How Prepared Do You Keep Your Coach?

[UAV]

Hey All...

I always like to be super prepared for whatever comes my way.

Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Especially when it comes to the current state of things in which we live.

That being said, how prepared do you keep your coach?

Is she ready to go on literally a minute's notice or do you have to get things prepared once you decide to head out?

Just curious.

Happy New Year.

[MRUSA14]

I can be ready to go in a hour. I need only load the refrigerator, cellphone, computer and medications. Everything else is always aboard. Check the fluids and tire pressures and away I go.

[TMan59]

Right now our coach is winterized. So we could use it, just wouldn't have water.
In the months its not winterized we can also be ready in less than a hour, if I don't wash it.

[Scarab0088]

Interesting question...

We live in a known earthquake zone, so the RV is prepped at all time to act as a "lifeboat" in the case of "the big one".

There is even a small selection of clothes and canned food in the RV. But, we always need to add some more cloths and additional food for longer trips.

And, we would keep the fuel tank full to reduce risk of condensation anyway.

Safe travels

[OB-One]

We're full-timers now, so the coach is always ready. Before this we had a TT that was always ready to go. We did winterize it each fall and thus removed the freeze-ables, but it could be restocked and watered in about an hour.

We lived in the boonies of Wyoming so we weren't preparing to escape civil unrest, but the TT was our place to live if we got flooded or burned out. Fortunately that never happened.

Keeping an RV reasonably stocked is a good idea for those of us that are lazy and forgetful, like me. Stocking and preparing the RV before a planned use allows time to remember all the things one might normally forget and reduces the "stress" of trying to get everything together for a planned trip.

[palehorse89]

Parked in a heated garage here in NW Penna. , not winterized, turn on fridge, load it, roll.........

[Smitty77]

Yep, in the San Diego area, with wild fires and earthquake potential - we have our rig always ready as our 'emergency life vehicle'. We keep canned and dried foods ready, so in case we can't get into the main house refrigerator and freezers. We also keep a supply of pet food, months worth of prescription med's that we swap out regularly, water tank is always fresh and full. Diesel is always topped off before we park it. LP is topped off when it gets to half a tank. And we of course have For Extreme Emergencies - scotch and a few choice bottles of vino too!

We have family in the area, and have a Family Emergency Plan with assignments based upon different situations. (Where to meet if we need to bug out. Routes off the main freeways to get to those meeting locations. Whom is to get over to pick up some of our senior members. Communicate by text, and try CB's and the channel, at the top and bottom of each out. Etc. We also have a stash of cash ready.) Every family group has a rough neck container ready to grab and go, with copies of important papers.

As we are now able to travel more, and two other major family members (there all important, but each group has a leader!) are traveling for business. We've updated the plan to have different leaders based upon whom is in town.

Old Boy Scout, and I still remember 'Be Prepared!'.

Best to all,
Smitty

[bruceisla]

Tank is full, tires are aired up, propane is full, some clothes onboard ... mostly just selecting additional clothes but, in a pinch, 15 minutes and we are outa' here. Actually, the drive to the RV (15 minutes) probably takes longer than time to get it on the highway. We live in Florida so it's always ready ....

[smoker]

Just need to add water and let her warm up, ready to go.

[Bumps]

An Old Boy Scout, too, we keep it pretty well equipped (sans food, water, and toiletries). In the winter, however, it sits under an ADCO cover, so that adds a couple steps (depends on the amount of snow on the cover). As long as the 50amp cable is not frozen to the ground it would prolly take us a couple of hours to be pulling away from the side of the S&B. Not fast enough, IMO, but the chances of us moving very fast on these ice-covered Colorado roads is not very likely, either.

It's a completely different story in the summer!

\ken

[Belgian]

We store our MH in the back yard. It is always full of fluids when it is parked along with some clothes but no food. I have aften thought of buying some of the dried foods available from places like Costco and storing them in the garden shed.
Smitty, what papers do you take with you?
I've heard of people talking about bugging out in case of an emergency, not sure if I would be able to go to far if all power was lost and signals didn't work, or if the BIG ONE hits and overpasses are down, especially here in the city. Our plan is to stay here and live in the MH if our home is uninhabitable.

[GaryKD]

Hi UAV,
Being prepared to leave the S&B, it would take a couple of hours, but the coach is basically ready to roll. The time it takes depends on the urgency to leave. The normal schedule is an organized 10 day countdown. I live in a hurricane area. Hurricanes provide plenty of warning. While the items carried may be different, in an emergency situation anywhere from 2 hours to a day would be about right. Fill with water, TPMS, start/load the refer, load critical paper docs in the S&B, tasks like that.

[goldwingerx2]

Right now we are in the RGV for the winter. However, when we are home it is ready to go at a moments notice. It is stored inside and plugged into 20 amp service. So after returning from a trip we do laundry and it all goes directly back into the MH. Only things needed would be perishables for the house frig and anything else we might need for the trip. Oh and of course Purr (the cat), but she has her litter box clean and ready in the MH. I always fuel up when we return and keep about 1/3 tank of water. If we are not in a rush I dump the water and refill to between 1/3 and 1/2 for travel. If the LP is under a half I fill it on return also. Also if I know where our next trip is going to I put what we might need right beside the MH in the storage (locked enclosed) or in 1 of the bays. It usually takes longer to hook up the toad than to load the MH.

[UAV]

Great stuff everybody!

Getting some of those dried meals ready to eat is a must have as you can store quite a bit of food in a relatively small space.

FWIW, I have a Katadyn Water Filter just in case there are water issues...this thing can make drinking out of mud in a pinch!

Also, the Hand Cranked Emergency Radio that can power up all of your devices, etc.

Just a couple of things you all might consider to put in your coaches!