The Prepper Broadcasting Network - HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT! Prepper Camp 2026 New Location New Date

Episode Date: December 17, 2025

Today, we talk to Rick Austin about how the biggest event in prepping just got even bigger!! Join us to get all the info on Prepper Camp 2026www.preppercamp.comwww.tryon.comGet Prepared with Our Incredible Sponsors! Survival Bags, kits, gear www.limatangosurvival.comEMP Proof Shipping Containers www.fardaycontainers.comThe Prepper's Medical Handbook Build Your Medical Cache – Welcome PBN FamilyPack Fresh USA www.packfreshusa.comSupport PBN with a Donation https://bit.ly/3SICxEq

For more than a decade, Prepper Camp has been the biggest prepper show in the world. In 2026, it's about to get even bigger. And here to talk about it is the Korean. our friend Rick Austin. How are you, sir? Doing good. How are you doing? I'm doing great, man. Glad you could drop in today to be our, you know, really make the big announcement here for the first of the first to find out what's going on and what's going to change and what's not. And I guess probably the big question up front is, you know, what is the big change for PreparCamp 2026? Well, we are, the biggest and best is getting bigger and better, I like to say.

I do like it. I think you guys picked a great line to run into 2026 with. Yeah, we, you know, for years, I'd say for seven years, we had outgrown our previous venue, which was great. Orchardly Camperon was fantastic, but they were good to us. But, you know, when you run out of camp spots in February because they're sold out and our event is in September, or it was in September, that just leaves a lot of people with a bad taste in your mouth. They can't camp there. They can't get there. And, you know, if they bought their tickets later, then they just don't get the opportunity. So we found a fantastic venue, a huge venue, which has all kinds of other benefits to it, besides having a much bigger space for PreparCamp itself and, you know, doing the same thing we've been doing for years with our tents and our classes and great instructors from all over the country and, you know, great classes.

We're going to have much more room for demonstrations. We're working on the potential simulation, house clearing sort of thing on site. So that would be really cool. The guys that do it tell me that whenever they do, there's lines like forever for people going in there because it's such a fun thing to do. And a great learning experience, too.

But what we're really doing is, We've moved to the Tri-On International, which is actually right outside of Tri-on, North Carolina. It's still in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. I'm going to give everybody a peek. Okay. You can go ahead and keep explaining. Sure. So as you can see, yeah, it's in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and great views and everything else.

And we have our own private space way in the back there. that's on a giant pond just like we used to be in our old location and we're going to be around that entire pond and have our event there but this place has 180 RV spots available. They've got, we've got pretty much unlimited tent camping. They have 55 cabins and those cabins go from, you know, one-bedroom cabins to three-bedroom to five-bedroom cabins. So if you are just, you know, you and your wife, or they've got, you know, they can, the one-bedrooms can sleep four, so you and a couple of kids or whatever. And the three-bedrooms have more, and the, obviously, the five-bedrooms are for, like, you know, multiple families if you want to do something

like that. So there are a lot of people that in the past Prepper Camp have rented Airbnbs and that kind of thing. So this gives them the opportunity to actually be on site. So we don't have people who are driving half an hour to an hour to their lodging and then having to drive half an hour to an hour to Preper Camp and back. So everybody can be on site. Everybody can be there. And it's exciting because there'll be a lot less commuting. We'll have everybody much more camaraderie and that sort of stuff. And it's a huge venue. We've got there's 140 hotel rooms.

So Preper Camp in the past has filled up every hotel room, B&B, within probably 50 miles of the event. But again, you know, people have had to drive a long way to get to Preper Camp from their lodging. So now people would be able to stay right there on site. The lodging looks great, too. Places look beautiful. I mean, brand spanking new they look like. I don't know how old the facility is, but those cabins,

the PBN hosts have been eyeballing one of those big cabins because that looks like that could be a fun time. Yeah. And even the smaller cabins look great. And things that blew me away about those smaller cabins. And I think the Preper Camp goers will really appreciate this. is the smaller cabins have wood stove it. That really surprised me.

And, you know, they have all the amenities. I mean, they're washing machines, dryers. You know, that's just, it's great. I mean, all the stuff that they have in their full kitchens, you know, full refrigerators, actually have water and plumbing and electricity and air conditioning because we will be in August this year. so it'll be uh it'll be it'll be great for that reason um there's also seven restaurants on site let's pull some of the footage up i'll mute the music and then we'll have a look so

sure we can uh kind of show some of that stuff off it is uh equestrian heavy at the beginning of the clip but it's well worth showing off the place yeah yes it is a sprawling giant huh it is it's huge thousands of acres i couldn't help but think about a horseback riding course at prepper camp it's definitely one of those post-d-MP vehicle things that people talk about but true true so here's some shops they got a i guess a giant stage for music yeah they have the merle fest there every year so that's a big bluegrass festival yep and they got their winter fest going on you know in the winter time so just just amazing amazing place with with so much infrastructure

that we can take advantage of and and prepper camp will be the only event going on at that time yeah it's going to be great man how'd you find a place I wouldn't even have known where to look for a place like this well it's been around for 12 years or so and you know they had been doing equestrian events for a while, I've been doing international, and then they started doing more different types of events, like I said, the Merle Fest and that sort of stuff. And they've got a huge facility, and they've got infrastructure, and they've got places to stay. So it's an opportunity for them to fill up their whole venue, and for us to have a great venue to do everything that we normally do as well. Yeah, man, it's something. What I guess

the big, uh, one of the biggest things is when, right? The where we know the place. So the date has changed for prepper camp. That's kind of a big deal. So, so when? Well, it's August 14th, 15th and 16th. Um, so that's when we're having preper camp this year. It's also often, for what I understand, and before kids go to school. So we're kind of pushing that if people want to stay the week of prepper camp and, you know, make it a family vacation, they can do things like explore the Appalachian Mountains and, you know, have a great time seeing all of the area with their entire family.

And now that we've got the cabins out there, it gives people the opportunity to do that too. I think it's a great time of year myself. especially with a place that looks as beautiful as this one here with the mountains in the background and the ponds and the fishing and the I'm sure there's some form of hiking and trails and that kind of stuff. I bet there'll be a ton to do. Oh, there's, yeah, you could definitely get lost out there. Yeah, you could. Yeah, no doubt. And they, you know, for the family, there's all kinds of other amenities too.

They've got sports simulators. They've got like everything that you would find in an arcade, racing simulators, that kind of stuff. So for the teenagers, there's that kind of thing to do, too. Pool tables for people, if they want to play pool at night, go out to dinner and that kind of things. I can easily see, you know, there's bowling, dart throwing, there's axe throwing, all on site. and there's a lot of after-hours things to do for people at Preper Camp if they have the energy to do it after spending the entire day going to classes at Preper Camp. Well, we've always had a group of people who had something going on

for another event in another part of the country who've always wanted to come to Preper Camp and have just always had an issue getting there in October. So I know for a fact there's going to be at least a handful of people from PBN that come this year because we have the date change, you know. It gives them an opportunity to, yeah, to get out there at that time of year. Yeah, yeah. So, and, you know, we're doing our holiday discount special right now. So right now, if you buy tickets before December 31st, you can get $60 off your Preper Camp tickets.

Wow. The lodging is, all of the lodging is 25% off. So if you go in and reserve the lodging, if you use Prepper 25, you get 25% off the lodging. Not bad at all. So 25% off lodging. What is the code? Prepper. Prepper 25.

Prepper 25 is the code, folks. and 25% off your lodging. And man, the lodging is nice. And on top of that, $60 off tickets if you get them now. Preppercamp.com, right? Yep. And, you know, with all the talk about the new venue, it's, you know, we still need to talk about the fact that we're still going to have 64

classes a day, demonstrations, you know, four movies during the event, everything that we've done to date that makes us the biggest and the best preparedness, self-reliance, off-grid living, and homesteading event in the country. So we're going to have 20 new classes this year, just like we do every single year. We're talking to new speakers and looking about new classes right now. So there will all be something new for folks who have come to prepper camp in the past. So in the grand scheme of things, we're dealing with a situation where the big things that we've come to expect from Prepper Camp are going to be at the new location.

Right. And, you know, those things aren't going to change, right? Right. And I will also say that the venue is off a major highway. They have their own exit. That's how big they are. So they have their own exit off a major highway. Gone are the days of having to do switchbacks going up a hill, going over railroad tracks

and bottoming out with your trailer. That sort of stuff. So it's going to be so much easier to get to. It's a different ride since Helene. It is definitely a different ride since Hurricane Helene. So that'll be cool. That'll be great. I already checked.

I think I'm like a half hour to an hour closer to this place based on, I think, what it is. I think it's the more direct route to get to you guys, which I'm thrilled. I'm thrilled about that. That's great news. Yeah. So, yeah, we're really happy about it. We're excited about it because it's just going to make it bigger and newer and better. And we're going to have our own parking area and, you know, a la theme park venues.

We will have trolleys and trams to get from the parking area to the Preper Camp event. Okay. Yeah, that's cool. That's cool. I like that. parking lot i'm assuming is going to be paved right looking at the place they got a lot of places for parking here it's it's huge it's going to be a gravel gravel area but uh we will also have our own entrance for parking too so um that's going to be cool that's going to be really cool yeah no doubt about it so aside from location and date what what other things are being changes this year that are coming to prepper camp or just changes that stand out in your mind because of the new locations.

Really, we're just going to be doing things bigger and better, better demonstrations, more demonstrations, more space to spread out, more vendors this year. I think we're going to have some bigger vendors, some bigger national vendors as well. But we're still doing, you know, what made Preper Camp great, but we're just doing it in a venue that adds so much more to the experience that people have. I like to say it's it's prepper camp theme park style yeah I want to get out there and see it man I'm going to definitely take a ride out to the try on

is that the kind of place where you can just drive out there or no yeah you can drive out there sure yeah okay I mean you'll you'll see you'll see the stuff that's that the public sees but if you want to schedule the time with me I would glad to meet you there and we can drive out to the private lake that we will be on. Like I said, they have, they have thousands of acres. And you go out there and it's like, it's like you're visiting, I hate to say Disney World because of the woke stuff. But, you know, there's construction going on

all over the place. They're building a new golf course. They're doing all kinds. I mean, there's just so much stuff going on there and they're just expanding it all the time. So it's I definitely think a road trip special report would be a good time. Yeah, that would be a good idea. Sure. Take a trip down there and walk around the lake, like you said, maybe look at the park and give people an idea of what it is they're going to be doing because, from what it sounds like, to me, it sounds like it's going to be an easier trip to Preper Camp 2026 than ever before.

Way easier. Way easier for everybody. Yeah. So, yeah, my first year, I remember, I was all, I was driving in circles. right outside of the event. Luckily, Dave Jones was there and navigated me in. Well, you know, for a lot of people, it is there first time. So they drive those same circles.

So that will be gone, we hope. It's a beautiful milestone, man. As far as I'm concerned, you know, you guys have been at it for over 10 years. And it's just a mark, I think, of what it has become. You know, it's become this thing that deserves a larger, audience. It deserves a larger crowd. It deserves a place like this, you know, a big venue. And now we can keep everyone close by. They can eat there. They can stay there. Right. And I think it's going to go ahead. There's a general store there too. So, you know, gone of the days when you have to

drive. Oh, wait a minute. We forgot something. So drive an hour to the local, you know, nearest, nearest town or hardware store or whatever to get whatever it is you forgot. they've got a store right there on site yeah yeah i mean for me just speaking as one person this type of venue definitely lends itself to bringing more members of the family right you know what i mean and i think there i think there's a lot of value in that for prepper camp is saying and still having because i guess we should mention that too that's a big point somewhere back there in the uh in the forest between the mountains in the forest there is opportunity for camping the way that prepper campers like to camp right like there are a group of

prepper campers who want to be in the woods be camping and that's still going to be an option right absolutely yeah there's going to be our own little tent city and um you know so people will be able to commune with each other and and do primitive camping um just like we have for you know for the past 12 years so yeah that's huge that lets everybody know we're not we're not losing anything right you know there's not one piece of prepper camp i think that we're we're losing outside of a bit of nostalgia from being at the place it started at but you know to your point bigger and better right right and um you know it's we're we're having it at a time where a lot of people's kids are not in school yet so it gives them the opportunity to bring the whole family too

yeah that's another one right that's another opportunity without uh so many people running around like crazy in the fall time yeah i don't know august in the north carolina mountains do you know about that kind of weather what's that like typically it can vary it can be mountains right well it can be hot and humid or it can be you know nice so um it's just going to be august in august in the appalachians so it's uh well i do always feel like that's been part of the of Prepper Camp, too. There's no denying that, right? Oh, yeah.

The piece of that is always like, let's figure out what we can do with, you know, the elements as well. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. But for people that, you know, want to do something with the family, I mean, we have a lot of people that came as singles because mom had to stay home with the kids because they were in school and they couldn't take that time off on Thursday to drive the air for classes starting on Friday. So we should be able to have more of that. And you can take advantage of all the great things in the Appalachian Mountains. You can take a day and go on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

And, I mean, there's so much more to experience with the event being on this date than we'd ever have the opportunity before. Yeah, it's going to be an awesome year, man. I can't wait. I can't wait to see this tri-on location get to. taken over by the crazy preppers. It's going to be fun. It's going to be fun. Are we going to be, here's a question people might have in their heads.

Are we going to be sharing the location with another event, or is this going to be a prepper camp exclusive sort of? This is preper camp. And that was one of the reasons that we ended up on this date, too, because they're not having other events at that time. So for them, it's great because we're filling up all their hotel rooms. and their RV spots and their cabins and, you know, they've got that infrastructure there. And for us, it's great because we're going to take over the place.

Yeah, I like that. That's going to be pretty cool. Have a big, giant place like that exclusively. That is something, right? There's a lot of opportunity there. Might be, yeah. So everybody needs to behave. yeah we might need to mention that again everyone needs to behave there's nobody to point the finger at

except us prep or campers so we got to leave the place looking way better than we found it i think that's it that's key to make it the management of the venue is already excited about you know doing something making this an ongoing ongoing event for their their venue each year so we're excited about that too so how were they when you approached them were they like what or were they like oh this could be cool you know at initial um i i um i talked to the head guy i sent him sent him an email and just said hey we're this is who we are here's our here's a website this what we've been doing for the last 12 years and we've outgrown our our venue and um we're looking for another place and they were like they came back and said wow we'd love to have you so

You know, we've had several conversations. It took us about a month to get to get to something in writing, which is why we, you know, didn't, we kind of delayed our ticket sales until, you know, this week. But we're all set to go. And there's going to be a lot of logistic things that we need to work out in the meantime, but they're excited about working with us. And we're going to have lots of meetings with their department heads because that's what we're talking about is, you know, there's huge. departments there of different people doing different things so everybody has the right expectations and knows what we're going to be doing and what we need and you know how we need to set things up and you know the schedules and when we need to run the trolleys to pick people up and all that sort of

stuff great news so the for the people who maybe first timers may be hearing this they want to come to prepper cam 2026 what's the best way to get tickets go to prepper camp dot com and just follow the links there to get tickets you can see all of the different stuff that we offer and what we're all about and you can see the speakers the instructors and you know their credentials and look at the classes that we had yet last year and like I said we'll be adding 20 new ones like we do every single year just to keep things fresh but 64 classes a day we're going to be still doing nine classes an hour, every hour. So it's going to be a packed schedule.

So if you're looking to learn as much as you possibly can in a shorter period of time about preparedness, off-grid living, or homesteading, this is a place to do it. Yeah, man. And once they get their tickets and they're thinking to themselves, all right, now I want to take Rick and James up on that. that cabin. Right. Where did they do that?

Just go to the accommodations page. If you're using a cell phone, just go to the little three-line hamburger menu at the top, and you click on the accommodations page. Or on a computer, that's on the right-hand menu bar and just click on accommodations, and then you can kind of walk down through and see what kind of things you want to go. and they'll give you the link and the 25% discount code right then and there. So you just click on that link to reserve your space. You can do it over the phone.

You can do it online, whatever you want to do. And just use that discount code. You get 25% off. All right. And this is at the Tryon website. Correct. Yep. And their website, just if you want to check it out, is simple.

Tryon.com. That's T-R-Y-O. on dot com. Tryon.com. They get such a great URL. That's perfect. They're big. Nice.

Nice. All right. Well, folks, PreperCamp 2025. I mean, this is it. This is the big chance. You know,

we'll start. I imagine you guys are going to do the same sort of metering out on price, right? It's worth talking about that. That whole. Yeah. Yeah. The cheapest time to get it is now.

And as time goes on. Yeah. And you said, $60 off right $60 off right now before December 31st so and now is the price yep then the price will go up and um you know we'll we'll be doing uh we'll be doing announcements every month um for price increases so uh well actually you're getting you're getting the greatest discount right now so uh oh yeah now's the time to do it so now's the time especially if you come away with some Christmas money one of those master car. from you know the relative that's what you put it towards you just gave me you just gave me a great idea we should do we should do prepper camp gift master cards or visas yeah that is a good idea yeah that's a real good idea we'd give one of those away a pbn for sure because there's always people who come well they're not even going to have enough time to complain this year but

there's always people who come about august to think like oh i should have bought my tickets i should have bought my tickets so yeah that's the other thing three months early it's going to come quick man wow yeah it'll be here a lot quicker yeah well well it will be it will be so um it's going to be a blast it will be for sure yeah we'll have to uh you know i i some of our some of our crew always said hey you know we should go to a restaurant after after prepper camp or you know on thursday night or friday night i'm like what i can't afford to drive an hour someplace and drive an hour back now they'll be right there so The only thing we'll have to be doing is waiting for a table.

Yeah, that's something. That is something. Having the whole place, I mean, that does kind of lend itself to the possibility of having larger sort of meal times with a bunch of, you know, maybe not everybody in the event, but like, you know, large groups of people eating together. Yep. You know, that could be a good time. That could be fun.

Yeah. Yeah, this is just the beginning, Rick. I think you found the best place in the area for this operation. And I want to congratulate you for, you know, this is it. This is the bigger and the better. This is the expansion. This is really is kind of the culmination of all the years you and your crew have been working to make this thing happen. Yep.

And we're just, you know, like, we've always tried to give our attendees a better experience every single year. And the thing that held us back that we wished we could do something with is just having, more people be able to stay at the location. Oh, yeah. And this does that. Yeah, yeah. Gone are the days. I mean, it is probably worth mentioning. There definitely was a time where you would say, okay, prepper camp's over yesterday.

It's time to book your room today or book your campsite today. So you have it for a year from now. Right. And I guess, you know, all those concerns out the window now, which is, it's good. It's an upgrade. Well, we'll still fill up the venues. So you should get your prepper camp tickets and make your reservations for your stay sooner rather than later because, you know, over 2,000 people in one place. We're still going to fill that place up.

Oh, yeah, no doubt about it. And who doesn't want to hang out at that location? I mean, look at the mountains, the forests, the ponds. I mean, it's gorgeous view. Yep, for sure. It's going to be a great year, Rick. No doubt about it. We appreciate you doing this.

and appreciate you being there with us and all the PBN family. We love you guys and, you know, looking forward to doing a lot more with you this year. Yeah, the feeling is mutual. All right, PBN family, you got the marching orders, man. Preppercamp.com. Go get your tickets now, the cheapest they're going to be until the end of the year. Follow that up. Tryon.com.

Check out those beautiful spots to stay, beautiful spots to camp, whatever you want to do, they've got the full range of amenities. So go check it out. And hopefully I'll see you at PreparCamp, 2026, August 14th, 15th, 16th. Did I get that right, Rick? Yep, you did. All right, folks. We'll talk to you soon.

Thanks for coming on. Thanks.