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Is the stuff in your truck safe in heat/cold?


Dirtman

Former Middleweight Moss Fighting Champion
Joined
May 28, 2018
Messages
19,304
City
41N 75W
Vehicle Year
2009
Engine
2.3 (4 Cylinder)
Transmission
Automatic
Total Lift
It's up there.
Total Drop
It's down there.
Tire Size
Round.
My credo
I poop in the furnace.
You guys ever wonder about how the gear you keep in your truck handles the summer heat or freezing winters? I have my battery jump pack, cell phone battery charger, miscellaneous glues and tapes, my tire air pump, all those sort of electronics (especially ones with batteries).

Do you think that stuff ends up dying faster sitting in what is basically an oven in the summer and a freezer in the winter?

I also always like to keep some food in the truck for emergencies but that never ends well. Right now I just have packets of saltines and little packs of Cheerios cause those are the only things I've found not to melt lol.

I'm just bored and pondering while I reorganize my truck.. Discuss... Do you care? Have tips for keeping things safe in extreme temps? Do you take your stuff inside at night like a weirdo?

I really need to take pics of my gear when I'm done. You would be shocked how much crap I have stored in my regular cab. I'm a master of Tetris with the 4 inches of space behind the seats. :icon_rofl: I have a full size wool blanket, tire compressor/plug kit, tool roll, jump pack, full size emt med kit, jack, wood plank, and pipe/breaker bar, 4 bottles of water, a lantern, tire chains, a bag for ratchet straps/rope, strobe lights, my OBD2 scanner, jumper cables, and a fire extinguisher all behind the seats. Try and wrap your mind about that after looking at the space behind a regular cab seat. :ROFLMAO:
 
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I try to keep stuff with brains and batteries in the house during extreme temps.

Jump pack only comes out for trips and my compressor runs off the vehicle battery.

What kinda lantern?
 
Ive never really seamed to have an issue, with electronics, tapes, or chemicals but temps here tend to be more mild than other places, i dont worry about food stores or water due to living in a more urban area, i take water and a snack when hittin the trails, but i keep most my spare calories on me at all times lol. I find not being around any food helps with intermittent fasting. Now as far as being amazed by what i keep in a vehical, my 93 explorer sport, is a mobile tool box, i have air pump, jumper cables, chain, tow straps, lights, ratchet straps, 3 full 3 drawer open top tool boxes full, floor jack, trans jack 2 foot breaker bar,misc. Auto uids/chemicals, 2 hospital blankets good for crawling in mud or staying warm. all behind the back seat so i can still get the wife and kid in if need be lol. This is mainly due to keeping parts vehicals at other family members properties. However you have achive quite the feat behind that seat!!!
 
Take the chocolate bars into the house in warm weather, frig is good place
My Snickers bar stash did NOT fair to well this summer

My testing electronics didn't seem to mind the heat, or the cold, the batteries in this stuff will lose power in heat and cold, but never had it damage anything, i.e. leak
But I suppose that's possible
 
I guess I'm s weirdo. I try not to leave any glue or tape in the cab for more than a couple days. But the plastic toolbox in the bed is fare game because it adjusts to outside temp's, but the cab can get extremely hot. Melty tape irritates me and canned food could possibly cook in the can. I just keep clean sock and t-shirts
 
I have different things for different times of year as well as type of trip/destination.
 
I was a paramedic so one thing that I don't even drive any vehicle without is my med bag. That is about the size of a small gym bag. It's my bare minimum to exist because I know if I encounter a car accident or something even though I'm not now a medic, I must be prepared and help.
 
Chances are you'll never need those emergency situation items - until you finally get tired of hauling them around with you and remove them from the truck .
 
Only things I keep in my truck are for flats. Electric tire pump, can of Fix-A-Flat, tubeless tire repair kit, two foot breaker bar with the appropriate socket for a lug nut wrench. All kept in a black milk crate under the bed cover. It always seems to work when I need it. Had a rapid blow-out two weeks ago, Boom and it was flat. Fix-A-Flat failed, electric tire pump failed. Put on the spare and inflated it with the tire pump. Took the truck to my friend's shop and had him patch it. Nice round hole about 3/8 diameter. Have no clue what did it.

I generally keep a bottle of anti-freeze and oil in the crate as well. But most of my driving is within 20 miles or so of home. Rarely ever go much beyond that unless I'm on one of my two motorcycles.
 
Chances are you'll never need those emergency situation items - until you finally get tired of hauling them around with you and remove them from the truck .

I was an EMT for 4 years. You don't need it till you need it. And when you need it, you save a life. I've done it, seen it, and live by it. I don't consider anything in my truck a "luxury" item.
 
Yes the temperature extremes will degrade battery life, more due to the hot temps than the cold. The battery capacity will be reduced while it is cold but they will recover with no adverse effects if warmed up before use. Temps over roughly 120F are where degradation starts to happen, so in the cab on a summer day is often over that.

High temps will also degrade insulation on transformer windings, but mostly only if you are using it while it is really hot.

Tape adhesive tends to start to degrade at the higher temperatures as well, so useful life is reduced (shelf life). On the glue question, it depends on what type of glue you have in the temperature extremes.

Given your description, you are going to carry this type of stuff with you, so you just need to replace / upgrade it more often that you would if you were just storing it at room temperature.
 
The only stuff I keep I’m my truck all the time is a sleeping bag and bag with some clean clothing. Plus the bucket of straps and bungee cords in the back.

Everything else is seasonal.
 
Freeze dried food and other foods designed for long term storage should hold up fine.

Heat kills batteries and the degradation in performance shows up when it gets cold.

I’ve had fix-a-flat cans freeze in the winter. So, plan on a plan B and C if the fix a flat is your primary method. Some vehicles come with that instead of a spare tire now.
 
I put rain guards on my trucks so I can leave the windows cracked, which helps a lot at keeping the interior at a more reasonable level of hot in the summer. Other than that, I try to make sure whatever can be affected by severe temperatures with me when the truck is sitting.

My trucks usually have a random collection of tools. I’m intending on getting serious about a basic kit for them though. Just recently I had my F-150 out at the GFs and needed some tools, I think it was to work on the tractor and replace a broken mirror on her car. Totally unexpected thing so it was what can I do with what is on board. Fortunately, the truck has some tools that even though my Rangers have been more primary vehicles in recent years, have continued to live in the toolboxes. I’m about to make a few tweaks to the kit, then see about reproducing the kit as my basic kit for all my vehicles.

Mind you, all of my vehicles get a bag with ratchet straps, rope, spare hitch pin, padlock or two, and some other odds and ends. They also carry a bag with things like spray lube, hand cleaner, water, shop rags and such.

But the F-150 has a 1/4” ratchet set and a Craftsman 3 drawer toolbox full of assorted goodies. It’s a lot of the essence of basics to do a surprising amount of stuff
 
Freeze dried food and other foods designed for long term storage should hold up fine.

Heat kills batteries and the degradation in performance shows up when it gets cold.

I’ve had fix-a-flat cans freeze in the winter. So, plan on a plan B and C if the fix a flat is your primary method. Some vehicles come with that instead of a spare tire now.

I'll walk before using fix-a-flat. :icon_rofl:
 

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