US Road Trip in summer- what preps to take

[gussyfinknottle]

I'm a UK prepper with US family. I'm the only prepper in the party. I'm taking a deep breath and travelling to US again this year (gone past few summers with dh and dd). This time, instead of staying in one spot (with some mini road trips) we are doing one big one.
What would you take from UK?
Obviously no food stuffs. We must travel pretty light. We will travel with plenty of water. One of our US party smokes so having means to make fire pretty essential for them .
I'll take light first aid kit.
What would you add from the UK?
And if you are in the US, what would you bring along.
I watch lots of US and UK prepper vids (ok mostly US). I'm more of a bug in than bug out kind of prepper.

[cozietoesie]

Sorry - are you just seeking advice on what to take on the trip or whether you should prep when you're there?

[Cavender]

For a US road trip it really depends where you are travelling, it’s a big country, conditions vary widely.

You should obviously carry water, hats, sunscreen, bug spray, mobile phone, first aid kit and painkillers where ever you travel. If you are going anywhere need the Mexican border you need your passport at all times. If you are driving you need to have your license (it’s a good idea to carry it anyway, I’m asked for ID in all sorts of situationss)

TBH if you are talking about prepping for world war, there’s not much you can do to prepare for that on a road trip.

If you are likely to encounter something like a hurricane when you are here then you need a wind up radio, cash and torches. If a hurricane came close while you were on your trip you’d have to abandon it and go to a hotel. The cash is in case of power cuts, stores will usually take cash even if their till is down.

[gussyfinknottle]

Cheers. Cash, torches , first aid kit, laminated id with emergency numbers on back (as well as actual ID), wind up radio . Water. Will try and buy buffer of food supply without freaking out rest of group. It is a coast to coast trip across the centre (not too far south so no Texas (sadly) and Louisiana etc.
Obviously if the zombies hit my us co- travellers will do the yelling .
In case of emergency, my plan is to find a church and offer help.
Have a mini faraday pouch with a phone and shortwave radio.

[cozietoesie]

Oh - and if you break down. Don't accept a lift - unless it's police.

[gussyfinknottle]

Thanks for the tip. My US family have AAA. Hoping to bank on that. Assuming no zombies

[cozietoesie]

Relax and enjoy it. If they have AAA, you're away.

[gussyfinknottle]

I hope to cozie. I'm an inveterate planner - best laid plans !! - but I'm really looking forward to it. Trip of a lifetime with US family.

[Cavender]

I’d be surprised if you really needed a buffer of food tbh.

We’ve done several big road trips (think 1800 miles in a week) since we’ve been here. We’ve found that USA is pretty well served with regular gas stops even on smaller backroads. You are unlikely to run out of food.

The reason you need the water is in case you break down. If your air con isn’t running it’s easy to get dehydrated very quickly in hot weather.

One thing we’ve started doing in the US that we don’t do at home is to fill a cool box (cooler here!) with a bag of ice and sodas. It’s much cheaper than buying soda at gas stops.

You can buy bags of ice everywhere (including McDonalds drive throughs) so when your ice melts just pour it out and buy a new bag.

Final thing always have a cardi handy. Restaurants and cafes often have the air con really high.

Have a fantastic time, we love our road trips and are planning one for the summer at the moment.

[gussyfinknottle]

Thanks @Cavender . That's really helpful. I think my US family member is keen on the cool box idea. Smaller road trips we've done before, we usually had them and filled up with Ice where we could.
You are right about air con. Actually all planning to have a cardi/hoodie for the car and restaurants because it can be really chilly.
The food thing is the slightly twitchy prepper in me.

[cozietoesie]

gussy


If the Zombie Apocalypse happens while you're on the road trip, you're far likelier, in the States, to find an old abandoned house with eg a well and full cupboards with such things as jars of preserved fruit. It's not inevitable - just more likely.

If there's no ZA, then it's just a long road trip.

Have fun.

[gussyfinknottle]

@cozietoesie

[Cavender]

It’s America gussy food is never far away, from gas stations, grocery stores and restaurants to Mom & Pop cafes and roadside fruit stands.

We have a hurricane emergency preparedness bag which has high calorie emergency ration bars but I would actually have to be starving to eat them...

[Weedsnseeds1]

Travel insurance with good medical cover.
Oh, and don't pick up hitch-hikers outside state penitentiaries. But don't worry, there are lots of signs on the approach to them, reminding you, in case you get the urge to stop for an orange clad figure thumbing a lift!
Plenty of fluids, spare wheel in good condition, tyre inflator kit.
Generally you don't need to go far to find food in the states, but if you are visiting national parks it wouldn't hurt to bring some supplies.

[Weedsnseeds1]

Alcohol, cigarettes and chewing gum generally advised for trading purposes in zombie apocalypse.
Guns, ammo, hunting bow ( so you can kill food without the sound of gunshots alerting zombies) and maybe a flame thrower?
A few machetes probably useful too.

[cozietoesie]

Oh - and avoid West Coast beaches of course.

[gussyfinknottle]

Not sure you can take guns and ammo on the plane to get there or even buy them readily in the UK. I can write a strongly worded letter, though. That will help

[Weedsnseeds1]

In addition to cozie's advice regarding old, abandoned houses with their own water source and well stocked larder.
If it all kicks off while you are in a city, head for the outskirts. There are always enoumous houses in easily fortifiable gated communities, with solar power, swimming pools and home cinemas where you can wait out the apocalypse in comfort.
They also have huge gardens for growing crops.

[Weedsnseeds1]

You can get guns and ammo in Walmart when you arrive.
If you're going near Montana, I believe their gun laws are pretty slack. If you're under 14 though, your mummy will need to be there to supervise while you use it. Safety first

[gussyfinknottle]

Weedsneeds1 - thank god you have thought it all through for me. Or should that be "thru".

[Cavender]

You can get guns and ammo in Walmart when you arrive.

Not if you are a foreign national.

[gussyfinknottle]

I have no plans to buy guns and ammo. Just so we are clear.
My family members aren't gun owners either.

[Weedsnseeds1]

There's always a catch cavender.

[Cavender]

Weeds well it’s nice that there are some rules around gun ownership...

[SenecaFalls]

We have a hurricane emergency preparedness bag which has high calorie emergency ration bars but I would actually have to be starving to eat them...

DH always fills our hurricane kit with things like Spam and canned beef stew. Yuck. I always bake a cake when a hurricane is coming.

But it looks as though OP is steering clear of hurricane country. Tornadoes might be an issue though.

[Cavender]

Just before Harvey hit last year I saw a lovely man tootling round the supermarket with his trolley completely filled with brownies, doughnuts, little Debbie’s and cookies.

I had bottled water, spare batteries, pasta and cans of soup.

I bet his week was spent in a lovely happy sugar coma. I was a bit jealous.