Driving sometimes feels like entering the wilderness frontier. You never know what surprises may arise. Things like flat tires, dead batteries, accident debris and unpredictable weather wreck even the best laid travel plans. Nevertheless, packing certain essential items in your trunk transforms your car into a roving survival cache that can handle almost any roadside emergency.
Spare Tire and Tools
The most obvious yet commonly overlooked emergency essential is a fully inflated spare tire with the equipment needed to swap it. Without a spare, you face costly tow truck fees and travel delays even after simple puncture plug repairs. Also pack a jack, lug wrench, and road flares or reflective warning triangles alerting passing traffic to avoid accidents during changes.
Jumper Cables
Despite advanced battery technology, dead batteries causing no-start situations still halt travel plans regularly today. The people at Clore Automotive say that keeping heavy-duty jumper cables allows tapping power from a helping driver’s car or truck to resurrect yours rapidly. Clamp the positive and negative cable leads carefully between vehicles following proper connection protocols. Then a quick battery jump starter has you back running smoothly.
Coolant and Oil
Even with religious maintenance, seal failures and cracks still spring occasional leaks. Carrying extra coolant and oil enables immediately refilling low reservoirs to limp damaged vehicles cautiously towards help. Funnel tops allow carefully pouring from standing bottles accurately.
Washer Fluid
A surprising problem arises when windshield washer reservoirs empty entirely – suddenly you cannot clear road grime or splattered bugs blinding forward vision. Stashing extra washer fluid eliminates this frustrating safety issue, allowing drivers to maintain unobstructed sightlines. Top off the tank during pit stops while you think of it to avoid being caught short later on long hauls.
Electrical Tape
Modern vehicles cram wiring throughout complex assemblies, hiding them from view. But road debris damage or vibration shorts occasionally breach insulating sheathing. Carrying quality electrical tape enables temporarily patching damaged wires to cut off exposing bare sections until permanent repairs.
Hazard Reflectors
When dealing with emergency breakdowns near active roadways, strategically placed hazard reflectors greatly enhance visibility and safety. Their industrial grade microprisms intensely magnify and reflect light from even low beam headlights, optimizing odds of drivers seeing and avoiding both crippled vehicles and owners outside changing flats roadside.
Work Gloves
Despite high minded plans for neatly organized repairs, reality gets messy fast, especially jacking on muddy road shoulders. Waterproof work gloves keep hands dry and clean during dirty, difficult jobs like wielding greasy tire irons or pushing vehicles free of snow drifts and mud pits.
LED Flashlight
Dead black nights far from city lights make even basic repairs nearly impossible without quality illumination. Fumbling blindly with tiny lug nuts and bolts leads only to losing critical pieces in the dark while stranded. Bright, focused LED flashlight beams cut through murky shadows, guiding your work accurately. They also signal your predicament to passing drivers.
Shop Rags
Despite meticulous preparations, unexpected drips and drabs of oil or transmission fluid often stain clothes during roadside repairs. Packing heavy duty shop rags provides sacrificial absorption layers between your wardrobe and inevitable grimy volleys from broken machines.
Bottled Water
After stressful hours awaiting rescue on deserted highways, cooling rehydration and refreshed energy proves critical before hitting the road again. Bottled water packs easily and quenches thirst. Toss a case in the trunk as essential drinking supply during unexpected delays or simple refueling pit stops mid-journey.
Conclusion
Cramming your vehicle’s trunk with certain emergency essentials transforms potential disasters into minor setbacks. Let preparedness rescue your journey from almost any sudden catastrophic mechanical surprises lurking right around the next highway bend.
