12 Survival Items You Can Scavenge From a Car After a SHTF Disaster

Who Would Have Thought You Could Scavenge This Many Survival Items From A Car!

In a true SHTF survival situation, you’ll probably be in the midst of thousands of items, especially if you live in a populated area such as a city, such as abandoned cars that many people will have left behind. Most people would not recognize these abandoned vehicles as survival items that you can scavenge to help keep you and your family safe until help arrives.

Another situation could be finding yourself stranded far from civilization in your own car when it breaks down. In either case, having the know how to turn ordinary things found in or on a car into survival gear is a great survival skill to have so here are 12 survival items you can scavenge from a car.

1. Whatever is in the Trunk

The first thing you should check is the trunk. Many people keep tools, flashlights, jumper cables, blankets, and even extra clothing in the trunk. Most people who abandon their vehicles would probably try to take some of those things with them, but not necessarily. If you check a hundred vehicles, you’re bound to come across some goodies.

2. Whatever is in the Glove Box or Center Console

Here you might find food, lighters, first aid supplies, papers you can use to help start fires, etc. Again, you never know, so if you’re walking down a highway full of abandoned cars, check as many glove boxes and center consoles as you can.

3. Mirrors

Now that the obvious stuff is out of the way, the first thing you should consider taking is the rearview mirror. If it’s stuck on the glass with adhesive, you might be able to remove it with a razor blade. Otherwise, you could just break it off. To get the side mirrors out, you’ll need a knife or similar object. Mirrors can be used for many things including signaling for help and starting fires.

4. Seats

The fabric in seats can make excellent insulation material in cold environments, and the seat covers can be used as ground covers. If the seats are leather, you can even turn them into useful items such as shoes, leggings, or a carrying pack.

5. Seat Belts

If you don’t have any cordage, use the seat belts. Just extend them as far as they will go and cut them out. If you need a cord that’s not as thick, just cut up the seat belt into smaller strands. If you unravel them enough, you could even use them as fishing line.

6. Lid, Hood, and Doors

I grouped these together because they can all be used for the same thing: building a shelter. These things will be difficult to remove without the proper tools, but they can be very useful. For example, it’s very easy to set up a lean-to with the hood of a car. And in the winter, the doors could be used as sleds.

7. Windows

The top part of the glass on car doors can be used to sharpen knives. Break off this part and wrap duct tape around the jagged edges and you’ll have a portable knife sharpener. You could also try using some of the broken glass as a cutting tool, but this might be difficult since car glass tends to fall apart into little pieces when broken.

8. Battery

You can use a car battery to keep your devices charged during an emergency. But to do this, you’ll also need some 12v receptacles and a power inverter. Watch this video to learn how:

9. Wiring

The wires in the engine could be used as cordage for any number of things such as constructing shelters, making snares, bundling things together so they’re easier to carry, etc.

10. Headlights

The glass from a headlight can be used as a cutting tool if the piece is long and sharp enough and the rest is wrapped in duct tape to make a handle. And the lamp and case from a headlight can be used to make a fire if the lens reflector has been well polished. To do so, put some tinder in the reflector that holds the bulb and place it under the sun. Both sides, being highly reflective, will magnify the sunlight and direct heat to the tinder. Hopefully, an ember will be created in the kindling that you can blow on to start a fire.

11. Tires

Modern tires unfortunately don’t have as many uses as older tires due to the steel cable running through them. Nonetheless, you can still burn tires for signaling purposes since the black smoke can be seen for miles on a clear day. But be warned: tire burning is illegal in most areas, so proceed with caution. Tire smoke is also toxic so keep your distance.

12. Gasoline

As long as you have a siphon of some kind, you could use leftover gasoline for your own vehicle. Gas could also be used to get a fire going, as long as you’re very careful. Don’t puncture a fuel tank for gas as even a small spark is enough to make a gas tank explode, even if very little fuel is present.

13. Bonus: Tubes

In the event that you come across an older car that still has inner tubes in its tires, the inner tubes can be cut up into rubber bands which have all sorts of uses: tourniquets, shelter making, strapping items to your clothes or pack, and so forth.

Via: Urban Survival Site