Being Prepared in an older RBV

[ford4wd08]

Hi guys, as I get closer to having my BII on the road (come on driveshaft shop!) I was thinking about one of my favorite places to go fishing here in the Cherokee National Forest in East TN.

There is a large creek that runs along a forest road that is stocked with rainbow trout by the state every week from the end of February until the end of July. It is a graveled forest road, but can get tight and rough on certain parts, and being in the National Forest, there is certainly no cell signal.

I plan on taking the BII there often when they begin stocking with Trout soon.

So this brings me to my questions, what do you carry with you in an older vehicle to be prepared?

I've got an array of fluids, a bottle jack, and new spare tire in the BII already. I need to get a small tool set, and maybe a spare TFI.....

I'll be driving this rig on my daily commute as well, but that doesn't worry me much as it is a major highway and I have cell signal.

On the other hand I could see it being difficult if something was to go wrong out on the national forest road with no signal.... I was thinking about possibly a CB as well? I'm sure the park rangers and game wardens monitor the emergency channels?

 

[Curious Hound]

Toilet paper

A couple cans of chowdah

 

[Saddle Tramp]

Tire plug repair kit. Spare jugs of water.

 

[Grumpaw]

Bottle Jack, with a one x one foot piece of 3/4 ply wood for a base.
Good quality tire plug kit.
Good quality 12 volt air compressor.
A small funnel.
A couple of Bic type lighters.
A box cutter/xtra blades.
Assortment of wire ties including 12 and 18 inchers.
Roll of stainless steel bailing wire. A good length of parachute type cord.
Some various length bungee cords.
Roll of Black Gorilla Tape (twice as strong as regular duct tape.
Xtra fuses.
Xtra tire valve stem cores and the small $1.00 tool to replace them and some valve stem caps.
Assortment of some common tools including some needle nose, good quality multi bit screwdriver/bits.
Small pry bar, hammer, rubber mallet.
Cheap tarp (like the freebies you get at Harbor Freight) Some shop towels.
Small assortment of nuts/bolts/self tapping sheet metal screws.

Everything I listed can fit in a small tote or a milk crate type container.
I carry similar in my Subaru Crosstrek which we tow behind our motor home, and is used frequently on back roads, logging trails. It has been thru 46 states, Canada, and many state/national parks, and the kit has always gone with it. Used various items many times.
Grumpaw

 

[ford4wd08]

Bottle Jack, with a one x one foot piece of 3/4 ply wood for a base.
Good quality tire plug kit.
Good quality 12 volt air compressor.
A small funnel.
A couple of Bic type lighters.
A box cutter/xtra blades.
Assortment of wire ties including 12 and 18 inchers.
Roll of stainless steel bailing wire. A good length of parachute type cord.
Some various length bungee cords.
Roll of Black Gorilla Tape (twice as strong as regular duct tape.
Xtra fuses.
Xtra tire valve stem cores and the small $1.00 tool to replace them and some valve stem caps.
Assortment of some common tools including some needle nose, good quality multi bit screwdriver/bits.
Small pry bar, hammer, rubber mallet.
Cheap tarp (like the freebies you get at Harbor Freight) Some shop towels.
Small assortment of nuts/bolts/self tapping sheet metal screws.

Everything I listed can fit in a small tote or a milk crate type container.
I carry similar in my Subaru Crosstrek which we tow behind our motor home, and is used frequently on back roads, logging trails. It has been thru 46 states, Canada, and many state/national parks, and the kit has always gone with it. Used various items many times.
Grumpaw

Now, that is a list.... Thank you for the insight.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Like how far are we going?

I keep spare ignition stuff in my truck because that is the only thing that has stranded me (it hasn't since I put the correct coil in it) otherwise spare tire change stuff is about all I pack around with me about an hours drive or less from home.

 

[Josh B]

I want to get one of those tall ranch jacks, there's a lot more places there a floor or bottle type just won't work

 

[91stranger]

Well you should always have winter stuff this time of year like a good blanket or two, I like moving blankets since they are thick and are good for laying on when you gotta crawl under your truck in the dirt or gravel, extra gloves and hat, fire extinguisher, rope or paracord, definitely agree with the zip ties and gorilla tape, everyone mentioned a jack but didn't mention a good 4-way to remove lug nuts, I personally keep an 18" breaker bar with a 19mm on it at all times in my truck, decent socket set (I picked up a nice 123pc socket set made by Stanley from Walmart for $45), stop and grab a free auto trader or two as they make good fire starters. Like I said, it's winter time so you don't want to get left in the cold unprepared. Throw in a folding chair and a cooler and your ready to go catch some trout.

 

[ford4wd08]

Like how far are we going?

I keep spare ignition stuff in my truck because that is the only thing that has stranded me (it hasn't since I put the correct coil in it) otherwise spare tire change stuff is about all I pack around with me about an hours drive or less from home.

Cherokee National Forest is about 45 miles (hour and 10 minutes) to my fishing hole from my house. Fishing is about 20 miles without cell service and about 10 miles on forest roads.

I'm sure it will be ok, but thought of not being able to get a hold of anyone if something happened is what worries me.....

 

[ford4wd08]

Well you should always have winter stuff this time of year like a good blanket or two, I like moving blankets since they are thick and are good for laying on when you gotta crawl under your truck in the dirt or gravel, extra gloves and hat, fire extinguisher, rope or paracord, definitely agree with the zip ties and gorilla tape, everyone mentioned a jack but didn't mention a good 4-way to remove lug nuts, I personally keep an 18" breaker bar with a 19mm on it at all times in my truck, decent socket set (I picked up a nice 123pc socket set made by Stanley from Walmart for $45), stop and grab a free auto trader or two as they make good fire starters. Like I said, it's winter time so you don't want to get left in the cold unprepared. Throw in a folding chair and a cooler and your ready to go catch some trout.

Winter is worse in the mountians, but it is hard to think about cold when it is 65 degrees outside in the middle of the Jan!

Thanks for the tips. We don't have a lot of issue with cold here, but it will be in the 20 next week.

 

[ford4wd08]

BTW, driveshaft guy called, I'm about to go get it after work and slap it in and drive it again tonight!

 

[Dirtman]

Toilet paper

A couple cans of chowdah

No man requires more. I'm not sure about the necessity of the toilet paper but to each his own.

 

[Grumpaw]

Now, that is a list.... Thank you for the insight.

Additionally, in my kit, I carry a small folding camp saw and a small camp hatchet. If you have to cut some wood or branches for firewood they will come in handy.
In all my vehicles ( 4 ) I carry a good multi tool, an accurate tire pressure gauge, box cutter, Bic lighter, fuses. That stuff all stays in the glove compartment.
Motorhome is a different story as it has its own generator, so I carry a regular air compressor and a heavier assortment of tools.
But you would be surprised what you can fix temporally with some bailing wire, Gorilla Tape, wire zip ties, ect.
Grumpaw

 

[Dirtman]

On a serious note my kit is -

Basic first aid kit -
Bottle jack -
Thick board for the bottle jack -
Breaker "pipe" and lug wrench -
Tire plug kit and valves -
12v air compressor -
Flashlight and chem lights -
Multi tool -
The sticky kit (Silicone tape, super glue, hot glue, fuel tank putty, duck tape, electrical tape) -
Basic electrical kit (fuses, crimps, wire, strippers, zip ties) -
1 gallon of water (for drinking or for the radiator) -
Spare key set -
Phone chargers and a battery pack -
GOOD jumper cables -
A rain poncho and a blanket -
A cheap obd2 scanner -
Some rations (chowdah) -
Bug spray wipes, hand wipes, sunscreen wipes -
Various ratchet straps and paracord for cargo -
An me-too shovel -
And a small tool roll with the basics (very vehicle specific) -

Some odds and ends I like are things like welding wire for fixing exhaust pipes, (hanging them not welding them, a hacksaw blade for cutting anything (you'd be surprised what you can do with just a blade).

All this stuff fits behind the seats and in the glove box of my regular cab truck.

If I was off roading I'd add a tow rope, and some traction boards, maybe some extra fluids and a farm jack with a winch kit.

 

[Curious Hound]

I carry a lot of the stuff in these lists. Also see a few things I might add. When it comes down to it, I adjust the list for where I expect to be and how many other well prepared people I will be with.