Bugout Blazer

Taking the old Chevy Blazer out to the coast of Maine for camping was a pretty good shakedown cruise.

We were really happy nothing broke down and nothing major fell off the beast. My confidence wasn’t too high since it had to make an emergency trip back to the garage just before the trip. The fuel line developed a massive leak and that had to be attended to. On this trip nothing more broke. Actually, the more we drove it, the better it seemed to run.

When I pulled the 105 watt solar panel off the van I made wooden rack to fit the load bars on my lovely wife’s Nissan Versa. That worked out fine for last year’s camping trip. Luckily the rack was exactly the right width to fit on the Blazer’s luggage rack. It was easy to set up the solar electric system.

Having our own solar electric saves us a bundle at campgrounds. For example, at the campground on the coast the difference between nonelectric and electric sites is about $30/night. That adds up quickly. We also save money by not buying ice as we run our small 12 volt compressor fridge cooler.

A lot of our camping gear is going to stay in the Blazer. That way if we ever have to bug out we’ll be able to leave in minutes and still have our survival gear. To be honest, what will most likely happen is that we’ll end up going camping more often as most of our stuff is ready to go. We even have dehydrated food for the two of us for several weeks.

The ambulance/camper conversion was great. It was pretty roomy and we could dry camp just about anywhere. The Blazer is not a mini mobile apartment. On the plus side, it has a much lower profile and four wheel drive, allowing us to use narrow dirt roads. Everything has trade offs.

By the way, When I hit the road this fall I’ll still be able to dry camp in places like Walmart parking lots. The boat will be hitched up behind the Blazer. It’s perfectly suitable for sleeping in while on the trailer. That worked out for me a time or two back when the boat was towed with my a pickup truck.

Unlike the ambulance, my lovely wife is perfectly comfortable driving the Blazer so that’s another plus. So far it seems to have been a good purchase.

-Sixbears