Rugged Vehicles to Help You Survive an Emergency

By Cherie

The apocalypse may be far, but previews of it are happening all over the world right now. Both Japan and Nepal saw major earthquakes this year, California is facing its worst drought in more than a century and the world overcame an Ebola epidemic just last year. Combine that with political uncertainty in the United States and the need to prepare is more dire now than ever before.

So how can you prepare for anything? The essentials needed for severe drought aren’t the same for political unrest, but there is one constant that’s always guaranteed for any survival situation — the right vehicle.

Forget what you see on TV. Escaping the end days in a Bugatti Veyron looks sexy, but it’s not going to get you far (good luck finding a spare part for that car on the side of the road). But you also know you’ll never get around to building the zombie-proof bus from “Dawn of the Dead.” What you need is a realistic, obtainable rig for the road. Set pipe dreams aside and look out for these vehicles fit for survival:

Jeep Wrangler

The creme de la creme of survival machines, the Jeep Wrangler sits at the top of nearly every prepper’s essentials list. There are several factors that make the Wrangler an absolute no brainer in this category:

• It goes everywhere. The Wrangler is so versatile that owners venture out to discover if there are places the Jeep can’t go. It falls short only to the Hummer 1 in off-road capability.
• It’s cheap and available. Because the Wrangler is so popular, there are used models everywhere. Pre-owned dealerships and retailers like DriveTime have them for sale on lots all over the U.S., and many of them go for less than $10,000.
• American versatility. Unlike that Bugatti, Chrysler (who owns Jeep) would have parts laying on every road and highway if it came down to a severe emergency.

Hummer H1

If you can find one, and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, buy it. The Hummer H1 is the ultimate SUV in survival situations. In fact, calling it an SUV is an insult to the H1, which resembles more of a tank than a street-legal vehicle. It was good enough for Desert Storm, and it’s good enough for your driveway. The H1 can drive through deep water and automatically inflate and deflate air from the tires based on the terrain. And it sports a suspension so aggressive you feel like you could drive upside down.

Important Note: None of this applies to the Hummer H2, which is a hollow shell compared to the Hummer H1.

There are a dozen or more insane vehicles you can buy to survive the end of days, but most of them will either cost your life savings or are practically illegal to own. The Jeep Wrangler and Hummer H1 are staples for a reason — they’re reliable, relatively cheap and they work.