If you bought a truck as part of your disaster preparedness plan, you're only halfway there. While a truck will get you out of some sticky situations, it can't do the job completely without the proper tools. In a true natural disaster/national emergency, you need more than just a truck that will go off-roading. You need your truck to be truly prepared to get you to safety – that includes upgraded parts and on-board emergency supplies. Here are just three of the things your truck needs to get you through a disaster.
Upgraded Suspension
In a disaster scenario, chances are that you'll be doing some off-roading. This is particularly true if an earthquake or other disaster has knocked out the roads in your area, or you need to head into the mountains for safety. If you've got stock suspension on your truck, you're not going to get very far. You are, however, going to be feeling every bump along the way of your very short journey.
Now that you're planning for disaster preparedness, make sure an upgraded suspension for your truck is at the top of your list. When choosing an upgraded suspension system, be sure to include a lift. The last thing you want is to get stuck on a few rocks because your truck wasn't high enough off the ground to go over them.
Locking Differential
If you've got a standard differential on your truck, you're going run into problems the moment you encounter mud or snow. With a standard differential, the wheel that's spinning the fastest will get all the power. Unfortunately, that doesn't help when you're stuck. In fact, all that individual power behind the spinning is what causes wheels to get stuck in the first place. In an emergency, you need a locking differential. If your truck encounters mud, or snow, your locking differential will ensure that equal power and speed continues for both wheels. That means that if one wheel gets stuck, the other wheel will have enough power to pull you on through.
Emergency Kit
If your family needs to bug-out, you're going to need an emergency kit already prepared, and on-board your truck. You're not going to have time to prepare one at the last minute. If you don't have a basic emergency kit prepared, now's the time to do it. Your on-board kit should include the following items.
- Hand-crank or solar-powered emergency radio
- Emergency toilet
- Tent and sleeping bags
- 72-hour supply of food and water for each member of your family
You never know when a disaster is going to strike. Talk to a truck part supplier like Godfrey Brake Service & Supply and make sure your truck is prepared for the trek. Use the basic tips provided here to get your truck ready to bug-out.
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