Bug Out Vehicle List | 27 Essentials
A bug out vehicle, also known as a BOV or survival vehicle, is a vehicle that is designed to help its occupants quickly evacuate an area in the event of an emergency or disaster. BOVs typically have a number of features that make them well-suited for this purpose, such as large storage capacity, off-road capabilities, and durability.
In this guide, we will take a closer look at some specific bug out vehicles, key features to consider when choosing one, and a common checklist to gear it up and get it going. You’re bug out vehicle doesn’t have to be some 6-figure tank- almost any vehicle will work as long as you have a plan in place and get the right gear for the job. Some of the best bug out vehicles blend right into any situation- but whatever your vehicle choice, be sure it works well with your emergency plan.
Contents (Jump to a Section)
Our latest update on bug out vehicles and kits adds even more guidance. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Disclosure»
What is a Bug Out Vehicle
A bug out vehicle (BOV) is a type of vehicle that is specifically designed to help its occupants quickly and safely evacuate an area in the event of an emergency or disaster. This could be anything from a natural disaster like a hurricane or earthquake to a man-made disaster like a terrorist attack or civil unrest.
The goal of a BOV is to provide its occupants with a means of transportation that is reliable, durable, and capable of handling a variety of different terrains and road conditions. BOVs are typically larger and more rugged than the average passenger vehicle. They are usually equipped with a number of specialized features that make them well-suited for emergencies.
Features of a BOV
One of the key features of a bug out vehicle is its storage capacity. BOVs are designed to be able to carry large amounts of gear and supplies, which can be essential in an emergency situation. This could include things like food, water, medical supplies, tools, and other essential items.
Another important consideration for a BOV is its off-road capabilities. In an emergency situation, it is likely that roads and highways will be congested, damaged, or blocked, making it necessary to take alternative routes. A BOV should be able to handle a variety of different terrains, including dirt roads, muddy trails, and rocky terrain.
In addition to its storage capacity and off-road capabilities, a BOV should also be durable and reliable. In an emergency situation, there may not be the option to call for help or to get roadside assistance. Ideally, a BOV should be able to withstand rough treatment and should be able to continue running even if it sustains damage.
Best Bug Out Vehicles
There are a number of different types of bug out vehicles to choose from, each with its own unique set of features and capabilities.
The most common types of BOVs include:
Bug Out SUVs
SUVs are popular choices for BOVs due to their combination of size, storage capacity, and off-road capabilities. Many SUVs are also equipped with four-wheel drive, which can be essential for navigating rough terrain.
Bug Out Trucks
Pickup trucks are another popular choice for BOVs, due to their large storage capacity and off-road capabilities. Many pickup trucks are also equipped with four-wheel drive, which can be useful in emergency situations.
Bug Out Vans
Vans can be a good choice for BOVs due to their large storage capacity and ability to transport multiple people. Some vans are also equipped with four-wheel drive, which can be useful in off-road situations. Check out our entire guide on Bug Out Vans.
Bug Out RVs
Recreational vehicles (RVs) come in a wide range of sizes and with a wide range of options. Being mobile homes on wheels makes them a solid choice for living on the go, even in an emergency. Some plan on an RV being both the bug out vehicle and the bug out location.
Regardless of the type, having a vehicle ready is a smart part of your overall bug out plan.
Bug Out Vehicle Essential Items
Many of the essential supplies for bug out vehicles overlap with other types of survival kits, but your vehicle needs to keep running. This keeps most of the essential gear focused on that. Ideally, your vehicle has enough space to store all of it with plenty of room to spare.
Vehicle-Specific Tools
Keeping your vehicle on the road can take some supplies and know-how to repair it on the go. These specialized tools are essential to stow away for emergency repairs to keep you going.
- Tool Kit: Whether you are changing spark plugs or water pumps, you’ll need the tools to get it done. Models and makes of cars can vary in the tool sets that fit them best, so you should be familiar with repairing your car and whether you need SAE or metric tools. Keeping socket sets, pliers, wrenches, and a hammer are just the bare minimum.
- Escape Tool: Resqme Escape Tool [Top pick from both our window breaker review and car escape tool review) – Don’t pass over safety tools in your bug out vehicle.
- Jack: The jack you need depends on the type of vehicle you have and the clearance to your frame. Just like your tool kit, you should be familiar enough with your vehicle to pick the right jack for emergencies.
- Spare Tire: Vehicle manufacturers have been skipping full-sized spares for many cars for a while now, and now some no longer include a spare at all. While this can save some cost at the dealership, not having a spare tire could spell disaster in a bug-out situation.
- Tow Strap: Nylon 20,000 lb Straps – This strap could be overkill for your specific vehicle, but it’s always better to go over capacity rather than under.
- Gas Can: Wavian USA Jerry Can [Jerry can pick from our gas can review] – Store gas or have an empty for an emergency.
- Siphon: Pennzoil Multi-Use Pump [Top pick from our siphon review] – Transfer fuel or water quickly and easily. Some vehicles have siphon prevention on them, so keep that in mind.
- Lug Wrench: Universal Cross Lug Wrench – Even if you can turn lugs with the tools in your tool kit, a cross wrench will be easy, fast, and an important redundancy.
- Jumper Cables: 16-Foot, 12 Gauge Jumper Cables – Even if you have the optional jump starter, a set of long, tried-and-true jumper cables should be included in any bug out vehicle.
- Compressor: Even bikes need a way to keep their tires inflated, so a compressor spans every type of bug out vehicle, making it very useful.
- Trash Bags: Hefty Load & Carry [Contractor pick from our trash bag review] – Trash bags come in handy as containers and for waste sanitation, so they are important to include.
Water & Food
Water and food are heavy and bulky, but they are the top priority when it comes to practical survival. Your vehicle likely shelters you, so the survival rule of three has food and water as the next critical items.
- Water Filter: Waterdrop Gravity [Top pick from our water filter review] – This family-sized filter is compact and collapsible, making it ideal to stow in your vehicle.
- Purification Tablets: Potable Aqua [Top pick from our water purification tablet review] – Having two methods to purify water is best, and these tablets are cheap and small enough to stow anywhere.
- Emergency Food Bucket: Augason Farms 30-Day Food Supply Bucket [Best overall from our emergency food company review] – If you have room in your vehicle, emergency food is one of the best options to load up on.
You can also opt to store canned food, get a water tank, or go with MREs. These selections aren’t necessarily essential, but making sure you have your food and water bases covered is.
Communication
Most vehicles come equipped with AM/FM radios or other ways to receive communication. They can also charge your phone, which is one of the best communication devices you can ask for. While not essential for your kit, the many different models of two-way radios could help significantly. Signaling for help or to others in your group can also be a communication method.
- Cell Phone Charger: Don’t bug out just to find you can’t get your best communication device power.
- Signal Flares: Orion Safety Flares [Top pick from our signal flare review] – signal for help or start a fire- these are too versatile not to include in your kit.
Navigation & Personal Documents
Many vehicles have integrated navigation, and your smartphone can navigate as well, using cell towers and GPS. But what if those go down? You’ll want to be able to navigate using older technology as well. Plus, make sure some critical documents like your Emergency Plan are accessible in your bug out vehicle.
- Local Maps: You can get free highway and survival maps in the mail, which you can download and print.
- Compass: SUUNTO A-10 Map Compass [Top pick from our survival compass review] – Be able to navigate your maps with Finnish precision.
- Emergency Plan: Keep a copy of your emergency survival plan in your vehicle. Our free emergency plan template makes it easy to accomplish.
- Rainproof Pen: Rite in the Rain EDC Pen [Top pick from our survival pen review] – Scribble directions and notes when you need to, without worrying about the weather.
Shelter & Warmth
While your vehicle can provide shelter, you can’t always bank on everything going right. These survival items are meant to keep you warm and alive if SHTF and your vehicle isn’t keeping you warm and dry on its own.
- Waterproof Tarp: Grizzly Tarps 6′ x 8′ [Budget pick from our survival tarp review] – Heavy-duty tarpaulin is a better option here than a bushcraft nylon tarp.
- Survival Blanket: Arcturus Survival Blanket [Top pick from our survival blanket review] – This combo insulated blanket/tarp works exceptionally well in bug out vehicle kits, checking a lot of boxes.
- Mattress/Sleeping Bag: Depending on the size of your vehicle, you’ll need a place to get some sleep and stay warm.
- Lighter: BIC Classic [Budget pick from our survival lighter review] – Classic BICs are dirt cheap and still get it done.
There is plenty more gear you should include in your vehicle based on your plan, vehicle type, and other resources. These are just the essentials that span the wide range of vehicle options. Make sure you know how to use all of the equipment you place in your kits so you won’t be learning on the go during an emergency.
Additional Kits
Gear for your bug out vehicle has a lot of overlap with your bug out bag, first aid kit, and your basic car survival kit. You can use those guides to find gear related to our recommendations in the checklist:
Other BOVs
Less common bug out vehicles can make sense for specific situations. Here are the options preppers have explored:
- Aircraft: On the pricey side of things, any type of aircraft can get you to your bug out location quickly.
- Boats: Like aircraft, boat travel can be restrictive, but is much more affordable. If you are near the coast or a body of water, a boat could be a good vehicle option. With the variety available, some preppers plan on using these:
- House Boat: These sustainability barges can be pretty comfortable as a secluded bug out location when they are built out properly.
- Collapsible Boats: Inflatable John boats and foldable kayaks are the go-to here, for people near water but don’t want the maintenance and responsibilities of owning a boat with an actual hull.
- Bikes: A popular bug out vehicle for urban areas also works quite well in grid-down or EMP situations. With saddlebags and/or trailers, you can take a lot of equipment with you as well. Bikes can maneuver where cars cannot and are sustainably human-powered, so gas or electricity does not have to be an issue.
- Military Vehicles: Military vehicles are designed to be rugged and durable, making them well-suited for use as BOVs. Some popular choices include the Humvee and the MRAP.
- Motorcycles: Many times, carbureted motorcycles are picked as bug out vehicles because of EMP resiliency and a motorcycle’s ability to maneuver between gridlocked traffic.
- Sedans: Cars are not the best pick for a bug out vehicle, but if it’s what you have, you can make it work.
Bug Out Trailers
Having your bug out vehicle as a daily driver can be cumbersome, so some preppers opt to offload their gear into a bug out trailer. When they need to bug out, they hook up the trailer, which is smart and quick.
No need to pack up tons of bags and bins- it’s all preloaded. Plus, this lets you declutter your actual vehicle for everyday use. Bug out trailers make a lot of sense, the more you think about it.
Bug Out Electric Vehicles (EVs)
This is one I’m personally planning out with a Tesla Model 3. There are many drawbacks to using an EV as a bug out vehicle (range, off-road capability), but they have some under-sold benefits as well. In my family, we could bug out both the EV and the SUV, but if we bug in (stay in place)- which we are more than prepared to do- the Tesla becomes a massive battery pack.
The base Model 3 I have has a 60 kWh 106 cell 400V Lithium-Ion pack in it ready to power whatever when I put the vehicle in ‘camp mode’. Tesla discourages using it as a ‘stationary power source’ and voids the warranty if they find out, but other EV manufacturers have been touting their ability to power odds and ends.
EVs can also be charged with any electrical source: from solar panels to dual-fuel generators. Combustion cars have to seek out or store gasoline or diesel, whereas electricity is much easier to come by in the modern world.
The last drawback to EVs is the threat of an EMP. EMPs would disable many modern cars, but an EV is guaranteed to be a paperweight. I’ve considered constructing a giant Faraday bag for my Model 3- more of an experiment than anything. Unfortunately, the materials to construct it cost at least $1,000, so that’s an experiment I can’t afford for now.
EMP-Proof Bug Out Vehicles
As we just mentioned with EVs, a Nuclear EMP can damage vehicle electronics, especially microchips. While it’s not guaranteed to fry your 2002 Camry, most vehicles since the late 1980s have sensitive circuitry that can be damaged by overvoltage.
Overvoltage is exactly what a HEMP does when it splashes the atmosphere in a high-altitude burst – wires act as antennas for the energy pulse and carry large currents into circuit boards and microchips, damaging them. It hasn’t been tested, but most scientists believe this is a likely scenario, and the military hypothesis on this subject is still classified.
One reason EMPs are so low on our own risk evaluation is because of their implication. An EMP would almost certainly be a precursor to nuclear war- a risk with an even higher impact! One of our favorite books on this, the popular One Second After, overlooks this probability so it can detail post-EMP life in America.
Scam Alert: EMP Shield and T.R.A.P. EMP Vehicle Protection won’t work for an actual Nuclear EMP. Cables that are not voltage cables would also have a large current pushed during the E1 pulse of a HEMP, resulting in damaged components regardless.
Protecting a car’s electronics from 50 volts/meter isn’t really feasible, and experts say the best protection is avoiding having your car exposed to 50 volts/meter.
This is why, if you really need to EMP-proof your vehicle, the only proven options are Faraday cages. You could construct your own Faraday bag and slip it over your car, but the materials would cost you close to $1,000. Constructing a Faraday cage garage would cost even more, but some people do it.
Having older cars helps, but it isn’t a fail-safe guarantee. We do know that regardless of the car’s make, model, or year, a sealed Faraday cage can protect it.
Bug Out Vehicle Checklist
A bug out vehicle contains at least as much as your standard vehicle survival kit, but has several other supplies to consider.
That’s why our checklist is available as both a PDF download and as a Google Sheets/Excel file where you can check off items yourself, and even add and subtract items from the checklist.
PDF Checklist
If you are looking for the simplest way to print and use the checklist above, download our printable PDF version. It is one page long on 8.5″ x 11″ paper and makes outfitting your bug out vehicle extremely easy. Once you open the bug out vehicle PDF checklist in your browser, you can either print it directly or save it through your browser.
Excel / Google Sheets Checklist
If you are looking for a comprehensive way to plan and track your bug out vehicle contents, open our Excel / Google Sheets version. The sheet is shareable, and you just need to copy it to your own Google Sheets account or download it to Excel to edit it. We also keep the reviews for each category item linked to simplify shopping for any equipment you may find yourself missing.
Your Bug Out Plan
A bug out vehicle is meant to get you with your bug out bag to a predetermined bug out location. If you don’t have a bug out location, you have more of an “I’m Never Coming Home” plan, and you’ll need more INCH equipment to sustain yourself for longer.
We cover INCH in our INCH bag guide, but you can easily adapt it to your BOV with a little extra planning.
The Final Word
Movies are a great way to kick back and relax, and movies with prepping and survival elements can be both entertaining and enlightening. Our favorites include movies that show possible disaster events and survival situations, and how the protagonists choose to navigate them.
Here are a few other guides our subscribers have found helpful:
- 11 Prepping Mistakes to Avoid
- Car Survival Kit Guide, Tips, and Checklist
- Bug Out Bag List | 44 Essentials
Keep exploring, stay prepared, and be safe.
See more of our expert-written guides, resources, and reviews in your search results – add TruePrepper as a preferred source.
Prepping Your Way
No judgement and no imperatives. Prepare the way you want to with the trusted source millions of modern preppers have relied on.Our newsletter fires out every Monday where you can expect:
- Practical prepping guides and tips
- Thorough survival gear reviews
- Noticeably absent spam and popups
- < 0.4% of people unsubscribe
Thank you for the quick informative emails once a week. Good info, good subjects, well done, and not slammed everyday with emails.
I have a “camping list” to add to your inventory. How can I get it to you?
all BOVs have the same drawback, how much fuel can you carry to your bug out location, in a SHFT scenario, without gas stations and with desperate people, it will be difficult to go unnoticed, the ideal would be to leave before things get ugly, but not everyone can leave everything and start over at their bug out location, returning to your evacuation, an engine makes noise and this can be heard at long distances, what do I propose as a BOV? a horse-drawn buggy, if you trace the escape route well and get to where you have everything parked like a stable outside the city, you can have a trip on little-traveled roads, even cross-country, as this BOV buggy would be, it is a long topic for another article.
I’m surprised for a BOV in regards to communication you didn’t mention an old fashioned CB radio.