10-10-2018, 10:10 AM
JewellAnn, your basic premise is awesome. 
That's one of the biggest advantages to being mobile: fleeing from danger.
Scott's points & advice are all excellent.
Leaving with short notice and in a high stress & complex state is suboptimal, but only you can make the final decision.
The condition of your van's window adds to the "shelter in place" column.
3 years ago, one of my rear side windows shattered from heat stress (peek of the 2015 heat wave in Chicago).
I duct taped a garbage bag to the edges and drove to an indie repair shop. The flapping was extremely stressful to me, and was particularly bad above 25 mph. Granted, I'm noise sensitive, but I suspect it would be a distraction to anybody, particularly if they had other stressors.
Before making a final decision, I strongly recommend you drive at least a mile locally in the van, to see how you feel about the noise and lessened visibility.
If you Stay:
Follow all of Scott's awesome advice.
If you have any empty 2L soda bottles, use them for freezing water, since they have a higher volume to surface area ratio, so will stay frozen/cold longer. Use smaller bottles too, for maximum space packing.
Put a single ice cube in a small shallow container (anything whose bottom area is larger than the cube) in your freezer compartment. If the cube melts then refreezes, it will be obvious, so you'll know whether the frozen food may have issues. In most disasters, electricity is restored relatively quickly, so the ice cube test just gives you objective proof that things are safe.
If you Go:
Could you sleep on top of stuff in the van? If they're in boxes/totes, you may be able to rearrange them so you could put a sleeping pad on top, and spread out your weight among many objects.
Perhaps skip the generator & tent, to save space & complexity.
Recharge every battery that you can conveniently do.
What device(s) were you planning to use with road Wifi?
I can probably talk you thru using it/them.
Anything made in the last decade will be very easy to connect.
Scott nailed it about local weather coverage.
Some/most/all? of your local TV stations should have live streaming coverage, with weather radar. I've generally found TV emergency weather coverage to be superb, plus there's a certain comfort level in having your favorite weather critter.
If you prefer radio to TV, then you're already good to go, just tune to your favorite station.
Good luck & a Virtual Hug to you!
When you have the time please update us.
That's one of the biggest advantages to being mobile: fleeing from danger.
Scott's points & advice are all excellent.
Leaving with short notice and in a high stress & complex state is suboptimal, but only you can make the final decision.
The condition of your van's window adds to the "shelter in place" column.
3 years ago, one of my rear side windows shattered from heat stress (peek of the 2015 heat wave in Chicago).
I duct taped a garbage bag to the edges and drove to an indie repair shop. The flapping was extremely stressful to me, and was particularly bad above 25 mph. Granted, I'm noise sensitive, but I suspect it would be a distraction to anybody, particularly if they had other stressors.
Before making a final decision, I strongly recommend you drive at least a mile locally in the van, to see how you feel about the noise and lessened visibility.
If you Stay:
Follow all of Scott's awesome advice.
If you have any empty 2L soda bottles, use them for freezing water, since they have a higher volume to surface area ratio, so will stay frozen/cold longer. Use smaller bottles too, for maximum space packing.
Put a single ice cube in a small shallow container (anything whose bottom area is larger than the cube) in your freezer compartment. If the cube melts then refreezes, it will be obvious, so you'll know whether the frozen food may have issues. In most disasters, electricity is restored relatively quickly, so the ice cube test just gives you objective proof that things are safe.
If you Go:
Could you sleep on top of stuff in the van? If they're in boxes/totes, you may be able to rearrange them so you could put a sleeping pad on top, and spread out your weight among many objects.
Perhaps skip the generator & tent, to save space & complexity.
Recharge every battery that you can conveniently do.
What device(s) were you planning to use with road Wifi?
I can probably talk you thru using it/them.
Anything made in the last decade will be very easy to connect.
Scott nailed it about local weather coverage.
Some/most/all? of your local TV stations should have live streaming coverage, with weather radar. I've generally found TV emergency weather coverage to be superb, plus there's a certain comfort level in having your favorite weather critter.
If you prefer radio to TV, then you're already good to go, just tune to your favorite station.
Good luck & a Virtual Hug to you!
When you have the time please update us.
"Cause how you get there is the worthier part." Shephard Book to Kaylee, Firefly
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2019-Dec update:
I've escaped Winter!
2019-Dec update:
I've escaped Winter!
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