Doomsday Preppers?

[AC1K]

Have any of you watched the show? are any of you actually preppers? i watched both seasons 1 and 2 on the weekend.

i'm not nearly as crazy as the people on the show with 1-2 years of food and underground bunkers but i do have a bug out bag for 72 hrs.

i have higher hopes than most of the people on the show but after hearing the government shut down (im in Canada BTW), the unresolved debt (its still going UP not down) im not so sure anymore that they are "crazy" anymore.

do you think there will be some sort of economic crisis? another recession perhaps?

 

[widodh]

Do I prep like they do? No, I don't.

I always have about 12 bottles of 1.5L water stored at house and I make sure I have food for about a week.

You never know what happens, maybe the power goes out for a week and stores will run empty very soon. Maybe an oil embargo comes up and the delivery trucks no longer drive.

So I do prep for the end of the world? No, but I'm prepared for something that might happen which causes me to fall back on those small supplies.

And I of-course have a first aid kit, a couple of lighters, some candles and batteries (85kWh! ) at home.

 

[strider]

I live in earthquake country so we are "prepared" with 3-4 weeks worth of food (depending on whether the fridge/freezer survives the quake) and about 3 days worth of water on hand. There are also several sources of fresh water nearby so we can filter additional water. Else I would have more on hand. If the house is still standing we have ~15 days worth of generator fuel so I'll still have cold beer. We did a lot of backpacking before we had kids so we have tents, sleeping bags, stoves w/ fuel, matches, flashlights, first aid kits, etc.

Our plan if there is an earthquake would be to "shelter in place" and let the madness die down. I saw what happened when everyone tried to leave New Orleans at the same time. I'll happily camp out in my backyard w/ cold beer and watch the chaos unfold below.

As for "doomers" I don't think society is going to break down like in the TV show Revolution. Many empires have declined in the history of humanity and nearly all of them have done it without society breaking down. I don't think the decline of the US empire will be any different. It will be hard, but these people who think there will be chaos in the streets are trying to live out their xBox fantasies. They should go join the military and learn how much it sucks to "live by the gun." I prefer my nice warm bed and being able to walk around my neighborhood w/o a rifle slung over my back thank you very much.

 

[vfx]

Did any of the Preppers have EVs and Solar?

 

[GlennAlanBerry]

I think it is perfectly prudent to have a decent amount of extra supplies laid in so that you can withstand a typical natural disaster. On the other hand, unless you are part of an organized, very large group, with military training (plus the knowledge on how to grow and preserve food, medical training, etc.), with a large amount of cached supplies in a very remote, defensible location, you are very unlikely to survive an actual breakdown of society (from something like an EMP or an epidemic).

People who think that they can defend their suburban/exurban home with a couple of AR-15 rifles from large numbers of truly desperate, starving people, and live long-term off of the doomsday supplies they have stashed in their basement are probably deluding themselves.

I think most people completely underestimate how bad it would very quickly get if we had a true breakdown of society. After the supermarkets are looted, after the distribution warehouses are looted, where are people going to get food? It takes time and lots of physical effort to actually grow your own food, and most people have no experience growing fruit and vegetables. Hunting for game animals is not going to make much of a difference...

 

[montgom626]

How is this even relevant?

Did any of the Preppers have EVs and Solar?

How is this even relevant? If there is a system failure (power grid) grid tie is useless. And no power means no power for your EV. Grid failure means none of the power from the grid tie can be used. Battery systems/PV systems are different, but a challenge to manage. Few have battery systems.

I have a grid tie 8kW array. I have the worlds best EV. I also have 70 gallons of premium fuel treated with Stabil in air tight gas cans, a 6 kW generator, transfer switch, a well and food.

- - - Updated - - -

People who think that they can defend their suburban/exurban home with a couple of AR-15 rifles from large numbers of truly desperate, starving people, and live long-term off of the doomsday supplies they have stashed in their basement are probably deluding themselves.

I agree. But even worse are the folks who do not have a firearm who believe they can defend themselves while being unarmed.

 

[AC1K]

Did any of the Preppers have EVs and Solar?

nope, they all thought to siphon gas from existing vehicles (not nearly sustainable, not even for a couple months with the amount of pillaging)
and one guy was able to make his tractor run on mineral oil, so what he would do is steal all the oil in the transformers on power poles.
but when he shot one to test, it went all over the place lol

 

[SeminoleFSU]

How is this even relevant? If there is a system failure (power grid) grid tie is useless. And no power means no power for your EV. Grid failure means none of the power from the grid tie can be used. Battery systems/PV systems are different, but a challenge to manage. Few have battery systems.

I have a grid tie 8kW array. I have the worlds best EV. I also have 70 gallons of premium fuel treated with Stabil in air tight gas cans, a 6 kW generator, transfer switch, a well and food.

- - - Updated - - -



I agree. But even worse are the folks who do not have a firearm who believe they can defend themselves while being unarmed.

+11 Already have an commercial grade generator capable of powering most of my house, but I'm hoping to get some kind of solar in here next year with enough daytime and night time (battery) capacity to run the most critical items in my house (fridge, window AC unit, some lights, oven or microwave, etc) or charge the car... because I do think things could go from bad to worse suddenly instead of gradually we've started re-learning how to farm, and build relationships with local farmers and like-minded "worriers." The unfortunate part about solar here in Georgia is we don't allow selling power back to the grid due to collusion and corporatism

 

[roblab]

How is this even relevant? If there is a system failure (power grid) grid tie is useless. And no power means no power for your EV. Grid failure means none of the power from the grid tie can be used. Battery systems/PV systems are different, but a challenge to manage.

I have grid tie, and a battery system that the statistics say will last 18 years. It is completely physically maintenance free. It is no challenge to maintain. It is automatic. When the grid goes down, as it often does here, the battery system supplies full power for my house in 1/300th of a second, and we never even know it.

I suppose some systems are difficult, but you can shop around and get it right with little trouble and not much expense for what you get.

As far as protecting your "own" stuff, good luck. Selfishness seldom wins, probably won't win in this context. You are welcome to come by here for free food, water, shelter, power, whatever I can help you with, as long as it lasts.

 

[SeminoleFSU]

As far as protecting your "own" stuff, good luck. Selfishness seldom wins, probably won't win in this context. You are welcome to come by here for free food, water, shelter, power, whatever I can help you with, as long as it lasts.

Selfishness is also helping yourself to someone else's stuff against their will.

 

[AudubonB]

We always have a good laugh at doomsdayers - regardless of whether they are right or wrong. The reason is that by reason of our location, our so-called normal lifestyle puts all but the most wacko of them to shame with our "preparedness".

It is 200 miles - each way - for us to town. 300 if we need anything out of the ordinary. 80 miles to the nearest school, or clinic, or police, or power grid, or anything else. 32 miles to the nearest - and supremely unreliable - gasoline pumps.

In 2013, we went to town on May 12.....and never again until we drove out of Alaska in October. Our solar system works terrifically well during Alaska's summers; we have generators and backup generators and backups to the backups. We keep years of firewood on hand at any time; we also keep thousands of gallons of fuel oil. That's not for 'prep' reasons; it's beacause we operate a tourist lodging - but if something ever hit the fan, the immense volume of supplies we have to keep on hand could sustain us for many years.

It is difficult but by no means impossible to grow things; some years we harvest a reasonable amount but normally that takes secon fiddle to everything else. Fish and game - moose and caribou - are, of course, a part of our lifestyle and effectively always out there.

And lastly....we are down to only about ten humans living full-time in the 40,000 or so square miles centered around us, so looking out for the other guy means helping him, not fearing him. And that's​ the biggest difference from the mentality of the preppers.

 

[SeminoleFSU]

We always have a good laugh at doomsdayers - regardless of whether they are right or wrong. The reason is that by reason of our location, our so-called normal lifestyle puts all but the most wacko of them to shame with our "preparedness".

It is 200 miles - each way - for us to town. 300 if we need anything out of the ordinary. 80 miles to the nearest school, or clinic, or police, or power grid, or anything else. 32 miles to the nearest - and supremely unreliable - gasoline pumps.

In 2013, we went to town on May 12.....and never again until we drove out of Alaska in October. Our solar system works terrifically well during Alaska's summers; we have generators and backup generators and backups to the backups. We keep years of firewood on hand at any time; we also keep thousands of gallons of fuel oil. That's not for 'prep' reasons; it's beacause we operate a tourist lodging - but if something ever hit the fan, the immense volume of supplies we have to keep on hand could sustain us for many years.

It is difficult but by no means impossible to grow things; some years we harvest a reasonable amount but normally that takes secon fiddle to everything else. Fish and game - moose and caribou - are, of course, a part of our lifestyle and effectively always out there.

And lastly....we are down to only about ten humans living full-time in the 40,000 or so square miles centered around us, so looking out for the other guy means helping him, not fearing him. And that's​ the biggest difference from the mentality of the preppers.

Sounds like heaven to me Although I wouldn't be able to stand the cold... How many months of the year can you actually drive the MS and enjoy it?

 

[AmpedUP]

I'm not a prepper, but I am old enough to have the early 70's U.S. oil crisis firmly in mind. Range anxiety? Everyone felt it back then...and there was nothing we could do about it. If it happens again today, I'll just plug in !

 

[Reykjavik]

I think the probability of an actual "doomsday" occurring is low enough that excessive preparation isn't worthwhile. I also don't really have the resources to set up much.

In a crisis, it is good to have resources to get through the initial disruption, but beyond that, it is a waste. Even if an event destroys all our agriculture and economy, the best hope for long term survival and happiness is to rebuild our systems, and in fact look at it as an opportunity to do a better job than the first time around.

It comes down to the difference of surviving and thriving. Having supplies to last the winter, and perhaps longer term supplies that are harder to recreate (things like medicine). The objective is to survive the initial impact of whatever happens, then reestablish a growing, sustainable economy. A catastrophe may be a setback, but it should not be an end.

 

[MarkR]

I'm prepared . . . I have extra toilet paper and my Teddy Bear.

 

[EchoDelta]

I'm prepared . . . I have extra toilet paper and my Teddy Bear.

You are set. When "the hordes" come for your teddy you can fend them off with the toilet paper.

This is actually close to my line of work so it's interesting to read the responses. Like Reykjavik says - there's timeframes to resilience. I'd feel good having solar, batteries and a tesla, but that's a 'get over the crisis' bonus. After that long term you're better off on horses and oxes. And almost by definition anyone having a tesla is top 1% of worldwide income and thus part of the group less truly vulnerable to a major downturn.