.
I could go on for quite a while, but this is good for now.
I’m working on a lot of what you have listed. one of the first things on the list is a spare tire rack, spare tires, jacks, etc. I’m going to buy a new tire / tires and matching rims.
Also coming soon are inverter / solar system, light replacement, etc. LED’s all around for sure. The ladder is a gonner and backup/rear camera coming soon. Those are my starting items, spare first.
Interesting timing for your post, Salty. I’m doing a bit of BOV mods too. I’m doing them to what is otherwise my every-day driver (a Ford Ranger). I don’t have a dedicated BOV. It’s still got to haul me around, carry firewood, feed bags, and lumber and such. My focus has been more on quick-swappable mods such that it can become my Improved BOV with some quick changes. I’m working on a blog post about an aspect of that.
A question for the two of you (or whoever else wants to chime in), is what you’re using as design parameters. Where does your BOV have to get you? In my case, I don’t have The Place to travel to. That leads me to imagine my BOV as more of a Refugee Vehicle than an A-to-Place Vehicle.
Just curious what our design goals might be since the goals color our choices.
take care,
— Mic
Mic….
For all of my projects I use “What If” as a starting point. i.e., What If this happens, what do I do? Where do I go? When do I go? How do I go? Then grab a ream of paper, straight-edge, fist full of pencils, and git after it.
In your case, with a Ford Ranger, I would work with:
– Replacement parts. (Plugs, distributor, plug wires, thermostat, hole-in-the-tire plugger-upper, air pump etc.)
– Got a camper for it? (Or ‘topper’, or canopy, whatever you want to call it.) One of those places to sleep, git outta the rain, store all your stuff.)
– Extra spare tire. Remember…..one = none.
– Make a bed box, with a pull-out storage drawer thing, or two, or three underneath it. Do not use an air mattress. One hole and you’re done with those things.
(Make all these things removable. And not difficult to install when all Hades breaks loose.)
– If your extra batteries are lead-acid, do not forget to vent them to the OUTSIDE.) If you use use sealed batteries….I would still vent them outside. And put them in a battery box. You don’t want them leaking on your post toasties.
– If you end up stacking things above the top of the bed, think about the center of gravity. Heavy stuff goes low, light stuff can go higher.
– If you HAVE to bail out, have a few places in mind. Three possible hidey-holes is way better than absolutely no idea.
If you have any kind of trailer, use it. And remember, the thing/s you don’t take is the first thing you’ll need. Including that full 5 gallon gas can you left in the garden shed.
Actually Salty given that “The Place” doesn’t have power (or the components are still inside that Storage Mil-Van) installing a decent set of deep cycle batteries with a solar controller, sine wave inverter and some solar panels would give you a nice starter kit to start you off if you really bugged out. That vans cargo limits however need to be addressed.
Solar Panels on the TOP of that Van is not a good idea as you don’t want to LOOK like Prepper Vehicle AND too easily stolen or damaged by vandals or falling objects like those hail storms I hear about in MO. Using proper sized wires you can place the van in the shade or concealment and put the ground mount solar panels out in direct sunlight easily.
I’m not planning on putting solar cells on the van roof for a couple of reasons. First, it’s fiberglass and has no holes in it now, so it’s 100 percent leak proof.
Secondly, when I get somewhere I want to park, I’m going to park the van in the shade, and that kills solar panels. I’m planning on an off-vehicle portable array. More later.
Interesting topic. I built a camper van for my previous job. I used a ’09 (pre DEF) Sprinter van 170WB EXT. My wife and teenage daughter traveled with me. We were on the road 7 weeks and home 5. We traveled 8 1/2 states in the north central U.S. year round. It sleeps 3 very comfortably. My focus was a good nights sleep and be able to handle the extreme cold. One of my best additions was the Natures Head composting toilet. Expensive, but well worth it.
I second that about the LED interior lights. That is the only way to go. Some other vehicles I had considered were a high top, extended handicap vans, or an ambulance. For us, traveling 50K miles/yr. diesel was the way to go. For low miles, gas engines are a much cheaper option.
I go to the local salvage yards and get heavy duty scissor jacks when they have them. Cheap and very strong and reliable. I have a $60 Harbor Freight air compressor that has come in very handy. I had to repair the air hose when testing it, but works well.
Update! Come on! Tell us what your doing to the BOV. Its’ very interesting.
Actually, we haven’t done much yet… we’ve started gathering up the gear to go in it, repaired all of the little things that needed it, and removed the back seat (theoretically a bed, but it was tight even for Spice and she’s 5’4).
I’ll shoot some more pictures as we continue making changes/progress, hopefully some this weekend.
Its’s been a month with no updates. Tell us more about this interesting project. Are you driving it daily? What have you changed?
OK, what’s changed…
I am driving it daily because my main car is in the shop.
Here’s what we have done so far:
We put in all the emergency gear from the truck (I’ll do a seperate article on what we carry), plus a complete change of clothing for Spice and myself.
We removed the back seat for cargo area (right now), and have left the middle two seats for now.
The Van came with a tow package, so we’ve installed a three-ball tow-head and positioned it so the only side without a ball on it faces up. I put some no-slip surface tape on that part, and it now works nicely as a step.
Mechanically, I had my guy go through it and clean the throttle body which was sticking a bit, and he also installed a new fuel filter.
Still looking to get a spare tire holder for the back door and fix that up.
The van gets 15.3 MPG which isn’t bad considering it’s age and the size of the motor. That’s all I have today.
Here’s a key part of the process we should make more explicit: Before we went all in on this being the bug-out vehicle, we did some real driving in it. Every vehicle (particularly the older, more affordable sort) has its quirks, and potential flaws. We wanted to know what the quirks were and fix the flaws. A bug-out vehicle that won’t reliable run when you need it is a giant, money-sucking paperweight.
I might be a bit late to the party here, but hopefully this helps you or anyone else reading. I’m in the process of building a removable sleeping platform in my Tacoma (has a basic topper on it but not a full-on camper build) to give it some bug-out utility and aid in long distance driving trips. My electrical is a small Jackery portable battery that can be connected to the cigarette lighter when driving or hooked up to a fold-out solar panel to charge. I tested it when camping this summer and it worked great for what I do (charging cell phones, DSLR batteries, etc.) and might be worth looking into for the van if you don’t want to spend a lot of money or do anything permanent. I’d be curious as to what you guys do for recovery equipment without making the vehicle scream “prepper” to anyone who sees it. I throw a few traction boards and a shovel in the back and so far I haven’t needed them but it’s nice to know they’re there.