I think ATV's would make great BOV/GHV. They are faster than walking, they sip fuel, they can climb steep hills and go places cars cant. And most have a rack on the back to strap stuff onto. It would be alot easier to Bug Out if you could just put all your stuff on the back and a few extra gas cans and leave.
And there are some really good trailers for them too, the only worry that I have is snare wires and fences, If you were to use one post SHTF it would be wise to have a snare wire guard on the front , being headless is a real hinderance to your survival.:scratch
They make "spider web" gaurds to do what their name implies. They bend over should you need to go under a low tree. I think they would help when dealing with fence, snare wires etc. I would suggest getting aftermarket (or homemade) rack extenders. Allowing more room for gas. A good winch, good tires (all around), four-wheel drive would be good, but not a necesity. Tow ropes (strong ones), EXTRA PARTS. Such as pull ropes. They wear out after a while and if your battery fails you have a reliable source to start your fourwheeler. A gun rack or some way to store and protect your weapons. Bungie Cords. We have a small 250 Yamaha (very light weight and It will haul ALOT!) A 400 Polaris, and another 500 Polaris. ( the latter two are four wheel drive) The 250 only needs to smell gas to run. The others merely sip it. All are stored under a shed and/or garage. Well maintined, new pull ropes, batteries, starters, magnetos. Im afraid that if an EMP hit only the 250 would still run. Though I don't think any of them have enough electronics to be worried about. Unlike my truck.
The problem with an ATV for getting home is that they are not normally licenced for travel on the road-systems. That means that you would be less-likely to have them around you if something was to happen while you are away from home. A better choice for GHV would be a dual-sport motorbike that is plated for driving on the highways and byways. But, as always, the best GHV is anything that you own that keeps running without a hickup .. :wave:
ATV's are one of my BOV options. For hauling stuff and to take care of any wires or obstacles, I use my RTV pictured below. With a 3-cylinder diesel, it only uses 1 gallon of fuel for over 2 hours of run time. Edit to add: It's normally not that clean... I have a few other ATV's of various sizes.
Atv bov Im of the same thought... having owned half a dozen of them over the yrs..my fav being a 400 cc Polaris with front/rear racks...it was what I call a "utility" atv ..I liked the belt drive and no shifting..the downfall was it was a 2 cycle (if I rem) and it consumed alot of gas and had a tendency to fowl plugs.. but their quietness and load bearing racks and ability to go where few would want to walk..making them a good choice...same with the dual purpose bike..shortfall there to me would be everything pretty much has to go into a backpack or a set of panniers..the bike would be a little more nibble in thick woods maybe..but anyway..either would get the job done pretty well..especially if it came to zombie roadblocks
