We love summer! Summer means jobs (yay, cash!), travel (yay, getaways!), road trips (yay, friends!), and just out and about more (yay, freedom!). With an increase in the amount of driving you might do, we here at Teens in the Driver Seat thought it would be a great idea to do a short series of blogs about vehicle breakdowns and low tech solutions to roadside survival.
It’s always good to have a number of emergency items in the vehicle in case of breakdowns. We went through Walt Brinker’s book, Roadside Survival – Low-Tech Solutions to Automobile Breakdowns, and picked out (what we believe) are some of the most essential tools to have in your car.
- A complete set of tire changing tools designed for your vehicle. These items should already be in your vehicle upon purchase. Check it out and know how to use them.
- Serviceable, fully inflated spare tire, made for your vehicle.
- Cell phone with battery charger.
- Magnetic key box with your car door key. This will help prevent being locked out of your vehicle. You can store this under your vehicle.
Suggested items:
- Tire pressure gauge and a 12-volt air compressor, in case you get a flat tire.
- Set of 3 reflecting warning triangles.
- Light reflecting vest in case you have to get out of your vehicle at night.
- 20-ft jumper cables to permit jump start and battery charges without having to put vehicles front-to-front.
- 1 gallon gas can (empty). In case your car dies.
- Set of two tough, plastic wheel chocks to place under wheel to prevent vehicle from rolling.
- Can of “PB Penetrating Catalyst” or “liquid wrench” to spray on stubborn/rusted nuts to facilitate removal.
- Gallon of water in case the engine cooling system has run low.
- Extra quart of engine oil, in case the engine overheats and turns out to be low on oil.
- Funnel to prevent waste and spills when pouring fuel, oil, water or coolant.
And, other items to help you out in case of emergency:
- Beach towel
- Lightweight tarp
- Cheater bar (to help with those really tight lug nuts)
- Plywood board
- Headlamp
- Portable jumper battery with 12-volt receptical
- Combination wrench for battery clamps
- Roll of duct tape
It’s always better to be prepared than to be stuck without any tools to get you out of a situation. Stay tuned for our next post in this series : Pulling Over Safely.
Reference: Brinker, W. (2014). Roadside survival: Low-tech solutions to automobile breakdowns. United States: Lighting Source Publishing Platform. www.roadsidesurvival.com