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.)