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RV's are so useful, providing a roof and basics needed to live off the grid or on.
We owned one, loved the travel benefits over sketchy motels and carrying good food in fridge not junk food from interstates. Done traveling, sold ours this year. Maintenance is a big factor if you aren't mechanical (I'm not good with engines, local mechanic sucks). We had conversion van type, husband vetoed trailer RV.
RVs are great for any number of reasons. In my area they're the preferred choice because of bears. (Hard sided trailers and pickup campers or Winnebago/van type)
I have a small utility trailer that can provide a secure sleeping place and food storage while camping.
I do most of my camping after bears go into hibernation, so I can get by using natural shelters, debris shelters or tarp shelters, but I do carry a small emergency tent in my kit.
For a SHTF situation, yeah a camper could be a real lifesaver....IF....you have a vehicle and fuel to move it, and the roads are in good enough shape to travel on, and there aren't any roadblocks.
A teardrop camper could be a good compromise. Small, no real maintenance, will provide shelter and safe sleeping quarters. You can keep food and water and personal items. There's a stove for cooking, a shower, no toilet but a porta potty could handle that.
They can be pulled by a small car, they're light enough for some pretty rough roads, and they would definitely be more comfortable than sleeping on bare ground.
The way I live and travel in the wilderness, I do quite well with a small backpack, but I wouldn't turn my nose up at using a nice camper if one was available, especially in a SHTF situation. Good shelter conserves your health and energy levels since you can be warm, dry and rested.
I'd say yes, a camper could be a real asset in certain survival situations.
We have a fifth wheel that has come in very handy. Before we had any buildings on this property, we stayed in that fifth wheel. Once our house was built, I towed the camper to a smaller woodlot that we cleared during winter and spring. It gets pretty cold up here at that time of year, and that camper was great for warming up and cooking meals - even napping.
A few years ago we bought some land at the northern tip of New Hampshire. Getting a road into that parcel has taken us 2 years. The road is now good enough to tow in the fifth wheel. We can now stay there while the new place goes up. Previously, we could only get in by 4 wheeler, and overnight stays were in a wall tent, so this is a great improvement.
Anyone who buys bug-out land is faced with the expensive next step of building. If they live far away (as many do), that can take up even more time and expense. Placing a camper of some type on that land, can provide shelter immediately. But a word of caution: virtually all campers are white or a light tan color. You might consider spray painting it a darker color, of camo colors, or at least drape camo netting over it. You don't want it to be noticeable.
I see motor homes pulling small vehicles. The problem is that either one of the party needs to remain with the mother ship in many areas to keep it unmolested. For example, there are dire warnings about vehicle security posted in Grand Canyon National Park.
An RV, particularly in a trailer configuration, is simply too long for many mountain roads. I don't just mean half washed-out trails. For example, Independence Pass, a paved state highway between Aspen and Twin Lakes, Colorado has a maximum vehicle length of 35' including a trailer. Many roads, however are not posted. Try backing up your rig for a few miles to a place where you can turn around. I've had to back up in a 4WD with no trailer on several locations. Trailers are fine for those who stay on highways and well-appointed campgrounds, but they're not for the back country or anything close to it.
Independence Pass offers a magnificent driving experience, but read about the warnings. In fact, read the whole article if mountain travel is of interest to you.
If SHTJ, there won’t be any gas to fill it up. You can probably drive 300 miles and you are done. Someone will want it and kill you for it.
Both replies so far indicated their RV wasn't for driving away, but used for shelter.
I'm curious how much security would be needed at a remote camp. What happens if someone is already at your safe place (RV or lean-to)? Or you are there and people arrive.
Would it be safer to stay near your "village" or go it alone remote (or with a partner)?
Makes me think of homesteaders on distant ranches in early US. They were really on their own whatever happened. Impossible to know if riders approaching were good guys or bad guys.
Both replies so far indicated their RV wasn't for driving away, but used for shelter.
I'm curious how much security would be needed at a remote camp. What happens if someone is already at your safe place (RV or lean-to)? Or you are there and people arrive.
Would it be safer to stay near your "village" or go it alone remote (or with a partner)?
You'll be dead at your "safe place" or a slave in "your" village. A seven-year-old with a light rifle could kill you in seconds without risk. Flimsy structures aren't safe in normal times; they would not become safe in your "return to the Stone Age" fantasy.
no.
but we do have a "tricked out" mini-van.
would not know it to look at it.
however, this would be our
last-ditch escape option.
bug in is our first choice.
I live in a wildfire area. My travel trailer is my bug out bag. I stock it at the beginning of every fire season. If I get an evacuation notice, I can hook it up and be out of here in half an hour.
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