First Field Test of the War Wagon

First off, let me say that my truck is not that big.  It's an illusion of perspective.  Rebecca saw this picture and said the truck was bigger than the cabin.  Almost, but not quite.

I took the Disaster Trailer (or War Wagon, as it is known) for its first field test last week.  It is loaded to deal with any but the most extreme situations.  I packed it with items that would be useful for anything from a weekend camping trip to a tornado, flood, ice storm, prolonged outage of infrastructure services..... what have you.  I want to be able to hook up and pull out with only a few minute's notice.  To that end, it is pre-loaded with all but a few (more valuable or sensitive) items and I should be able to drive off with just the clothes on my back and still be able to live for a few weeks without external aid.

I imagine a tornado in the middle of the night.  Rebecca and I are left standing amid the wreckage in just our nightclothes (that's a fancy word for underwear).  I open up the trailer and pull out clothes and boots, unpack tents, stoves, tools, food, water, medical supplies, etc... and take care of all essentials.  there's even an ample supply of toilet paper.  It appeals to my "Boy-Scout-On-Steroids" nature.  It's not a bunker to ride out the Apocalypse.  It's just a ready supply of essentials for most emergencies (big or small).  Plus, it's mobile.

My dad accompanied me on this dry run and was invaluable in providing advice, insight, suggestions, and general knowledge.  We had a great time eating from the store of MRE's, canned ham and powdered soup.  We tested all the tents, lanterns, stoves and sleeping bags.  It was, mostly, a chance to spend time with my dad.  He's not as spry as he once was but he guided my hands as I carried out what he wanted done.  We talked about hand pumps for the well, garden plots, additions to the little cabin.... all sorts of stuff.  We even got some landscaping and brush-clearing accomplished.  It was truly memorable.