Motoring after the Apocalypse
 

Okay. The world has ended, you're all dying of cancer and there's nasty guys in strange uniforms shooting at you from the bushes, when you're not being chased by vast packs of feral dogs that is.

In cases like this, I like to think 'what would Jeremy Clarkeson do?'

He'd do a road test, of course.

What vehicle would you choose to drive around radioactive Europe in?

The categories are;

-Motorcycle

- Civilian Light Commercial

- Civilian Heavy Commercial

- Civilian Off-road

- Military Off-road

- Military Light Truck

- Military Heavy Truck

- Light Wheeled APC/ACV

- Heavy Wheeled APC/ACV

- Light Tracked APC/ACV

- Heavy Tracked APC/ACV

- Small Watercraft

- Main Battle Tank.

First of all, who's Jeremy Clarkeson?

After having read "Generation Kill" (haven't seen the miniseries yet), I'd have to say an gunned-up Humvee or Landrover.

Second choice would be the LAV-25.

A hardtopped Landrover or similiar vehicle, if nuclear bits and pieces were a big problem I would have it compartmentalized and have positive pressure inside, as well as a alternate transmission and coolant system, transmission cooler, bottom sheild for the drive train, bullet proof glass, run flats to just name a few of the upgrades.

Having driven a land rover 110 defender for months on end across western Australian while working, I wouldn't have one.
They will climb over anything, true.

However, they are tiny inside. We had two trucks, a cruiser and a rover, and the rover took a third of the kit. Those slot-windows in the back? They're at face height, you don't look out the windows, and I'm only 173cm tall. That means any bump, and why drive a 4x4 unless it's off road, means your skull and the roof are on close terms.

Secondly, they have a narrow wheelbase, so they get bogged like a bastard. Worse, because they're usually quite good off road, you get further in when bogging making them harder to extract.


Nah, I prefer land cruisers. However, on rocky ground for a short trip, the rover is better.

Host of the excellent British TV program Top Gear. One of my favourite programs.

Well, everyones dead. Normally services arent functioning. You'd have to go with a solar powered small car of some sort, wouldnt you? Boring i know.

If there is a nuclear winter (or even a conventional winter for that matter) in Europe a solar powered car would be especially boring because it would be stationary. Unless you pushed it or hitched a draft animal to it.

Jezza in action

There are probably more Land Rover's in Europe than LandCruisers, especially as they're standard issue for the British Army. It'll be easier to get hold of spares.

Hello people, I'll use an older type of FWD (jeep, land rover, toyota or russian). You know? the simple type that you can make run with your belt. As I already said I'll choose a diesel if possible that I can make run with no gasoline.

Hummers are nice looking but as soon as you hit a mountain range with no wide road they make me laugh like crazy.:D . With the most modern type of civilian FWD (whatever the brand), you'll quickly end up with a nice christmas tree that doesn't go anywhere as soon as the electronic is failing (and that will be soon). That is if it starts at all of course. If you haven't seen it, you should watch the french movie "le Salaire de la Peur", an old movie from 1953.

I used to spent a lot of time off road in Portugal. Therefore, if someone owns an UMM Alter around, I'll be glad to steal that. May be the best jeep on earth (the most uncomfortable also). I would also love to be Swedish as they have access to Pinzgauers, or German: Unimogs. If I'm stuck in France, I'll go for the old Citroën 2CV, one of its derivative or an older Peugeot: almost immortals (A good hammer and you make it work).

About the 2CV my father found one in the last house he bought, 15 years ago. It was a 1952 model that had not ran for at least 20 years, forgotten under a wood pile. It was still running with a top speed of 30 miles/h, but running, and it still does (never went to a mechanic as it was fixed by the farmer next door).

Or hook a generator to it and run it as a hybrid.

Chuck M.

A quick detour, I was going to act like a loonie and say "a Smart Car" painted up like Pac-Man with the "wokka, wokka, wokka" sound effect.

I was thinking the same thing, a 2CV. Interesting car, not many here in the U.S. though. A Volkwswagen Beetle, the older ones, wouldn't be too bad, the World War II Germans used the chassis for their staff cars, IIRC, VW had one called "A Thing" that resembled a 1970's looking Kubelwagen. Stateside, well, maybe a Chevy Cavalier or its related vehicles, lots of parts, easy on fuel. Military, I guess a Hummer. I prefer wheels over tracks, easier to maintain, if you throw a track and can't fix it, you're cooked. Of course, I'd also have a geiger counter to steer clear of hot areas. Also, if you had to make your own fuel, it would take less time to fill up a 2CV or Chevy, a little more for a Hummer maybe, but a tracked vehicle would be like a bottomless pit.

If you're an old car buff a Model T (1908- 1927) or Model A (1928 - 1934?) Ford would be nice, they are flex fuel too, made that way.

Chuck M.

1965 convertible Mustang, black with red and silver stripes

A canoe. Rivers have always been the "highways" of a nonindustrial world. You can carry a canoe across land (portage) to the next river/lake. If you need food just fish off the canoe. It is quiet so you wont necessarily scare game away or draw attention to yourself. Hole up during the day travel at night, there you go.:)

Same in Australia. The SAS have gunned up open top Land Rovers that have MGs pointing in every direction and something big on top, usually an M2HB or Mk19.

Hmmm, if you want motorized form of transport, a "SEEP" (amphibious jeep) would be cool and if you can make enough fuel, an amphibious DUKW (Duck" with 6 wheels) would even be better. Would be cool to make a motorhome out of a DUKW too and it would double as a houseboat. I even saw a late 1940's era magazine that suggested turning a DUKW into an RV. There was also a civilian "Amphibicar" made in Germany too, early 1960's, one of our local radio stations had one back then too.

Chuck M.

I have always wondered what happened to the DUKWs that are used for tourism in the Wisconsin Dells, in the T2k world. I think there are about 100. I remember during the tour they discussed that they used their own machine shops to manufacture parts as they are difficult to find. This bodes well for their continued operation.

Game wise they might have been commandeered by the 1st Brigade 49th Armored as they would have passed through the dells on their way from Chicago to Fort McCoy. Perhaps they were then used by the division for transport down the Mississippi once the division was directed against the Mexican forces.

dog cart with real dog's, or goat cart (those son'bit live on anything).

You'll find several also in Boston and I'm sure that a number of Russian version (BAV-485, I think) are still running. By the way I just watched the movie "second civil war" yesterday. They had an interesting idea about old type equipments that would be used again (M24 chaffee, M4 Sherman). That was developped in T2K but I would expect to find some of these all over. Not only seep but also jeep, beep, half-track..., the rare Schwimmwagen also

A goat cart. Wild, man, just wild. I'm so going to have a dude on a goat cart turn up in my campaign. When it happens I'll think of you Firewalker.

I find the symbolism of a person using goats as a conveyance in in a post-apocalyptic setting mildly ironic and amusing ;)

Goats are the cockroaches of the ruminated world ……and thay come with milk:D

Speaking of DUKWs, I've seen a few of them still running somewhere near where I live. There's a district northeast of Manila called Malabon where my wife's family hails from. It floods there almost 24/7, mostly due to a combination of its low-lying location next to the sea and the choked up estuaries and canals which are not enough to drain the water from the streets.

I drove my wife over there once and saw what her relatives termed as an 'amphibian'. Upon closer observation, I noted that it was a modified DUKW. It seems the local businessmen bought up a lot of old US-issue mil vehicles and used them for their fishing operations.

CABRITO!!!!!!!!! Milk hell, that's good eats. Besides ya don't milk a billy LOL. Seriously, that is a good idea. Depending on breed, though it would be a light load, maybe garden cart sized at max with one goat.


As for my selected mode of transit. In character horse for first choice or foot. Perhaps not as fast as vehicle, but gotta eat anyways, and as the old grunt saying goes, "If ya can't carry it ya don't need it. Light and flexible."

But since they are NOT on the catagorie list it would be a small 'common' civilian off-road type such as the Toyota 4x4 pickup or 4-runner size. (god I loved my toy SR5.)

Grae

I ride past a dump for old DUKW's on my way to work... there is a company that maintains a few in operation for tourists in DC (I've never seen them in the water, but they might...) and has a few extra (in horrid condition) as spare parts sources.

that was what i was thinking: a slave-pulled solarpowerd apc.....

Your mind terrifies me General. And not all that many things give me The Fear.

I have to second earthpig in using a canoe especially if you had a small operation and where looking to go undetected.

Now If I needed a vehicle of some kinda I would look for a Diesel Toyota pick-up truck (Hi-lux to you foreigners) though they are not very common in the U.S.
yota's run forever, they have good engines and transmissions though the bodies often rusted out.

Another good one would be the old International Harvester Scout but with the Nissan diesel engine.

I would run bio diesel in either vehicle. Of course if I had access to military vehicles, I might take one. Unfortunately I am not very well versed in fixing vehicles. So I would probably be in a canoe, or on horseback if my lady freind was nice enough to lend me one of her horses.

otherwise I might end up looking like these guys if I broke down :)

Given the original Top Gear slant of the thread, the answer has to be that Toyota pickup that can't be killed (immersed in the Bristol Channel overnight, set fire to, and dropped with a collapsing block of flats, and it STILL ran...). Truly the perfect vehicle to cope with Armageddon...

How about a sedan chair?

Good one, I like your style!:cool: I can see it now, it would look like something out of "Aqua Teen Hunger Force." Wonder how they (and Carl) would survive and do in the world of Twilight? ;)

BTW, love the avatar.

Chuck M.