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17 Essentials for Your Roadside Emergency Kit

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Drivers taking to the road this season will likely have had their oil changed, tires rotated, and their engine checked before heading out on a long trip. Yet, breakdowns can happen and without a roadside emergency kit on hand, you may find yourself stranded. Already assembled kits are available from auto parts stores, but you can put together your own and include several essentials not found in most kits.

Chrysler 300

1. Booster Cables

A dead battery is one of the chief reasons that a car will break down. And batteries will often fail without warning. Having your battery tested before you take a long trip is a good idea. Do this with a testing device that can be plugged into your 12-volt outlet. When a breakdown does happen, having a set of cables that are at least 10 feet long and wrapped in 8-gauge rubber can get you going again with a boost from a passing motorist.

2. Air Compressor

Always check your spare tire before leaving on a trip, ensuring that it is adequately inflated and in good enough condition to get you back on the road. A portable air compressor is invaluable, enabling you to quickly refill a tire. Canned tire sealant is the choice for some motorists, but be mindful that you may invalidate the tire’s warranty. Also, sealant does not work with high-performance tires.

3. Cell Phone Charger

Your only way to call for help may be on your cell phone. Bring along a cell phone charger to ensure that you always have enough power available to call for help. Consider investing in a hand-cranked charger as a backup should your car’s battery die.

4. Flashlight and Spare Batteries

Inspect the flashlight in your glove box before leaving on a trip, replacing older batteries and by bringing with you an extra set. Consider investing in a new flashlight with LED lighting and a strobe light to attract attention. Look for a light with a magnet for affixing same to the roof of your car or under the hood.

Porsche Flashlight

5. Shop Cloth

Several rags or shop cloth can come in handy when working on your car.

6. Work Gloves

A pair of mechanic’s gloves can protect your hands when working on your car. Some people prefer cotton gloves, so find the pair that you like best and try these on before placing them in your roadside emergency kit.

See Also — Don’t Become a Roadside Emergency Statistic

7. Flathead and Phillips Screwdrivers

A flathead screwdriver can be useful for prying and a Phillips screwdriver for tightening connections such as loose hose clamps. Carry both because you may need each one to handle different repairs.

8. Pliers, Grips and a Wrench

2014 BMW 535dWhen your car breaks down, you may wait for your roadside assistance to show up to handle repairs or to tow your car to a garage. Or, you can choose to tackle those repairs with a set of pliers, a grip and a wrench.

9. Duct Tape

Nearly anything can be fixed with duct tape. Or at least it may seem that way. What cannot be permanently fixed when on the road may be enough to patch a cracked hose, for connecting a cracked bumper or to hold that dangling side mirror in place that got sideswiped when you stopped for lunch.

10. Pocketknife

Unless you can rip the duct tape by hand, you’ll need something to cut it with. A pocketknife can come in handy and is useful for cutting a hose, fashioning a splint, preparing food and for providing self-defense in a crisis.

11. Automotive Fluids

Your roadside emergency kit can include a few of the fluids your car needs including a can of motor oil, a bottle of radiator coolant and washer fluid.

12. Bungee Cords

While duct tape can hold many things together, a bungee cord may do the trick elsewhere. With a bungee cord, you may be able to temporarily hold a car battery in place, secure a trunk lid shut, or keep a separated bumper from crashing to the ground.

13. Special Clothing

You may have plenty of clothes with you as you leave for your vacation. No roadside emergency kit is complete without a hooded poncho, especially useful when working underneath the hood in inclement weather.

14. Blankets

If your trip takes you through the mountains, star-lit nights can get chilly. A blanket can keep you warm while you are waiting for help to arrive. Include a thermal blanket that radiates body heat.

emergency water

15. Water

Quench your thirst by bringing enough water with you on your trip. You won’t have to worry about finding suitable drinking water if you are stranded miles from help.

16. Food

Nonperishable foods such as dried fruit and energy bars can tide you over until help arrives.

17. First Aid

If your breakdown involves an accident with injuries, you may need to intervene before the first responders arrive. Every roadside assistance kit should include a first aid kit stocked with gauze pads, bandages, a wound cleaning agent, adhesive tape, instant cold compress, aspirin, a splint and latex gloves.

Get Emergency Prepared

Lastly, consider joining a roadside assistance club as they’re invaluable if you have a breakdown and need to be towed to safety or have some other emergency. If you are a new car owner, roadside assistance may be packaged with your warranty. In any case, place the contact information on your cell phone and keep your membership card handy.

Photo Credits

“mPower Porsche Design Flashlight” by Nan Palmero is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Emergency Preparedness Kit” by City of Seattle is licensed under CC BY 2.0

See Also — Vehicle Breakdown Tips and Tricks

Essential Tools to Keep in Your Car

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You understand the importance of assembling a tool kit for your home, but do you have a tool kit for your car? With a brand new car, it is easy to overlook the need for such tools, but if you’re in an accident something as simple as duct tape or a charger for your cell phone can come in handy.

Assembling a tool kit for you car includes those items that will enable you to make repairs to your automobile as well as those things that can ease your wait while help is on the way. Lets take a look at the essential tools you can keep in your car.

duct tape1. Duct tape — Useful for mending just about anything, duct tape can seal a leaking hose or reattach a light or bumper that comes dislodged from your car. Not the prettiest tool in the tool box, but perhaps one of the most essential and cost effective items your emergency kit can include.

2. Scissors — You may be able to rip the duct tape to get the pieces you need off, but a pair of long nose scissors can do the trick quickly and effectively. Scissors can be put to other uses to including cutting gauze if you are injured.

3. Multi-head screwdriver — You don’t have room to carry a set of screwdrivers in your car, but a quality multi-head screwdriver can do the trick. Look for a 10-in-1screwdriver/nut driver set that feature both Phillips and flathead screwdrivers of varying sizes along with nut drivers and torx head drivers.

needle nose pliers4. Pliers — Both needle nose and wire cutting pliers can come in handy if your car breaks down. The needle nose plier can slip into tight spaces where your hands cant reach. The wire cutter pliers can be useful for fixing wiring that works loose such as the connection to your personally-installed audio system.

5. Hammer — An indispensable tool to handle most any repair project, a ball-peen hammer or mallet can be useful in tapping a part that has worked its way loose in your car. That old hub cap on your classic car can stay in place with some careful tapping of this hammer.

6. Work gloves — Any type of emergency project with your car requires the use of a good pair of work gloves to protect your hands. Not the cheap cotton kind that simply cover your hands, but the padded leather or synthetic leather pair that gives you a better grip of your hand tools.

adjustable wrench7. Adjustable wrench — Look for a three-piece wrench set for your adjustable wrench. A wrench comes in handy when you need to adjust bolts that have worked loose. Gain access to that nut you otherwise wouldn’t be able to reach with a pair of pliers or a regular wrench.

8. Fire extinguisher — A car can go in flames within seconds if an oil leak is undetected and suddenly ignites. A compact extinguisher is suitable for your car, one that issues dry powder to handle a variety of fires including electrical. Your car contains a number of combustible materials including upholstery, wood products, cloth and paper. A fire blanket can come in handy too, representing a sheet of fire retardant that can cover small flame ups.

9. Bungee cords — What on earth would you use a bungee cord for? Lots of things including keeping everything secure on your roof rack and act as a map holder when affixed to your car door. Use a bungee cord to hold something in place where duct tape just won’t do.

LED flashlight10. Flashlight with batteries — Invest in a high-quality flashlight, one that is water-resistant, discharges a bright light and is easy to grip. Consider a light that can be fixed from the inside of your open car hood or one that has a twistable base and can rest on your radiator or car battery. A rechargeable light can work wonders or a battery flashlight can do the trick, but bring along several backup batteries for your standard flashlight.

11. Car charger — You bring your cell phone with you wherever you go. To keep it charged, you need a quality recharger that can be hooked into your car’s cigarette lighter. Look for one with a 20 amp to handle all of your recharges including your cell phone, laptop, iPhone, iPad, you name it.

12. Jumper cables — Never skimp when it comes to jumper cables. Choose heavy-duty, 4-gauge cables to provide the durability you need. Short cables won’t do, choose 25-foot cables ideal for times when you don’t want to push the car out for a jump.

Additional Tools

If you drive long distances and your trip takes you through remote places, a car emergency kit is ideal too. Such kits should include drinkable water, nonperishable food, an emergency thermal blanket, beacon flares, and a first aid kit. You can buy these items separately or purchase a kit containing everything that you need.

See Also — You Can Put Together a Car Emergency Kit