If the standard camping trailer just isn’t extreme enough for you, maybe a compact ‘bug out trailer’ with monster wheels, a full kitchen and a pop-up roof tent will satisfy your survivalist impulses. Designed for adventurous off-roading types, these trailers are designed to facilitate max comfort no matter how far out into the wilderness you may wander.

Schutt Xventure

From the same company building trailer platforms for the armed forces comes the ‘Xventure,’ a severe-duty trailer packed with military-grade gear. It’s got an all-aluminum weldless construction, electric brakes, a removable tailgate offering a heavy-duty work surface and a large front utility cabinet holding jerry cans, tools, lighting equipment and more.

Turtleback Weekender

Made in Phoenix, Arizona, the Turtleback Weekender is a lightweight aluminum trailer with marine-grade electrical components, Lockable exterior compartments, cargo rack, kitchen, shower and more. It has a small frame to fit standard family vehicles, so you don’t need a huge beefy truck to transport it. Use the roof rack to carry items like kayaks, and as an elevated tent platform.

Tigermoth Trailer

This compact trailer is a workhorse, taking you off-grid in comfort while weighing just 900 pounds so it can be towed just about anywhere. The Tigermoth camping trailer boasts a side-hatch entrance, built-in LED lights, running water, power outlets, USB ports, a mounted toolbox, roof racks, cargo decks in the front and the back, and optional solar panels.

Moab Fort by Bivouac Camping Trailer

“Designed to go beyond pavement where camp sites are declared, not rented,” the Moab Fort by Bivouac Camping Trailer makes off-grid exploration more comfortable without requiring a huge, bulky setup. It’s a small utility trailer packed with cargo space for bikes, canoes, tents, propane tanks and any other gear you want to bring along. Various parts extend outward, like tables and sun shades.

OPUS Self-Inflating Camper Trailer

The inside of this camper trailer is surprisingly swanky given its low profile, and unlike traditional pop-up camper trailers, the OPUS self-inflates within 90 seconds into a well-ventilated multi-room space. The full setup includes a kitchen with a stove, sink and refrigerator and a seating area that converts into a bed.

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Extremely Comfortable Camping 13 Rugged Off Road Trailers

If you’ve ever watched The Walking Dead and thought to yourself, “in a zombie apocalypse, I would just find the nearest armored diesel-powered vehicle and pack it full of survival gear,” here’s an array of potential choices to stoke your fantasies. Some are available to the deep-pocketed public and some are technically for military use only, some fully-equipped RVs and others basically just for roaring through utter chaos and making it out alive.

Hudson Armored Personnel Carrier – With a Turret

You’d be extremely lucky to come across one of these, post-apocalypse, if it happened to be abandoned or not in use. The Hudson Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) by INKAS was designed specifically for SWAT transport and it has a freaking turret. Other notable features include two escape hatches, gunports all around the perimeter and the platform of a ’79 Land Cruiser to make replacement parts and maintenance easy. It’s a lot more fun to imagine roaring around in this thing to escape zombie swarms than it is to envision the sort of real-world situations in which it’s actually used (and that goes for most of the rest of these, too.)

Applied Minds KiraVan

A lifelong adventurer built one of the world’s most insane vehicles in honor of his four-year-old daughter, envisioning an off-road expedition truck that could take her anywhere on earth without limitation while maintaining the highest levels of luxury. The result is the ‘KiraVan,’ which can travel up to 2,000 miles without resupply, climb 45-degree slopes and push through small bodies of water, not to mention its kevlar-reinforced tires, diesel-powered motorcycle ‘dinghy’ and a massive trailer housing the kid’s own ‘penthouse’ loft.

Mercedes-Benz Zetros 2733 6×6

Built as a luxury RV for rich hunters, the Mercedes-Benz Zetros 6×6 is not your grandfather’s vacation vehicle. It can go off-road, a virtual mobile fortress with ATV storage and extra-tough tires. Inside, there’s a bathroom with marble flooring and underfloor heating, a bedroom, a fully-equipped kitchen, a built-in SAT receiver powered by a diesel generator and a gun safe.

INKAS Huron APC

An earlier, larger version of the INKAS Hudson, the Huron APC looks like a Hummer on steroids and features “revolutionary lightweight armor” that makes it faster and easier to maneuver than similarly-sized armored vehicles. It can carry up to 16 passengers, and its engine bay is protected by the same armor that’s capable of shielding its crew from AK-47 fire. With a price tag of over half a million dollars, not even the richest civilians can buy it – it’s intended for police and military missions only.

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Racing For Survival 13 Extreme Vehicles For The End Of The World

Aesthetics may not be the first consideration when it comes to emergency items like survival kits, post-disaster housing and relief supplies, but good design can make the difference between clunky, inefficient objects that hamper adequate response and the items that save as many lives as possible, as quickly as possible. Often created after designers witnessed disasters close to home, many of these solutions attempt to build preparedness into our daily lives, making it easy to grab a minimalist kit by the door or pack up a panicked pet at the last minute.

Pet Earthquake Emergency Bag

Have you thought about what you’d do with your cat or small dog if a disaster hit and you had to flee on foot? Transporting them in a standard pet carrier would be cumbersome and maybe even impossible. Enter the Pet Earthquake Bag Kit, created in response to the last major earthquake in Japan. Special pockets and straps make it possible to carry up to two household pets. It come sin two sizes and includes a human/pet emergency kit with water, treats, bandages and calming oils.

Minim-Aid Emergency Kit

This slim and minimalist stainless steel tube kit by Nendo takes up very little space hanging in a closet or on a hook by the door, but contains a raincoat, radio with gadget charger, lantern, drinking water and whistle. Waterproof and capable of floating, it would be easy to grab and carry at the last minute.

Reaction Housing System Flat-Pack Emergency Shelters

Stackable and easy to ship, the Reaction Housing System is made up of two easy-to-assemble pieces that can be used alone for a single unit or connected to multiple units. Each one can be configured as a living space or office and contain single beds that fold down from the wall and portable power generators. Twenty of them can be stacked on one semi-truck or C-130 Hercules plane, and 1,940 could be moved across the country on a freight train to house 7,760 survivors as quickly as possible. At $5K each, they’re far cheaper than most other solutions, like the ones FEMA currently uses.

Life Desk

The Life Desk was developed after a number of students were seriously injured or killed by the tables they were hiding under during earthquakes in China. The heavy duty high-strength-steel and nylon desk provides a long-lasting work surface for students and can be quickly folded for shelter in an emergency.

PATCH Urban Survival Kit

Looking like a small thermos on a key fob, PATCH is an urban survival kit designed specifically for city dwellers in the 21st century, containing all the core elements of a first-aid kit and adding a phone charger, multi-tool, zip ties, emergency blanket and other items you’d be likely to need if some kind of disaster made your surroundings unsafe.

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Designing For Disaster 15 Ideas For Preparedness Response

When you think ‘survival kit’, what comes to mind is probably some kind of camouflaged, ultra-practical collection of items that live up to the name – i.e., they’ll help you get by in an extremely sticky situation. But it could be argued that liquor, candy, zombie-fighting charts and instructions for fitting into a foreign culture help you survive, too. These 12 emergency kits range from designer showpieces to items you didn’t know you needed, but won’t want to live without.

Designer’s Survival Kit

(images via: best awards)

The symbolism of colors and shapes, business card etiquette and even ideas for what to wear are included in this sleek ‘Designer’s Survival Kit’ by a design team at Massey University Auckland’s School of Design.  The kit appears to be created for New Zealand designers traveling to Asia, to familiarize them with foreign customs.

Christmas Survival Kit

(images via: the packaging insider)

What do you need to get through the holiday season with your sanity intact? UK-based product designer Anneke Short compiled various necessities into a ‘Christmas Survival Kit’ including an energy drink, ear plugs, mints, a hangover remedy and a bottle of homemade spiced vodka.

Wedding Emergency Kit

(images via: bridal guide)

Wedding emergency kits are a popular choice for ultra-prepared brides, bridesmaids and other members of the wedding party. Typically full of items like gum, breath mints, bandages, sewing kits and stain removers, they help take care of any last-minute emergencies. These ones are a simple DIY project that can be created using printable label templates.

Mobile Foodie Survival Kit

(images via: uncommon goods)

“For foodies, nothing is scarier than being in a strange place where you’re subject to sub-par food.” That’s the reasoning behind this emergency Mobile Foodie Survival Kit, which can help discriminating eaters make bland food more palatable. It contains sea salt, black pepper, cayenne, onion, basil, wasabi, cinnamon, oregano, garlic, thyme, curry, ginger and dill.

Just In Case: A Designer Survival Kit for the Apocalypse

(images via: dezeen)

Some people spend thousands of dollars on subterranean bomb shelters and closets full of serious survival gear, ‘just in case’. Others just wing it. And a small percentage of the population will be prepared with items of a less practical, but more fun nature. Yes, Menosunocerouno’s ‘Just in Case’ kit does come with a simple knife, a bottle of water and 40 emergency matches (in stylish matte black). But it also has original Mayan liqueur, dark chocolate laced with cinnamon, a cute little yellow notebook for when you get bored, and a note that says ‘Happy 2012.’

Flat-Pack Survival Kits by Steffen Kehrle

(images via: steffen kehrle)

These beautiful brushed stainless steel survival kits include all manner of necessary implements such as tiny forks and knives, bottle openers, buttons, wrenches, fish hooks and – inexplicably – heart and cross pendants.

Personal Zombie Survival Kit

(images via: izismile)

The lucky guy who received this DIY zombie survival kit from his crafty girlfriend will have all the chocolate he can eat once the brain-hungry plague sets in. At first glance, many of the items look practical, but that flashlight is packed with M&Ms and the ‘Power Up’ bars are actually Hershey’s chocolate.

Talking First Aid Kit

(images via: trendhunter)

In the heat of the moment, are you really going to remember how to dress a wound, soothe a severe burn or deal with a person who’s in shock? If you’re not exactly a first aid expert, perhaps this talking first aid kit is for you. It actually reads off instructions for various procedures at the push of a button.

Super-Practical Hurricane Supplies

(images via: ormond offbeat)

A hurricane is coming, and you’re stuck in a basement somewhere until it’s safe to come out. With this kit, at least you’ll have the absolute essentials, so if the roof blows off, you might not even notice. Blogger Ormond Offbeat put this ‘Hurricane Survival Kit’ together with a couple cups and some airline-sized bottles of liquor.

Public Toilet Survival Kit

(images via: baron bob)

It’s not designer, and it’s certainly not glamorous. But neither are public bathrooms, and that’s kind of the point of this kit. The Public Toilet Survival Kit comes with two antiseptic wipes, a pair of disposable gloves and a toilet seat cover, so you’re prepared for even the worst of public bathroom conditions.

First Day Survival Kit

(images via: popsop)

On your first day in a new apartment, there are always some things that aren’t accessible – like dishes. The First Day Survival Kit by Veidekke Bostad, which is actually a real estate company in Scandinavia, has you covered with disposable plates and other items that you’ll need.

Simple & Elegant Sardine Can Survival Kit

(images via: need please)

How many survival supplies can you fit inside a sardine can? Surprisingly, quite a few. This little Sardine Can Survival Kit has 25 items inside including a fish hook, razor blade, matches, pencil, gum, thread, safety pin, compass, fire starter and even a tootsie roll.

Call it paranoia or call it wise planning: it’s a favorite hobby of humankind to try to predict when it will all end. We expend a great deal of energy preparing ourselves for doomsday, Armageddon, the day of reckoning – the end of the world. Some intrepid souls go so far as to construct shelters that they hope will protect them in the event of a war, nuclear holocaust or natural disaster that wipes out civilization. Photographer Richard Ross examined some of these fascinating structures – and the people behind them – in his photo project Waiting for the End of the World.

In Emigrant, Montana, a man who could be your mailman or next-door neighbor is the keeper of this strange, yet oddly beautiful, underground bomb shelter. The shelter was constructed by and for members of the Elizabeth Clare Prophet Church. Its construction is impressive; it has room for 90 families, plus storage space for enough food to last the occupants for several years.

As with most shelters, this one was built because church members believed that the end really was nigh. When doomsday didn’t occur on March 15, 1990 as predicted by Prophet, the church members who had taken shelter inside emerged. The shelter is now maintained by Charlie Hull and a few helpers.

The images in “Waiting For the End of the World” are compelling for so many reasons. The stark lighting and sparse interiors are visually very interesting. Moreover, there is tragic elegance in the constructing of such stable, trustworthy chambers in preparation for an event that we’ve long feared but never experienced.

Some of the shelters, like the one above, are single-family structures built to protect only one family. This one, in Salt Lake City, Utah, was built by a family who believe that any home within a certain distance of any runway over 7000 feet long is a potential target. The family home’s proximity to the SLC airport, then, would make it vulnerable. This is but one of the two shelters the family has constructed; this one being small and not well-stocked is for short-term use only.

Others, like the one above in Conroe, Texas, were meant for entire communities. This particular shelter was built by Ling Chieh Kung, the wealthy nephew of former Taiwanese president Madame Chiang Kai-Shek. The massive shelter was built to house up to 1500 people for up to 90 days. Along with the standard living quarters, it features a jail, an operating room, and a 27-inch thick concrete roof reinforced with rebar. In 2003, the shelter was renovated to turn it into a data center for Jarvis Entertainment Group.

(images via: Good and Richard Ross)

Ross’ Waiting for the End of the World was published in 2004. It took him five years to travel to three continents, photographing these bleak yet comforting womb-like structures. With much of the world at war now, it’s not that hard to imagine needing a shelter like these some day.