Welcome NewGuy...Jump in with both feet and have fun!

May I suggest getting a spare thermostat? I know if one doesn't open you can have some issues. I also know that in hot weather you can run without one. But, I prefer to have the parts in the engine as designed.

I really like the idea of carrying a spare parts, although some experiences lead me to believe that the one you do not have is the one that will be needed. When I was about 5, my family spent some time on the side of the road when a hose blew. the one hose not replaced prior to the 1,400 mile trip, from CT to FL.

However, if you are bringing the parts, don't forget the ancillaries. What good is a new gasket, if you cannot seal the fitting that covers the thermostat. In that vein, some high-temperature silicon might be a good addition to a car kit. Instead of having to carry gaskets, you can use it. Some silicon sealants are good at up to 500 degrees, so it could work for a while and let you limp in, or go further. Something like:
http://3m.hillas.com/pc-15450-2163-3m-08672-ultrapro-high-temp-silicone-gasket-black-3-oz-tube.aspx

+1 on the "Blue RTV", or is it orange? That hi-temp stuff is great.

Do you have safety glasses/goggles?

Good choice. Thermostats fail fairly frequently.

If you have a hose failure that you do a temp repair with duct tape , if you remove the thermostat from the system, the temp won't get high enough to pressurize the system and blow thru the tape.

(Proved that one after a marmot chewed a radiator hose on a friends jeep left at 10,000' until we could get the tools to remove the stuck flat tire.)

Great list LeeG, you have all the basics covered

I drive a quad cab 4 x 4 so I have more space than some, but a few things I have learned the hard way never to be without are:


- tire repair kit/plugs(blew two tires at once a couple of years ago) I only have 1 spare. By using the plugs the tire can be repaired later at a garage. If certain brands of that spray is used apparently the tire cannot be repaired later. ???

-spare lug nuts(they come loose after changing a tire, despite the best efforts in torqueing them without the proper torque wrench it dosent hurt to have a few spares, just in case)

-tow strap
-saw or hatchet(to cut branches for traction when stuck)
-lightweight rain gear
-oil/brake fluid/ power steering fluid etc
-digital camera(you see all the cool s**t when you leave the camera at home, so I bought a cheap one to leave in the truck. I also used it to document an accident for insurance purposes)
-power inverter(very handy little plug in model)
-road flares, 15 min
-pry bar
-100 bucks in cash(for those gas stations in the middle of no where that dont take interact payments)
-sunglasses(usually an EDC item)but I bought a set to leave in the truck after forgeting them in my other shirt too many times. Driving in a rainy day that suddenly turns sunny sucks if you leave them home.

-a weapon(if I need to leave the truck at night on a dark lonely highway and hoof it somewhere then I am taking a friend with me "just in case")



I carry a lot in the truck that most people wouldn't consider simply because I can(I have more space)These are just a few base items I thought I would toss out there, but I also have mostly everything on your list as well. I live in a colder place so my list reflects that fact. Its all a matter of fine tuning it to your particular needs, just like a PSK or BOB.

Duluth trading has a silicon tape that seals with itself, and is much, much better than duct tape for hoses. It seals even when wet, and can easily handle the pressure. Something you might want to look in to.

While this hasn't ever happened to me in 35 years of driving and working on my own cars... I suppose it could. And I carry a spare lugnut just because.

What I HAVE seen that might be of interest is that the little decorative chrome caps on the lug nuts of many vehicles (Jeep Cherokees in my case) come off leaving a different sized nut. Having a deep well socket and breaker bar to handle not only the chrome cap sized lugnut but the steel one underneath could be important. Your standard tire changing wrench won't work on the exposed nut.

A real socket and breaker bar would have saved my friend's ordeal and subsequent chewed hose story since the root cause was that the dealership had overtorqued the lugnuts to the aluminum wheel so hard that his tire changing lug wrench split instead of budging the lugnut.

Along the lugnut line of thought, I have seen many people put aftermarket wheels on their vehicle, but leave the spare a standard wheel. Some of the aftermarket rims used a "special" lugnut that will not tighten on a standard rim, and if they didn't keep the original lugs they were SOL when it came to putting on the spare. So if you get fancy aftermarked rims, be sure to keep a handfull of the factory lugnuts...

I doubt many here would need this advice, but I needed to check on DW. If you have wheel locks make darn sure you know where the key is located. If anyone you know has them, check on them too. DW lost ker key, and it was mssing for some time. We got away with it, until I got the locks off. But it was a potential disaster.