This article is more designed towards avid offroaders and those who like to fix their vehicles themselves. Although no amount of tools are truly enough (we are speaking from our personal experience), the following is what we feel are necessary for you to carry in your vehicle above and beyond the essential list, especially if you Off-road.
- Tire Repair Kit – While we are already carrying a Tire replacement kit (a car jack and a wrench), having a repair kit handy is also great. This, however, is a requirement for those who are offroading, as you are driving on a dangerous terrain and even if you have a spare wheel to replace, you are better of fixing off the puncture and refilling it with air, just so you are ready for the worst case. A quick guide to fixing your wheel could be found:
- Ratchet Set – Know your set and know the sockets that are most useful for your vehicle. Sometimes repairs only require you tighten up a few loose bolts.
- Spanner Set – For those hard to reach areas, which might require more effort than ratchet is able to award you. It is always good to know which spanners can be used where, and if you are the gear head of your offroad group, it’s always advisable that you carry all your spanners in canvas tool roll. Even if they are not useful to you, they might be for someone else.
- Screwdriver set – You might find it funny but sometimes just a few turns of the screw driver with the right head is all that is needed to make your ride smooth and comfortable. It also helps if you know what you are doing. Ideally a screwdriver set with multiple heads is always preferred as it reduces you load.
- Allen Keys – To open those tricky areas which particularly locked behind these odd shapes.
- Hammer – A slight misjudgment on the rocks, could leave your front or rear bumper with a ding amongst other things. There is nothing like a couple of bangs to knock a dent or a bend out.
- Spare Nuts and Bolts – Spare nuts, bolts, screws are extremely useful if you are going to Off –road as your vehicle is going to continuously move on a terrain that puts pressures on various parts of the vehicle frame. It also comes in handy if you are changing your soft top and you misplace the nuts on your frame. An ideal scenario would be if you knew the most common sizes of nut, bolt, screw which is used in your vehicle frame and carry those spares, specifically to reduce confusion.
This list is in no way full and final. It however gives a good idea of what you should carry in your vehicle at all times depending on your usage and purpose.