Z-day is upon us! 

lol.

I was wondering when a thread like this would pop up on this forum. 

Anyway....I think there are different levels of "shtf".   If it REALLY hit the fan.....then I don't think we'll be worrying much about cargo capacity vs agility on the trails.

You're going to want the fastest possible vehicle you can get.....so you can be the first one to your nearest military outpost, so you can jack an H1 or a tank.


I'll post some more thoughts on this subject later.  =)

What about a sandrail of sorts. Nothing would be faster off road. I mean where not talking about checking out your flex and if your brake lines are long enough. Just be able to haul balls over most terrain. And in a rail even in sketchy terrain if you hit it fast enough you should get through. And lets all be honest here, sami and fast should never be in the same sentence unless it has some SERIOUS work done to it.

I can't believe this is even being discussed. I'm going to get a plane and fly it till it runs outa gas and jump with a chute and a rambo knife.

I can't believe this is even being discussed. I'm going to get a plane and fly it till it runs outa gas and jump with a chute and a rambo knife.

LOL!

What about a sandrail of sorts.

I don't think that would work very well.  I saw Road Warrior and the guys in the buggy were caught pretty quickly by Lord Humungus's men and that wasn't good for them at all...

  I agree with the motorcycle idea, 400 Dual Sport.  50+ mpg and the ability to really move.

The Samurai and Wranglers are poor choices in EOTWAWKI situations. You need to be able to be mobile, and neither vehicles have enough carrying capacity, or the ability to sleep IN the rig (preferably with your gear still inside it). Hard tops are THE way to fly for what you need. Forget soft tops: they provide less security, protection from the elements, and require replacement.

Where you're located, and where you want to go are going to be HUGE factors. Trackers get better MPG than the Samurai, and have more power thanks to FI. Yes, FI is more "complicated" than carb, but it's also FAR more reliable. The Samruai carb is ANYTHING BUT simple. It's vacuum and computer controlled. The suspension is far more modern (comfort, and speed), breaks and cargo space are superior, they're about 1/2 the price of a Samurai and probably many fewer miles on them (since they're newer). It's the best of both worlds really - it benefits from modern engineering, but they're still quite simple to work on & repair.

My choice has been the 4-door with some modifications. My 29" MT tires will get me anywhere but the toughest of trails. If I add a locker, I could probably navigate most of the Rubicon with a little body damage. 29" locked is like 31" open. 29" tires will keep the MPG advantage (expect 20-22 MPG) - 31" won't (17 MPG). 31" tires are also THE SUCK going uphill, or with the kind of gear (weight) you'll be carrying in a SHTF situation.



The Cherokee will have a capacity & power advantage. And, it's RANGE will be similar (larger fuel tank), but this can be augmented with jerry cans (So can the Cherokee, but you'll benefit from 20-40% better MPG out of those same gallons).

If it were me, I'd also look into the Toyota mini truck (with camper shell), or 4-runner. They're also well priced, common and quite capable wheelers. I still think the ultimate setup is a van - but hey - that's just me.

And, you can go to Utah all you want. I think there's too many local survivalists with high powered weapons, and I doubt they have any reservations about shooting first, and asking questions later.