What items do you keep in your vehicle?

[Senor_Taylor]

Inspired by a post on Tacomaworld asking what tools and such everyone keeps in their truck, it got me thinking. What do car guys keep in their cars?

I'll list my toolbox items, so It'll be a little unfair, I guess. :thumbup:

Bottle jack
Jack stands
ratchet set
6 full rails of sockets
screwdrivers
9 pliers
Wrenches
Ratcheting wrenches
hook and pick set
Magnetic reachy things for dropped bolts
tape measure
air pump for basketballs and stuff
pens
pipe wrench
adjustable wrenches
crimping tool
Various wires
various connectors
heat shrink
oil
magnetic parts tray
transfer pump
liquid wrench, wd40, spray paints, throttle body cleaner, etc
first aid kit
tarp
ratchet straps
tow straps
vinyl gloves
latex coated work gloves
torque wrench
Dremel
fuses and the like
tuna and toilet paper
pry bar
hammer
dead blow hammer
tap and die set
rope
fast orange
gallon of water
I have a little inverter in my truck
Worklight
At the moment I have a bottle of Southern Comfort in there... shhh, don't tell my mom
a billion flashlights
folding chair
zip ties
a bottle of Rain-x
all kind of sealant and tubes of stuff
can of fix a flat
full size spare
ice scraper

I keep most of the stuff in here because I don't have a set place where I work on stuff, and you never know when you'll need your tools.

Now what do you guys keep with you?

[BLINGMW]

each of our vehicles has a small kit with duplicate, forgotten tools to include something like:
fuses
adjustable wrench
leatherman/multi tool thing
a screwdriver or two
pliers and/or dykes
a few allen wrenches in likely useless sizes
duct tape
flashlight

and of course the spare, factory jack and wrench

I'll throw my tire inflator / inveterter / battery box combo thing in for long trips

[JohnC]

each of our vehicles has a small kit with duplicate, forgotten tools to include something like:
fuses
adjustable wrench
leatherman/multi tool thing
a screwdriver or two
pliers and/or dykes
a few allen wrenches in likely useless sizes
duct tape
flashlight

and of course the spare, factory jack and wrench

I'll throw my tire inflator / inveterter / battery box combo thing in for long trips

And whiskey.

[WRXtranceformed]

Wow you keep a lot of crap in your cars! I guess if you need your work tools with you that makes sense.

I keep a little in mine as possible. Manuals, spare tire and jack / roadside stuff that comes with the car and I just put a mini LED flashlight in it this weekend because I didn't need it at home. Keeps weight down for better performance and better fuel efficiency. My wife keeps a first aid and roadside kit in her Elantra.

[BLINGMW]

And whiskey.

:lol: well yeah. And a gun. You're right those should be counted as tools.

Keeps weight down for better performance and better fuel efficiency.

very important not to have too many screwdrivers slowing down a 4300 lb car!

*edit* more funnier:
Our top story: Area Man Understands that Increased Weight Harms Fuel Efficiency and Performance, but Only After Buying 4300 lb Car.

[Evan]

holy crap dude. thats a lot of stuff. in my newer vehicles I keep the factory toolkit, a couple flashlights, fix-a flat, leatherman, an umbrella, kleenex a jacket and a few bottles of water.

in my truck I keep more stuff, but still not that much. all the above plus small toolkit, 2 cans of fix a flat, a bunch of bike tools and parts, a tarp, tie downs, small first aid kit, inverter, TP, kleenex, fuses, few energy bars probably so old they are inedible and a gallon jug of water.

[WRXtranceformed]

Keeps weight down for better performance and better fuel efficiency.

very important not to have too many screwdrivers slowing down a 4300 lb car!

*edit* more funnier:
Our top story: Area Man Understands that Increased Weight Harms Fuel Efficiency and Performance, but Only After Buying 4300 lb Car.

Hey man it adds up! Especially when you are already getting 16mpg mixed :lol:

[SlimKlim]

Not much at all.

BMW-
factory tool kit
extra oil
extra coolant if i'm driving too far from home

VW-
Jumper cables
"roadside kit" with mostly useless shit in it aside from the jumper cables
-factory tool kit
extra oil
dust
food wrappers
OBD-II Scanner to read & clear CELs. (shut up)

Kia-
Whatever food wrappers and soda cans pile up in there before I can clean them out

[Senor_Taylor]

You guys talking about weight, haha. Mine's already well over 4000 lbs. Pushing 4500 with my sliders on it.

[NTIman]

A gun, a phone, and a credit card. All of which are on my person.

If it's broken that bad, I'm just going to have it towed back to my shop and fix it there. If I'm far from home and have a catastrophic failure, I'll pay someone else to fix it.

:dunno:

[BLINGMW]

If I'm far from home and have a catastrophic failure, I'll pay someone else to fix it.

Well sure, sometimes. For those who don't carry any tools, let me attempt to talk you into some duct tape and a flashlight with examples that saved my trip, money, and/or towing. Spending the night on the side of the road sucks. And inevitably, you're in a mobile phone black hole, it's about to start snowing, and tomorrow is Sunday.

Plastic trim thing gets cracked by a rock and is flapping. No tools would mean break or tear it off. Piece of tape meant I could save it from doing more damage, drive on, and repair later.

Hit a piece of truck tire middle of the night. Bent condenser, broken undertray and other plastic bits. Again, tape, a couple zip ties, screwdriver for prying, flashlight, and the trip goes on.

Negative battery terminal corroded completely off. Hose clamp, screwdriver, flashlight, push start, away we go. Probably could have been done with duct tape instead. Ok, some of you have nicer cars. :lol:

A freaking piece of tape would have completely fixed my 2002 when a vacuum test port cover thing decided to leave the intake manifold. Unfortunately it took me a week to figure out what was wrong.

Upper radiator hose splits. Lots of tape. Water.

Ran out of gas in borrowed van, didn't know gauge sucked. Walked to next gas station which convieniently had no containers for sale and none to borrow. Bought a 22oz with a large cap, chugged it, filled with gas. Back to car, found bottle neck to not be long enough. Made little funnel out of tape. Done! More beer!

[Jake]

128i has an LED flashlight, a Mercedes-branded first aid kit (don't ask where it came from), a little tool kit with a screwdriver (+ and –) and some sockets, and some OG Racing gloves so I don't dirty my pretty hands if I have to examine anything. This car also has no provisions for a spare tire, no can of Fix-A-Flat, and no tire inflator box. I should remedy some of that. I should keep a quart of oil in it, too... but eh, I check it often enough too.

The M3 either has absolutely nothing because I'm driving around town, or a jack/stands/tools/wheels/impact gun/etc because it's a track weekend and I'm too stubborn to daily-drive a truck and tow this stupid thing.

[Apoc]

Mini
first aid kit
Advil
blanket and emergency blanket
half dozen bottles of water
couple pairs of gloves
spare jacket and ski cap
wet wipes and roll of paper towels
jumper cables
emergency light (although I think it's dead and need to replace it)
multitool
air pressure gauge
dual phone charger
wine bottle opener
trash bags

911
small first aid kit
spare relays
jumper pack
bottle of rain-x window cleaner (the washer spray doesn't work)
this thing, to defog until the engine warms up
bottle of spray and shine
shop towels and roll of paper towels

I signed up for roadside assistance for the first time in my life after moving to Seattle. We never needed it with our old cars but it's been a lifesaver 2-3x since getting the new cars for various reasons.

[Jake]

I should really get a set of jumper cables. Somehow, I've never ever owned a set.

[ScottyB]

subaru
cargo net in trunk
- roll of paper towels
- large beach towel
- a couple trash bags
- first aid kit
- extra 4qt jug of oil
- large umbrella
- one of those camping blankets that folds into its own pouch
- container of hand wipes
ammo case converted to equipment box behind driver's seat
- jumper cables
- fire extinguisher
- mini ratchet/socket set
- vice grips
- screwdriver set
- funnel
- duct tape
- paper maps of VA, NC, SC, GA, MD
glove box
- LED flashlight
- plastic utensil/napkin baggies you get at buffets or wherever
- air pressure gauge
- locking lug socket
- advil
- phone charger

sounds like a lot, but its really not once you see it in a pile. i've used the towels and trash bags multiple times as seat covers if i'm soaked or really grody. i really need to add some water and snack bars for if we ever got stranded.

[Apoc]

Add Advil, air pressure gauge, dual phone charger, wine bottle opener and trash bags to my Mini list.

I have a set of small collapsible wheel chocks in there too, but they're kinda useless since there is no spare.

[Mike]

Boots, a blanket, tire pump, spare tool kit (built-in... i don't know what it has), and grocery bags.

[JustinG]

After reading this I realized I dont really have shit in my car or Casey's car, aside from a maglite and a blanket in each.

We have roadside assistance included in our insurance policy (Flat tire, tow, fuel, lockout, etc) $20 for the year.

I saw these kits at Sams Club and thought it was a pretty good deal so I snagged one for each car.

And it was basically made for me "Justin Case"..... :roll:



$25
Breakdown Aluminum Snow shovel
Tow Strap
Flashlight
Reflective Triangle thingy
Poncho
Fleece Blanket
Some gloves
Small First Aid kit
Jumper Cables





Front flap folds out to hold the shovel or whatever else.


I thought It was a good base to start with. If you pull the blanket out you have more room to store stuff, ill probably throw in some Mechanix gloves, grab some road flares, shop towels, zip ties, my small tool kit, along with some basic meds (Ibuprofen, tums, imodium, etc). Deicing pellets for the winter months, stuff is great to have if you cant get traction cause it melts the snow/ice pretty quickly, had to use it a few times with the focus.

[Apoc]

It just occurred to me that not a single one of us listed flares. Interesting.

[JustinG]

Good source for fire and signaling