So, what's your dream vehicle for a SHTF situation- make it what you will. Personally, I wouldn't mind having an armored Hummer.

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It definately needs to be an SUV type vehicle...though a Hummer is awfully bad on gas...My dream SHTF vehicle would be a Jeep Grand Cherokee (more passenger/cargo space than a Wrangler) that got the gas mileage of a hybrid vehicle. The size and off-road capabilities of a Jeep and the fuel efficiency of a hybrid/smart car...Some defense systems/precautions built in wouldn't hurt either

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I drive a Mercury Mountaineer- it's a large V8 6.0L SUV. Plenty of horsepower for towing, and it can get to hard to get to places with ease.

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Give me a Ford truck any day. I drive a F-350, and it's rugged.

A truck with a trailer gets stuff done!

On a related note, I've heard that it's bad for a 4x4 vehicle, if you do not "exercise" the 4x4 system often (for those vehicles that have a manual 4x4 mode). Is this true?

A nice houseboat with sails suits me just fine. Call me a cross between Bear Grylls and Jimmy Buffett.

I've always wondered- how well do houseboats hold up on "rough" seas?

I'd certainly avoid the rough and open oceans, but a nice calm sea in the Carribbean or Central/South American area works for me.

It's always a good thing not to let any mechanical part sit unused- machines need exercise too!

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Since most of my family are adults, we have plenty of vehicles. We have 3 pickup trucks and a van to haul 6 adults, 2 kids and all of our preps with room to spare. It does use more fuel than we would like, but if things get real bad we have the hauling capacity to scavenge and trade for more supplies, we can double up in the other vehicles if one goes down, and once we get where we are going we can have top the tanks off so we have fuel to run our generators and chain saws.

Only one of the trucks are 4WD, but we don't have any bug out destinations where one is required. I wouldn't call these dream vehicles, but my son in law and I are both more than competent mechanics and all 4 vehicles are maintained in top notch condition. I trust all of them to go anywhere at any time, and they have had to do so. Reliability in a vehicle is what is most important to me if SHTF anyhow.

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