What preps for roadside emergencies?

I don't know if I can list everything that I carry with me for emergencies, there is so much of it. I regularly find myself alone off-road high in the Rocky mountains or deep in the Utah desert.

My get home bag is for local trips and I remove it to make room for more gear on long trips. It has an old pair of tennis shoes, two pairs of wool socks, a change of clothes to fit whatever season it is, a rain jacket, fire making kit, knife, whistle, lightweight 5x7 tarp. I vacuum seal the clothing with my kitchen food saver to make it smaller and waterproof.

For emergency items ON my vehicle, I have an extra loud Hella Supertones horn for signalling, a winch with full kit (shackles, dampening pad, snatch blocks), an array of Rigid off-road lights, a hi lift jack (with extra attachments, base, and spare parts kit). When I go offroading I mount a set of traction boards on the roof rack along with a full sized shovel and 5 gallon Jerry can. I have an ARB awning but I haven't mounted it yet.

Inside I carry a full survival kit in a military surplus rubberized ruck that has a fire kit, tarp for shelter, 1 quart canteen with the ever-important canteen cup and stove, knife, folding saw, whistle, clothing for the season, wool blanket, 550 cord, flashlight (pro tip - get lithium batteries for your flashlight and keep them in the package. They will store for 10 years and won't slowly drain or worse yet explode inside your flashlight during storage), three life straws, Sawyer mini filter, water purification tablets, a few Mountain House freeze dried meals, and other goodies.

I have a set of tools in the sizes that my FJ uses. For most Toyota vehicles that is 8, 10, 12, 14, 17, and 19mm. Why carry tools in sizes you don't need? I also have screwdrivers, pliers, c clamp, prybar, 1/2" breaker bar, duct tape and electrical tape, electrical wire, spare fuses, multitool, ODB-II scanner, battery tester, solar battery trickle charger, 21mm socket for tire lugs, tire valve stem removal tool and spare valves, tire plug kit, and other stuff I'm forgetting.

For comms I have both HAM and CB radios mounted in the FJ. I keep a Baofeng and an emergency Kaito crank/solar/battery powered radio with AM, FM, and NOAA in the glove box.

I always carry an axe, cold steel commando shovel, machete or parang, and folding saw.

I have a robust first aid kit with a full trauma kit including chest seal, tourniquet, clotting agent, Israeli bandages, etc. I have a booboo kit with band aids, cleansing wipes, acetaminophen and ibuprofen, Tums, a bottle of water, butterflies and steri strips, etc. I keep my first aid gear in several pouches on a molle seat back panel on the back of the front passenger seat. I like to have it ready. What good does a first aid kit do if it's in your trunk and you get rear-ended and can't open the trunk to get at it?

I keep a snubbie 38 with an extra speed loader hidden in the FJ in a spot that crackheads who break in looking for change won't find it, but it is still quickly accessible if I need it.

On multiday off-road trips I carry some high-fail spare parts like tie rods and extra fluids like oil, coolant, brake fluid, and transmission fluid. I have a steel aftermarket front bumper and 3/16" steel skid plates under the FJ that protect most of the fluid lines and drain pans, but you never know where a rock or tree root will poke it's way into.

I always have road flares, a cheap vinyl orange hunting vest, and a set of emergency LED strobes for roadside breakdowns.

I have an ARB air compressor mounted in the rear of my FJ. It's in a wooden housing I made that also holds 50' of 3/8" air hose and an assortment of chucks and inflating valves. I added two USB ports, a 12V port, and a voltmeter to the wooden housing. I'll put a picture of it below. I ran 4AWG wire from the battery to the rear of the FJ where I mounted a Blue Sea fuse box that the compressor and other ports are wired into. I used a 100 amp marine circuit breaker at the battery and a giant 100 amp blade style fuse in the rear to isolate the system when it's not in use. In the event of an accident I don't want that 4AWG wire directly connected to the battery where it can weld itself onto things or cause a fire or worse. I have an air gun attachment also, it's great for blowing crap out of the radiator fins offroad or cleaning dust and dirt off of stuff.

My FJ has a factory mounted 400 watt inverter in the rear so I keep a long extension cord plugged into it that reaches the front seat. I have a 10 port USB charger that comes in handy on extended trips. I also carry an LED work light that I can plug into the inverter.

I'm sure there is more that I'm not thinking of now, it's still early and I haven't had my coffee yet.

For Toyota, I’d consider adding a 24mm socket for the diff/t-case drain and fill plugs. Prolly won’t be useful unless you also have gear oil though.

Maybe a spark plug socket to pull the plugs in case you need to rid the engine of water if you get into big trouble.

Blaster229 said:

If I can make a couple recommendations.

Take that Tundra bottle extinguisher and put it in panel in the driver's door. I keep a small towel wrapped around mine to keep it from rattling.
You'll never get to it buried under those rear seats. And put one in the passenger door also. In case you're unable and if you have a passenger, they have quick access to one.
Also,

Take that slime brand air pump and throw it in the trash. Look into getting a Viair pump.

What I noticed about those cheap ass pumps, is to get any performance out of those, you need to jack that tire up to take pressure off so it can pump well.
Viairs don't give a fck.

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You are generally right but between flashlight, weapons, Pepper Spray and first aid kit there isnt enough room to put everything in quick reach. I’ve settled on Flashlight, which can double as a club and pepper spray for the driver side door compartment.

I’ve since added a small 2-1/2lb Kiddie fire extinguisher which sits in my cargo back at the very back of the lift gate. The tundra is inside if the passenger side door panel. It fits snug and doesn’t rattle around.

You really have to think about where you want everything. I think the key is once you establish a location for the item, just keeping in the same place and knowing where to go is half the battle. You don’t want to be rummaging through a trunk full of crap to get to something you need quickly. If I’m parked I can reach the tundra if I unbuckle my seatbelt and I can get to that Kiddie in in the tailgate from outside in probably 5sec.

That pump is a piece of crap. But it has worked, just takes for freaking ever to fill up a totally flat tire. I have a can of fix-a-flat and a tire repair kit as well.

Speed3 said:

I'll add a serpentine belt and appropriate tools to change also.

Nice to haves- are recovery straps (even if your vehicle isn't required) helping someone else on the way is a nice gesture.

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When I change a serpentine belt out I put the old one in the tool box and make sure I'm kitted out to relax the tension-er. A bottle of Barr's leak will go a long way too.
One time I had to crimp off a few bottom rows of a cross flow radiator. I squeezed them shut and then body puttied the tanks shut to get down the road.
Newer vehicles like PCone mentioned and your mostly screwed though. You couldn't even get to a radiator or barely see it for that matter.

Blaster229 said:

If I can make a couple recommendations.

Take that Tundra bottle extinguisher and put it in panel in the driver's door. I keep a small towel wrapped around mine to keep it from rattling.
You'll never get to it buried under those rear seats. And put one in the passenger door also. In case you're unable and if you have a passenger, they have quick access to one.
Also,

Take that slime brand air pump and throw it in the trash. Look into getting a Viair pump.

What I noticed about those cheap ass pumps, is to get any performance out of those, you need to jack that tire up to take pressure off so it can pump well.
Viairs don't give a fck.

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The biggest failure for the cheap pumps for me is that the hose rots off and they are no good. Maybe the newer ones are junk overall too, but the ones I had 10-15 years ago held up pretty well mechanically, for being cheap, but once the hose failed, there really wasn't any way to repair it that would hold pressure. I do carry one in my civilized vehicle I figure I'd rather plug a tire if possible and wait 20 min for the crappy pump to inflate it than drive too far on a donut.


For my Jeep...well, if one Viair is good, two Viairs should be double-gooder, right

Besides the above....baby floor jack for a wheel, air pump a real one at say 150psi, and lithium drill, tire plugs, valve screw tool, and fence plyers.....im now a tire flat fixer upper.

Probably already posted, but zip ties and bungie cords.

Sealion said:

Probably already posted, but zip ties and bungie cords.

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Although I think standard...I have large re-useable zip ties in each car.

Fire extinguisher and one or more disposable/emergency blankets. The foil type are also extremely helpful for maintaining warmth if you break down in the winter. The two layer emg. blankets are usually plastic on one side and some kind of cotton fluff on the other, and they are great if you have to get down on the wet ground. Both types can be had on Amazon very cheaply, and they are small enough that you can throw them in with your spare tire and not have them sliding around all over the place.

And I keep a sealed gallon jug of Deer Park in the trunk, you can use it for cleaning off or drinking or wiping your windows (don't put it in your windshield wiper reservoir in the winter unless you are willing to replace the plastic when it freezes).

Oh, oh, oh. I also carry a Lifestraw in case I have to drink out of a puddle. It came with it's own bottle....

...and a change of clothes, to include underwear. I keep them in an old backpack.

...and all kinds of medical supplies, in the same back pack (Bandaids, tylenol, lactaid, tums, etc...)

Pinecone said:

Really, with modern cars, what issues have you had, that you can actually fix roadside?

In the 70s and early 80s, I used to carry tools and some spare parts (points, rotor, plugs). But these days, no longer. Most times, things that go wrong, you can't fix. Unless you plan on carrying a computer and cable.

A lot of cars these days do not have spare. Just a pump and goop.

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Alphabrew said:

Flat tires and dead batteries are two big ones.

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To add:

Cracks in vacuum hoses (elec tape)

Pinhole leaks in coolant hoses (duct tape + zip ties or hose clamps.. did that one night at 2 am in the middle of West Texas... got me to a repair shop)

Burned out fuses (most cars nowadays have multiple boxes, sometimes hidden under body panels in passenger compartments or plastic cowlings under the hood, need small sockets or screwdrivers to access)

Rubbed/worn or loose electrical harnesses (tape + tools)

Corroded electical connections (contact cleaner + a small pick or scraper)

Minor accident / body damage (bungee cords, zip ties, duct tape to hold things together temporarily - hit a deer on 695 a month or so ago... used a bungee to keep the bumper corner from dragging)


I'm sure I can think of more.


And you don't need a computer and cable... you can check and clear the majority of codes with a small reader, aux dashboard gauge, or a bluetooth dongle that you link to your phone.

An old pair of your wife's panty hose. Makes an emergency fan belt. Drove over fifty miles one time on a "panty hose fanbelt".

LiveSteamer said:

An old pair of your wife's panty hose. Makes an emergency fan belt. Drove over fifty miles one time on a "panty hose fanbelt".

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So she bought that story when she found them in the car??????

Y'all guys carrying a lot of shit for just driving local. lol