Posted: 9/30/2010 7:19:48 PM EDT
| Looking for a good list of items to keep in a vehicle for emergency maintenance/survival. Im from a hot summer/cold weather climate and most of the time a phone is all we need but would be nice to have a good kit. Also please let me know what you store it all in. I see our Ford Edge has a good amount of room below the rear seat and around the spare tire. |
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aside from the normal run of tools and parts, i keep a 20mm ammo can in the trunk containing: -6 ton bottle jack -cables for my jumpstarter -can of fix-a-flat -120' of GI rappelling rope -5:1 block and tackle -shop manual for my vehicle -flares -etool -hatchet -heavy gloves glad you posted this, though––it reminds me that i need to get a new spare serp belt. |
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Hope that this isn't OT, but here's something to consider: when is the last time that you checked the operation of your car's jack?
I needed to use mine last week (it was a case of "Acura on the rocks", but that's a story for a different time and place). So I pulled emough of my stuff (car survival stuff, mostly) out of the trunk in order to get to my jack, and lo and behold, it had rusted to the point where it broke in half in my hands even before I could deploy it. Just saying... Don't take your stuff for granted, check it on a regular basis... |
| Most of the "extras" in my car are geared at getting my car back on the road. Common parts that break on my model and tools to change them, towing/extraction hardware, fluids, jumpers, air compressors, etc. My goal is to get back on the road and get home. Failing that I have a firestarting kit and some water. If you're not a car person then having spare parts probably isn't going to help much. |
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Quoted: If you're not a car person then having spare parts probably isn't going to help much. i think this is the wrong attitude. never underestimate the ability of a stranded man with tools and a good manual. i'm not a car guy, and i don't know that much about motors. but i have fixed my car a number of times because i had tools, a manual, and no other choice. i watch friends literally throw hundreds and hundreds of dollars away on simple fixes because they just won't open the hood. a female friend of mine was about to have her car towed into the shop because it wouldn't start. i popped the hood and cleaned off her battery terminals, and lo and behold...the thing started right up. another buddy was going to take his car in to have the starter motor replaced, and was stunned when i showed him how easy it is to DIY. i didn't even do the job––i made him do it. he saved a couple of hundred dollars on that deal. belts, plugs, plug wires, fuel filter, thermostat...there are all things that a guy can change if he has no other choice. all he needs is a manual and tools. |
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Since you are a fellow SDer. Warm clothes. I am an icefisherman. Outdoor survival clothes and change of clothes are always close. I drive alot. At any given time I can survive -20 below or more. Check out Arctic Armor. A decent socket set, full screw driver set, cresent wrench, 2 vice grips, 4 way tire iron, jumper cables, flash light, extra batteries, charged cell phone, and your set. In a real survial situation in the winter, It is so cold that fixing your vehicle is the last of your worries. Staying warm, a heat source, water, and a stash of high fat foods should take priority...
Last year I had a chunk of ice knock off my serpentine belt. Fortunatelykit with me and a cresant wrench handy. I was on back on the road in less then an hour. You can not possibly prepare for every situation. If your talking SHTF and you have to ask your fucked anyhow. ETA. I have a first aid kit I take with me everywhere. ETA 2. Tow Strap. Longer the better |