Hoosier Survival Project Ideas

[jlutzcurtis]

Well during emergency survival situation along with all essential kits you need to store dry foods and fresh water. Without water it's gonna pretty tough to stay active.

 

[JeepHammer]

I started from scratch with land that had been partly strip mined.
I started from scratch, an old Jeep ('73 CJ5) and being military disabled, I needed help. The power from the Jeep was my help.

The Jeep got a winch, dual batteries, an air compressor & an inverter for 110 VAC power.
With dual batteries, the winch got fed, you can weld off dual batteries, and the second battery can be transferred to camp power or other vehicles.
I suggest you find actual deep cycle batteries and don't use 'Automotive' batteries, they won't live long...

I lived in a tent on weekends, holidays & every 'vacation', I worked sun up to sun down every day.
Even being a farm boy for 17 years, and a Marine for 16 years, the amount of work is shocking when you are there alone.
Make lists! These will keep you busy when ambition or sore muscles keep you in low power mode... Just stay busy...

I made more mistakes than successful projects.
I have a thread on my mistakes, I'm not afraid to admit them.
Seems very few are confident enough to admit mistakes & take the blame, pride and/or ego I would think, which won't serve you at all...
Ego does nothing but lie to you full time, that's the flaw in the human animal.

My first build was a proper 'Privvy', since I didn't know how long I was going to be there, I built in a sump/cesspit that was ground covered.
It also had a shower stall next to the outhouse, first a watering can with sprinkler head, then a bucket, then a barrel, all solar heated.

Nothing will do more for you spirits than a shower & clean cloths!

The second 'Build' was a trailer for the Jeep.
An old office trailer that had been left behind became my utility trailer.
Old office, travel & house trailers are cheap to free & everywhere.
Since the reclaimation took 15 years, everyone had looted, shot up and even tried to set the old trailer on fire, frame & axles being the only thing surviving, so stripping off the office and laying down some deckling was all that had to be done, along with locating tires & wheels.

My third 'Build' was a shipping container left behind by the coal mine.
Trust me, you CAN NOT live in a shipping container in direct sunlight in the summer, and you can't heat it in the winter.
Being a Marine, the first thing that came to mind was sandbags (go figure).
While it worked somewhat, sandbags collect moisture & rodents/bugs faster than you can believe...
and they are good for about one year before they rot/give up from the sun/elements.

The single most life sucking thing you will do is carry water.
I had a clean lake & a dirty river close, but bucket scooping water and moving it was life sucking.
Rather than trying to find/purity water for consumption, I would consider a long hose & hand pump, and look for wells.
Once I had power (first Jeep, then solar power) I had a well drilled, potable water 24/7/365 with little effort.

Might I point out, every homestead (pre-municipal water system) has a well, even if the house is long gone.
Not understanding this, I drilled a well, then discovered a well left over from the previous owners before the mine moved in, now I have two wells.
Now that I'm paying attention, every old farm/homestead has a well casing sticking up somewhere on the property...
Something to keep in mind should you be forced to relocate.
99% of the time a bubble lift will clean out the silt and you will have a fully functioning well that's clean & potable water supply.
Normally, the clean well is the reason the home was located next to it, well first, the house (While its common now that wells can reach 500 feet regularly).

 

[proud american]

I have a seasonal business, lots of time to kill and just going through older posts. We have been through the Ramsey class. His Basic common sense budgeting/planning should be 1 course taught in schools. Kids graduate unprepared. Common core education is garbage. The junk silver is "poor mans gold" and great way to protect against a crash. We own some and it will always be easy to barter in addition to funding baby step 3.

 

[JeepHammer]

LARGE PROPANE TANK
i am wonder if any one knows on the average how long would a 1000# propane tank last in a 1000sqft. well insulated home, the propane would be used for heating, lighting, cooking and hot water. in a very coservitve manner (WSHTF)

When people ask questions like this I point out it's the CUBIC FEET, not square feet.

I also point out cold comes from below displacing heat that escapes upwards.

If you are building or remodeling, double or triple pane windows facing south, with a low E coating.
This is called PASSIVE solar.
The coating reflects off high sun outside the home, like in summer, but allows low sun into the home in winter.
The coating also changes wavelength of the light so the energy can't escape.

Keep windows and doors to the north small and sealed up.

No such thing as too much insulation, it's just a question of how much can your floor, walls & ceilings PRACTICALLY take?
There is a reason everything from hides to curtains to wall hanging rugs to thick velour wall paper got used from cave man times until the invention of HVAC when people could afford to waste fuel/energy...

Keep in mind that MOIST air conducts heat better ('feels' warmer). There is a reason the old timers kept a cast iron pot of water on the wood or coal burner, or over the fireplace...

When people ask about insulation, I start with asking how much crack sealing they have done already.
A draft means not only COLD air getting in from outside and needs to be heated, but warm air is getting OUT somewhere to create the draft.
Crack sealing is slow, and isn't glamorous, but it's cheap and saves a truck load of money!

 

[JeepHammer]

I have a seasonal business, lots of time to kill and just going through older posts. We have been through the Ramsey class. His Basic common sense budgeting/planning should be 1 course taught in schools. Kids graduate unprepared. Common core education is garbage. The junk silver is "poor mans gold" and great way to protect against a crash. We own some and it will always be easy to barter in addition to funding baby step 3.

You *Assume* there will be an open trade economy, and someone will have a use for silver...
OK, let's go there!

When you need a plow fixed, or a water pump fixed or built, how much of your silver do you think it will take to trade for welding rods to make or fix your plow/water pump at my shop?
I don't have a great need for silver, I just don't use a lot of it, so what do you think the exchange rate will be?

A couple cans of welding rods will be worth a truckload or two of silver... The welding rods can fix the truck the silver came on, the silver can't do that.
It only takes two drops of silver to make breaker points for a vehicle ignition, one drop to attach sights on a gun barrel.

How much silver does it take to make a well drill head?
How long will that silver last?
A hack saw blade & pipe fitting will make a sand/dirt drill, no silver needed...

How much silver does it take to saw/split a cord of wood? Silver doesn't make good axe heads or saw blades.
Or plant/maintain a garden?
I'm guessing a plow, hoe & shovel would be more useful... Silver doesn't make good plows, hoes or shovels, and it would take a LOT of coins to make those tools.

My question is,
Have you ever sharpened a chainsaw blade? How about a hand saw blade?
Do you know how to set the kerf in a saw blade?
Have you ever made a shovel or axe handle?
Do you know how to repair, or build a well pump?
How many screws, nails, fence staples do you have squirreled away?
How about pipe/fittings for simple repairs?

If the answers aren't positive, then your silver won't last long if it's worth anything at all...

Guns, ammo & silver are all well & good...
Most people overlook the obvious, EDUCATION and tools, basic supplies for maintenance & construction.
If you can't fix a water leak, no running water or sewage.
If you can't sharpen a saw blade or drill bit, then it's going to be stone age construction.
If you don't know what a draw knife is, or how to use it, then you can forget about hammer or axe handles.

A stash of silver is well & good, but it's a FINITE resource with questionable trade value.
Think 'Sustainable', what education/skills/tools will sustain you in perpetuity...

------------

I'm reminded of the settlers that moved east to west in the 1800s and their stories.

The blacksmith, handy man, carpenter were 'LOW CLASS' in the east while the rich with no particular work skills had the best of everything when they moved west.
Usually about the Mississippi River, the rich ran short of cash, and by the great planes they started dumping cargo to lighten the load on breaking down equipment they couldn't repair themselves, and couldn't pay someone to fix for them.

The pianos, organs, China dinner services, crates of books, lavish wardrobes, lavish furniture got dropped by the wayside just so they could keep up on broken wheels and worn out axles...

At the foot of the Rockies, the broke down wagons got dumped and they rode livestock... Nothing left except the cloths on their backs.
At the same time, the Carpenters, handymen, hunters, blacksmiths traded work among themselves and did just fine...
Those wagons full of tools & staples kept them cranking right along!

When they reached their destination, the tradesmen built the homesteads & towns and became the rightful town elders, while many of the 'Rich' either died or contacted relatives back in the east to get them 'Home' where someone else could take care of their defeated, useless butts, or got somewhere the families could send them even more money...

 

[spencer rifle]

When I educate school groups about pioneers arriving in Indiana, we discover that, if you need a pothook made, and you have chickens to trade, and the blacksmith already has enough chickens, you're out of luck. If you have silver, you can always get what you want at that time. Those cosidering moving west were advised to sell everything and get as much silver as possible for three reasons:
1. It's small and portable and doesn't rot or die.
2. Land offices only accept silver
3. Taxes must be paid in silver

Folks who arrived on the west coast with a supply of siver could make good their losses in short order.

Silver still has many uses - water disinfectant, antibiotic, great conductor - besides it's storage-of-value attributes. Skills always have value, but that value needs to be turned into something portable that doesn't need to be fed or watered or protected from moths. There are good reasons that civilizations abandoned most barter as they advanced.

Acoholic beverages may be an even better store of value (along with coffee and cigarettes, which don't last as long), and was used a legal tender in some places at some times, but it's not as portable.

 

[JeepHammer]

And again, you are *ASSUMING* there will be an economy that uses currency.

And for the record, everyone accepted all hard currency when there was an economy that accepted currency, from copper to gold...
At the time of the US 'Civil' war, Spanish, English, French, Dutch and every other hard currency was accepted since it was hard currency.
No matter the country of issue, it was still silver, gold, copper, nickel, etc.

 

[spencer rifle]

And again, you are *ASSUMING* there will be an economy that uses currency.

And for the record, everyone accepted all hard currency when there was an economy that accepted currency, from copper to gold...

... or salt.

 

[JeepHammer]

Staples will always be hard currency.
The guy that can make clean vinegar in volume, or culture yeast, or has the inside track to salt/sugar/alcohol production will always have a 'Cash Cow' that makes money.

Romans paid their their troops partly in salt & wine.
Wars were fought over salt & pepper.
Nitrates, particularly bat 'guano' was a currency just like gold dust/nuggets & silver.

The English paid part of the place guard in beef, and they are still called 'Beef Eaters' to this day.

The Dutch traded large amounts of high grade iron for HUMANS in the slave trade, high grade iron had a practical use & was in short supply, with steel being almost non-existent in Africa at the time.

Crop production can always fail or rot, while shelf stable staples will always have value even when 'Precious Metals' don't.
When there simply isn't food enough to buy, you can't eat silver, gold or even diamonds.
Men with pockets full of wealth, worth millions, have died of starvation & dehydration when there simply wasn't food or water to buy, keep that in mind...

*IF* silver or gold has value will depend entirely on how far down the tubes the economy goes...
While everyone needs to eat & drink, not everyone needs a gold or silver coin to survive.

---------

Men caught stealing were traditionally whipped, while some punishments were more severe.

A man steals by force, commiting 'Armed Robbery' risks your life, both during & after the robbery.
This is the reason why death or dismemberment was often the punishment for armed robbery.

Trading goods or services is traditional, and if it's honest, risks no life or limb in punishment.

I say this because *MOST* people I'll try to trade before stealing, some however will need to be 'Persuaded' not to steal from you & yours.

---------

An agricultural & durable goods economy will spring up fairly quickly, just like there is in every underdeveloped country in the world.
Food, fuel, spare parts, food preservation supplies will all be in demand, just like there is in underdeveloped countries.
If you have water & reasonable soil, some seeds, you are WAY ahead of the game!

The guy that can make a wind or water generator, and the support equipment will have a booming business, see solar, wind or water power generation to charge battery powered devices in primitive cultures...
This is anything from a 5 gallon bucket 'Micro-Hydro' or wind/solar generation to fairly large 'Mini-Grids' that support several homes with limited power.

The guy that can build or repair existing equipment, like windmills or water generation infrastructure will draw people with something of value to get that work done, on top of selling/trading production of his/her own.
The idea is to become sustainable, to produce YOUR needs so you can produce something to sell/trade.
Trying to live in a vacuum with no outside trade is a good way to slowly starve...

The idiot idea going around is "I have a lot of guns & ammo, I can hunt"...
You and the other 250 million others with the same idea in the US, and like during the great depression, it won't be long until the 'Game' is gone.
Some think they will store 'Survival' food, but that's a finite consumable that will eventually spoil or be consumed and again you are stuck for food.

The next idiot idea is "I can filter water"...
Keep in mind that most sewage systems are gravity fed, and as soon as chemical treatment is no longer available, or power to run those sewage treatment facilities raw sewage is going to make it into surface/ground water...
That means every single drop will need to be filtered and disinfected, and that means either solar stills or fuel to boil without chemical treatment.

-----

This is assuming you don't already have a deep rock water well that draws BELOW surface/ground water table, deep rock being an excellent water filter.
Something that is deep enough to filter out sewage & chemicals like farm runoff & crop pesticides/herbicides, and the potential for massive chemical leaks when said grids go down.

There simply isn't enough privately (singularly owned) water well to support everyone in the US, this is simple fact.
KNOWING someone with property suitable for a deep well, and the infrastructure to get water out of that deep well will SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE your chances of survival LONG TERM...

But in the 'Me Generation', no one wants to pitch in to a co-operative as a back up plan (call it 'Plan B')
Bypassing the $10 coffee & impulse buys at the cash register, driving a car a couple years longer doesn't occur to them so they can buy into a co-operative, drilling water wells & providing power of some kind to pump that water, and having a shipping container or travel trailer with supplies on site...
Remember, manicured lawns are a human construct of the very rich that has survived and 'Trickled Down' into modern life, while gardens & collective gardening, growing crops takes manpower and that collective will have both manpower & land to grow those crops...

You would have to think 'WE' instead of 'ME', but unless you are super rich and can afford to build mega-bunkers, stock the with several years of ALL SUPPLIES NEEDED, and can pay to maintain these facilities LONG TERM (massive disposable income) you WILL have to work for a living...
And starting with a 'Farmer' gives you a big advantage since that farmer already knows how to grow crops/livestock, and has the land to support said agriculture, AND has clean water supply to do it...

It's common sense that seem to be in short supply lately...
Either you are VERY RICH, or you deal with what's in your ability to do.
A $2,500 shipping container is reasonably secure storage, and in a disaster, it keeps the rain/snow off your head.
Another $2,500 thrown into water wells & pump equipment locks down the potable water issue.
With a contract, you buy into, and sell out of your co-op.
For the price of a used car you are secured a place to go and food/water, and probably sewage treatment when you get there...
You WILL have to put in an honest days work about everyday to SUSTAIN your survival, but at that point it's no longer a question of survival and more of living within your means sustainably. (No more $10 coffee and 'Fast Food' will be rabbits & chickens)

On the other hand, you won't die of starvation or waterborne illness ---And there will be others to help with security issues...
And let's not forget what others in a co-op bring to the table, like carpentry, mechanical abilities, electrical experience,
And if nothing else, recipes so your diet isn't monotonous & two hands to do work.
Someone that can make a soap that won't take too many resources and doesn't blister hide would be a good skill to have...

 

[brian_a_mcmillen]

Great

Staples will always be hard currency.
The guy that can make clean vinegar in volume, or culture yeast, or has the inside track to salt/sugar/alcohol production will always have a 'Cash Cow' that makes money.

Romans paid their their troops partly in salt & wine.
Wars were fought over salt & pepper.
Nitrates, particularly bat 'guano' was a currency just like gold dust/nuggets & silver.

The English paid part of the place guard in beef, and they are still called 'Beef Eaters' to this day.

The Dutch traded large amounts of high grade iron for HUMANS in the slave trade, high grade iron had a practical use & was in short supply, with steel being almost non-existent in Africa at the time.

Crop production can always fail or rot, while shelf stable staples will always have value even when 'Precious Metals' don't.
When there simply isn't food enough to buy, you can't eat silver, gold or even diamonds.
Men with pockets full of wealth, worth millions, have died of starvation & dehydration when there simply wasn't food or water to buy, keep that in mind...

*IF* silver or gold has value will depend entirely on how far down the tubes the economy goes...
While everyone needs to eat & drink, not everyone needs a gold or silver coin to survive.

---------

Men caught stealing were traditionally whipped, while some punishments were more severe.

A man steals by force, commiting 'Armed Robbery' risks your life, both during & after the robbery.
This is the reason why death or dismemberment was often the punishment for armed robbery.

Trading goods or services is traditional, and if it's honest, risks no life or limb in punishment.

I say this because *MOST* people I'll try to trade before stealing, some however will need to be 'Persuaded' not to steal from you & yours.

---------

An agricultural & durable goods economy will spring up fairly quickly, just like there is in every underdeveloped country in the world.
Food, fuel, spare parts, food preservation supplies will all be in demand, just like there is in underdeveloped countries.
If you have water & reasonable soil, some seeds, you are WAY ahead of the game!

The guy that can make a wind or water generator, and the support equipment will have a booming business, see solar, wind or water power generation to charge battery powered devices in primitive cultures...
This is anything from a 5 gallon bucket 'Micro-Hydro' or wind/solar generation to fairly large 'Mini-Grids' that support several homes with limited power.

The guy that can build or repair existing equipment, like windmills or water generation infrastructure will draw people with something of value to get that work done, on top of selling/trading production of his/her own.
The idea is to become sustainable, to produce YOUR needs so you can produce something to sell/trade.
Trying to live in a vacuum with no outside trade is a good way to slowly starve...

The idiot idea going around is "I have a lot of guns & ammo, I can hunt"...
You and the other 250 million others with the same idea in the US, and like during the great depression, it won't be long until the 'Game' is gone.
Some think they will store 'Survival' food, but that's a finite consumable that will eventually spoil or be consumed and again you are stuck for food.

The next idiot idea is "I can filter water"...
Keep in mind that most sewage systems are gravity fed, and as soon as chemical treatment is no longer available, or power to run those sewage treatment facilities raw sewage is going to make it into surface/ground water...
That means every single drop will need to be filtered and disinfected, and that means either solar stills or fuel to boil without chemical treatment.

-----

This is assuming you don't already have a deep rock water well that draws BELOW surface/ground water table, deep rock being an excellent water filter.
Something that is deep enough to filter out sewage & chemicals like farm runoff & crop pesticides/herbicides, and the potential for massive chemical leaks when said grids go down.

There simply isn't enough privately (singularly owned) water well to support everyone in the US, this is simple fact.
KNOWING someone with property suitable for a deep well, and the infrastructure to get water out of that deep well will SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE your chances of survival LONG TERM...

But in the 'Me Generation', no one wants to pitch in to a co-operative as a back up plan (call it 'Plan B')
Bypassing the $10 coffee & impulse buys at the cash register, driving a car a couple years longer doesn't occur to them so they can buy into a co-operative, drilling water wells & providing power of some kind to pump that water, and having a shipping container or travel trailer with supplies on site...
Remember, manicured lawns are a human construct of the very rich that has survived and 'Trickled Down' into modern life, while gardens & collective gardening, growing crops takes manpower and that collective will have both manpower & land to grow those crops...

You would have to think 'WE' instead of 'ME', but unless you are super rich and can afford to build mega-bunkers, stock the with several years of ALL SUPPLIES NEEDED, and can pay to maintain these facilities LONG TERM (massive disposable income) you WILL have to work for a living...
And starting with a 'Farmer' gives you a big advantage since that farmer already knows how to grow crops/livestock, and has the land to support said agriculture, AND has clean water supply to do it...

It's common sense that seem to be in short supply lately...
Either you are VERY RICH, or you deal with what's in your ability to do.
A $2,500 shipping container is reasonably secure storage, and in a disaster, it keeps the rain/snow off your head.
Another $2,500 thrown into water wells & pump equipment locks down the potable water issue.
With a contract, you buy into, and sell out of your co-op.
For the price of a used car you are secured a place to go and food/water, and probably sewage treatment when you get there...
You WILL have to put in an honest days work about everyday to SUSTAIN your survival, but at that point it's no longer a question of survival and more of living within your means sustainably. (No more $10 coffee and 'Fast Food' will be rabbits & chickens)

On the other hand, you won't die of starvation or waterborne illness ---And there will be others to help with security issues...
And let's not forget what others in a co-op bring to the table, like carpentry, mechanical abilities, electrical experience,
And if nothing else, recipes so your diet isn't monotonous & two hands to do work.
Someone that can make a soap that won't take too many resources and doesn't blister hide would be a good skill to have

 

[brian_a_mcmillen]

Great write up! I unfortunately feel that we are rapidly approaching the period where we will need these skills and a cooperative attitude to survive.

 

[JettaKnight]

Great write up! I unfortunately feel that we are rapidly approaching the period where we will need these skills and a cooperative attitude to survive.

We're doomed.

 

[patience0830]

We're doomed.

We're doomed.

Where you get this we ****, Kemosabe?

 

[Iroquois]

Hoosier winter


Do rabbits stay in the shed in the winter? Are rabbits hardier than chickens? Can fur and feathers coexist in the same shed?

Chickens carry diseases that can kill your rabbits, make sure your chickens can't crap on the rabbit cages. Also, wild rabbit carry diseases that can kill your rabbits.
Unlike chickens , rabbits can get those diseases if you let them graze on the ground.