tearing down the vehicle for survival

I would take some of the fabric or leather seat cover and make a big help sign I could stick in the middle of the road to alert any possible passerbys, providing I was able to make it back up the ravine. Otherwise chances are people will pass by for weeks and not even notice your down there.
 
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One thing to think about here is that you are going to be VERY limited in what you can use. Simple fact is you are not going to have the tools to do a lot of things that have been suggested. Take the seat out? Fluids? etc, etc. It just isn't going to be an option unless you crash your truck while moving your tool box or the truck you happen upon is a Snap-On truck.

That being said there are A LOT of uses for things in the truck that can be removed by force or cut out.

Glove box for rain collection?
If you can get the air box out it would make a great small animal trap
Plenty of wire for snair
The tail get will come off with no tools and would probably make a great wall for a shelter
Seatbelts can be cut out and used for cordage
 
Bushman5 said:
i grew up with dad making my shoes from old tires. Nothing beats tire sandals. :thumbup:
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When I was in the Navy, we stopped in Mombasa Africa. For the first time in my life I saw shoes made from tires, seemed strange, but you do with what you got.
 
Vict, where were you during the Vietnam/Indochina war years? They were called Ho Chi Minh Racing Slicks.
 
Bushman5 said:
- headliner can be carefully removed for a blanket or clothing.
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I grew up working in my fathers auto upholstery shop, and was nicknamed "the headliner king" by the commercial park. I hated crawling around in the backs of cars, taking these damn things out. I especially hated the glue that turned to powder that you had to scrub off the headliner shell with a wire brush. Couldn't get that crap out of my hair, or off the hair on my arms, until I got home. Depending on the age of the headliner itself, if the glue has turned to powder, you don't want that material for much. Blanket, no. Too thin, too much powder. Clothing, no, same reason. If you wanted to carry something and had nothing else, the headliner material would probably tear. If it is still glue and not powder, you're not going to be able to get much off of the shell. I would carry a blanket or light jacket all the time in your vehicle.

If you are going to stay near the truck, I would use the headrest for a pillow, maybe sleep on the benchseat, if the truck has one, or is an extended cab/crew cab. If you have the tools to take it out.
 
myright said:
One thing to think about here is that you are going to be VERY limited in what you can use. Simple fact is you are not going to have the tools to do a lot of things that have been suggested. Take the seat out? Fluids? etc, etc. It just isn't going to be an option unless you crash your truck while moving your tool box or the truck you happen upon is a Snap-On truck.
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The seat is held in with four bolts, usually, brother. I did it in mine last week. Prolly a 15 or 17 mm or maybe a 3/8. Of course, I wouldn't want to carry my seat. Maybe cut the upholstery off for a jacket if for some reason I thioiught that walking out was the only possible response.

And besides, who doesn't have at least a small tool box in their vehicle? That's about as basic a preparedness activity as one could have. You don't need to know all this survivally stuff if you don't break down in the wilderness to begin with.

So, grab your tool kit, your vehicle survival/emergency kit, and your medical bag, and you are good to go.
 
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Bushman5 said:
KARDA and others,

the planned set location is on PRIVATE PROPERTY, zoned for industrial usage.

thank you for your concern, however you should be more concerned about the BP spill in YOUR country, than a small indie film set location NOT in your country.

thank you for your concerns about the earth.

:cool:
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Bush, we do consider Canadia as part of OUR country. You're sort of our attic. Sometimes we forget you're there. (Shamelessly stolen from some comedian.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pILPiB-07uI
 
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myright said:
One thing to think about here is that you are going to be VERY limited in what you can use. Simple fact is you are not going to have the tools to do a lot of things that have been suggested.
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Can't speak for anybody else, but I keep a serious load of gear aboard my truck, everything from wrenches to chisels and a hammer, hacksaw, hi-lift jack, swede saw, hudson bay ax, even materials like bailing wire, hose clamps, rubber hose, and a pretty well stocked BOB, just to name a few items. In my area getting a vehicle stuck in a remote area is a pretty common scenario.
 
Yea the tool box in the back of my truck is slammed full of tools... had to go look but there is a small hatchet, tow straps, ratchet straps, sawsall blades, gloves, even a few hats. That doesn't even count the hand tools.

My back seat pops out (torx on front), carpet can be cut out, door panels have a screw or two... even if the cab is flattened and couldn't be used to sleep in there are plenty of things to make a great shelter.

Ski
 
Cigerette lighter? start tinder, if you didn't crush the battery.

Stay in the cab on the seat, I agree

Floor board carpet could be handy.

Listen to the radio. once in a while. keep up moral, see if anyone has a search going on.


Hub Caps? pots or pans?
 
Back in the 70s, I had a one man 'resident office' as an Army/DoD special agent, from mid 71 to 74 at Grand Junction, CO; and late 74 to 80 at Dugway Proving Ground, UT. My issue vehicle at Grand Junction was a Ford Sedan and later, at Dugawy, a Chevrolet. Anyway, among my survival info was a brochure from Bureau of Land Management (BLM) which explained how to burn a motor vehicle in a survival situation. The brochure assumed you were snowed in or blocked by an avalanche on a mountain road/wherever and still had an operable vehicle.

The first step, and in line with other posters, was to consider the vehicle as a shelter. Here were the steps as I recall them 40 years later:

1. You're blocked. You can't go ahead or back. What to do? If your vehicle is driveable, go onto the shoulder and scrape away the snow, etc., to bare ground. Back the vehicle over the bare ground, get under it, and puncture the gas tank with your lug wrench, knife, whatever. Let the gas drain onto the bare ground.
2. There'll be enough gas left in the carburetor to start the vehicle and drive a few feet forward. Ignite the gasoline where you just drained it.
3. While the gas is burning, get your spare tire out and deflate it. NEVER try to burn an inflated tire which can explode! Put the spare on the burning fuel, then take your jack and lug wrench and dismount the other four tires/wheels. Deflate them and stack handy for burning.
4. As one tire is consumed in the fire, add another. When you get down to one or two left, rip out your seats, overhead, door panels, etc. Anything that will burn and have ready to add to the fire.
5. As I recall the phamplet, you can keep the flammable parts of the average sedan burning for a full day or more.

This does a couple of things for you: One, the fire provides heat/comfort. For two, it provides a hell of a cloud of black smoke so potential rescuers can find you.

I never had to do this but I kept it in mind as I was running the back roads of western Colorado, eastern Utah, northern NM, and southern Wyo for several years.

I was caught in one avalanche south of (a town I won't name) and shot the phone lines down with my trusty sidearm. Ha! Here came a Bell truck with snowplough on the front within an hour or two. The crew wasn't too happy with me but they did understand my situation. I was able to drive back the way they had come, make a 100 or so mile detour and finally get home.
 
i didn't see this mentioned -

if the battery is in good shape, you can have all the spark-based fire you could want.

vec
 
Does it have a cover or the giant hood thingy? (I'm truck retarded).'
163_0802_07z+truck_bed_cover_buyers_guide+leer_adventure_sports_package.jpg

^This thing
 
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