^Truth. A few years ago, my family once got stuck out of town for four days due to a major vehicle malfunction. We were enroute for a family camping trip so had all our gear.



It was the height of summer and really freaking hot. After a few hours on the side of the road, we got a tow and found somewhere to stay. We got a motel room but couldn't afford much else other than the vehicle repairs. With all the gear we needed for a week long camping trip, we essentially had the family BOB in the back of the truck. We used it for;

On the side of the road:
-cel phones on two different major networks to call for help (major highway but not one person stopped to help. We called my cousin and he came from out of town to give us a ride to a motel. Tow trucks aren't big enough to carry 3 adults and a kid in a booster seat.)

EDIT: We also called to update our trip plan with our families so they knew where we were

-Trail tape to mark the vehicle
-lots of water to try to refill rad (ultimately pointless this time)
-water bottles, hats, sunscreen, etc... to stay hydrated
*the kids and I went exploring a found a creek that we could have got more water from, and filtered to drink, but help arrived before we needed more.
*we also found a tree with good shade to wait under, otherwise we cold have strung a tarp.

Safety Note: We didn't wait in the vehicle on the side of the highway. We gave the towing company the mile marker number, put some trail tape on the antenna and rear wiper, and then moved off-road, up on a rock cut to wait. The side of the highway is a dangerous place, and this was right after a blind corner. (Note that there are no guard rails in this section of highway.)

In the motel:
-a cooler to keep the food cold after a supply run to the grocery store
-cooking meals and s'mores in the room
-setting up a comfy sleeping area on the floor for our son
-Gerber lantern to act as a night light for our son
-flashlights and headlamps when a storm rolled in and knocked out power to the motel (thankfully, it rolled in after we got the piece of junk on the tow truck)
-toiletries
-prescription and 3 days of OTC meds
-change of clothes
-change for the vending machine.
-deck of cards for entertainment