Comments on: 12 Things You Need In Your Vehicle Emergency Kit

By: John Longo

John Longo — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 06:10:32 +0000

90% of life is what you have on you! Flashlight, fighting/cutting knife, phone, gun (I carry a North American Arms 5 shot ,22 magnum mini revolver as a back-up- so small you’ll never forget it, yet effective!

By: seth belt

seth belt — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:35:42 +0000

so i fail at self-editing. the block should have *flint* not *fling* for anyone who didn’t catch that.

By: seth belt

seth belt — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:34:08 +0000

i didn’t read all of the long comments so i may be restating here but i never go any where without the ability to make fire.

a great fire kit is a magnesium block that has the fling and striker on it and a ziploc bag filled with dryer lint. that stuff is the best tinder that costs nothing except clean clothing.

By: Steven Baum

Steven Baum — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:10:55 +0000

I am of the school of thought that “one is none & two is one”.That being the case I have a backup for all safety net stuff in my home & my vehicle.I like the ColdSteel shovel as it can cut down a tree,open a car [ cuts metal ] and can even dig a hole,and as I also travel across the Canadian border – its the only weapon that is a tool [ LOL ] and as to the fire extinguisher = it too is a GREAT weapon as to stopping the ability to breath/see and as a impact weapon too.Just KNOW that you had better be totally justified in the use of such force,or say hello to your roomate Bubba.The list is not complete for me without a source of heat,candle’s and a small stove fit in my truck with ease.Wool blankets and a real first aid kit as well as was mentioned TOW good lights & food & water [ freezes in the winter here ].My list is more extensive but this is a good start,as you got the basics !!!!.

By: DukeDog

DukeDog — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:46:50 +0000

i would like to add a comment about the tire changing equipment that comes from the factory with vehicles. if you drive a truck or SUV (like i do) and have ever had to change a tire with that piece of crap jack they give you with the car then you can share my frustration. the first thing i did was replace it with 3-ton hydraulic bottle jack. they make it so much easier to change a tire, however i have left the factory jack in its compartment in my SUV for redundancy (“two is one and one is none”)

By: steven

steven — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:43:43 +0000

Keep a decent breaker bar in the vehicle, the ones supplied with your vehicle are normally low quality and will either be too short or round off when you try to change the tyre. If you take your vehicle to a garage then the wheel nuts will normally be done up with an air tool, and normally too tight at that, its surprising how such a important tool normally gets overlooked. This simple piece of equipment is worth its weight in gold when your in a situation you dont want to be.

By: Tony

Tony — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:26:14 +0000

I’d definitely go for at least a hiking shovel over an e-tool, if possible. A full size shovel would of course be the best, but those tend to be fairly large, so perhaps not a reasonable item to carry unless you have a large vehicle or do serious off-roading. Of course, an entrenching tool is better than nothing (and when I drove a small sedan, mine saved my butt from more than one spot of trouble!) and some take very little space, but they are kind of short. On second thought, e-tools can be more useful as a pick, to chop planks into firewood and other such tasks (to give a few examples I have used mine for) than a light-weight hiking shovel though, so… I guess it’s a good thing I carry both these days. :)

By: Angry Pirate

Angry Pirate — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:06:03 +0000

How about a shovel or entrenching tool?

By: Rex Dart

Rex Dart — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:01:39 +0000

Always carry at least a quart of oil, and automatic transmission fluid, and a gallon of antifreeze or 50/50 mix. If you do have a fixable leak, having replacement fluids can allow you to drive to help, vs. waiting for it.

Most modern vehicles use a single serpentine belt to connect the engine with everything else under the hood, including the critical items like the alternator and water pump. Strongly consider carrying a replacement belt in your vehicle kit, just in case.

Depending on the length of your trip, and the distance to help (try driving through western North Dakota some time, very lonely) carrying replacement hoses for the radiator might be worth while.

Bottom line, keep up on regular, planned preventative maintenance on your vehicle, and many breakdowns can be avoided altogether.

By: DRIVEPEN

DRIVEPEN — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:52:16 +0000

The timing of this is right on the money as we just received about 8″ of snow overnight here in the Reno/Sparks area of northern Nevada. Been here several years now and have had similar kits in all my vehicles since the first drive in the snow.