Posted: 1/14/2011 11:05:00 PM EDT
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War Chest - Tactical Footlocker - Mobile Base Unit Project I cant carry everything. Some guys on the forum have 90 lbs worth of gear. I am not young enough or in good enough shape to lug that around anymore. I need a way to carry all of my Sh!t by myself or optimally with the help of another person. It needs to be not to large but not to small either. This is when the War Chest can come into play. I am compartmentalizing my gear basically in a mobile kit. Im making this thread to solicit more ideas, expound upon the ideas I have come up with and maybe help someone else who is new to prepping and give them some insight.. Most CERT, FEMA and other community disaster planning groups recommend a 72 Hour Kit. Ok so away we go, lets get into it. Here is my idea. First we need a ruggedized weatherproof footlocker to organize things. 1. It needs to be relatively light and mobile. The 1630 Case purchased for this project weighs 30 lbs. I figure I will be adding 70 - 90 lbs worth of gear on top of that. 2. The lid will contain an organizer for access to essential communications gear, etc. when fully deployed. 3. It needs to carry all of my sustainment gear for an arbitrary #, I will use 144 hours for 1 person 72 hours for 2 people. . My rifle, handgun, small day pack, chest rig. 4. It will contain a light weight sil nylon shelter, climashield blanket ( good for 20 degrees ), and a folding ground pad I am making with some fy20 foam and materials. Lid organizers.. I'm sure some here know what I'm talking about. With these larger Pelican cases though I have alot more real estate to play with besides what the picture here shows.  Being that I have a nice sewing machine, material and 5 or 6 years under my belt making gear I have the ability to make nice high quality customizations for a lid organizer and padded panels for inside the pelican case for further organization. I created this graphic to give a general idea of what kind of lid organizer Im thinking of.  This is just a general guideline, it is not to scale.. It seems the way to go would be to get a piece of Kydex and create a sleeve with 1000D Cordura in black or maybe even a high vis color like yellow. This then mounts to the pelican case lid with screws in the raised portions shown in the pics I have above. Next step will be to create internal padded dividers for the lower portion fo the pelican. In here we will have a our rifle, a pistol, mags, ammo. Gear will be a war belt, pack, chest rig. Additionally a Thermarest inflatable ground pad, and Kifaru woobie/doobie or 20° bag. Hygiene kit and about a week of food is doable if chosen wisely for space. LED Lanterns, bottled water, filter etc.. All the goodies that will reasonably fit. This can all be organized and compartmentalized within the custom made dividers. In the end I would like to have a system I can load in the back of the truck and take off and live out of it in a sustainable nature. Wherever I go. Im not of the fantasy I will be living in the woods until I succumb to the elements and starvation. This is more targeted at suburban - urban, and possibly some woodland in the core periphery. The ability to be mobile at a moments notice with all of my sustainment gear is the end game here. |
I was about to comment on how with that huge case all you were bringing was comms and alcohol  and then I actually read the thread and saw that that's just your plan for the lid organizer, which I take it is pretty thin and all the more important gear goes under it.
I still wonder, as I always do, why exactly you think you'll need a scanner, shortwave, GPS, 2 ways, as well as a netbook, ipad and presumably a smartphone. Seems like an awful lot of weight / bulk for a redundant and imo, low priority function. Cool idea though ... like a BOB, but a war chest for vehicle travel. |
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Quoted: Hey Duggan. Thanks for the comments.I was about to comment on how with that huge case all you were bringing was comms and alcohol and then I actually read the thread and saw that that's just your plan for the lid organizer, which I take it is pretty thin and all the more important gear goes under it.I still wonder, as I always do, why exactly you think you'll need a scanner, shortwave, GPS, 2 ways, as well as a netbook, ipad and presumably a smartphone. Seems like an awful lot of weight / bulk for a redundant and imo, low priority function. Cool idea though ... like a BOB, but a war chest for vehicle travel. The ipad or netbook ( i meant either or with the graphic ) would be used for email, internet connectivity, and a way to read my PDF's of which i have many. Basically a library. Also this can be used for entertainment, ie a small hard drive with favorite movies, music etc.. keep your mind busy. The GPS of course who knows where the road may take us when we are on it. The Shortwave is so I can get up to date news through radio, more specifically overseas radio in a time of turmoil in the states may be found useful. Scanner is for local communications. Uniden has the new home patrol and it autotunes to any radio traffic like a freq counter. The 2 way hams would be used for communications between parties. I dont have alot of redundancy there. I think each item fills a gap for a complete package. I cant really listen to overseas BBC or the like with the scanner, thus I cant listen to local police, EMS with the shortwave. If that makes sense.. Thansk for the interest and comments  |
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I guess I (perhaps foolishly) look at your list and think to myself, gee, I can do every one of those things in one way or another with my smartphone that sits in my pocket.
I guess if you're counting on cell / 3g going down, it changes the game ... how reliable has cell / 3g been in previous events, such as Katrina? |
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Quoted: I guess I (perhaps foolishly) look at your list and think to myself, gee, I can do every one of those things in one way or another with my smartphone that sits in my pocket. I guess if you're counting on cell / 3g going down, it changes the game ... how reliable has cell / 3g been in previous events, such as Katrina? I am not depending on cell or 3g service. That is one reason why I have the scanner and the Shortwave. The email and internet function of say the Ipad would be used at possible available networks. In a Katrina like situation if I were bugging out I would be living out of my truck and using a Mcdonalds wifi or similar service. Currently I have a usb modem I could use, but again that isnt something i would depend on. As a stormchaser I use all of these items, Scanner, internet data, xm weather data, etc.. So I'm kind of tech oriented and feel a need to have that info and data in a SHTF situation. Even in a TEOTWAWKI the scanner and world shortwave radio would definitely work and be welcomed to get intel for movement etc.. The GPS would be likely to work as well.. The internet may be the only thing down. Again its not that important, just a nice thing to have when available. |
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Quoted: Quoted: I guess I (perhaps foolishly) look at your list and think to myself, gee, I can do every one of those things in one way or another with my smartphone that sits in my pocket. I guess if you're counting on cell / 3g going down, it changes the game ... how reliable has cell / 3g been in previous events, such as Katrina? I am not depending on cell or 3g service. That is one reason why I have the scanner and the Shortwave. The email and internet function of say the Ipad would be used at possible available networks. In a Katrina like situation if I were bugging out I would be living out of my truck and using a Mcdonalds wifi or similar service. Currently I have a usb modem I could use, but again that isnt something i would depend on. As a stormchaser I use all of these items, Scanner, internet data, xm weather data, etc.. So I'm kind of tech oriented and feel a need to have that info and data in a SHTF situation. Even in a TEOTWAWKI the scanner and world shortwave radio would definitely work and be welcomed to get intel for movement etc.. The GPS would be likely to work as well.. The internet may be the only thing down. Again its not that important, just a nice thing to have when available. There is an age old saying, It's easier to Sh**can gear when you don't need it, than to Sh** gear when you do. |
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Quoted:
I still wonder, as I always do, why exactly you think you'll need a scanner, shortwave, GPS, 2 ways, as well as a netbook, ipad and presumably a smartphone. This is my initial thought as well, Dugg. I'm a purist and a primitive. When SHTF I tend to get really retro and shun anything that requires electricity. Each to his own, surely! I've read so many of these BOB/BOV/GHB-related threads over the years, that it has become a humorous past time for me to see what items people place priority. One guy needs a shit-ton of clean socks. Another guy just had to carry a large bottle of mouthwash, and staunchly-defended his right to do so. Another guy just had to have several pair of clean underwear, but he had limitied room in his bag, so he took less food. I dunno, maybe he had a bad case of stinky balls or something. Hey Stormtracker, I DO like your case idea though, and I would REALLY love to see it when you are done. Please don't take offense at any negative posts about your choices of gear. What works best for you may not be what others may deem necessary for their own war chest.
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So is this replacing your BOB, or supplementing it? I too have though of prepackaging some form of container (5 gal buckets mostly food water and hygiene) for bugging out to add with my BOB, and some form of hard case with ammo/firearm gear would be a nice addition.
Cool idea, keep it updated as you go along. |
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It took me a while, but I finally realized that you're going to be putting your standard pack inside this case. So, all this extra stuff is just icing on the cake. Aside from the redundancy of having a never-used netbook and GPS locked away in this monster case, I don't see any problems.
Nice touch with the rum. It's one of those tertiary items that certainly doesn't belong in the main pack, but sure goes well with sitting next to a radio. |
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Quoted:
Ok guys so I have been brain storming; I know dangerous, right?. I came up with this idea. It isn't necessarily a new idea. Im sure everyone here as heard the term "War Chest" The problem I have as Im sure I am not the only one is: I am somewhat disorganized. It would take me several hours to gather everything up in a somewhat coherent and organized way to load in the BOV and hit the trail. I realize there are bags, rubbermaid tubs, footlockers et al... My main plan in most any crisis is to bug in. I figure I am safer in my home than with all of my gear loaded up in my BOV driving to a BOL in Southern MO, SE KS or what have you. However while in my home, a family's home, on the road on vacation or what have you... This is when the "War Hammer Chest" comes into play. Im making this thread to get some more ideas, expound upon the ideas I have come up with and maybe help someone else who is new to prepping and give them some ideas.. Reading literature, reading Arfcom, going to preparedness expo's that are organized in a larger nearby community by CERT, a consistent subject that comes up is a 72 Hour Kit. Well of course being an Arfcommer and more self defense oriented a 72 hour kit needs to be more firearm centric, and maybe more sustaining than 72 hours... Ok so away we go, lets get into it. Here is my idea. First we need a footlocker to organize the important things. I am looking at Pelican cases, Here pictured is a 1730 case: http://www.edcgear.com/1730.jpg http://www.edcgear.com/1730open.jpg The reason I am looking at this size is its length. Long enough to house a collapsible AR. Inside dimensions are roughly 34.5" x 24.75" x 13" Tall Additionally, there is a 1690 case: http://www.edcgear.com/1690case.jpg Inside dimensions on this one are roughly, 31 x 26 x 15 Tall. not quite large enough for a carbine, unless you break her down. Now I know you're saying yeah yeah, I have heard of Pelican cases, BIG deal! Well, Here is where it gets a little interesting. Customization. Lid organizers.. I'm sure some here know what I'm talking about. With these larger Pelican cases though I have alot more real estate to play with besides what the picture here shows. http://www.edcgear.com/lidpel.JPG Being that I have a nice sewing machine, material and 5 or 6 years under my belt making gear I have the ability to make nice high quality customizations for a lid organizer and padded panels for inside the pelican case for further organization. I created this graphic to give a general idea of what kind of lid organizer Im thinking of. http://www.edcgear.com/pelicanlid.jpg This is just a general guideline, it is not to scale.. It seems the way to go would be to get a piece of Kydex and create a sleeve with 1000D Cordura in black or maybe even a high vis color like yellow. This then mounts to the pelican case lid with screws in the raised portions shown in the pics I have above. Next step will be to create internal padded dividers for the lower portion fo the pelican. In here we will have a our rifle, a pistol, mags, ammo. Gear will be a war belt, pack, chest rig. Additionally a Thermarest inflatable ground pad, and Kifaru woobie/doobie or 20° bag. Hygiene kit and about a week of food is doable if chosen wisely for space. Lanterns, bottled water, filter etc.. All the goodies that iwll reasonably fit. This can all be organized and compartmentalized within the custom made dividers. In the end I would like to have a system I can load in the back of the truck and take off and live out of it in a sustainable nature. I for one dig this setup- gave me some GREAT ideas! Thanks for posting! Are you planning on having the LED lighting connected to a battery pack? Or is it more of a removable/portable setup? |
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Quoted:
I guess I (perhaps foolishly) look at your list and think to myself, gee, I can do every one of those things in one way or another with my smartphone that sits in my pocket. I guess if you're counting on cell / 3g going down, it changes the game ... how reliable has cell / 3g been in previous events, such as Katrina? Depending on "cell/3g" whatever 3g really means, for your self sufficiency kit, is not something I would ever be caught doing. |
| That seems like a pretty good idea. I got one of These Hardigg single lid cases for free and I've been debating about what I want to do with it. It was used to ship some really expensive and sensitive laser measuring equipment, so it is waterproof, dustproof, etc. The foam or whatever packing material there was is gone, but it was only used once, so I can't complain at all after seeing what these things go for new. I've been trying to find a good place to get some closed cell foam for it. It's big enough to fit an AR if I take the upper off of the lower and quite a bit of whatever else I want to put in there. I'll be watching this thread to get some ideas for sure. |
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I've got 4 like this http://www.pelican.com/cases_detail_single_lid.php?Case=AL2017-0706 only grey in color that another SF member gave me (thank you again sir). They are outstanding for protecting stuff and keeping it stored. Be warned you can make them heavy enough you don't want to lift them though I'd advise putting everything in it and testing the weight before making foam cut outs / custom organizers permanent. |
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My only comment was that the only tools I'd keep in the box would be tools specific to working on any of the boxes contents. I'd keep a seperate vehicle tool box with the day-to-day tools you'd use for other repairs. This would free up some space in the box for emergency supplies.....like adding in to your medical supplies.
I'd find myself popping the lid all the time to get at the tools, and you want to minimize the traffic in and out of the box as much as possible, I think. Too much chance of stuff being taken out and not returned to its proper spot. Oh, and on the inside of the box lid I'd have some acetated packing lists of everything thats supposed to be in the box. That way you're never relying on memory about what you have in the box and something to double check when you do your inventories. |
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Quoted:
Neat idea. Just a thought, could you spend less on the case by going with a surplus box? There are hundreds if not thousands of surplus pelican/hardigg/skb cases out there on Craigslist/eBay. I picked up three matching SKB cases to use as panniers on my TW200. They were $25 each with cheap shipping rather than $100+ each new. The ironic part is that they were suplus cases from the same kind of night vision units that we had in the gulf. Right now there are a bunch of OD green surplus medical chests that are going very cheap.It looks like they were used for test equipment and you would need to rip out the custom foam inserts. No big deal in my book. I picked up a very large Pelican case to use as a range box. It showed up with a broken wheel and when I called Pelican to BUY a replacement wheel I was told that it would be covered under warrenty and all I needed to give them was a mailing address. |
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Pelican Case 1630 was purchased from some outfit on Ebay. It looks like it will suit my needs perfectly since the inner foam isn't important for my uses. I thought for the price with shipping included it was a good time to jump on it. It appears they are selling fast. They have sold 8 and have 12 left. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300588998164&category=107894&_trksid=p5197.c0.m619 I will make a nylon case that fits the size of the case to fit in the bottom for my rifle, handgun and magazines. The Rifle will need to be broken down. That's ok though. |
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I can see the point of this and generally agree that its a good idea - that preps are centrally located and ready to go - but then consider this; if this is really to be "ready" is the IPAD for example going to live in there? if not then you are just re-inventing packing stuff to then bug out, which was the problem you intended to solve.
Also if you are mixing types of things - soap and gun oil and food - there will be leaching and things will get funky - even through heavy plastic. Personally, I think of things in a modular fashion without a single monlithic container - e.g. a tote of weapons/armor/ammo, a tote of camping supplies, a tote of food and water etc.. based on the nature of the emergency the correct totes are grabbed. Another thought process is that something in the tote ready to be a emergency prep must therefore be in the tote, so if you use it daily, you need a duplicate in the tote. this is a part my wife doesnt understand about why we need a zillion hi power flashlights and batteries, and multiple knives and guns and mags and ... this leads naturally to the conclusion that the tote must be of a reasonable cost and capability. Eta: I realize you stated this was a "war chest" but you also stated it was to sustain you for 72 hours, so I took it from that that you have more than just guns to eat. 
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I personally would not use a case that weighs 20+ pounds, it reduces the weight of the gear you can put in it.
I've got my camp kitchen all packed in a big blue rubbermade tuppy. Lots of other stuff packed in more tuppy's. Plus they stack nicely in my bug out rickshaw, it looks kinda like this one................... 
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Quoted: Meh,I personally would not use a case that weighs 20+ pounds, it reduces the weight of the gear you can put in it. I've got my camp kitchen all packed in a big blue rubbermade tuppy. Lots of other stuff packed in more tuppy's. Plus they stack nicely in my bug out rickshaw, it looks kinda like this one................... http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/rickshaw.jpg The tactical wheelbarrow is much more suitable.  |
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I like the idea a lot. I keep a big kit in my truck, although its not in a nice Pelican case. Mine is also bolted down.
I also have 2 trailers me and my wife pull behind our mountain bikes. Both can be pulled on foot. One holds the baby and can also comfortably carry another 30-40 pounds of gear next to her and in the back cargo space. The other is just a cargo trailer and can easily carry 100 pounds. I like the idea of the Pelican case, but the drawback for me is if i have to pull it on foot those wheels just wouldnt work in Arizona, which is why i went with the 16" bike tires on the 2 trailers we have. |
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Storm tracker, what is your BOV and/or BOT ?
How tall is it and does it have a swing down tail gate or dual opening doors ? You could concieveably keep the cases on a table of the same height in your garage and in an emergency, back the BOV or BOT up to the table and slide everything in and off you go. It would also keep everything and waist (or so) height for ease of packing or repacking/checking plus its locked up in the garage. |
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There was a thread a while ago and a guy painted a metal job box gloss black with red writing on it. I searched but can't find that old post anywhere.
A big metal box would obviously be heavier but hopefully a little bit more secure. I have a job box in the basement and I keep threatening to fill it full of ammo like some of you have done but then the sucker is basically permanent. Grove |
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Quoted:
There was a thread a while ago and a guy painted a metal job box gloss black with red writing on it. I searched but can't find that old post anywhere. A big metal box would obviously be heavier but hopefully a little bit more secure. I have a job box in the basement and I keep threatening to fill it full of ammo like some of you have done but then the sucker is basically permanent. Grove This one? |
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I do something similar on a larger scale.
I have a pelican filled with camping gear, and about 7 filled with tactical shit. I do have them arranged by priority at least, so if I need to I only grab the boxes I need. I have one filled with priority gear, one filled with medical shit, one with extra stuff for the family, and the rest filled with my piles upon piles of other tactical crap. Now, admittedly, most of these are meant for storage purposes and not for grab-and-go SHTF, but I have at least two that I can grab and be set up rather well if need be, and the boxes make everything easier to transport in my trailer when I need to. I have a couple pelicans set up for mags and ammo as well. I can fit quite a few of these cases in my jeep if need be. Camping box 
Gear boxes 
I like Pelicans because I can tag them with my name and/or silly logos. 
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im planning to add a secure storage locker to my suburban, which i can stuff with a bob, and case of water, mre's, tools, rifle and handgun, with ammo, and a ton of other stuff. im planning on buying a large job box, cutting the feet off, (to reduce height), then bolting it behind the rear seats. job boxes are hard to break into, equipment is out of sight, plus it allows me to store a lot of useful stuff full time in the truck securly. win, win.
iv already measured a job box, from the bottom, to the opened top of the lid, and the inside of a suburban has plenty of room.  also my truck is stored at my home in the country. im home 99% of the time day and night, so its pretty secure, and im not worried about someone trying to break into it. ( im also not going to let anyone know whats in it, besides sf that is. i know you guys wont tell.
lol... my daughter saw this and has demanded we paint our truck box to match..... i wonder if i can get a magnetic company sign made that says umbrella corp, with the logo????? hehehe... i found a online company that will make any magnetic sign you want, its fully customizable online.... cost for a 24# x24" custom sign??? about $30.00 bucks.  here was a example i made really quick. daughter thought it would be awesome to get a couple made, along with some custom patches, and black acu's. we would be all set for halloween...
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I have a pelican 1440 that is awesome for mags and ammo, it rolls around really easy with the luggage handle.
I've had a handful of these cases given to me by the military but I got about 5 or 6 pelicans off of craigslist pretty cheap (like $50 for a 1650 cheap), if you are anywhere near a military installation they can be found all day long. I've managed to get about a dozen so far, they are great to store stuff in, and I tend to move a lot and they are perfect for moving my stuff in. |