A common bug out or survival strategy is to simply outfit a vehicle with all the necessary supplies and resources you would need. When you’re preparing for an emergency, your vehicle is a good place to store certain items since it’ll likely be your quickest path to safety. More importantly, once you have supplies on board, you can keep moving. That is until something prevents you from doing so, like low fuel or a bad battery.
Don’t mistake this for a dissenting opinion, as vehicles are still a great option. The point is that you need to be prepared for anything — even a flat tire.
Certain events or problems can grind your movement to a halt, and depending on what’s going on around you that can be extremely dangerous. For example, you don’t want to have to stop at a gas station for fuel in an area where people are looting or rioting. It’s better to simply have backup supplies handy.
Where the Do You Store Your Supplies?
Before diving in, it’s important to point out that this list — while comprehensive — may include way too much as a whole. You’ll need to pick and choose what you store in your vehicle and what you toss in before leaving your home or property. You certainly won’t be able to fit everything, but if you plan appropriately, you can get pretty close.
A large truck with a decent truckbed is the go-to vehicle, but you can also hitch on a trailer or just hop in a large camper. However, there are downsides to the trailer and camper, as they increase your total footprint. It will be difficult moving through more populated areas, and you won’t be able to go off-road, which can also be problematic.
What makes prepping so difficult is that no one truly knows what kind of situation or event may happen, so a proper plan always incorporates multiple possibilities. That’s why you should use your discretion to decide not just what to pack, but how to store said gear. A trailer, camper or RV might be good for you, and it might not.
That’s also why this is an important thing to decide upfront because then you know how much storage space you have to work with.
Absolute Must-Haves
To break the supplies down even further, there are some things you must have if you have any hope to survive, and some gear that’s more optional. If you have limited storage space, you’ll want to be sure you have these 11 necessities first, before adding anything else.
1. Food and Water
Water is incredibly important not just for your survival, but for serving other purposes. You can also use water to clean or rinse, to cool down an overheating car or even power certain goods via hydroelectric energy.
If you can, you should also pack a water filtration system or tool. This will ensure that if you run out of water, you can still hydrate yourself from any source. LifeStraw is an excellent choice.
You’ll want to pick at least three to four gallons of water — or more if you have the room. As for food, non-perishables are the definitive choice, but there’s no limit to how much you should take. The bigger the group, the more food you should be packing. At a minimum, include at least two months of food for everyone on board. Most survival guides recommend at least a year’s supply, but that will be difficult to cram in a vehicle — especially if you have a big family.
It goes without saying, but if you have an infant, be sure to pack formula and baby food, too.
2. First-Aid Kit
If someone gets hurt or if you come across someone who is wounded, you’ll need first-aid supplies. It’s easy to forget how dangerous the world is until you’re working on a vehicle and slice your hand, or burn yourself on a hot engine. Unattended, wounds can grow infected pretty quickly, which is a death sentence on the open road, especially without antibiotics.
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The easiest route is to purchase a pre-packaged first-aid kit, but it’s much safer to custom package your own. That way you can be sure everything you’ll need is included, from bandages and gauze to antibacterial ointment.
3. Fuel and Oil
Remember to pack extra fuel and oil in case your vehicle runs low. Some other fluids you might consider include wiper fluid, transmission fluid, power steering, and anti-freeze.
If you want to be extra resourceful, you can pack some extra filters and tools to change them out, as well. Blown head gaskets are another possibility during long trips. When this happens, it can put you down for good. That’s why it’s always a great idea to have a temporary fix or solution for blown head gaskets, too. If your vehicle doesn’t overheat after running for more than 15 minutes, you can often use a chemical repair product to repair the leak without having to take your engine apart.
4. Tools
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Most vehicles have a lug wrench stowed away in the trunk, but that’s not the only tool you’ll need on the open road. Be sure to pack an entire kit and include everything you need to service your vehicle, take care of a potential camp or even protect yourself. Utility knives, screwdrivers, hammers, hatchets, zip ties, spare fuses, electrical tape, flashlights, duct tape, wrenches, pliers — the list is certainly expansive. Larger tools like shovels or pickaxes may also be good to bring along.
5. Batteries, Solar or Portable Power Packs
You cannot power everything using your car battery, especially when the vehicle is parked. Be sure to bring batteries for your devices and tools, and bring a healthy selection of sizes from AA to D.
It’s also a great idea to pack a couple of fully-charged portable power packs, so you can charge any USB devices or electronics. You can find many of them that attach to a solar panel to keep them juiced up indefinitely. In fact, you can even find 
If you have enough room, stow a generator. It doesn’t matter whether it’s gas or solar-powered, though the latter is the more convenient and sustainable choice. Either way, you’ll have enough power to energize several items or devices, including lights for a camp.
