Winter approaches: whats your vehicle EDC?

powernoodle

powernoodle

Power Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2004
Messages
11,974
Brother Mercop has his Bag of Evil, and has some groovy threads on the subject. But whats your Trunk of Evil, i.e., what safety, self-defense, survival and convenience items to you keep in your vehicle? As cold weather appoacheth, I thought I would take another look at what I have.

I have in the back of my Suburban a 25 gallon Rubbermaid bin which contains:

- Sears Portable Power battery jumper. Aside from jumping my myself or others, it provides a backup power source for the cell phone and other electronic devices. Recharged monthly. Has air compressor.
- a DC to AC power inverter, which lets me run AC devices off of the vehicle cigarette lighter or Sears battery jumper
- military ammo box with tools
- large coffee can with lid, containing a roll of toilet paper. When you have sick kid in the back seat, you be glad to have a container. Could also transport gas or water in pinch.
- heavy duty universal lug wrench; those little ones that come with the spare tire provide no leverage
- winter clothes for boys, ages 9 and 13; especially jackets, hats and gloves in case we get caught out somewhere as the weather goes south
- trailer hitch (currently installed in receiver)
- comprehensive first aid kit with CPR mask
- small PSK, basically an Adventure Medical Kit's Pocket Survival Pack which I have augmented
- spare umbrella
- Maxpedition Malaga, black. Contains misc items, and can be emptied and used as required.
- paper towels
- tow strap

BOE002.jpg


I have been carrying bottled water, stored in a gallon ziplock in case it leaks. I think I need to lose that, because it will freeze. Not sure what the alternative is, when the temp is below freezing.

Maybe to add:
- small folding shovel; already have it
- A Come Along? Eh, probably not.
- food/snacks
- WD 40; just because

In addition to the contents of the Rubbermaid bin, my Man Sack also rides in the vehicle and is available to take with me when I exit. It is not so much an EDC bag, but more of a "just in case" bag containing convenience items for the most part. When my mother-in-law's psychiatrist called 911 last week and she gets hospitalized again (3rd time this summer), for example, I have my Man Sack ready to go. It consists of a black Maxpedition MPB, which I have chosen because it has a lot of volume, and because it looks like a briefcase and flies below the radar. No "Sh*t Magnet" velcro patches for me, thanks. I want law enforcement and security guards to ignore me. It contains:

- Bible (NIV Study)
- small paperback (Resurrection, by Hank Hanegraaff)
- small "Pocket Ref" reference book; can keep me busy for a long time
- legal pad and file folder
- pens, pencils, Sharpies
- large Moleskine notebook
- Coffee Mate
- Streamlight Stinger LED in Ripoff's holster
- Victorinox Swiss Tool Spirit;l I think it saves a couple ounces over the Leatherman Wave, but maybe not.
- Countycomm medium breacher bar (like I am ever going use that)
- quart ziplock with misc contents: duct tape, Blackberry charger, earplugs, suncreen, lighter, monocular, spare keys to MIL's car, etc.
- EMT shears
- small first aid kit (scrapes and boo boos only)
- nail clippers, dental floss, chapstick, tums, diphenhydramine
- advil, anti-diarrhea, cough drops, hand sanitizer
- hand lotion
- Tide stain pen
- Countycomm am/fm/shortwave radio (nice)
- spare batteries
- 1 spare loaded mag for the PM9
- pepper spray

If I know I am headed to the hospital or some other place where I will be bored out of my skull, I will grab the Kindle and throw it in the Man Sack.

I also have Slingbox software installed on my Blackberry, which lets me watch my home television on my Blackberry anywhere I have a cell signal. Awesome.

In addition, a 9mm Kahr or S&W 442 is always in my pocket.

You?
 
Thanks for your post - interesting read. As to your water storage question for winter? I went with stainless guyot designed Nalgene bottles and filled them with enough empty space left for the water to expand when frozen.

:thumbup:
 
I don't want to be a "kill joy" here, but one of my personal passions in life (born out of personal experience) is to preach the simple safety rule: if you wouldn't want to get hit in the head with it, the put it in the trunk. In an accident (especially, but not limited to, roll-over accidents) everything -- everything! -- in the passenger compartment will become airborne flying around, and maybe into, your head. Your glove compartment, the center console, the map pockets will all come open and add their contents to the fray. Even things in your pant pockets will come out. So, look at things and ask yourself, "Would I want someone to throw this at my head?" If the answer is no, then put that item in the trunk.

I know, I know. You are a good driver. You have never had a fender-bender, much less a serious accident. But there are lots of other drivers out their talking on their cell phones, fixing their hair, filling out their SR22 paperwork, while driving all around you and any one of them could suck you into their next accident.

So, put all of this gear into the trunk.
 
He has it in the trunk, but its a Suburban.

Main reason I love my pickup with the toolbox, I just hope the tiny j-bolts holding the tool box to the bed hold up and dont send it hurtling through the air.
 
Gollnick said:
if you wouldn't want to get hit in the head with it, the put it in the trunk
Click to expand...

I hear you, and there is a good deal of wisdom there. But if I am in a collision that is so violent that the contents of my pockets are emancipated, I'll just have to add flying debris to my list things that went wrong that day. I do have tie-down anchors in the back of the vehicle, and strapping things down would not hurt. Thats a pretty good idea, come to think of it.

The prospect of a collision is a major factor why I drive a 5700 lb vehicle, btw.

There is also a cost-benefit analysis. Do I leave the battery jumper at home so it does not become a projectile in a wreck, or take it with me so I am not stuck out in the middle of nowhere some night - only to be molested by escapees from the dwarf women's prison?

On second thought, maybe I don't need that battery jumper after all.
 
I don't have a trunk either, so after reading a few of Gollnick's posts on the subject I got myself an enormous duffel bag and strapped it to the back seat.
 
By the way, don't misunderstand me. You SHOULD keep emergency supplies and equipment in your car... just keep 'em in the trunk.

If you've read my posts over the years, you also know that I am a HUGE advocate of ALWAYS -- ALWAYS -- carrying a fire extinguisher in your car.

I saved a man's life with one about eight or ten years ago.

When I got my new Mercedes, I immediately mounted an extinguisher on a bracket in the trunk and sort of forgot about it. Then, one day, I went around a hard left turn in a way that only a Mercedes sports car can and I heard from the trunk, "bang, whooosh."

Hmmmm... what would go "bang, whoosh?" I decided it had to be something in the suspension. I was worried that I might loose control of the car. But, I was only a block or so from work, so I resolved to continue to work so that I could get the car off the street. The car seemed to handle just fine. I opened the trunk to see if I could see anything, and the answer was no. I couldn't see anything... because of the cloud of fire extinguisher dust. Yes, the fire extinguisher had broken from its bracket, flown across the trunk, and hit the opposite sidewall. The impact broke the safety pin and compressed the handles jamming them together and discharging the entire extinguisher into the trunk.

Great.

That powder is corrosive, you know. I spent the rest of the day disassembling the entire trunk area... stripped it all out to bare metal, and shop vacing out everything. I got it all out.

Even this did not discourage me from my committment to always, always carry a fire extinguisher.

Of course, the new one is made for race cars and mounted so that even if the rest of the car rusts to nothing, that extinguisher isn't going anywhere.
 
my 72hr bag with poncho/mosquito net Kershaw D2 Outcast, CS SRK, Vic multitool, food/cooking water purify is in my Explorer...trauma kit (Celox/Kerlix)regular FAK, case of bottled water (don't worry about freezing),used serpentine belt, upper and lower radiator hoses/clamps, assorted tools,sheet metal screws for battery connection, CB/NOAA wx radio...magnetic roof mount, 2 spring loaded window punches, 3 cell MagLight,cell phone charger, Garmin GPS(topo maps), accessable Livesay Woo, entrenching tool, jumper cables, 4 way lug wrench,TP, hand tire pump, GoreTex raincoat, fatigue jacket liner, small tarp, leather gloves, fire extinguisher, LED blinker warning light,G34 or G23 in dedicated bags so I don't screw up with wrong mags with SureFire 6P, 50ft 550 cord,
 
I carry a bunch of random junk in my car, probably most importantly is a fire extinguisher and a "hit-me" vest. the number of times I've seen someone thumb out on the side of the highway at night with no lights on the car and no reflective stripes is scary, and normally if I see them in time to safely pull over, I will, but I don't want to back up on the highway and cause more risk. also lots of water (generally a flat of 350-500ml bottles) and jumper cables. Then there is always the man bag full of the other goodies that I don't feel like leaving in the car.
 
80 gallon container- 500 lb rope 30 ft, 1/2 ton small jack so I dont have to dissassemble my truck jack shit. Fire extinguisher, reflective vest, small shovel, small mosquito netting, case of bottled water ( not sure of how to store when the freezing stuff starts), jumper, small air compressor,bag of clothes for myself and 2 year old daughter. When it starts to get nasty I carry cooking stuff too w some soup, tow strap (which I use quite a bit)coleman cooker. Candles, long handled estwing axe,blanket, winter boots. Tarp, toolbox with assorted tools. I have a short bed w cap and I always get the comments about why do I have all that stuff back there etc... but no one says anything when Im hookin them up.
 
I'm pretty much just got a pistol, cash money, water, tool box, lots of napkins, mints and pens. But I live in a big city, and when I leave the city, to go camping, hiking, or shooting I pack a bag with survival stuff in it, like lots of guns and ammo. :thumbup:

Oh yeah, I also have a shovel and tire chains
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top