I have not read the Rapture Verdict. No, I do not believe pre-trib is birthed out of Schofield's era. I believe it is birthed out of a grammatical-historical interpretation of the Bible. It is clear that the apostles Paul, Peter and John expected a pre-trib removal from the earth.
As far as being a prepper - while I do not believe a Christian will go through the Tribulation (nor do I believe we could prepare enough for it if we did - the forces of the Tribulation are supernatural, they cannot be fought off with carnal weapons) I also like the being prepared mentality. I preached an full sermon on the subject just last Sunday not, "What Do You Do When You See The Evil?" The gist of the message is that prudent people, realizing there is evil in this world, take steps to protect themselves. Simple people, on the other hand, tend to ignore bad things and get caught up in them.
But then back to the Bible. When it comes to the Tribulation, the best preparation is to believe the Bible. It is biblically, Christologically and contextually impossible for the rapture to take place any time other than prior to the Tribulation.
Blessings.