Emergency Stuff in Your Truck? What Do You Carry For Emergencies?

[Nomadikhan]

Jumper cables, half gallon gas can, socket set with basic wrench’s inside, Glock 17 plus mags, ar15 plus mags, get home bag, some cash, rotate bottled water and dried food, change of clothes, blanket.

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[STARCOMMTREY1]

It's funny no one has mentioned a battery powered impact wrench.....

 

[FESTUS]

i carry a small air compressor, zip ties, flashlight, gloves, towstrap,and a firstaid kit

 

[HybridNiroGuy]

I always keep extra hats, gloves, and blankets. Just in the event my riders forgot!

 

[ColoradoShooter]

Extra ammo; trauma kit; water; snacks; latex gloves; apron, 1gal bleach; contractor size trash bags; duct tape and an alibi.

 

[8211badger]

I might as well be ready for...whatever. Here are the things I'm gathering to put in my Mav when it finally comes in:
- fire extinguisher
- fix-a-flat
- first aid kit
- tow strap
- flashlight
- blanket
- jumper cables

All of these are great. Fire extinguisher might be overkill but more power to you. That's the only thing on the list I don't keep in my car.

 

[kw86er]

+1 on plug kit and viair compressor. -1 on tow strap unless you have a complete recovery kit and EDUCATE YOURSELF on recovery. It is extremely dangerous when done wrong.

 

[notfast]

I want to buy a personal locator beacon for when we really get out in the sticks.

Glad someone else mentioned a PLB. Doesn't even have to be a really remote area. I wear mine around my neck when I drive long distance or through the mountains. Would suck to roll the car off the road and not be found for hours/days if you're just out of view.

I have the Ocean Signal Rescue Me PLB1. It's about the size of a pager (if anyone remembers those!)

If I ventured out more frequently and/or had a desire for 2-way communication, I'd get the Garmin InReach Mini.

The main takeaways are that a PLB is one-way, but has no ongoing costs. You buy the device and register it with NOAA, and then it's good until the battery expires (about 6-7 years). However, if you need to be rescued, you push the button and hope that someone eventually shows up.

A satellite communicator is 2-way, requires a subscription, and also isn't as fast as texting via cellular. Cell texts happen almost instantly. Satellite texts can take minutes or hours. Garmin's plan allows for unlimited preset texts, of which you can set three. Most folks I've talked to have an "I'm okay and on time" message, an "I'm okay but delayed" message, and a "This is not urgent, but please send help" message (urgent rescue can be called by hitting the SOS button).

For first aid I'd rather roll my own kit, but honestly a box of band aids and a roll of cloth medical tape will cover about 90% of what you need until you get home.

Same. After an incident where I had to pool literally a dozen $10 first aid kits to sort of patch up one person, I made my own. The $10 first aid kits have decent self-adhesive bandages but everything else (tape, gloves, gauze, tools, etc) suck.

All of these are great. Fire extinguisher might be overkill but more power to you. That's the only thing on the list I don't keep in my car.

I find fire spray more handy to have in the car than a fire extinguisher. And yes I've had to use both.

Fire spray isn't as effective, but it's still great for putting out carburetor or grease fires, leaves no mess like ABC powder, is way cheaper than halon or halotron extinguishers, and it's no larger than a can of Raid.

I keep one in my truck's driver side front bottle holder. Because if you see a fire, the last thing you want to do is waste time unboxing or otherwise digging around for the extinguisher.

As for nourishment, I just carry emergency food bars.

I don't carry regular food because of the temperature swings that a vehicle's cabin sees. Things like granola bars or Nutri-grain bars will melt then solidify then melt again.

The exception to the rule is that I do carry a single pack of M&Ms or Skittles. But they are in MRE's for a reason; the hard candy coating prevents them from spoiling or melting together.

On that note, the last thing I can stress is gear check. Anything you carry is only helpful if you know that you have it, know where it is, can get to it, and know how to use it. Yes, all those conditions apply.

So if you decide to buy items that others have posted, I suggest you open them, read the instructions, try them out in the garage, and go through your vehicle monthly for gear check. Even for something as simple as warning triangles or an air compressor. Because if you're in a stressful situation (like having to change a puncture at night, on the freeway, facing uphill, in the rain), you want everything to be second-nature. The last thing you want to do is try to remember where you put the air compressor or how the attachments go together.

 

[8211badger]

Glad someone else mentioned a PLB. Doesn't even have to be a really remote area. I wear mine around my neck when I drive long distance or through the mountains. Would suck to roll the car off the road and not be found for hours/days if you're just out of view.

I have the Ocean Signal Rescue Me PLB1. It's about the size of a pager (if anyone remembers those!)

If I ventured out more frequently and/or had a desire for 2-way communication, I'd get the Garmin InReach Mini.

The main takeaways are that a PLB is one-way, but has no ongoing costs. You buy the device and register it with NOAA, and then it's good until the battery expires (about 6-7 years). However, if you need to be rescued, you push the button and hope that someone eventually shows up.

A satellite communicator is 2-way, requires a subscription, and also isn't as fast as texting via cellular. Cell texts happen almost instantly. Satellite texts can take minutes or hours. Garmin's plan allows for unlimited preset texts, of which you can set three. Most folks I've talked to have an "I'm okay and on time" message, an "I'm okay but delayed" message, and a "This is not urgent, but please send help" message (urgent rescue can be called by hitting the SOS button).



Same. After an incident where I had to pool literally a dozen $10 first aid kits to sort of patch up one person, I made my own. The $10 first aid kits have decent self-adhesive bandages but everything else (tape, gloves, gauze, tools, etc) suck.



I find fire spray more handy to have in the car than a fire extinguisher. And yes I've had to use both.

Fire spray isn't as effective, but it's still great for putting out carburetor or grease fires, leaves no mess like ABC powder, is way cheaper than halon or halotron extinguishers, and it's no larger than a can of Raid.

I keep one in my truck's driver side front bottle holder. Because if you see a fire, the last thing you want to do is waste time unboxing or otherwise digging around for the extinguisher.

As for nourishment, I just carry emergency food bars.

I don't carry regular food because of the temperature swings that a vehicle's cabin sees. Things like granola bars or Nutri-grain bars will melt then solidify then melt again.

The exception to the rule is that I do carry a single pack of M&Ms or Skittles. But they are in MRE's for a reason; the hard candy coating prevents them from spoiling or melting together.

On that note, the last thing I can stress is gear check. Anything you carry is only helpful if you know that you have it, know where it is, can get to it, and know how to use it. Yes, all those conditions apply.

So if you decide to buy items that others have posted, I suggest you open them, read the instructions, try them out in the garage, and go through your vehicle monthly for gear check. Even for something as simple as warning triangles or an air compressor. Because if you're in a stressful situation (like having to change a puncture at night, on the freeway, facing uphill, in the rain), you want everything to be second-nature. The last thing you want to do is try to remember where you put the air compressor or how the attachments go together.

100% on the gear check. Way more important than just having fancy stuff

 

[notfast]

100% on the gear check. Way more important than just having fancy stuff

Also a good way to figure out if your stuff is even usable to you.

For example, I bought an electric jack and 12v impact kit, thinking it'd be great. No more crawling under the truck to place the jack, and no cranking required; just push a button. It was similar to this one:

Well I might not be in the best of shape, but after trying it out in the garage, I found that even I could position a manual jack and crank it up by hand faster than I could hook up the electric jack and wait for it to painstakingly slowly lift.

Similar story for the impact wrench. My truck's lug nuts are tightened to 100ft/lbs. I had to hammer on a lug nut for a good 20 seconds before it broke loose, all the while fighting the tool constantly wanting to twist out of my grip.

My better solution? Carry a dang floor jack, a breaker bar, flip sockets, a battery screwdriver, and socket adapters, like I've done for years.

https://harborfreight.com/automotive/jacks-jack-stands/2-ton-compact-trolley-jack-64874.html
https://harborfreight.com/12-in-drive-25-in-breaker-bar-62729.html
https://harborfreight.com/12-in-drive-impact-flip-socket-set-3-pc-62491.html
https://harborfreight.com/4v-cordle...ith-4-insert-bits-and-wall-charger-64313.html
https://harborfreight.com/hex-shank-socket-driver-set-3-pc-68513.html

Same goes for my tire plugging kit. I have a nice one too; the Made-in-USA Safety Seal kit:

Got home one night and saw a piece of a nail in the tire. Thought it was a perfect time to try out the tire plugging kit.

Well after throwing a toolbox full of tools at that nail (I used to be a mechanic and still have a 48" roll cab), I got it out after almost 30 minutes. Took another ten or so to plug the tire and air it back up. I still carry the tire plugging kit; it's just the backup option if I already used the spare tire!

 

[Nomadikhan]

I enjoy reading there are so many like-minded folk on here. Feels good

 

[8211badger]

Also a good way to figure out if your stuff is even usable to you.

For example, I bought an electric jack and 12v impact kit, thinking it'd be great. No more crawling under the truck to place the jack, and no cranking required; just push a button. It was similar to this one:

Well I might not be in the best of shape, but after trying it out in the garage, I found that even I could position a manual jack and crank it up by hand faster than I could hook up the electric jack and wait for it to painstakingly slowly lift.

Similar story for the impact wrench. My truck's lug nuts are tightened to 100ft/lbs. I had to hammer on a lug nut for a good 20 seconds before it broke loose, all the while fighting the tool constantly wanting to twist out of my grip.

My better solution? Carry a dang floor jack, a breaker bar, flip sockets, a battery screwdriver, and socket adapters, like I've done for years.

https://harborfreight.com/automotive/jacks-jack-stands/2-ton-compact-trolley-jack-64874.html
https://harborfreight.com/12-in-drive-25-in-breaker-bar-62729.html
https://harborfreight.com/12-in-drive-impact-flip-socket-set-3-pc-62491.html
https://harborfreight.com/4v-cordle...ith-4-insert-bits-and-wall-charger-64313.html
https://harborfreight.com/hex-shank-socket-driver-set-3-pc-68513.html

Same goes for my tire plugging kit. I have a nice one too; the Made-in-USA Safety Seal kit:

Got home one night and saw a piece of a nail in the tire. Thought it was a perfect time to try out the tire plugging kit.

Well after throwing a toolbox full of tools at that nail (I used to be a mechanic and still have a 48" roll cab), I got it out after almost 30 minutes. Took another ten or so to plug the tire and air it back up. I still carry the tire plugging kit; it's just the backup option if I already used the spare tire!

I still have the bottle jack I "borrowed" from my grandpa's shop when he gave me my first truck in high school. Much easier than a scissor. My fit is too low to use it though.

 

[sickser66]

Also a good way to figure out if your stuff is even usable to you.

For example, I bought an electric jack and 12v impact kit, thinking it'd be great. No more crawling under the truck to place the jack, and no cranking required; just push a button. It was similar to this one:

Well I might not be in the best of shape, but after trying it out in the garage, I found that even I could position a manual jack and crank it up by hand faster than I could hook up the electric jack and wait for it to painstakingly slowly lift.

Similar story for the impact wrench. My truck's lug nuts are tightened to 100ft/lbs. I had to hammer on a lug nut for a good 20 seconds before it broke loose, all the while fighting the tool constantly wanting to twist out of my grip.

My better solution? Carry a dang floor jack, a breaker bar, flip sockets, a battery screwdriver, and socket adapters, like I've done for years.

https://harborfreight.com/automotive/jacks-jack-stands/2-ton-compact-trolley-jack-64874.html
https://harborfreight.com/12-in-drive-25-in-breaker-bar-62729.html
https://harborfreight.com/12-in-drive-impact-flip-socket-set-3-pc-62491.html
https://harborfreight.com/4v-cordle...ith-4-insert-bits-and-wall-charger-64313.html
https://harborfreight.com/hex-shank-socket-driver-set-3-pc-68513.html

Same goes for my tire plugging kit. I have a nice one too; the Made-in-USA Safety Seal kit:

Got home one night and saw a piece of a nail in the tire. Thought it was a perfect time to try out the tire plugging kit.

Well after throwing a toolbox full of tools at that nail (I used to be a mechanic and still have a 48" roll cab), I got it out after almost 30 minutes. Took another ten or so to plug the tire and air it back up. I still carry the tire plugging kit; it's just the backup option if I already used the spare tire!

I have that same tire plug kit. No joke it has saved me more times than I can count. I work on construction sites and if not for that kit, I would have had to pay for a dozen repairs. Those plugs are really good!

 

[notfast]

I still have the bottle jack I "borrowed" from my grandpa's shop when he gave me my first truck in high school. Much easier than a scissor. My fit is too low to use it though.

The Ford OEM hand-crank bottle jack was probably my favorite thing about my F-150s and F-250. My F-150 had the jack stowed under the front passenger seat and the jack handle stowed under the hood. Made for easy tire changes.

I would've kept them but I was responsible and left them in the vehicle when I sold them.

I have that same tire plug kit. No joke it has saved me more times than I can count. I work on construction sites and if not for that kit, I would have had to pay for a dozen repairs. Those plugs are really good!

Glad to hear it works and holds up! I decided to replace all four tires after getting that nail, so I don't know how well that plug held long-term.

Personally I just take tires to get repaired for free at Discount Tire. I would consider using the plug kit if they refuse a repair due to the location of the puncture. Sidewalls are obviously a no-go, but if it's say 1/4" outside their parameters, I'd just do it myself.

 

[neosolidus]

I might as well be ready for...whatever. Here are the things I'm gathering to put in my Mav when it finally comes in:
- fire extinguisher
- fix-a-flat
- first aid kit
- tow strap
- flashlight
- blanket
- jumper cables

that looks like a great list here is mine which has never let me down.

1-) American express
2-) Charged Cellphone

These items have never let me down.

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