Candidates for the Ideal Bug-Out Truck

by Stacey Thompson

In a previous piece I wrote, I enumerated a few possible alternative bug-out locations that could be utilized in case of an emergency situation. I realized that among them, the repurposed truck is probably one of the most ideal of the lot, given that the combination of mobility, hardiness against harsh weather and terrain conditions, and capacity make it the best overall.

If money was no object, there wouldn’t be much to worry about in creating your mobile survival truck, but unless you’re one of the few excessively wealthy individuals in the world, this is more of a pipe dream than a viable solution. One must make the effort to find affordable yet fully functional vehicles to convert into a veritable prepper mobile fortress, and this is the aim of my little piece.

Why Light Trucks May Not Make the Cut

First of all, let’s isolate an entire category of trucks out of the possible bug-out live-in vehicles due to space constraints. Minivans, sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks, and other similarly sized vehicles just won’t be able to provide the kind of space one would need to make a bug-out home out of it; the only arrangement that this could be viable is that it would be used to tow a small trailer home. We’ll focus more on the medium and large-sized trucks on this one.

Box Trucks, Vans, and Motorhomes

These are probably the most viable low-cost wheeled domiciles that one can use as their mobile base of operations. With RVs, everything’s already set up for living in, so very little modification will be needed to make it an ideal bug-out home (reinforcement of windows, larger wheels, and a top rack would be some likely improvements).

Vans and box trucks are generally single or two-enclosure affairs, and it is likely that one won’t be able to cram in all the comforts of home on these vehicles (good luck trying to install a toilet into one). Still, the bigger models will have enough room for basic accommodations and storage space, so if these types are the only vehicles available to you, then they will have to do.

Refrigerator and Tanker Trucks

Here are two examples of bigger trucks that have to be repurposed for the task. They have large capacities, truth be told, but their cargo space is definitely not meant to house (live) humans. A little creative welding and compartmentalization will be needed to turn these vehicles into habitable mobile homes.

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Semi-Trucks/Big Rigs/Articulated Lorries, etc.

These are the big trucks you are looking for. Coupled with a suitable trailer with two or more converted container vans, you will have large and formidable mobile fortress. Given their size, you may want to stick to the larger highways to avoid getting caught in narrow streets. One advantage of the semi-truck (also shared by the trailer home) is that you can always leave the trailers when you want to save fuel and drive a little faster.

Take note that their much larger cousins, the so-called heavy haulers, have exceeded the threshold of size being an advantage. They are just too large and consume too much fuel to be considered practical.

Searching for Quality Used Trucks

Trying to buy a brand new truck is a great financial undertaking that most people won’t be able to afford, so taking the path of finding used yet decent trucks is the best way of facilitating your project of creating a bug-out truck home. The internet has a wealth of online sales and auction sites that have used semi trucks for sale, as well as trucks of other sizes and builds.

About the Author

Stacey Thompson is a professional writer, marketer, entrepreneur, and a lover of weird little animals. She is based in San Diego, California, and shares a blog with her friends, Word Baristas.