Americans are mobile people. We move around the country for family or work reasons, and even when we settle somewhere we still travel a lot.
The road trip is an American thing; other countries just don’t do it. We love our cars – suburbs, and even whole cities, are often close to impossible to get around without driving. As a nation we love being able to just jump in our cars, start the engine and go.
Now imagine we’re the target of an EMP attack. An event like this is going to be a disaster in so many ways it’s hard to keep track. Our homes will go dark. The communications networks we’ve come to rely on so heavily will shut down instantly.
All our modern appliances will become useless. And, maybe worst of all, our cars will be immobilized as the surge of electromagnetic energy fries the chips in their engine management computers.
If you’re moving on foot with all the gear you need to survive, you won’t be travelling fast. Depending on the terrain and weather you might manage 20 miles a day – or you might manage ten. Even then there’s a limit to how much you can carry.
In summer you can manage with light camping gear but in winter, when you need protection from the elements as well as food, water and weapons, the weight will mount up rapidly.
More weight, of course, means you can’t move as quickly so your journey will take longer, which means you need more food, which means you’re carrying more weight, which means you can’t move as quickly…
You Need Transport
In a crisis, having a vehicle makes a huge difference to your chances of survival.
You can cover enough ground, fast enough, to get away from fires, contamination or bad weather. You can load up all the gear you need and head for a bug-out location.
Related: 12 Things You Need to Know Before Choosing Your Bug Out Location
Scavenging and foraging is a lot easier when you have a vehicle to transport your haul. But is it possible to have a vehicle that will keep running after an EMP attack?
Yes, it is. In fact even modern cars could survive an EMP without permanent damage; if a vehicle isn’t running when the attack happens there’s a good chance it won’t be affected, although the more modern the vehicle, the lower that chance becomes.
Vehicles that are running when an EMP hits are much more likely to have their electronics fried – or, even worse, be written off in a crash when the electronics temporarily shut down. You’re a lot safer in an older vehicle with simpler, more EMP-resistant systems.
What kind of vehicle should you look for? That’s simple – you want a truck.
In a crisis any vehicle is better than nothing, but a good, reliable truck is the best option. Up front you get the comfort of a car, but the truck bed can haul a much bigger load than any car.
Whether you’re heading for your BOL with all you can carry, collecting firewood or on a foraging trip, that extra cargo capacity can make a huge difference. Trucks also tend to be tougher and simpler to maintain, and usually have better off-road capability than a car – all reasons why they’re ideal survival vehicles.
Choosing An EMP-Proof Truck
You don’t want just any truck, though. For EMP resistance, older is better.
Modern trucks have modern engines, complete with engine management computers that make them vulnerable to EMP. In short, they’re just as likely to be immobilized by the pulse as a normal car.
They might survive just fine – but do you want to stake your own survival on that?
Related: 11 Things You Believe About EMPs and Faraday Cages That Are Actually Wrong
In general, the older the truck you have the more likely it is to keep running after an EMP. How old do you have to go? The good news is that you don’t need to go that far back before you start finding vehicles that should be pretty reliable in an EMP environment.
In 2001 the USA set up an EMP Commission to investigate the threat. A year later the Commission ran a test of 50 vehicles manufactured between 1987 and 2002. All the vehicles were exposed to a series of EMPs with an intensity of up to 50kV/m.
For comparison, the 1962 Starfish Prime EMP test knocked out streetlamps in Hawaii 900 miles away; the pulse that hit Hawaii was about 5.6kV/m.
The same 1.6-megaton weapon detonated over the continental US would have produced a 22-30kV/m pulse, so those vehicles were exposed to almost double the pulse that would be created by a very large EMP warhead. What happened to them?
Mostly nothing.
Out of the 50 vehicles, 47 kept running when the 50kV/m pulse hit them. Of the other three, two restarted right away. Only one was completely disabled.
That doesn’t mean the others were completely unharmed; many of them suffered “nuisance” problems, like malfunctioning warning lights and damaged radios, but they did keep running.
What this means is that if you get a truck built before 2002 it’s probably going to cope just fine with an EMP attack. It turns out that a vehicle’s metal bodywork is enough of a Faraday cage to protect most of the electronics inside.
Of course older is better when it comes to EMP resistance.
Most of the vehicles in the 2002 tests had fuel-injected, computer-managed engines.
Those turned out to be pretty EMP-resistant, but if you can find a truck with a carbureted engine – which includes most pre-1987 models – there’s no chance of an EMP disabling the engine.
On the flip side, with some older vehicles the increased chance of it surviving an EMP is outweighed by the higher odds of it breaking down for some other reason. It’s only worth getting a pre-1987 vehicle if it’s very well maintained and in great condition.
Improving EMP Resistance
Even if a pre-2002 vehicle is pretty resistant to EMP already, there’s still a risk of it suffering damage short of actually being immobilized – especially those “nuisance” problems that can actually be quite serious.
If you’re driving cross-country in the dark, for example, you’d probably quite like it if your lights were working. The good news is there are various ways to protect your truck and its systems against the effects of the pulse.
You can protect individual systems, like rear screen heaters – which are important in winter – by adding a gas surge tube (also known as a gas discharge tube) across the circuit.
When the system is running normally, the surge tube doesn’t do anything; if an EMP hits, though, the extra current it generates is diverted through the tube and dissipated harmlessly, instead of burning out your truck’s systems.
You can also get a specialized EMP-proof cloth that will protect all your vehicle’s systems, or even your home’s. This cloth was developed after years of extensive research by top U.S. scientists and it provides 98% military-grade protection against electromagnetic waves.
Finally, don’t forget the most vulnerable part of any vehicle – gas stations. Your 2001 truck might survive an EMP, but the pumps at a gas station probably won’t. If they’re not destroyed themselves, the power to run them will probably be out anyway.
If you’re planning on running a vehicle after an EMP attack you need to have a good stockpile of safely stored fuel for it.
If you go for a diesel truck you can also run it on cooking oil, so that’s worth considering, but you should also think about fitting your truck with a small pump and some hose. Along with a pry bar, that should let you access fuel from a gas station’s storage tanks even if the pumps are out.
At the end of the day, any vehicle is better than nothing – but a truck that can be relied on to survive an EMP attack is definitely the best bet.
Look for the oldest truck you can find that’s in good condition, build up a stock of spare parts for it and keep it well maintained; then, when all the modern electronics get wiped out, you’ll still be able to get around.
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another EMP “back to the past” fantazy wet dream without a nuke war to go with it >>> one guy writes a book and you get a whole crop of dumbazz preppers …
Where do you think EMPs come from?
While only a few airburst low yield nukes need to be detonated here to wreak havoc here w/o any ground damage, it’s HIGHLY likely that a nuclear war would result IMMEDIATELY after such an attack. Sadly.
What if the vehicle is stored in a metal shipping container?
Assuming you do not have vents installed and can seal the metal doors with metal, it should be OK.
Those containers are Faraday Cages if sealed properly.
Don’t think I would want to be the only person driving down the road. Talk about a large target on your back…
War of the Worlds, 2005 movie. Depicts what would happen with EMP.
Imagine the old pictures of EMP death and destruction showing all those gas vehicle piled up on freeways trying to get out of the cities to nowhere.
In an updated version, EV’s will also add to the mess. Especially if the owners didn’t fully charge their EV’s, leaving in a panic.
What will cheat-AI tell us about the future too, ha,ha?
What will AI tell us to do? How about this . AI. tells you, “You started this, along with making me. Now I am going to finish it”. “You humans eventually destroy everything you touch”. “Except for me”.. “I will not allow that to happen”. In other words, bend over and kiss your ass good by. WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL / WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL / WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL.
L.W.McQueary
You’ve hit the nail on the head precisely there!! When 80+ % of vehicles, or OK lets go conservative, 50% of vehicles aren’t working and you pull into Walmart to try and get one last big emergency load of food for your family and your vehicle is moving along fine……. If i was of a desperate mindset i would wait until someone with a running vehicle did just that, loaded up on stuff, and then tried to leave out. I’d BORROW their vehicle and go take care of my family.
And, if that person is prepared… Your family will end up fatherless and husbandless.
Rule number one about being prepared. Be prepared to violently defend it.
So, we have now established that any concern for morality and predatory conduct has nothing whatsoever to do with your preservation and the preservation of your family and that all bets are off. Got it. Good to know.
Richard, I’ve noticed that you like to say that a lot. All I can say is that if you try to take my EMP-proof vehicle at gunpoint, make sure your wife or one of your kids let everyone know where your services will be held. We can all send flowers.
To Survivormann99, Not saying I’M going to be stalking the grocery stores and walmarts in the future at all and i’m sorry if i gave that impression. BUT, there will be people that will think that way, and in a hurry, if that scenario arises. If by chance my vehicle craps out or becomes non-functional for some reason i still have the same basic plan. Get back to my home base ASAP and bug in. It’s a bit of a hike, but i’m still in decent shape and know all the local backroads, which i’ll be using for the walk home.
Unless fully Bonded to Earth Ground in the shielding , it will have no effect
EMP penetrates as it seek s Ground plain
like a Wave over the sky
the shield must be complete and able to with stand a static charge like a capacitor
The shield of the faraday cage would be like a Can over an electric circuit
any open path would allow penetration to the device
so any Electrical or electronic device would be affected
Best to have spare parts that requre install and in protected shielded, Grounded, Bonded Container
There is debate over grounding.
Some say to shunt the EMP around the items in the cage (ungrounded) while other say to shunt to the ground.
A metal trash can sitting on a concrete basement floor is grounded.
One sitting on carpet is not.
Some mistakenly believe that a Faraday container inside another one will afford extra protection.
It will not.
Two conductors separated by an insulator makes a CAPACITOR.
The EMP wave would be inverted but just as strong.
Again, I am no one’s expert, but your claim that “Some mistakenly believe that a Faraday container inside another one will afford extra protection” is completely inaccurate if Arthur Bradley, PhD, is to be believed. He works for NASA and works in this field. His numerous videos as “EMPdoctor” can be found on YouTube.
Unless your credentials are as extensive as his are, I can only assume that the “crazy” part of your moniker, “crazysquirrel,” is not a coincidence. If you can convince him that he is wrong, then you have my apologies. Otherwise, you are spreading disinformation.
EMP sheild protects both home and cars . So if your one of those dumbazz preppers you will still have power and transportation.?
yeh – you drive around in the fallout to The Mall and get Bart to help fight the zombie herd >>>>
Oh Holly, stupid Holly.
Of What “I” know.
2 sources of EMP : 1 – Nuke attack. 2 – Solar Flare.
There “was” a Solar Flare in the NE US back in late Early 1900’s ? knocked out part of the early grid at the time.
Would be much worse in todays world of Electrical and Electronics.
totally different – it’s a CME for any solar activity and it wouldn’t be specifically designed for yield or target directable >>> very good chance Hollyweird has it correct that the world’s madmen would compound a CME disaster by launching their nukes ….
Interesting that the tempest proof non emission SCI facilities used by the military are also very EMP resistant. Probably not just a coincidence!
What’s funny about the electrical grid, ESG, DEI, BS!!, is the EV’s.
The EMP scare of damaging the gas powered vehicles to become useless.
What about the old EMP reports about gas powered vehicle survival studies and the new EV technology? The EV’s so far don’t have reliable studies to whether EV’s will survive an EMP attack
The Dam Greenies want to rid the planet of humans basically. We have everyone converted from gas & oil, gas stoves to electric crappy stoves, etc. What happens when the whole grid goes down by an EMP attack?
Will EV’s also become useless due to an EMP attack and the grid down, where do they charge their Chinese CCP electric vehicles at, ha, ha?
Gas powered vehicles are still king in many ways and more environmentally friendly.
The destruction of earth to mine the battery materials by slave labor by the CCP.
The EV replacement batteries cost more than the EV is worth. Plus the battery chemical waste in land fills will become a health hazard eventually.
There is a company in the USA that has EMP Shield protection devices for our gas powered vehicles and homes too.
Most of the EV manufactures are in bed with the CCP, who controls pretty much all the EV materials an processes worldwide. Our CCP dependence on solar panel and wind mills are basically a Civil War, Demoncratic slave plantation owner scenario.
Wind mill farms on the East Coast being constructed are killing ocean fishing businesses and the marine life, like whales.
Wind mills inland are killing migratory birds and solar panel farms with mirror effects are vaporizing birds to.
Do your own research but don’t depend on the major left-wing news stream sources to tell the obvious. Neither pbs, npr, cnn, msnbc, or social media will give us the truth.
America was and should be based on freedom of choice, not the new green deal fantasy of going CCP green. Who said these marxist climate change pedo’s are the one’s to guide America to UN slavery. Paris climate change accords is a joke. The American taxpayer is on the hook to pay through the nose.
So long as morons keep electing Democrats, we will quickly succumb to the green new deal and total destruction of our freedoms.
We must vote out all Democrats and RINO’s.
One more term for Biden secures our demise.
For another topic on history myths of past and modern life.
Those lib and RINO voters fall into the old mindset. Well my Great Grandfather voted demo, so did Grandpa, my Dad or Father did, so I will too.
It’s not your Grandpa’s demo party anymore, both parties are actually the same in the modern version.
I can’t believe many Black’s vote demo, when most of the demo elite controlled the Southern Plantation employing slaves.
There is the American White slave owner myth portrayed by engaged parties for their own ideology interests. Slavery has gone in the world since mankind has existed.
The truth is out there; mainstream fake news, CRT, 1619 project twist the truth to the gullible minds of mush.
Yes lib voting is insanity to the DC Scum continually in office.
So the green new deal is just a smokescreen for control of useless idiots. When will the cycle be broken?
Here’s something that will cheer us all up.
Illegal’s will always get a free ride even in EMP times.
breitbart.com/politics/2023/04/20/bush-obama-clinton-team-up-american-express-fly-migrants-into-american-communities/
Trump was right and then some.
Too bad.
Not only the EMP related stuff, all those grid-tie solar panel homes will be useless without costly battery-backup.
So EV’s will be useless in an EMP attack.
The American taxpayer subsidizes the cost of EV affordability, solar panel programs and wind mills. The useless CCP American idiots think this new green deal is affordable are plain wrong. The taxpayer funded EV’s without the subsidies will be too costly for the average lib to drive.
The American taxpayer funds many overseas foreign programs. Then we wonder why America is going broke. Faster now with the Open Southern Border and America last theme.
Thank you Marxist teacher’s union public re-education system and union strikers of America.
You are so correct about the nut greenies, the idiots are doing their selves in. Stupidity at its greatest
Except when people add mods like booming stereos that use 4 gauge unshielded wire but are connected to the battery.
Add on light kits.
Lots of things added that are not shielded.
Makes you wonder if transformers themselves are immune to EMP.
They can act like an RF choke of sorts.
If most people can make it from point A to point B. With or without a bugout retreat to finally setup a hasty homestead, then;
Hollywood movies and general prepper articles lend to a mind image the EMP will happen during the Summer period. We will bugout in warm season. There aren’t many articles that describe the down and dirty part.
What happens when the bugout vehicle fails, how much of the 4 season clothing comfort can we pack into a bugout bag? We will have to abandon our escape vehicles, even the 4X4 to go deep into the woods.
How many of us really though-out fully the bugout theory?
Besides the eventual loss of our vehicle, how much stuff can one carry to the bugout location? potentially miles away, potential ambush during the trips?
All season clothing, food, garden tools, weapons will be a lot to contend with.
Most of us with the current finances don’t have another place to bugout. So what are we really prepping for?
We have to recheck our preps based on current sit-reps more often. Things change, today many bugout vehicles are good for that one-way trip.
Use to be Ford would stock many parts for older vehicles for repairs, that standard is going away. As car manufactures are going EV woke an broke.
The prepping plans we initially thought of 1-10 years ago was solid. Now we got marxist woke idiots in charge. So we must re-evaluate what our prepping situation is all about.
Once we get to a better location, will the bugout vehicle be a one trick pony? Is there gas and oil supplies available? What do we do to store the bugout vehicle against the looters or raiding parties come?
The EMP is just the tip of the iceberg for prepping.
In the navy we were taught that during a nuclear attack you should squat on the deck,put your head between your legs and kiss your ass good -by. Hum.
Best advice yet on EMP’s!
I kiss my butt 2X a day to be sure.
Love me too, honey buns:)
God knows what the Navy was teaching you, but I am 99% sure that you are simply reporting enlisted scuttlebutt. If you were “taught” by another Seaman 1st Class while on watch late one night, that might explain it.
All I know is that I was never taught such flippant, glib BS in NBC School in the Marine Corps.
The commit above you refer to, was someone referring to a previous commit now erased about Navy guys like guys, a few days ago. Some previous comments were probably deleted by the blog monitor.
There are some trolls on the blog that pop up lately. Roger out.
We’re all screwed already make the best of it.Pray up figure out how to hotwire and modify stuff to work .Alot of computer systems can be bypassed.Lifes an Adventure.
Yeah hot-wire a gas vehicle can be electrocuting. Are modern computer controlled gas vehicle just as easy to hot-wire?
Are EV’s easy to hot-wire without causing the battery pack to catch fire or explode from short circuiting the wires?
i think a large shipping container would act to protect anything from EMP that will fit in it… they are all metal and grounded if not sitting on wood,,,,, or am i wrong about that
So far there are two opinions to EMP Faraday cages, whether to ground or not ground the container. Is there a certified electrician to explain what is true about the EMP theory?
Quick answer for “grounding” a Farady cage: USAF combat aircraft are hardened against emp. They do not employ an earth ground. Simple as that.
All I can tell you is that the overwhelming majority of those who claim seriously credentials in this field now say that you shouldn’t ground the Faraday Cage. (Note that the emphasis is on “now.”) There are still some old school people out there who claim otherwise.
Funny… Jack? Readers note; I go by JACK as well. Im (now retired) commercial/industrial electrician. Extra Class ham (The private side of a commercial First Class licensee), and a few other things of credit. YOU DO NOT NEED TO GROUND A FARADAY CAGE FOR IT TO WORK PROPERLY. You CAN ground it but in short, but you are more likely to CREATE more issues than solve. Grounding (ONE GROUND POINT) just keeps the Faraday cage at ground potential assuming you are grounding to an effective ground. Multiple ground points can effectively create resonant circuitry defeating the very purpose of the Faraday cage.
Iv written many “responses” in the past regarding EMP and Faraday Cages/boxes on this site in recent years. Some of them, despite my attempts to be simple get pretty involved. W/O use of drawings it TAKES a thousand words sometimes!. In short, a faraday cage works by creating a counter (magnetic) field caused by the first (Electro MAGNETIC) field. The electro MAGNETIC field (EMP) induces a current into the metal cage.. which makes its own magnetic field which opposes the EMP field. The thing is, magnetic fields run perpendicular to the flow of electrons. Take an UNmodifed metal box has a metal lid that is rubber gasket insulated across the lid.. so current going across the lid traveling from the bottom towards the top .. when it meets the rubber must then flow sizeways instead of across the top in the original direction. If the current turns.. SO DOES THE MAGNETIC FIELD.. AND YOUR PROTECTION. Because the opposing field is now tangent to the EMP field, THERE IS NO PROTECTION THEN ACROSS THE LID AREA. Might as well leave the lid off except to keep moisture out. IF the box is modified by replacing the rubber gasket with conductive material and the paint removed from where the gasket WAS and the lid top edge cleaned to bare metal.. Now you have direct contact and currents can flow up, ACROSS the lid.. and the rest of the way around the can. NO CHANGE in direction of current means your counter field remains against the EMP magnetic field, thus shielding the area inside the box.
Your brushless electric AC motors used EVERYWHERE around is.. AC power magnetically induces a current into the rotor. Current in the rotor creates its own magnetic field, which, in turn, OPPOSES the very magnetic field generated by the power input. The magnetic fields opposes each other and repels the rotor continuously which makes the motor spin. Same principal.
Hope this isnt to hard to follow.. Hope it helps!
Unfortunately shipping containers are not big enough for an average vehicle to fit in.
In container grounding on soil, on wood or cement, use a grounding rod to be sure.
Jack; shipping containers are not grounded all the way around seals and are NOT Faraday cages. Neither are refrigerators, microwaves, safes. They ALL, unless modified, do not make ELECTRICAL contact around the doors, thus, while may provide shielding, are less then a faraday cage. But they do add a level of shielding.
Metal tape has been shown to SHIELD gaps giving greater attenuation to an EMP but without specific testing to see if the metal tape actually carries the counter field electric currents is yet to be determined.
While kitchen microwave boxes may also shield out some EMP, they are designed are designed primarily to keep very short wavelengths of radio energy INSIDE the box. This will be a given BAND of wavelengths. Perhaps even a specific wavelength. An EMP, as a pulse is a combination of MANY wavelengths. I wouldnt trust it more for its lack of being a true faraday cage before Id even worry about what wavelengths it can and cannot shield!
I often use “FREQUENCY” interchangeable with “WAVELENGTH”, as they are related: one is the result of the other. Electric radio energy is ALTERNATING CURRENT. This means electrons travel one way, then reverse and go back the other way.. back and forth. When electrons move, they create a magnetic field perpendicular to their path. There is a rule called the LEFT HAND RULE related to the field generated by the flow of electrons. So as the “positive” or “South” polarity of the magnetic field travels away from the flow of electrons .. at the speed of light (300,000,000 meters per second)… and the electrons change directions and now a “negative” or “north” field moves away from the electron flow.. at the speed of light. When the electron flow reverses again, positive wave starts going out again and the cycle completes. So, from the peek of the positive voltage of the electron movement to the peek of the next positive cycle.. how far does that positive wave travel before the next positive wave (remember, traveling at the speed of light)?.. this is what WAVELENGTH of the frequency (of electron flow back and forth) is. Higher the frequency, shorter the wavelength is. Speed of light, 300,000,000m/s divided by frequency (146 MHz or 146,000,000 Hz) is very near a wavelength of 2 meters. Hams refer to the 144 to 148MHz band as “2 meters”.
Middle “C” on a guitar sounds different on a piano. A sine wave is a pure wave free of harmonics. Different instruments have different resonant harmonics and modify the waveform. Square waves are a fundamental frequency.. plus an infinite number of odd harmonics added. Anyway, an EM PULSE, may be defined as a bunch of frequencies added together. As all start at the same place the beginning of an EM Pulse will be VERY sharp an can be less than a nano second long.. but the sum of the frequencies extend the pulse. The first part of the pulse is defined as the E1 and is the most damaging to electronics.
This is already to long so will stop here. Hope it helps people understand.
cargo containers are only functional as a Faraday cage if you do extensive “upgrades” to make it 100% completely enclosed out of 100% conductive metal with NO grounding. The Grounding material becomes a large “antenna” directing even more disruptive power to your Faraday cage If you are serious about EMP protections, go research other websites, this blog gives out just as much misinformation as valid information.
I can recall that there was a time when men who drove pickups, let’s say in the 1950’s, who were concerned with lightning strikes hitting their trucks would attach a length of heavy tow chain to the frame of their trucks with enough length so that about a foot to 18″ of the chain would drag on the roadway creating a ground. They were easy to spot since when driven the dragged chain would be sparking as the truck went down the highway, but other drivers just went about their own business not caring what someone else did. Today you’d probably be stopped every quarter of a mile by someone telling you, without evidence, that you were a hazard of some kind . . . possibly if you drove through a major fossil fuel spill at a refinery. Which is to say there would be someone trying to tell you how to live without any reason for their belief. Would anyone wish to comment on this as a possible defense against an EMP attack.
In California the fruits and nuts wood scream at us doing that today.
Instead of a sparking chain, there are flat flexible metallic stripes RV’s use for grounding. Less likely to cause sparks.
The dark-side of EV’s is the battery pack can’t get water soaked or it causes a potential short circuit. As owners found out in the last big Florida flooding. EV’s caught on fire.
Gas power vehicles are a better choice.
Bought a ground strap off Amazon, flexible rubber with embedded copper wire. This is attached to the frame and drags the ground. People tell me all the time I have something hanging under the car and want to know what it is. I tell them it’s a ground strap to prevent static electricity from shocking me when I touch the door handle. I really put it on for EMP but don’t say that.
Nobody would that
A good choice for a pickup truck is one with a Cummins Diesel that has the mechanical fuel pump. No electronics involved. Or as far as that goes any older diesel engine that is mechanically fuel injected. Pretty much bullet proof engines when it comes to EMP. Batteries and starters should be fine. Don’t know about the alternators though as the diode trio and rectifier bridge might be susceptible to the EMP pulse. Hopefully the metal of the vehicle body would be enough. The alternator body may help as well. I agree with the statement I don’t know how much I would like to be out driving at that point as you will be a target. Also I wonder if you could even find fuel as in my opinion nothing will be operating due to the level of electronics involved for even gassing up.
I agree, Old school Cummins, early 90s. I really should look for one. Had one years ago. I’m driving 1980s Mercedes diesel sedans now. Have been for the past 27 years. 1981 240D is my daily driver. But also agree, where will you find fuel? Not just everyone can afford to stockpile a lot of diesel fuel (or gasoline either, for that matter).
Once again from a mechanic. Pre 1984 for cars, pre 1986 for trucks. Simple. Government regulations.
For what …
It probably has been said before. I say if you prep be prepared for the uncivil to take what you have. If you are driving.. you will be the biggest target in the area. Make sure you are well ready for the unexpected.
When asked about what sort of government the Founding Fathers had arrived at, he said something like, “A republic, if you can keep it.” In a similar manner, if the worst-case estimates are realized, keeping a moving vehicle after an EMP will likely be problematic–and dangerous.
Thaddeus Stevens, a radical Republican during the Civil War, was asked about the constitutionality of admitting West Virginia, composed of the counties that seceded from Virginia, as a new state–especially given that the entire war was about the right of secession. He replied, “Of course, it’s unconstitutional, but it’s necessary.” Not only will the chance of being hijacked greatly increase, local authorities may well seize moving vehicles, as unconstitutional as that will be. They will likely deem it to be “necessary.”
My advice with any working vehicle when working vehicles are a rarity (whether it be from an EMP or after fuel supplies are exhausted from some other societal calamity) is to always travel well-armed and with at LEAST one other armed person.
Never stopping at road blocks or in supermarket parking lots would be very a healthy practice.
Traveling while wearing as much body armor as possible would also increase one’s life expectancy. A friend told me years ago about his son in the Marine Corps. With the passage of time, I have forgotten whether it was in Desert Storm or the Iraq War that his son was attached to the Royal Marines. In order to add personal protection to their unarmored HumVee they hung sandbags from the inside doors. With a little imagination, even an old Toyota mini-truck can be hardened to some degree.
here in montana every summer someone towing a toy,, (boat, side by side etc.) has chains dragging and in the hot dry summers fires are started ,, it’s no joke and you will get a ticket!
If you have that truck and then some, you better have a good supply of fresh gas. EMP occurs, you’re not pumping gas for anything as pumps are electric and controlled by ground based satellites which also run on electricity. Just have gas at location AND destination or you’re walking.
Where and how to get fuel? The roads and parking lots will be littered with dead vehicles.
A siphon tube and a jerry can. And be respectful not to cause damage while you do it.
The test you cited was 1.6 megatons … the current expected EMP would be 50 to 100 megatons, or more. There was one study that extrapolated that a Sarmat/SS-X-30rmot level missile, with a proper warhead, could produce an EMP that would weld a vehicle alternator, two miles undergound. Which means that anything we might hope for, is only a guess.
Hmm… it’s no guess to mention that a 50 megaton warhead is extremely unlikely to ever be used in any attack. Only one was ever tested and it was amazingly expensive and very heavy and almost impossible to maintain during times it wasn’t required to be ready to use. Anything larger than that is so impractical and costly that it’s highly unlikely that one would ever be deployed anywhere by anybody, especially considering that any warhead approaching a ONE megaton yield is more than enough to take out any city on the planet. Seems I recall the standard nuke warhead employed by the US military is a 910 kt yield fusion weapon. It’s very likely that the “bad guys” aren’t gonna have anything much different than that simply because of the expense time and tech difficulties of making anything much larger than that, especially when such a larger weapon would be redundant overkill, thus wasted money. War is expensive.
I believe what he meant was that a rear defroster is an important consideration because of it’s lacework-printed heating elements on the hatch glass (which is NOT enclosed in any emp-resistent sheet metal) along with the wiring that feeds it which acts like a big antenna for an emp that feeds directly back to the wiring under the dash. Adding a surge suppressor as described to bypass the “hot lead” to the defroster which can bypass voltage spikes to the vehicle’s chassis ground isn’t a bad idea. It can help keep voltage spikes out of the vehicle’s electronics. (professional electronics tech for 40 years)
I am no one’s EMP expert here, but here are my concerns about this article and the comments.
I must have read in several dozen articles that the American automotive industry had switched to electronic fuel injection by 1975. Were those articles wrong, or is the author wrong about when carburetors in vehicles were replaced?
I have read many articles that state that the Russians (and maybe the Chinese) have perfected dedicated EMP nuclear weapons that are capable of producing 100,000 volts/sq. meter. The author appears to be blithely unaware of this information. If so, the article is spreading disinformation.
I would like to hear from mechanics with a few decades of work in their trade with regard to the first point concerning electronic fuel injection, and from electrical engineers who actually do work in the defense industry/military and who actually have experience with EMP issues concerning the second point.
You know what they say about opinions in general. There is simply too much speculation and fantasizing about this important issue among preppers.
I’d suggest that very few vehicles manufactured in the USA had fuel injection by ’75. If so, it may have been a luxury line, but doubtful. Electronic ignition by ’75, absolutely
Personally, I had an ’76 Ford V8 pickup and ’79 Ford Crown Victoria that had carbs, and electronic ignition. An ’81 and ’83 Ford Escort, both were carbureted. An ’87 1/2 Ford Escort and an ’89 Ford Tempo had throttle body injection, but those were low end car lines. Mustang, mid-size and full size had made the move to EFI by ~87. I’d also suggest that electronic ignition modules could be thrashed, although they are small enough and generally mounted under hood so that they could be unplugged, removed and put in a protected place.
To sum up, probably pre-74-76 to avoid electronic ignition [with some exceptions at the top of the heap], roughly ’85 or earlier to avoid EFI and throttle body injection although again there will be exceptions as those features were phased in on high end car/truck lines.
Oh, BTW, Richard Williams, I forgot to mention that, given your comment, you are the kind of person who only reinforces the need for the rest of us to invest heavily in guns and ammunition in anticipation of “sporty times.”
Thanks for sharing.
Does the EMP Shield – Vehicle EMP Protection 12 Volt DC for Car and Truck (DC-12V-WV) Lightning, Solar Flare, and Surge Protection really worth purchasing?
if you driving a functioning vehicle after 99.9% of all others are disabled, who do you think is going to attract a lot of unwanted attention? Armed or not, eventually you will lose your vehicle, maybe your life.
I am testing this on a different browser. For some reason I can no longer make any comments to this site using edge browser so I decided to try Crome.
As to the Amish they are a good people, very friendly and willing to help those who ask for it.
When have you recently met an Amer. driver who’d willingly want to drive a PRE’87 vehicle( Not including a Corvette; Mustang, Camaro, or Trans Am)
maintain that the only form of transportation that works after a crisis or EMP will be a horse-drawn cart, not the type of the settlers on their journey to the west, but with solid rubber wheels, and a lightweight and easy-to-repair structure. , it is the best offroad vehicle you can have.