What type of car would be best suited for a Sitx?

Your going to need transportation. What would you recommend?

It would have to be reliable, easy to work on, easy to get parts, rugged because who knows where you may have to drive. It may also end up being a substitute living space for awhile. It would have to be large enough to carry a decent amount of supplies.

Would you pick a station wagon?A truck? A van? A car? 4x4? And Why.

Old car or a new car?
New might be more reliable but harder to repair in the field and not as rugged or simple.

Diesel or gasoline? And why.

Fuel injection or carb?

I think all these have positives and negatives.

What would you do?






[edit on 7-5-2008 by drock905]

easy, land rover 110
land rover 110

Far I know, a diseal engine, because of bio fuel

If you expect there to be roads, available fuel (of any kind) or the ability to buy said fuel...

As I see SitX, it will be a combination of terrorist attacks to destroy infrastructure and authority chains, an economic depression and the resulting social chaos (looting, rioting, even possible cannibalism). In that situation, the best transportation is the one you you can use until the fuel in the tank runs out.

If in the country, maybe a bike? No fuel, easy to repair.

TheRedneck

The best car in sitx will be somewhere between Nike and Schwinn
you just won't be able to move around at will if the government has a say in things...


Respectfully
GEO

When there is no fuel to be had, a horse becomes pretty badass. If there is fuel, I like the ford f-150 4x4. The newer ones are pretty hardcore. Of course you will want something from the 1960-1970's range if an EMP attack is going to be involved in sitx.

A 70's/early 80's diesel would be perfect.

Conversion is relatively simple to run on used veggie oil, which is only a fast food joint away. Methinks there will be enough of those left standing after sitx to run on, as long as you don't stay in the same place for very long.

Ideal for me would be an offroad buggy with a VW diesel from the early 80's.

Off road performance would probably be very important, as many highways and streets will be littered with abandoned cars.

Solar/electric vehicles would be ideal for indefinite use, but the $$ and customization required would make it difficult, not to mention durability issues with solar panels...

thirded on the old diesels. If possible, I'd recommend one of those old 1983-86 Toyota light truck with the small diesel engines. great mileage, great cargo capability, competent offroad handling, simple, reliable, and EMP resistance.

Plus, if you can find one, they're bound to be dirt cheap. I mean, hell, they've been on the road for twenty five years.

Yes I would go for the diesel's from the early 80's pretty easy to work on,plus my old neighbor had a 83 Toyota diesel truck,could drive a month on a tank of gas,slow as all get up but will get you to your destination,and to guy who sent picture of Land Rover,better have a british mechanic riding shotgun,I have one only way to keep it running properly is to feed it dollar bills

Sitx, zombie outbreak, full breakdown, etc with no support and none coming the best investment is a pr of chainsaws. Trap in the vehicle of choice and then cut it back out of the trap when ownership has changed. This is simple black forest tactics from WWII.

In the open ,small lightweight chains with caltrops welded to them and a weight on the end to throw and stretch them beat single caltrops. This one is modern special forces standard tactics.

If I had to pick a vehicle for sit X it would be electric all the way. Quit and makes almost no noise and you can roll down the window and listen for whats going on around you.

Whats going to power the electric car. Secondly where are you going to drive the car. I reckon the majority of roads will be blocked by ditched cars, the all ready crap country roads would soon become impassable and in citys broken glass from lootings will litter the street. Pretty much all roads transportation is out.

Plus any fuel will be hard to get hold off. Biofuels have to be grown instead of food crops and even then it has to be pressed which requires energy and time. I seriously doubt anyone including yourself will choose to grow biofules instead of food.

The fuel issue is the issue IMHO. Without it your going nowhere.

Electric cars are a non starter too IMHO. The 4-8 KW array needed to charge a car would attract alot of attention IMHO and be a target for anybody who spots.


If you have access to plenty of fuel I would go for a 60's Jeep or Land Cruiser with the Jeep having first pick

Why? The Jeep is smaller and would be able to get in and out of places the Jeep would not be. Also the mechanicals would be far easier to work on as opposed to the computer controlled systems of today. Also the more primative systems are far more likely to be able to be restored post EMP etc.

I wanted to add:

BioFuels as mentioned are going to be hard to efficently produce without compromising your ability to feed yourself.

The ideal engine would be a turbine IMHO if you could adapt it. They can burn anything combustable

If your going to go for a car I would recommend anything other than a land rover.

I'm wondering where you all plan on going in these trucks.

In most any kind of sitx, I plan on staying home and growing a garden. If I were going to travel it would be right at the beginning, to get away, in whatever car is nearest to me. Other than that, in a long term survival situation I wouldn't have a reason to go farther than a few miles from home to exchange things I have for things I don't have with neighbors. I think the best choice for transport would be a pony and a cart. Ponies are smaller than a horse, so they eat less, but they are pretty handy with a cart or even one not-too-heavy adult rider. Sure, they drink a lot of water, but I'm guessing water would be easier to come by than gas. Grass ought to be abundant when everyone stops mowing their lawns weekly..

Really, where do you plan on traveling to?

While I'm still strong enough to pedal I'll take my mountain bike that I can ride 50 miles unpaved and 100 miles paved per day with no sound but my breathing. I can patch tires with glue & rubber patches and a hand pump. Though if you need shelter I suppose you could strap a tent on your backpack.

Diesels are just too damn noisy if you need to be quiet.

We can assume fuel is going to be a problem so why not Biomass vehicles?
Biomass truck's that burn wood and more.

Fill 'er up with wood


Construction of a Simplified Wood Gas Generator for Fueling Internal Combustion Engines in a Petroleum emergency


Maybe a truck with the biomass gasifier in the bed along with the wood to fuel it, 4 wheel drive for bad roads, with an electric winch that runs off your alternator to help you get through those washouts. Since gas prices are so high now those trucks are getting cheaper all the time.


Biomass Gasifiers


[edit on 13-5-2008 by verylowfrequency]

Originally posted by belsam
If your going to go for a car I would recommend anything other than a land rover.

so what other car would actually be up to the job, land rovers can be very versatile....
the older ones can even survive an emp attack

[edit on 14-5-2008 by Dar Kuma]

Any kind of vehicle with 4 wheels will just be a gas station for the madmax bikers that will kill you, Rape and kill your wife and children, siphon your gas and be on thier way.

I have a 250 dirt bike, tricked out to carry a load.

SitX is not going to be a camping trip!

I've got a KLR650 that's pretty much ready for the mad max days, it's my survival vehicle. I can go anywhere with it, it's desert camo, and can be rebuilt with a dull screwdriver and a pair of pliers. Depending on how i ride, i can get up to 60mpg and i'm currently installing a 7 gallon tank, and may add another 3 gallon aux tank in the rear. Same bike the military has. Assuming i can find fuel, i'd be able to travel the backcountry for hundreds of miles on a full tank and be self sufficient.

Although when it comes down to apocalypse time i'd plan on using the bike to get me to the most remote location i can reach and stay there until the world stabilizes again, if it does.

Here's mine. '74 International Scout II. Although it's more of a "bug out" rig than a sit-x rig, as I operate under the assumption that I won't be able to refuel, rendering this thing useless after I run dry. It'll get me out of town though, and with the auxiliary fuel tanks on my trailer (which are kept full at all times), I've got about a 1,500 mile range. The trailer has the same ground clearance, and carries water and propane as well as gasoline and spare parts & supplies. On board compressed air and welder mean almost any repair can be made trail side, and there's not a whole lot of terrain this thing doesn't laugh at.

While currently fuel injected with an electronic ignition, the Sit-X kit includes a carb and points/brushes dizzy, which can be swapped in about 15 minutes, which gets me back on the road after a sit-x that involves an EMP.

Also has a full hard top with roof rack. The biggest drawback is that, well, it's not exactly inconspicuous.



[edit on 5/14/2008 by Unit541]