If you were stuck in Superstorm Sandy. What would you drive?
11-03-12, 11:10 AM
#18
Dysfunctional Veteran
That is pretty much stock. They come with Snorkels and Exhaust Extensions, the grille gaurd, camper shell, and roll cage are "optional packages" (different models come equipped different ways),
For me, I can make my own diesel fuel, its really simple, so I would say H1 all the way.
For me, I can make my own diesel fuel, its really simple, so I would say H1 all the way.
11-03-12, 04:20 PM
#21
Guest
Posts: n/a
11-03-12, 05:20 PM
#23
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Good point on the stations not likely having a wait for diesel. A Hilux crew cab would be perfect. I'd still go with the Tacoma or FJ.
11-03-12, 05:30 PM
#24
Out of Warranty
Were the storm coming for me and my family, I'd load up the family truckster:
. . . and in 8.5 minutes, I'd be OUTTA THERE! Hurricanes, as Sandy has amply demonstrated, are nothing to wait around and mess with.
. . . and in 8.5 minutes, I'd be OUTTA THERE! Hurricanes, as Sandy has amply demonstrated, are nothing to wait around and mess with.
11-03-12, 06:01 PM
#25
I got caught right in the middle of Sandy, but I'm not stuck, and I was able to help myself, my family, and my neighbors - all thanks to the vehicle that I am driving.
There are things that I've learned from this hands on experience, and this is what I can advise. It is important to realize that there are three stages to dealing with a natural disaster like a storm. First there is the storm itself, then there is the immediate aftermath and then there are days to come.
And when you are dealing with this, its no time to worry about luxury, badge whoring, showing off, 0-60 times or amount of horse power. Having a vehicle that survives the storm can literally save your life, become your temporary home, and be your source of heat and power, can get you and your family to a shelter, get you food, etc.
With that in mind, first your vehicle must be able to survive the disaster. You want it to be rugged in case it gets hit with debris, then you want it to sit reasonably high and have as little electronics as possible so it can survive a flood, and you also want it to be a traditional diesel that is rugged, bulletproof, noisy and stinky - none of those fancy new gimmicks.
If you vehicle had survived the disaster, you want to be able to drive around in during the immediate aftermath. Therefore it is most important to have fueled up right before the disaster. The second most important thing is to have rugged tires. There will be a lot of debris on the roads, and you don't want tires that are soft and easily punctured by nails, etc. Then its important to have good ground clearance and preferably all wheel drive.
Thus far it probably sounds like a monster truck, H1 or some ridiculous terminator mobile might be the best choice... but it is certainly not. Unless you are a rich and selfish snob, and want to get the hell out of the area ASAP, and can afford to pay for a hotel room somewhere far away and can afford not to work - then by all means, get a monster truck and get the hell away, we wont miss ya.
But for the rest of us, its important to consider many additional factors.
1) The vehicle must have as much space as possible. You may need to save your family members, neighbors, pets, just random people. You might also need to spend a night or even several nights in the vehicle. A monster truck with two bucket seats isn't going to serve these purposes.
2) The vehicle must be accessible. If you are trying to save elderly or disabled people, they wont be able to get in if your vehicle has a ridiculous lift. You must have good compromise between ground clearance and accessibility.
3) Your vehicle must be maneuverable. Some streets are going to be completely blocked with debris, and other streets that were once one-way narrow roads and now even narrower, and partially blocked with debris, and now with two way traffic. Having a super wide H1 or terminator mobile that takes up the entire road and can't let other vehicles pass is not a good idea.
4) If you plan on staying in the area and continue going to work, you must have a vehicle that has reasonable fuel economy. With fuel shortages to follow in the days to come, even the most capable offroader with 60" tires is going to be as useless as a flooded Yaris if it gets 5mpg and runs out of fuel in a day.
Right now I'm driving my Ford E350 diesel. It is the only one of my vehicles that survived, even after having about 6" of water inside of it. It is normally a vehicle that isn't very appealing, but its a great compromise of requirements I've listed above. It looks like it came back from a war zone, and it continues to help me and those close to me get through the misery brought by Sandy, and I'm just blessed to have it in my possession.
There are things that I've learned from this hands on experience, and this is what I can advise. It is important to realize that there are three stages to dealing with a natural disaster like a storm. First there is the storm itself, then there is the immediate aftermath and then there are days to come.
And when you are dealing with this, its no time to worry about luxury, badge whoring, showing off, 0-60 times or amount of horse power. Having a vehicle that survives the storm can literally save your life, become your temporary home, and be your source of heat and power, can get you and your family to a shelter, get you food, etc.
With that in mind, first your vehicle must be able to survive the disaster. You want it to be rugged in case it gets hit with debris, then you want it to sit reasonably high and have as little electronics as possible so it can survive a flood, and you also want it to be a traditional diesel that is rugged, bulletproof, noisy and stinky - none of those fancy new gimmicks.
If you vehicle had survived the disaster, you want to be able to drive around in during the immediate aftermath. Therefore it is most important to have fueled up right before the disaster. The second most important thing is to have rugged tires. There will be a lot of debris on the roads, and you don't want tires that are soft and easily punctured by nails, etc. Then its important to have good ground clearance and preferably all wheel drive.
Thus far it probably sounds like a monster truck, H1 or some ridiculous terminator mobile might be the best choice... but it is certainly not. Unless you are a rich and selfish snob, and want to get the hell out of the area ASAP, and can afford to pay for a hotel room somewhere far away and can afford not to work - then by all means, get a monster truck and get the hell away, we wont miss ya.
But for the rest of us, its important to consider many additional factors.
1) The vehicle must have as much space as possible. You may need to save your family members, neighbors, pets, just random people. You might also need to spend a night or even several nights in the vehicle. A monster truck with two bucket seats isn't going to serve these purposes.
2) The vehicle must be accessible. If you are trying to save elderly or disabled people, they wont be able to get in if your vehicle has a ridiculous lift. You must have good compromise between ground clearance and accessibility.
3) Your vehicle must be maneuverable. Some streets are going to be completely blocked with debris, and other streets that were once one-way narrow roads and now even narrower, and partially blocked with debris, and now with two way traffic. Having a super wide H1 or terminator mobile that takes up the entire road and can't let other vehicles pass is not a good idea.
4) If you plan on staying in the area and continue going to work, you must have a vehicle that has reasonable fuel economy. With fuel shortages to follow in the days to come, even the most capable offroader with 60" tires is going to be as useless as a flooded Yaris if it gets 5mpg and runs out of fuel in a day.
Right now I'm driving my Ford E350 diesel. It is the only one of my vehicles that survived, even after having about 6" of water inside of it. It is normally a vehicle that isn't very appealing, but its a great compromise of requirements I've listed above. It looks like it came back from a war zone, and it continues to help me and those close to me get through the misery brought by Sandy, and I'm just blessed to have it in my possession.
11-03-12, 06:53 PM
#26
Lexus Champion
Och, it's good to hear that you're doing alright. I had you in my thoughts after reading your disturbing post about you eating your words. And it's amazing to see you now post with such a positive attitude about helping others. I commend you sir.
A friend of mine came to visit me from New York, and he was lucky to avoid any damage to his house in Flushing. He tells me that the death count is going to be much higher than currently estimated; a friend of his is helping out in Staten Island, and he says that they are pulling out a lot of bodies from homes.
A friend of mine came to visit me from New York, and he was lucky to avoid any damage to his house in Flushing. He tells me that the death count is going to be much higher than currently estimated; a friend of his is helping out in Staten Island, and he says that they are pulling out a lot of bodies from homes.
11-03-12, 10:56 PM
#29
Lexus Champion
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: NYC/ATL
Posts: 2,618
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I belong to several facebook groups and a girl is posting up hot spot for diesel fuel, no wait, no 10 gallon limitation
11-03-12, 11:03 PM
#30
Lexus Champion
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: NYC/ATL
Posts: 2,618
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I got caught right in the middle of Sandy, but I'm not stuck, and I was able to help myself, my family, and my neighbors - all thanks to the vehicle that I am driving.
There are things that I've learned from this hands on experience, and this is what I can advise. It is important to realize that there are three stages to dealing with a natural disaster like a storm. First there is the storm itself, then there is the immediate aftermath and then there are days to come.
And when you are dealing with this, its no time to worry about luxury, badge whoring, showing off, 0-60 times or amount of horse power. Having a vehicle that survives the storm can literally save your life, become your temporary home, and be your source of heat and power, can get you and your family to a shelter, get you food, etc.
With that in mind, first your vehicle must be able to survive the disaster. You want it to be rugged in case it gets hit with debris, then you want it to sit reasonably high and have as little electronics as possible so it can survive a flood, and you also want it to be a traditional diesel that is rugged, bulletproof, noisy and stinky - none of those fancy new gimmicks.
If you vehicle had survived the disaster, you want to be able to drive around in during the immediate aftermath. Therefore it is most important to have fueled up right before the disaster. The second most important thing is to have rugged tires. There will be a lot of debris on the roads, and you don't want tires that are soft and easily punctured by nails, etc. Then its important to have good ground clearance and preferably all wheel drive.
Thus far it probably sounds like a monster truck, H1 or some ridiculous terminator mobile might be the best choice... but it is certainly not. Unless you are a rich and selfish snob, and want to get the hell out of the area ASAP, and can afford to pay for a hotel room somewhere far away and can afford not to work - then by all means, get a monster truck and get the hell away, we wont miss ya.
But for the rest of us, its important to consider many additional factors.
1) The vehicle must have as much space as possible. You may need to save your family members, neighbors, pets, just random people. You might also need to spend a night or even several nights in the vehicle. A monster truck with two bucket seats isn't going to serve these purposes.
2) The vehicle must be accessible. If you are trying to save elderly or disabled people, they wont be able to get in if your vehicle has a ridiculous lift. You must have good compromise between ground clearance and accessibility.
3) Your vehicle must be maneuverable. Some streets are going to be completely blocked with debris, and other streets that were once one-way narrow roads and now even narrower, and partially blocked with debris, and now with two way traffic. Having a super wide H1 or terminator mobile that takes up the entire road and can't let other vehicles pass is not a good idea.
4) If you plan on staying in the area and continue going to work, you must have a vehicle that has reasonable fuel economy. With fuel shortages to follow in the days to come, even the most capable offroader with 60" tires is going to be as useless as a flooded Yaris if it gets 5mpg and runs out of fuel in a day.
Right now I'm driving my Ford E350 diesel. It is the only one of my vehicles that survived, even after having about 6" of water inside of it. It is normally a vehicle that isn't very appealing, but its a great compromise of requirements I've listed above. It looks like it came back from a war zone, and it continues to help me and those close to me get through the misery brought by Sandy, and I'm just blessed to have it in my possession.
There are things that I've learned from this hands on experience, and this is what I can advise. It is important to realize that there are three stages to dealing with a natural disaster like a storm. First there is the storm itself, then there is the immediate aftermath and then there are days to come.
And when you are dealing with this, its no time to worry about luxury, badge whoring, showing off, 0-60 times or amount of horse power. Having a vehicle that survives the storm can literally save your life, become your temporary home, and be your source of heat and power, can get you and your family to a shelter, get you food, etc.
With that in mind, first your vehicle must be able to survive the disaster. You want it to be rugged in case it gets hit with debris, then you want it to sit reasonably high and have as little electronics as possible so it can survive a flood, and you also want it to be a traditional diesel that is rugged, bulletproof, noisy and stinky - none of those fancy new gimmicks.
If you vehicle had survived the disaster, you want to be able to drive around in during the immediate aftermath. Therefore it is most important to have fueled up right before the disaster. The second most important thing is to have rugged tires. There will be a lot of debris on the roads, and you don't want tires that are soft and easily punctured by nails, etc. Then its important to have good ground clearance and preferably all wheel drive.
Thus far it probably sounds like a monster truck, H1 or some ridiculous terminator mobile might be the best choice... but it is certainly not. Unless you are a rich and selfish snob, and want to get the hell out of the area ASAP, and can afford to pay for a hotel room somewhere far away and can afford not to work - then by all means, get a monster truck and get the hell away, we wont miss ya.
But for the rest of us, its important to consider many additional factors.
1) The vehicle must have as much space as possible. You may need to save your family members, neighbors, pets, just random people. You might also need to spend a night or even several nights in the vehicle. A monster truck with two bucket seats isn't going to serve these purposes.
2) The vehicle must be accessible. If you are trying to save elderly or disabled people, they wont be able to get in if your vehicle has a ridiculous lift. You must have good compromise between ground clearance and accessibility.
3) Your vehicle must be maneuverable. Some streets are going to be completely blocked with debris, and other streets that were once one-way narrow roads and now even narrower, and partially blocked with debris, and now with two way traffic. Having a super wide H1 or terminator mobile that takes up the entire road and can't let other vehicles pass is not a good idea.
4) If you plan on staying in the area and continue going to work, you must have a vehicle that has reasonable fuel economy. With fuel shortages to follow in the days to come, even the most capable offroader with 60" tires is going to be as useless as a flooded Yaris if it gets 5mpg and runs out of fuel in a day.
Right now I'm driving my Ford E350 diesel. It is the only one of my vehicles that survived, even after having about 6" of water inside of it. It is normally a vehicle that isn't very appealing, but its a great compromise of requirements I've listed above. It looks like it came back from a war zone, and it continues to help me and those close to me get through the misery brought by Sandy, and I'm just blessed to have it in my possession.