We live on the Gulf Coast, so during hurricane season we make sure our RV is always full of gas and fresh water. We would use it to evacuate ahead of the storm, and possibly to be comfortable after the storm passes. We have been through several hurricanes and without power in our home for as long as 2 weeks. Miserable.
Fuel and fresh water are the minimum... there is the problem of food.
For further safety I have allocated a RV locker for emergency food supplies.
As a long-term supply, I use the same nutrient rations as the ships, they are called Seven Oceans Emergency food rations sea, they are less dry than those for terrestrial use. Then I add cans of meat, chocolate bars and lyophilized ready food... in short, there is food for a month and possibly be able to help some others.
Then I add the stocks of the essential parts of the vehicle (air filters, oil, etc ...).
There are no hurricanes from me, but earthquakes and floods are always possible.
I live further on the Gulf Coast than Sarah does and we have used the RC to evacuate during hurricanes. I always park in storage with a full tank. Preparedness and no condensation in fuel tank.
We don't worry about food as we head inland and food can be purchased. Hurricanes give plenty of warning and tracks they are taking so preparing before hand is fairly easy. We always depart around 72 hours before storm landfall. One time without an RV we left late and it took 15 and 1/2 hours to go 150 miles. Not fun.
__________________
Wayne MSGT USMC (Ret) & Earlene (CinCHouse)
2015 Winnebago Tour 42QD - 2020 Lincoln Nautilus Reserve (TOAD)
(RVM-14) It is what it is, and then it is what you make of it.
I live further on the Gulf Coast than Sarah does and we have used the RC to evacuate during hurricanes. I always park in storage with a full tank. Preparedness and no condensation in fuel tank.
We don't worry about food as we head inland and food can be purchased. Hurricanes give plenty of warning and tracks they are taking so preparing before hand is fairly easy. We always depart around 72 hours before storm landfall. One time without an RV we left late and it took 15 and 1/2 hours to go 150 miles. Not fun.
Agree about the food. I never store food in the RV... don't have any mice and don't want any.
My Dad taught us, and we've taught ours, that it is as easy to drive on the top 1/4 tank as on the bottom 1/4. Car, truck or Journey, we park them full.
I believe the efficacy of an RV as an emergency escape vehicle depends a lot on where you live and park it. And how much lead time you have. If an earthquake, next to worthless from our old home in San Diego, or our son's place in Brentwood (LA). Or any center city location, for that matter. Roller skates or a bicycle would be better there. Even in quaint little Tucson, piloting 54 feet of RV and dinghy through crazed crowds fleeing a disaster would likely not be successful. Those news videos of the evacuation prior to the last few hurricanes generated a pucker factor! Further compounded by having your RV in storage somewhere. One of the reasons we specifically choose to live out in the county.
There are those of us who, as a matter of faith, are enjoined to keep a year's supply of food on hand. Your choice F7, has merit.
We don't have hurricanes, earthquakes or tornadoes here. But, we love the freedom of raising anchor when the mood strikes. So, like SarahW, we keep our fuel topped off, waste tanks flushed, and water tanks 1/2 full at all times. We stay on top of routine maintenance and try to schedule the rest to minimize downtime. If stuff did hit the fan, we could top off the water in the time it takes us to food, bottled water and a few buckets of long shelf life provisions.
BTW, preppers are likely on to something.
Fair Winds and Following Seas
__________________
Terry & Rosalina
2007 Winnebago Journey 34SE
Retired Navy Mustang & Navy Wife
We have used our motorhomes as life boats several times. Here in south central New Mexico we don't get too many extreme weather events but when your A/C fails going out to the RV sure beats going to a motel.
The best story I have is wanting to use the motorhome when we had a hurricane caused power failure in Maryland. The power failure was extensive enough that power was out at our storage facility as well - and I was really counting on that generator to run the frig. Oh well, we survived.
__________________
Roger & Mary
2017 Winnebago Navion 24V
2014 Tiffin Phaeton 36GH (Sold)
Allow me to open a discussion that I think will be useful.
I have always wondered if in case of emergency our vehicles (especially class A) can be a valid solution.
For example, in the event of a hurricane, earthquake, flood, etc ... is it really possible to save yourself using an RV?
Does anyone have any experiences on this?
Without exaggerating like the preppers, is there any advice that might be useful to listen to?
The keyboard is yours ...
Well the photos you supply show a volcano erupting and a meteor coming down. This implies to me that this is a eminent disaster and you are going to go from a sticks and bricks into something less sturdy. So NO I would not move into the RV!
About using a RV to leave a place of danger with 1-4 days of prior warning? Well, certainly I would use the RV for my home away from home while waiting for the danger to work itself out. And if the sticks and brick was destroyed, I already have my home with me to live in until the house is rebuilt or any other solution if found for the situation. Such as the house is in a flood plain and I get bought out instead of rebuilding.
We live in the mountains of Southern California and we bought our first RV, and old '92 Georgi Boy as an escape vehicle after our first evacuation due to brush fires in 2007. Never had to use it for that, but the thought was we could throw all the pets and valuables into it and head away from the fire. Now we have a newer MH and have done more preparedness such as scanning family photos and documents so now it's just a matter of gathering the pets, hook up the toad, grab the computer backup drive and go! The problem with brush/forest fires, you may not get much notice, so we always have our noses in the air smelling for smoke.
__________________
Scott and Martha Baker Julian, CA
2016 Sunstar LX 27N, 2016 Ford Fiesta as Toad
We are probably not as prepared as I should be, but I would think they are ideal for exactly as you discuss. I know a lot of folks may be in them right now sitting way back out of the way of the forest fire threatening their homes. They have creature comforts, communication, news, and shelter.
At one point my wife was dependant on power for life support before her transplant, and the MH was always plan B, as it has more backup systems and pure power than our house.
Well the photos you supply show a volcano erupting and a meteor coming down. This implies to me that this is a eminent disaster and you are going to go from a sticks and bricks into something less sturdy. So NO I would not move into the RV!
About using a RV to leave a place of danger with 1-4 days of prior warning? Well, certainly I would use the RV for my home away from home while waiting for the danger to work itself out. And if the sticks and brick was destroyed, I already have my home with me to live in until the house is rebuilt or any other solution if found for the situation. Such as the house is in a flood plain and I get bought out instead of rebuilding.
With the photos I exaggerated a bit, unfortunately life sometimes reserves even very serious surprises, where... reality exceeds the imagination.
I hope so much that it never is so.
However it's in case of serious danger that we must seriously ask whether an RV can really save our life or not.
This is an unknown that I hope to never have to clarify!!!
Twice in recent years we have had to evacuate because of range fires. Having an RV made this a much more pleasant experience. While we don't typically store the camper with water and food, when we have an inkling that there may be an issue, it takes little time to fill the tank and fridge, load in some dog food and clothes and get ready.
One of these times we had no notice and while my DH hitched, I added water, pets and food. It took 10 minutes with both of us going full bore to pull out of the driveway with the dogs, some food, clothes and gear. The packing job wasn't very tidy but while others in our region were struggling to find hotels we had clean sheets and comfortable beds.
__________________ You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. | Dr. Seuss
I've always thought about this when they issue hurricane warnings. What you do is a great idea. You can get out of the area and be comfortable without the expense of hotel rooms or being cooped up in a school cafeteria or gym for who knows how long.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SarahW
We live on the Gulf Coast, so during hurricane season we make sure our RV is always full of gas and fresh water. We would use it to evacuate ahead of the storm, and possibly to be comfortable after the storm passes. We have been through several hurricanes and without power in our home for as long as 2 weeks. Miserable.
__________________
Doug and Jayne
Otherwise known as "Ama" and "Papa"
To two little grandsons
Other than being referred to by it's formal name of "Da' Bus", our 2014 Itasca 35F is also jokingly referred to as our "Hurricane Escape Pod" since we live just a couple miles north of the Houston city limits. Even though we've not used it over the past year, I keep it serviced, fueled and 1/4 tank of water that I rotate out periodically to keep it reasonably fresh. We keep it stocked with canned goods and some dry goods packed in tupperware that we also rotate for freshness. Long time ago we decided to keep year round clothes.
__________________
Stan, Shirley & two Schnauzers, 2014 Itasca SunStar 35F
I just escaped the Lake Christine fire in El Jebel, Co. I was parked in my 32' Winnie next to my friends' garage. We watched the air tankers fly overhead all day of the 4th and thought we were pretty safe as night began to fall. The fire was moving away from us and the wind usually dies down at night. Wrong! The wind changed direction and increased. My friends left with their 2 cats, 2 cars and the stuff they had loaded during the day. I unplugged, pulled up chocks and jacks and hauled butt. The firefighters did a great job but my friends' house was one of the 3 lost. Scary sight, seeing nothing but flames in your rear view!
We have used our motorhomes as life boats several times. Here in south central New Mexico we don't get too many extreme weather events but when your A/C fails going out to the RV sure beats going to a motel.
The best story I have is wanting to use the motorhome when we had a hurricane caused power failure in Maryland. The power failure was extensive enough that power was out at our storage facility as well - and I was really counting on that generator to run the frig. Oh well, we survived.
I'm obviously missing something -- why couldn't the generator run the fridge?
Was it that with the power out at the storage facility you could not get your rig out?
__________________
2009 View 24J on 2008 Sprinter 3500 cab-chassis.
2000W Magnum Energy inverter/charger; 200W solar; Firestone airbags; Hellwig anti-roll bar, SumoSprings, Koni FSD shocks & struts; hitch carrier for Suzuki DRZ400...
I just escaped the Lake Christine fire in El Jebel, Co. I was parked in my 32' Winnie next to my friends' garage. We watched the air tankers fly overhead all day of the 4th and thought we were pretty safe as night began to fall. The fire was moving away from us and the wind usually dies down at night. Wrong! The wind changed direction and increased. My friends left with their 2 cats, 2 cars and the stuff they had loaded during the day. I unplugged, pulled up chocks and jacks and hauled butt. The firefighters did a great job but my friends' house was one of the 3 lost. Scary sight, seeing nothing but flames in your rear view!
Sorry to hear about your friends losing their home, glad all humans and animals escaped unharmed!
__________________
2009 View 24J on 2008 Sprinter 3500 cab-chassis.
2000W Magnum Energy inverter/charger; 200W solar; Firestone airbags; Hellwig anti-roll bar, SumoSprings, Koni FSD shocks & struts; hitch carrier for Suzuki DRZ400...
2 years ago we got whacked by a hurricane. All roads leading out, closed with countless trees across the roads.
Electric was out for a week.
We easily lived in our RV for the week, even in 90 degree weather and 100 % humidity.
Some of our neighbors were a little ticked at us as they struggled until the power came back on.
One of the neighbors, who did not have a generator, still doesn't have a generator. His comment, Why do I need to buy one now the storm is over. Each time we have a power outage he avoids me, he's just too cheap to buy one and the first one to complain about the power being out.
Maybe he's mad because he can see the of the glow of my big screen during the power outages from his house. LOL
We were all ready to leave for a 8,000 mile trip last year when hurricane Irma took direct aim at Sarasota, Fl. It went past us on the morning of Sept 11 (my birthday) and we leaving Sept 12. We lost all power for 23 hours, but were had our fully loaded MH.
Yes, we used our RV as an emergency vehicle and a portable mess hall for our neighbors. We felt very blessed.
My Brother and his Wife were Evacuated along with his 90 year old
Mother and law plus Dog and Cat
Parked his 35’ Winnebago Sunrise in front of our home
Smoke so thick it was hard to breathe. M.L stayed in thr House with us
Ironically a Fierman lost his home to the Fire storm in El Jebel
RV as emergency vehicle...
Linear Mode
