I’m going to start getting some gear for my vehicles. What is the bare minimum? Ideas so far: Medical Kit Survival Kit Water/Food Shovel Proper Hydraulic Jack with Base Fire Extinguisher Tools? Socket set for sure. Not sure what else. I’d like to look into some sort of portable air compressor battery hook up or portable battery (ryobi/dewalt) type. Portable power would be super useful too (thinking of a Jackery solar setup) but will only be taken when out camping
I have an old list I will try and did out and post. It does evolve and will vary greatly according ti your AO.
OK here is my old list (pre-2019) I will add some edits in red spare belts/filters basic tool kit spare h/light and d/light globes (all LED now - no spares for the DLs) fuzes cyalume sticks (red green and blue) disposable overalls orange safety vest (so as not to get run down changing a tyre, we do't wear 'em shooting here) Glock folding shovel small axe/large Fiskars axe folding bush saw tread plates (Maxxtrax now) various folding knives and a fixed blade in the back cam cream water/food for about three days Milbag filter/water purification tablets thermal blanketx2 large tarp hootchie hexi stove and fuel small fry pan, steel canteen cup/canteen concentrated disinfectant basic (to match my skill level) first aid kit plus additional wound dressings snatch strap 3000kg drag chain, hooks and shackles (deleted with the addition of a 12000lb winch) Wallaby Jack (on external rack) Winching kit for the jack (deleted) Wallaby Jack adapter (connects wallaby jack to bullbar or rear bar) compressor toilet paper, several rolls and single packets (beats the hell out of leaves and sticks) matches (in bulk) including waterproof/windproof type Para (550) Cord x 50m Hootchie Cord x 100m cheap nylon 6mm rope 50m Couple of torches and spare batteries (now with extra rechargeable batteries and chargers) Wet/Antiseptic wipes (for when bathing is out of the question) Antiseptic soap eye/ear protection condoms playing cards (a sign of a man who has been up "that" creek without his paddle in the past...!!!) M65 Jacket, gloves, balaclava, socks. Belleville boots (M65 only just replaced with a desert smock and a couple of layers of polartec) towel pillow sleeping bag (US modular sleep system complete) tubeless repair kit 100 CDs (now replaced with about 300 albums on USB) Duct tape, insulation tape and cloth tape a second spare tyre and rim telescopic fishing rod and reel plus associated gear bush shower bag lots of large plastic bags unfilled sandbags Eagle Becker Patrol Pack riggers gloves nomex gloves insulated beenie gortex jacket (British DPM) fire extinguisher canvas swag jumper cables Which extension strap (soft shackles/shackles etc) tree trunk protector chamois (cleaning windows and also makes a useful "towel" for me if I need to pack out) candles (both full size and "tea light" kinds) army KFS set lighters zip ties (both normal and reusable) black window socks (pull over the upper door frame to create a shade effect, lest you sleep with the windows down without getting attacked by bugs/squitos) EPIRB (just ordering a new one) Since this list was compiled I have added or updated to this. My truck has a dual battery setup with a DC/DC charger and solar input. So if I will need 12v for longer than the second battery can supply I add in a folding solar blanket. Also have a small inverter but have tried to get most of my gear in straight 12v.
Andy has a great list for full immersion travel. What are you going to be doing and how far from help/recovery will you be? Let's start there. Also, how much of your own mechanic work do you do and what kinds of repairs do you want to be able to do? Join a vehicle specific forum for your vehicle and learn about common failures and issues and the parts required to fix those, and what the preferred brand for those parts is.
I've been reconsidering my kit since swapping out trucks. I had a lot of crap in the old Tacoma taking up space. My camper shell will be here soon and I'll put together a list of what I stock in the new truck.
I had an interesting experience with what should have been a simple 20 minute tire change. When I bought my 4Runner it had aftermarket wheels. So the factory lug wrench was worthless. This also happened about a week after I added a 3” lift to the truck. So the factory jack was worthless. 4 way lug wrench to cover all bases and allows for me to help others that might be in a similar situation that I was in. 6x6 inch piece of square poplar to add some reach to the jack if necessary. Replaced the factory jack with a bottle jack.
I have a handful of lists… gear is packed in modular fashion so I can add or remove (boxes) as needed. A local trip = just the basics. Anything more than a couple hours from home, means a couple more boxes /kits. A Baja prerun = everything! The attached photo is a basic load in, minus coffee kit, which goes with us just about everywhere. Not because I can’t go without coffee, but because it’s damn fun to make espressos in the middle of nowhere!
No matter what you carry , make sure it's secured in an locked steel jobbox. if it's visible, accessible , it WILL BE STOLEN Mind you I live in BC Canada , it's a huge problem up here. Best to wheel with a group and ALWAYS leave someone in camp to watch the tents / gear etc
Just my opinion, the battery powered compressors are junk. Fine for at home airing up a lawn mower tire but not great for bigger tires. Check out Viair compressors. They have all sizes and prices. I carry the RV model when on the road with big trailers. It Hooks straight to the battery terminals. The 12v plug in smaller models are no joke either, they used to be less than $100 bucks and I've literally ran them for 30 and 40 minutes straight airing up back hoe tires. Harbor freight makes some similar compressors for less money. I've had friends who use them with no complaints.
I've been using a Milwaukee 18v inflator for a while now. Since I keep an 18v impact and sawzall in the car, it made sense to buy the inflator too, It takes up more space than I would like but otherwise no complaints with it. Also, contractor bags should be in every vehicle plus canoes/kayaks and motorcyle side bags. Those and some form of strong tape solve so many problems. We recently had a friend on a small creek kayaking trip get very sick and pretty much ruin every piece of clothes she was wearing. We made her some clothes out of a couple of Buffs, a contractor bag and some tape.
