RV Boondocking Project - DIY Installation for a Reverse Light

One of the most difficult tasks when boondocking is backing your RV into a suitable area. This can be made even more challenging if you don't have reverse lights on your RV and it's starting to get dark. In many cases, In our case, we usually don't reach our destination until it's gotten pretty late in the day. Without decent back-up lights, you could risk serious damage to your RV.

RW, Jr.'s RV didn't have any reverse lights and it really made it difficult to back-up when there wasn't much daylight left. To remedy this problem, I installed an LED spotlight on the spare tire carrier on RW, Jr.'s RV. If we wind up getting set up late in the evening, we don't have a problem because of a lack of daylight.

.The main obstacle was making a mounting bracket for the light. Replacing the existing taillights with ones that incorporated reverse lights was a pretty expensive proposition and they wouldn't have provided very much additional light. Standard reverse lights aren't very bright and wouldn't be a lot of real help when it gets dark.

I used an old aluminum bracket and a piece of 1/2" electrical conduit that was in my junk pile to fabricate a mounting bracket. It only required a couple of holes to be drilled in the spare tire mounting bracket to attach the light. I mounted it in a centered position that enabled the light to be used to its maximum advantage. This gave the maximum amount of light coverage.  

The light was wired directly into the trailer wiring harness to the reverse light wire which hadn't been hooked up. Now RW, Jr has a spotlight that works any time he is backing up his RV. He can also see me when I'm guiding him into place if it's dark. I used a  10 watt 12 volt  DC LED Floodlight for the reverse light. It's water-proof and puts out a lot of light.

Got boondocking light?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Gambling with Nature - The Uninsured Loss

Life is a gamble. Sometimes you win but eventually you will lose if given enough time.  The cost sometimes out weighs the risks and you will need to be prepared if your gamble doesn't pay off. You need to be prepared for the consequences and accept the fact that your attempt to beat nature has failed.

For a decade and a half my gamble with nature has finally resulted in a big loss. There have been minor setbacks over the years but nature has finally won the battle. A recent storm has damaged my bug-out retreat beyond repair. Having lost more than sixty percent of the roof and close to 100 percent of the contents due to heavy rains that accompanied the storm, there is little left to do other than a salvage operation.

The overall dollar value of the place was fairly insignificant but is still hard to accept. Realizing that the cost of insurance would have been way more than the structure was actually worth, a decision was made to save the extra cost and take a chance. The cost of insurance would have doubled the cost of the structure and now the place is just an uninsured loss.

All my time and savings will now have to be focused on replacing the damaged structure and restoring my bug-out retreat to a usable state. Even though it wasn't a huge investment, it is still hard to accept the consequences of my actions by gambling with nature.

Got uninsured loss?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Riverwalker's Pics - Desert Shelter

The jacal pictured above is a typical form of adobe-type shelter used in the desert. They were built using mostly native materials that were available in the desert. This jacal is located in Big Bend National Park.

Got desert shelter?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

RW Tours an Atlas Survival Shelter

Shane Connor from ki4u.com has placed an Atlas Survival Shelter on display at his facility. I recently had an opportunity to make a short trip to his facility in Gonzales, Texas and  “take the tour” of a survival shelter. You can contact shane@ki4u.com to obtain more information on the different Atlas Survival Shelters that are available.

This is a view of the main entrance to the shelter. You can also see the flange "connecting tube" for what will be the below entrance. 

This is an outside view of the escape hatch and the outside air duct. Having an escape hatch is a primary and extremely critical part of any survival shelter.

This a view of the NBC (Nuclear, Biological and Chemical) Air Filtration System in the shelter. This is another critical component of any type of survival shelter.

Here is a view of the inside access to the escape hatch. This will give you an additional way out  if your main entrance is blocked.

Here is a view of the entryway and the overhead lighting. The shelter has both AC and DC power options.

This is a view of the living area with a full-size sofa. It didn't appear to be a "sleeper" sofa which would probably be a good idea to give you additional sleeping space.

This is a view of the microwave and refrigerator. These were AC powered units and a DC alternative would probably be needed. Otherwise, you'll be eating most of your meals cold and straight from the can.

This is a view of the "entertainment area" of the shelter. Probably don't want to rely on satellite or cable reception. I'd stick with a few DVD's and a12 volt DC automobile DVD player.

This is a view of the sink area and some of the overhead storage space that is included. Chances are you will need additional storage capacity and there is adequate room to add additional storage cabinets.

This is a view of the counter area and the additional cabinet storage in the sink / kitchen area.

There was additional storage space in recessed floor compartments throughout the shelter. This is an important part of a shelter in order to have room to store additional supplies and gear.

Here's a view of the bunk beds in the survival shelter. There were a total of four bunk beds and room for a full size queen bed on the other end of the shelter.

There was also a small toilet area which had a chemical toilet. I didn't see any type of shower facility and this would probably need to be addressed. Otherwise, you may be taking a lot of sponge baths.

Whether you are planning to buy a ready-made shelter or build your own, it's probably a good idea to tour an actual shelter and see what it includes and what may be needed to cover your needs.

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Worst Case Scenario - The Failure of Personal Infrastructure

Technology can demand a high price when it fails. The failure of your own personal infrastructure can come with an even higher cost. You can endanger your own survival if you fail to plan properly for a possible failure of your personal infrastructure.

While we can’t exercise very much control over the majority of the infrastructure in our lives, we can control our immediate environment with proper planning. Being prepared to maintain your personal infrastructure will take an extensive amount of planning. That planning should take the form of one the major essentials for your survival.

What does it take to help guard against the failure of your personal infrastructure? All it takes is a simple backup plan for emergencies.

In order to have a good backup plan, you will need to know your weaknesses and prepare in advance for the problems they may create. Having a decent backup plan in place will help insure the viability of your personal infrastructure in a worst case scenario.

No matter where you live your personal environment is only as viable and safe as you make it. While there are many aspects involved in your personal infrastructure, some are quite basic and should be of prime consideration. Covering the basics should rank high on your list of priorities for maintaining your personal infrastructure.

The Major Aspects of Personal Infrastructure

1. Communication - This is an important aspect of your personal infrastructure. It is also one of the ones that experiences failure on a regular basis. Establishing a set of protocols to follow in case your personal communication system breaks down will increase your chances of survival. Do you have an alternate place to meet if you can’t contact someone directly? Do you always inform someone of your route and destination when traveling? If there is a lapse in your personal communications, you need to have clear and decisive guidelines in place for all family members to avoid the possibility of a break down in communications.

2. Transportation - Another important aspect of your personal infrastructure is transportation. Facts are facts and without viable transportation of some sort you may not get very far. Most of us have a means of transportation but if it fails you may have a serious problem. While most people can’t always afford a backup vehicle, you can keep spare parts handy and learn how to do simple mechanical repairs that might otherwise leave you stranded at the worst possible time. It’s not a good idea to put much faith in the public transportation system in a crisis.

3. Shelter - Shelter is another priority of your personal infrastructure. Your home should be a primary and essential part of your personal planning to maintain your infrastructure. It will give you both safety and security, which are the major elements of a secure environment.

Even the crudest of shelters will require maintenance to keep them viable; otherwise they may simply fail to provide any protection. While most any type of shelter will be a good thing, it may not afford the best levels of protection you or your family may require. Being prepared to perform simple repairs will help but you must also be prepared to abandon it if the main structure becomes unstable and be unsafe to occupy. It beats the alternative of being housed with persons who failed to plan ahead and are now simply refugees.

4. Security - Your security infrastructure can also be vital to your survival. If the system suffers an overload, you may need to insure your own levels of protection. Your levels of protection can take shape in the form of anything from adequate locks on your home to self defense classes or proper training and use of firearms. 

5. Personal Needs - Another integral part of your personal infrastructure is the maintenance of personal needs. You should strive to make sure your food and water supply remains viable and that proper sanitation and health needs can be sustained in the event of a system failure.  

Maintaining the integrity of your personal infrastructure is something you can control. You probably won’t be able to prevent the failure of a major infrastructure system but you can create a more secure personal infrastructure. This will allow you to be better prepared to handle such a failure should it occur.

Keeping your survival personal?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Survival Gear - Choosing Clothing for Survival - The Pocket

Clothing is often our first line of defense in a survival situation. It is quite simply shelter for our bodies. No matter how “thick-skinned” we think we are, the human body is quite fragile when compared with most of the creatures in nature. Although this may at first seem to be one of our weaknesses, it is actually one of our greatest strengths. Clothing gives us the ability to readily adapt to almost any type of environment.

Being able to adapt quickly to a changing environment is often overlooked as one of our most important abilities. We easily put on a heavy coat or jacket and brave the worst that winter can throw at us. We avoid the effects of a heavy downpour with a poncho or a rain slicker. Nature can do its worst and we can devise a solution that will protect our bodies against the harshest of conditions. Environmental conditions that might otherwise be fatal are easily handled with the proper clothing.

One important and very fascinating part of clothing is the pocket. Whether the pocket is on a shirt, a pair of pants or a jacket, it’s a simple feature of clothing that serves a multitude of purposes. A pocket is truly an amazing thing. In a winter coat, it is a shelter for our hands if we’ve lost our gloves. And what would a survival vest be without pockets? A pocket can also serve as a container for our daily survival gear. Many of those items which we pack in our pockets on an everyday basis would be a lot harder to carry without pockets.

In fact, the more pockets an item of clothing has will quite often determine its ultimate usability. All you need to do is look at all the pockets on a set of BDU’s to realize this simple fact. Not only is clothing ranked quite often by the number of pockets it has, it is also applied to many clothing accessories as well.

Probably one of the worst disasters you can face on an everyday basis is getting a hole in one of your pockets. Not only do you face the possibility of a sudden lost of important items but your ability to carry many needed items has been seriously diminished. In fact, a great many items have been designed directly as a result of the simple pocket and its ability to carry needed items in an extremely handy manner.

Many times items are specifically designed to fit in a pocket (i.e., pocket knifes, pocket books, etc.). Even if it wasn’t specifically designed to fit in a pocket, many times items will still wind up in someone’s pocket. If it needs to be kept handy, someone will figure out a way to get it in a pocket. One way or another it will eventually wind up in someone’s pocket. It’s simply one of the best and most versatile ways to carry “stuff”.

Pockets have even become a part of our daily ritual. Many times we can’t wait to get home and “empty” our pockets. We’ve survived another day and can rest easy now.

When choosing clothing for survival, you might want to count the number of pockets.

Got pockets? You betcha!

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Bushcraft - Central Texas Style - Nature’s Engineers

When it comes to building a natural shelter, you can learn a valuable lesson from some of nature’s smallest creatures. Birds are capable of building elaborate nests for their young and their survival is dependent upon their ability to build a nest that will protect their young. The amazing thing about birds is they build these nests using only their beaks. They are the true engineers of nature.

Birds can build very elaborate nests from a wide variety of materials and place them in some very inaccessible locations. Leaf fibers, grass, and twigs are the usual components but also can include other items. They also use natural adhesives to help keep their nests together. These adhesives can be mud, spider webs or various other naturally occurring adhesives often found in certain plants. Their choice of nesting materials is an important component for proper nest construction. Their nests will also vary in size, shape, the type of materials used and construction techniques depending upon the species of bird. Sometimes you have to go out on a limb. so to speak, in order to get a decent picture. See if you can spot the natural adhesive used by many birds in the picture shown above. 

They also make use of other items to provide additional protection for their nests. Many birds include the scat from natural predators in the construction of their nests. The major reason for this is more than likely the fact that the smell will usually provide a deterrent for predators and make their nests much safer. They will quite often include fibers, leaves and twigs from certain plants and herbs to give additional protection to their nests from disease caused by bacteria or other harmful germs that could create a risk for their young.

So the next time you get a little frustrated when you need to build a natural shelter for your own protection, remember that you have two distinct advantages over one of nature’s best engineers...hands.

Got dexterity?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Urban Survival Tip - Finding Emergency Shelter

Many people fail to realize that the vast majority of homeless people are very smart. They know how to survive and have become masters at the art of survival. Finding emergency shelter is one of the practices that many homeless people are very good at finding in an urban environment. Learning some of their simple tricks can help you to adapt to your urban surroundings in an emergency or crisis.

The most common form of emergency shelter in an urban environment is the clothing donation box. Many look like little houses and most even have a pitched roof. Homeless people have known about and used these for shelter for a long time. In larger cities they are everywhere and can provide a ready-made shelter from the cold and the rain. They can also provide a source of additional clothing if needed. Even in smaller towns they can be easily found and work great as a form of emergency urban shelter.

Got emergency urban shelter?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Natural Forms of Shelter

Many times you don't have to build a shelter but need merely take advantage of what nature has to offer. Natural forms of shelter require little expenditure of effort and resources. They are quite literally "ready made" for your use.

Got natural shelter?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Survival Basics - Primary Needs - Shelter - Dressing for Survival

Shelter is a basic need required by everyone. Our skin alone does not afford us the protection we need to stay alive in the hostile environment that nature sometimes throws at us. Shelter is usually defined as that which protects us from the elements of nature that can endanger our survival but is often neglected in its most basic form. That most basic form of shelter is the clothes we wear on a daily basis. Being properly dressed for your environment will be your first line of defense as a shelter for you against the elements of nature.

Modern technology has made it possible for us to live in the relative safety of an artificial environment that keeps us cool when we are hot, warm when we are cold and dry when it is wet. As a result, we often fail to dress appropriately because we know that the comforts of an artificial environment that will protect us are readily available.

In the absence of that artificial environment, we become extremely vulnerable to conditions that could endanger our very survival. The effects of hypothermia or heat exhaustion can develop quickly if we are unprepared. Simple things like having a hat and sunglasses available on a hot day, a jacket or pair of gloves should the temperature drop unexpectedly, or rain gear should an unexpected rain storm develop will enable you to survive these events that are often unexpected but can have serious consequences. Simple protection will be available from these simple items of clothing if needed.

In Central Texas, it’s not uncommon for summer temperatures of 100 degrees or more to suddenly drop 25 or 30 degrees when a thunderstorm rolls in. Suddenly and without much warning, you find yourself cold and wet and looking for shelter that is warm and dry as the temperatures plummet. A light jacket or windbreaker along with some simple raingear would have avoided this situation.

There is always the risk of technology failing when you need it most. It seems that air conditioning units always break in the summer and heaters always break down in the winter. Yet many people will forget to keep that most basic of shelter items, proper clothing, readily available should a need arise unexpectedly.

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Simple Survival Tips - Passive Solar Lighting

Passive Solar Lighting

One of the easiest ways to save money is by using passive solar lighting. Too many times we enclose ourselves in homes that provide shelter but then need an additional means to provide the light required to see what we are doing. By using the light from the sun, you can have the additional light required for your home to allow you to accomplish simple tasks during the day.

It won't help you very much when it gets dark as the sun goes down but it may help you from flipping that switch during the day that will cause the little dial on your utility meter to spin like crazy.

Got passive solar lighting?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Mountain Survival Shelters - The Debris Hut

Debris Hut 001

Debris Hut 002

Shelter is one of the main requirements for survival and Nature provides plenty of building materials for you. Building a survival shelter can be hard work. If done properly, it can make a big difference in your survival. Here are some pics of an actual debris hut.

Nature will supply you with the materials needed for your survival. The rest is up to you.

Got debris hut?

Staying above the debris line!

Riverwalker

Wilderness Survival Shelters

Wilderness Shelter

Rocky overhangs, ledges, depressions in the rock face and caves can be excellent survival shelters. They can also be enhanced in a variety of ways to make a better and more effective shelter using additional brush, sticks and tree limbs, etc. that may be available in the area. Even if there are no additional materials available they can be a much better alternative than being openly exposed to the elements.

Natural shelters can quite often satisfy the basic shelter needs in a survival situation. The primary purpose of any survival shelter is to help you preserve body heat by protecting you from the elements of nature. Being protected from the wind, rain, sun or cold will be necessary in order to preserve your body heat and help you avoid the effects of hypothermia which is a major killer in survival situations.

Simple Survival Tips for Using Natural Shelters

1.) Avoid spots where you might get wet. Check for signs of water stains, running water etc. that may become a problem.

2.) Check to make sure there are no present occupants residing in the area. Most wildlife will react unkindly towards you if you invade their home or try to evict them.

3.) Always insulate yourself from the ground to avoid the loss of body heat.

4,) Use only the minimum amount of space needed. You’ll have a smaller area to heat in order to preserve body heat if no fire is available.

5.) If you do have the ability to make a fire, make sure you have adequate ventilation.

Any type of survival shelter in a wilderness setting has to be able to preserve your body heat and protect you from the elements of nature.

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Storm Shelters for Survival - Part One

Storm shelters are a vital necessity in many parts of the country. The threats from tornadoes and other severe storms are a very real danger to your survival. My area is no exception and having a good storm shelter is one of the areas where my preparations have been inadequate. This is a situation that needs to be addressed and has been moved to the top of the list of things that need to be done. You should also realize that creating and planning the most effective and efficient design possible for your storm shelter will be what makes your chances for survival a success.

LOCATION

After considering several different types of storm shelters, it seems that a shelter that takes advantage of your natural surroundings will probably be one of the safest means possible to weather a severe storm. Many creatures in our natural environment survive devastating storms by simply taking advantages of natural shelter that is available. Sometimes their shelter is little more than a hole in the ground and yet they manage to survive. The location for your storm shelter should blend in with the shape and contours of your surroundings which will make it less obtrusive to your daily life but also be there if and when it is needed. Building an effective and efficient storm shelter will require a great deal of planning in order to insure your survival. Your long term survival is largely dependent on your ability to survive the short term effects of a severe storm.

MATERIALS

While there are many types of commercially built storm shelters available, most can be cost prohibitive for many people. With some time, effort and a little research, you should be able to design and build an effective storm shelter that can fit into your budget. If you’ve got plenty of money or received a big tax refund this year, it may not be a problem for you and one of the commercially available shelters may be more appropriate for your needs. Certain classic storm shelter designs are based on steel or concrete construction or a combination of these two materials. Newer and more modern designs are being based on fiberglass structures that offer strength similar to steel and concrete but don’t have the long term disadvantages of rust or deterioration. The fiberglass option seems to be the type that will best suit my needs based on my own research into storm shelters. It also offers the option for moderately easy repairs through the use of readily available fiberglass repair kits. It will probably be in combination with some type of geo-mass such as mounds of soil, bags of dirt or rocks.

More considerations on my plans for building a storm shelter will be forthcoming in Part Two.

Got hole in the ground?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Bug Out Boat - Update - Boat Living Revisited

For those of you with an interest in living in a house boat and that may have missed an excellent updated article, here is a link to the update on living in a houseboat that was originally posted on the Texas Prepper's Network.

The update article can be found here: Boat Living Revisited

The original article can be found here: Bug Out Boat-Living On A Houseboat


Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker