Review of Bug Out Vehicles and Shelters on Survival Common Sense

Leon Pantenburg, author of the excellent survival blog and website: Survival Common Sense, has written a review of my new book, Bug Out Vehicles and Shelters.  Here is the review as posted on his site:

The fertilizer hits the fan and you may have to evacuate your area.

Immediately, the roads and highways will be jammed with unprepared refugees, most of them fleeing in panic to go somewhere – anywhere – else.

A prepper will be prepared for this eventuality, hopefully, and not join the mindless crowd. But there may be no choice regarding staying or going  prior to or during a flood, earthquake, hurricane or tsunami, and you may have to join the exodus.

So what is your plan, to get your family to safety, and do you have a vehicle you can depend on?

In his latest book: Bug Out Vehicles and Shelters; Build and Outfit Your Life-Saving Escape” author Scott B. Williams gives some educated insight.

Williams, author of  the Bug-Out Survival blog and the survival-themed books “Bug Out,” and “Getting Out Alive” and numerous other publications has been a survival writer for several years. 

In his latest book, Williams tackles the potentially confusing subject of evacuation vehicles.

The value of the book, Williams writes is “to make the reader aware of the key advantages and disadvantages of each type of bug-out vehicle and how important is is  to perform the necessary maintenance and/or modifications to make sure it will get you to safety.”

Basically, your bug out vehicle is whatever you have. But there may be options for modifying these vehicles to fit your potential scenario. Or, if you are considering buying a vehicle strictly for an emergency evacuation, Williams gives some tips on what brands, and vehicle types to consider.

Topics covered in the book include choosing your vehicle; using specially equipped vehicles for unique situations; and using canoes, bikes, kayaks, rowboats and other  human-powered means of escape.

Williams sets the stage by dividing the book into four distinct parts: Escape Vehicles, Mobile Retreats, Alternative and Back-Up Vehicles and Fixed Retreats.

The value of the book, IMO, is that it gets the conversation going. If you are considering setting up a vehicle strictly for an emergency, there is valuable information in Williams’ book.

“Bug Out Vehicles and Shelters” is not a light read. While Williams is an accomplished and interesting writer, there are parts of the book that didn’t interest me. This was mainly because the vehicles mentioned don’t fit into my area or potential survival scenario.

But the parts about shelters and secure bug out locations are worth reading for any prepper/survivalist. Too often the evacuation plan starts with “getting out of  Dodge” and ends with arriving on the agreed-upon retreat location. In reality, that would probably just be the beginning, and Williams gives some tips on what to look for at a retreat area in a natural setting.

I found the book to be interesting, entertaining and informative. Williams delves into a part of  emergency evacuation that the rest of us may only have given passing thought to. From that standpoint, of getting the evacuation vehicle conversation started and rolling,  “Bug Out Vehicles” has a place in your survival library.