I'm not talking about food/water/shelter survival kits for the car. I'm talking about key tools/equipment for improving the car's bugout capability.

I am not a mechanic, and anything in the kit needs to be useable by the type of guy who goes to Jiffy Lube to change his oil. Right now, this is what I have:

- jumper cables
- 4000 lb come along winch
- road flares
- fuel siphon
- 5 gallon jerry can
- XM radio
- Garmin GPS
- detailed area maps
- ice scraper
- collapsable Glock e-tool/shovel
- full spare

I live in a cold-weather climate, if that matters. I'm wondering whether it makes sense to include antifreeze, motor oil, duct tape, etc. Thanks.

Get yourself some tire chains and chain tighteners.

Regards, Vince

That's a good start, I'd add the following (certainly not a comprehensive list):

Fire estinguisher
"X" shaped wheel lug wrench that fits your vehicle(s)
CB with good antenna
Set of combination wrenches, Metric, SAE or both as appropriate.
Set of good adjustable wrenches.
Visegrip-type pliers
Needle-nosed pilers
Lineman's pliers
Regular slip-joint pliers
Goosneck pliers
Assortment of flat and phillips screwdrivers
Torx drivers or other speciality tools needed to change headlights, etc. (I had to have a Torx driver to change the headlights on my old S-10 Blazer)
12V air pump
A can or two of "Fix-A-Flat"
Hammer (persuader)
Really big flat screwdirver (goes along with the hammer)

Note: I have a Chevy Avalanche, so storage spage is not an issue for me - your mileage may vary!

Stay Safe,

JimJr

add duct tape and black tape and various size hose clamps. Broken hoses for your cooling system can be field repaired by using duct tape and hose clamps and releasing the pressure cap on the radiator to keep the pressure down. not ideal but better than not moving.

Winter is coming. You need blankets, a wide snow shovel, and perhaps some chemical heaters (I buy a box and throw 'em in the car).

If you're really concerned about safety, you might want to consider getting a ham license and a mobile rig for your car.

Probably the most overlooked and underrated tool you can have in your vehicle. Most lug wrenches that are supplied with the vehicle's jack are worthless at best, and injuries waiting to happen at worst.

C'mon Derek...I can't even believe you had to ask about duct tape! Shouldn't everyone have duct tape readily available, all the time? <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Actually (and I'm still having a hard time believing this) my father in law told me the other day he hates duct tape. Too sticky, he says. He prefers masking tape he says. Geez!

I told him that you can't fix your shoes with masking tape!

Fortunately my wife does not share his dislike for duct tape, or we'd probably be in counseling <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Spare fuses and bulbs are handy. A length of pipe to slip over the lug wrench handle if you don't have a better lug wrench, I once use the free tire roataion service that came free with my new tires and then I had to jump up and down on a 6' pipe on the end of a wrench to break the lug nuts loose, never again will I let anyone rotate my tires.
If your not stuck in a front wheel drive a spare belt is handy because you can change modern ones without tools, front wheel drive you usually have to move other things out of the way though.

From personal experience, I’ll emphasize the fire extinguisher recommendation. Had it not been for a Good Samaritan trucker and his fire extinguisher on I-70 a number of years back, my car would’ve looked like a piece of burnt toast. Since then, all my vehicles carry an extinguisher.

Part of my after-purchase indoctrination with a new vehicle is to go through a “mock” tire change, just to familiarize myself with that vehicle’s jack and procedure. Better done in the comfort of the driveway at home, than at night/in a snowstorm/110 degree desert heat/driving rain.

Speaking of which, I carry a 12-in. x 12-in. piece of ¾-in. plywood in both cars. Provides a stable, even base on which to place the jack during a tire-change. Useful when you’re in snow, sand, mud, or uneven ground.

Fix-a-flat was mentioned. Myself, I carry Slime. I’ve never had to actually use it yet (thankfully), but it seems to get favorable reviews. YMMV.

I carry a spare/new serpentine belt. On my Jeep, I’m up-the-creek if the belt fails. The ~$30 cost of a spare belt is cheap insurance. Like the tire-change routine, I familiarized myself with belt installation (belt pattern and tensioner function), and carry the appropriate tools (ratchet/breaker bar).

I also carry a product with duct tape-like versatility: J-B Weld. It will handle a variety of makeshift/on-the-spot repairs that duct tape just can’t handle.

A small, but useful tool is a wire battery-brush.

Can you recommend a good fire extinguisher for car/truck use? (Brand, class, capacity, etc.)

... and how long are such car extinguishers good to use ("shelf" life....knowing that car's vibrations tend to play tricks with the powder inside the extinguisher...if it's a powder one...)
????

I live in the desert and go 4x4 wheeling.

Here is a list of things that have caused me to be broken down/have problems:

1. Flat tire
2. Power steering belt broke
3. Idle stabilizer started acting up
4. Radiator sprung leak (JB Weld slowed the leak)
5. Radiator hose sprang a leak
6. Alternator stopped working (running on battery power only)
7. Water pump started acting up (engine over heating)
8. Blew a head gasket (dead car)
9. Battery connection bad
10. Battery died
11. Starter stopped working
12. Fan clutch not working correctly (overheating)

The tools to fix these things will vary by vehicle.

A ½” breaker bar with lug nut sockets is a wonderful thing!

This is what I have: .

It's a Kidde Auto Extinguisher. Rated B-C (flammable liquids and electrical fires). It's not top-of-the-line (e.g. not high-capacity, not rechargeable, and not A-rated for cloth/paper), but it's inexpensive, small, and provides some coverage against more-common auto-related situations.

Has a pressure-test button that I check periodically, per instructions. As far as its useful life, the maintenance instruction label says, "This product must be removed from service 12 years after date of manufacture." Date-of-manufacture is included on the label. Arbitrarily, I'll no doubt replace them before 12 years. That seems like a long time to me.

Beyond that, I'll yield to our firefighting – and related – professionals on the forum.

I carry lot's of stuff in my truck. I am an offroader so I always try to prepare myself as best as possible, if you are in the bush many miles from the road you better be prepared I carry all this stuff from day to day driving also.

A set of sockets and wrenches
Hammers
Vicegrips
Channel locks
C clamps
Puller( for suspension work)
Breaker bar
Spare alternator
Spare starter
Spare hoses and belts
Spare tie rod ( plus special tool for removing it)
Lot's of bolts and nuts
Hi-lift jack
Bottle jack
4 ton come along ( hand winch)
Full size spare
Tire repair kit
Fire extinguisher
Jerry can
Full size Axe
Wood saw
Various oils and fluids

Plus I carry my personal survival kit and different survival items.

Derek,

Here is a list for my FJ60 LandCruiser. In addition I have survival kit and first aid kit.
Hope it is of some use.

TR

*PASSENGER COMPARTMENT*
INSURANCE/REGISTRATION
MAPS
City, county, region, state.
COMPASS
HALON FIRE EXTINGUISHER
PEPPER-SPRAY
MAG LIGHT
-SPARE BULB
-3 C BATTERIES
MINI MAG FLASHLIGHT
-2 AA BATTERIES
TIRE GAUGE
WINDOW SCRAPER
HAND WIPES
SPARE KEY
PHONE BOOK
DRY POWDER FIRE EXTINGUISHER
*TOOL KIT*
*INFORMATION*
CRUISER REPAIR MANUAL
JACOBS IGNITION INSTRUCTONS
*TOOLS*
VOM with-LITHIUM BATT. EXP 2020
CRIMP TOOL
SCREW DRIVERS
WRENCHES
SOCKETS
PLUG SOCKET
FEELER GAUGE
PLIERS
VISE GRIPS
JACK
LUG WRENCH
JUMPER CABLES
TOW STRAP
METAL FILE
SAFETY GLASSES
PRY BAR
SPARE PARTS
CRIMP CONNECTORS
WIRE
FUSES
FAN BELTS
RADIATOR HOSES
HOSE CLAMPS
FLUIDS/SEALANTS
OIL 2 QTS
SEALANTS
-LOC TITE
-LIQUID GASKET
-METAL MENDER
(LOC-WELD PERMATEX)
-LIQUID COPPER
TEFLON TAPE
RADIATOR FIX (ALUMINUM POWDER)
RADIATOR PLUG (PUTTY)
GAS TANK SEALANT (glue)
WD-40
MISC
TIRE FIX-PLUGS
GUNK TIRE FIX-CANNED
WINDOW CLEANER
HAND CLEANER
COVERALLS (DISPOSABLE)
WORK GLOVES
TIE WRAPS
BUNGIE CORDS
ELCTRICAL TAPE
DUCT TAPE
NYLON ROPE
SHOVEL
WOOD SAW
HATCHET
*WINTER KIT*
TIRE CHAINS
*LIGHT*
SPOTLIGHT
FLARES
STROBE LIGHT
ROAD REFLECTORS
*COMMUNICATION*
2m RADIO
*CONVIENIENCE*
PAPER TOWELS
NUPRIN
BARF BAGS

Bigger is better for the breaker bar. 6" of length can make a world of difference breaking the nuts loose. I use impact sockets for the lug nuts. I managed to split the wall on a regular socket. That & a small floor jack. Standard rims will place a vehicle too low for a bottle jack if the tire is totally flat.

I'll have to second that, I the third car back in a head on collision and watched an RV burn up with the driver in their seat unconsious/maybe dead because nobody had a fire extinguisher. I was on my motorcycle and still haven't figured out how to carry one there, but to this day I think that had someone had one I would have had time to get the driver out. Maybe not and I"ll never know but by the time I got checked that the back of the RV was empty I didn't have time to get the driver. I think had there been an extinguisher that would have given me the extra few seconds to get the driver out.

Hello X.
The thing about Slime is that you have to have it in your tires/wheels BEFORE you get a puncture. There were some older versioins of the same concept that pooled in the bottoms of your tires when they were stopped, therefore making any effort at wheel balanacing impossible. Italso voids your warranty.

I come from mesquite thorn country. Short of 10 ply Michelines, Slime or somthimg like it is the best you can do, but when you put in your tires, IMMEDIATLY do a long drive to make sure the stuff is spread around to not pool in your tires. Be prepared to have to have your tires rebalanced.

[I have known guys that drove LPG converted trucks that also used the gas to air up low tires. It made flat fixin real interesting]

I posted this a while back.

http://www.equipped.org/ubbthreads/showf...=true#Post37679

Don't forget a poly tarp. It has lots of uses:

You can use it to throw on the ground so you don't get your clothes dirty/wet if you have to kneel for a tire change or crawl under the vehicle.

You can throw it over you and the whole end/side of the vehicle so you can change that flat in the rain without getting soaked.

You can rig it up to provide shade if you break down and have to wait for help.

If you come upon a collision where someone has died, is covered in blood, or dismembered, you can cover the body to spare the rubberneckers the unpleasantness of viewing the body. Children especially don't need to see that sort of thing.

Sorry to be so graphic. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

For a fire extinguisher, I would recommend at a minimum 5 pound B,C. Inspect the extinguisher regularly(nozzle clear, unit still has pressure, etc.). While you have it out read the directions again as a refresher. Also invert the unit and shake it vigourisly to ensure the powder has not caked and become a solid mass. I once responded to a fire that started in the man's car under the carport. His extinguisher powder had caked and the unit would not discharge when he tried to put out what was initially a small fire. We saved half the house after it spread from the car.

If you have saddle bags, a 5# B,C extinguisher should fit.

Brand name is not as important as checking for the Underwriters Laboratory certification. 5 pound B,C is a good vehicle unit. If you want to add the capability for use on things like the interior, then get one rated for class A, B and C fires.

I second the floor jack idea. I've changed a lot of tires in 18 years patroling the highways. I had several of the original equipment jacks fail at the most inoppertune time. Then it's tow truck time.
The four way lug wrench makes a difficult job a little easier.
Basically I'm not a fan of the original equipment and doughnut spares.
My 2 cents.

I'll second the vote on the doughnut spares. First car I had was a 76 Regal. When I got it, it had one of those. By the end of the week it had a full size & a set of sockets. Wish I'd known about the breaker bar back then. Check Sears for compact floor jacks. They used to have one that was about 18-24" w/ a detached handle & a case. It will change the tires on a full size pick-up. I don't think it has the lift for a 4X4 without blocks or something to raise it off the ground some.

Some thingamigs, a couple of whatcha ma call its and an assortment of dohickies.

Now seriously, I found the list on the home page link to be a good starting point. I would add a couple of quarts of oil, brake fluid, transmission fluid and especially a funnel. Rags are also nice. The other posts cover pretty much everything else I thought of.

That's the thing, I don't have saddle bags so that leaves me tossing the extinguisher in my daypack. Better than nothing, but I forget it somedays.

Sounds like you've made the best alternative that I can think of. Maybe some of the motorcycle enthuasists can come up with other ideas.

These are made for pilots

http://www.sportys.com/acb/showprod.cfm?...ctGroup_ID=1273

Not cheap, but small.

Regards,
Bill

Be very careful of Halon in a closed space. It works best where it can diplace the air and snuff out the fire but it will allso snuff out anyone in the same space.

I like to keep the repair manual (Haynes) with the tools in my car. I'm no expert on car repair, but I can usually follow the instructions.

A friend of mine outfitted his Ford Escort with NOS. He had a cute little fire extinguisher in a clip near the driver's door. When his engine burst into flames he whipped it out and set to work. The 3 seconds of use the little thing provided did nothing but annoy the fire gods. They consumed his vehicle.

Another friend had NOS in a Civic but when his caught fire he had BAGS of baking soda that he dumped on the engine. Seeing that my friend was converted. He now carries several zip locked bags of baking soda in his car. *This is one of those hints for motorcycle drivers*

Sometime make a large bonfire and try using your small extinguisher on it. You will either upgrade or switch to baking soda.
Those tiny extinguishers look nice but TRY BEFORE the emergency.

-NIM

P.S. I don't touch nitro myself! FLAMES come out of the exhaust even when it's working properly!

3lb extinguisher behind the seat in the truck, 10 lber in the bed - I think I have the extinguisher deal covered (plus 2 10 lbers in the basement, a 10 lb and 3 lb on the main floor, and a 10 lb upstairs - oh, and one in the detached garage)

If I ever do an overhaul on my house, I will put in a sprinkler system

Paranoid? Maybe...

I just bought a 2 lb. for the car. $10 at Home Depot. I saw the 5 lb. for $20 should I go exchange it? My thinking was a small one next the drivers seat is better to have if I where pined in the car.
Dose anyone know how much Baking soda you would need to equal one pound of Fire extinguisher?

And why baking soda? Why not sand? Ziplock bags full of white powder will get you looked at funny...

We have talked about this subject in the past. I carry a 10lb extinguisher in the trunk of my car. After using less than 1/4 of the content to extinguish a van fire and paying a good sum of money to have it replaced (tank was older than 12 years) I also started carrying a smaller disposable extinguisher. I will use that one first, provided the fire is small enough, rather than using a portion of the larger one on a small fire and having to pay to get it refilled.

Some very useful tools, especially for offroad use, but also useful on the pavement are: 1. A small compressor or inflator; and 2. A tire repair kit including a rasping device, repair patches, seating tool, and cement.

Fortunately I haven’t needed the tire repair kit yet. The compressor is useful to reinflate low or leaky tires. The compressor also allows you do deflate your tires so as to increase the bearing surface and improve traction especially when driving on very loose sand. After negotiating that area, you can easily reinflate for highway travel. These compressors are cheap (~$30) and smaller than a loaf of bread. And don't forget the tire gauge.

Boards such as thin plywood can provide a firm surface from which you can get traction if you have become stuck on very loose ground. That could occur not only in offroad travel, but also when simply pulling off the road.

A tow strap is also a good idea.

John

When it comes to that compressor do not be stingy. I filled my tire up today with a small one that comes in those kits from Wally world and it took a 1/2 hour. I could have done it in 3 min with a bike pump. The tire patch kit is great.
From what I understand it is a permanent plug. That means no going to the tire shop to pay 20 bucks to gat a tire patched.
<img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />Are you supposed to cover the plug with something or just trim it down flush? <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> I really need to know I just used the plug kit for the first time with little instructions.

I also carry a 10 gallon air tank as a backup if my compressor fails or if I really want to unflate fast nothing beats an air tank, I also carry a power pack and an inverter good for jumpstarting or running small power tools like drills etc.

I like the good old low tech foot pump. Requires no power, has a built-in gauge and runs about $5-8.


TRO

Remember to strap it down -- you don't need a flying fire extinguisher in your car.


TRO

( I own 6 extinguishers. Once put out a BIG fire with a small extinguisher. Cheap insurance.)

If you add vinegar to baking soda it release tonnes of CO2 which can smother a flame even without being in contact with the mixture.

I believe that the same thing happens when you burn the baking soda. If you sprinkle a tiny bit on a burning log you will see that it can put the fire out while sprinkling the same amount of sand will do nothing.

-Nim

In the purely for what it's worth department, I have known a lot of ranch people who have had custom bumpers, etc. made for their trucks, and in doing so, incorporated an air bottle. For example, a bumper made out of 6 or 8" casing pipe, and welded up air-tight with a filler and QD hose fittings added on.

Trim it flush. That's what they do in the shop !

When my wife and I bought a Jeep I did a lot of research trying to find the best balance of quality vs. cost in buying equipment for off-pavement travel. The best little air compressor I was able to find was the Interdynamics Truck Air. It's not the most powerful, nor the cheapest. But it is a reliable unit for a reasonable price. I've seen them in local stores (such as K-Mart) for $39.99. The link above is provided as a reference.

Dennis (The Menace)

Here are some old threads on the topic:
Additional Vehicle BOB

Keeping a fire extinguisher in you car

What’s in your car?

Dry chemical fire extinguisher

trunk junk

That's good enough. There were lots more.
[rant on]
Side note: I do not mind experience ETSer's bring up old topics, and I don't mind the new guy's who ask an old question. What I do mind is when newbie’s don't take the advice of the oldbie's. It took about 5sec to find all this info.
All they have to do is click on search type in a few key words i.e. "extinguisher " and boom tons of info. [rant off]

With that said welcome all you newbie’s and I hope you stick around and Use the search feature!!!

Lighten up dude.
Nothing wrong with a refresher course from time to time. If it annoys you, don't read the thread.

Obviously, there's a wealth of information in the archives. But sometimes people don't know to search, sometimes the search doesn't always find stuff, and sometimes it's just nice to discuss the same thing again a year or two later.

This reminds me of the story "Melancholy Elephants" by Spider Robinson. If we're not allowed to forget that we've discussed a topic before, we're going to very quickly run out of things to talk about.

It's happened to me more than once. The forum will be quiet for a day or so, and I'll think "This would be a good time to ask about...naaaa... we talked about that. How 'bout... no, that was last month... uh, what about...".

I can see a future where all posts are simply questions and links to old threads. Yuck.

Sorry if I sounded a little hostel. I love the refresher courses but the comment was directed at a certain new member that I have been keeping my mouth shut about. No matter how much they are advised they obviously do not do any homework by ether "googleing" or searching ETS. Sorry starting to sound like a big old meany head.

Can't really remember what set me off this morning. I think it was just that this forum is great and the members are awesome, willing to go out of their way to help others, and I guess I was gust starting to feel like someone was starting to take advantage of the forum/people.

I did put the rant things on and thought that would take care of any hostel sounding language but I guess it did not. I will try to be more courteous in the future and not let things build up.

As a newbie, I have come to appreciate a combination of more experienced members offering their ideas as well as people providing links. Sometimes ideas evolve or sometimes even if they don't some different perspectives are found in old threads.

I have found that for myself, through teaching both in a class room and in martial arts class that through teaching and explaining things to people, I am constantly examining my own reasons for holding certain beliefs or preferences. The examination either confirms my beliefs, or calls them into question, in which case I take a closer look at them, research if need be and get opinions from others.

I'm getting rather philosophical for the late on a Saturday night, but my point is, as a newbie, I'll probably still ask some of those same old questions, but I'll be using the search engine more too.

Lazermonkey,

I am really glad you asked that question. When I went to my 4x4 to get my tire repair tools, I learned that they had migrated to a place I would have never guessed. <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> Fortunately that happened at home where my older son was able to redirect me to where he had moved the tools before I actually needed the them.

Anyway to get to your question, my kit uses a patch which looks like a pipe cleaner. After inserting the patch, you do indeed clip it off flush with the surface of the tire. I also saw a mechanic do that and then finish with a quick burn of a butane lighter of any protruding material. His patch worked fine.

Good luck,

John

I can add some things such as Sand, Cinders, etc, -for Traction, boards, mats and etc, -for when you want to get out of Desert Sands, etc, -and Tire Chains and Tire Changeing / Checking gear, -to your list. Thats just what immeadiately comes to mind, -I'm sure there are a good many others, -that I just can't at the moment think of!

Also, -I'd suggest a book like Chris Scott's "Sahara Overland", -as a Great Source for such a list! (Though it doubtlessly concerns itself primarily with Desert Vehicular Travel.). The Lonely Planet guides may also contain some good lists, -for such Travel in various Climates and Terrains of the World. [color:"black"] [/color] [email]Derek[/email]