This ultimate emergency roadside kit can make the difference between an inconvenience and a tragedy. Let’s get you prepared!
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Vehicle Essentials
Welcome to one of our rare automotive related videos here at Toolbox DIY. We’re usually tackling things around the house, but today we’re in the garage. Since the holiday season is upon us, many of us will be taking to the road to visit family and friends so I wanted to share with you my ultimate roadside emergency kit.
This emergency roadside kit is essential for anyone who is taking to the road for a long road trip and it even has essentials for those electric vehicle drivers out there.
I’m about to embark on a 2 week road trip so I just finished inspecting my kit and making sure everything I need is here. Everything I have here is available and I’ve included links to everything in the description. If you like DIY videos, please consider subscribing and clicking that notification bell. Here at ToolboxDIY we cover everything DIY with a focus on things around the house, but we do have the occasional auto related video.
The Basics (Very Basic!)
Without further ado, let’s go over everything in my kit. First and foremost, you need food and water which I don’t have here. Before every trip we always pack drinks and snacks. If you stay on the beaten path, you really only need enough for a day. If you offroad or are on small roads with a storm coming, I would have enough to get by for a few days.
Injuries Happen, Be Prepared
Equally important, is our first aid kit. Not only does this kit have medical essentials, but it has an emergency survival kit that includes items like a knife, rope, firestarter, flashlight, etc. This is a great kit. It’s compact. I pack this kit in the cabin so it is easily ready and not blocked by luggage.
Staying Warm
If it’s winter, I pack these emergency thermal panchos. You can function while wearing these. They will keep you dry and warm. They are also reflective for safety. These are inexpensive and very compact. Make sure you pack at least one for every family member.
Stay Visible to On Coming Traffic
Next in the ultimate emergency roadside kit, we have road flares. I like these rechargeable LEDs but you can go old school if you like and get some proper flares. The important thing is to get some visible at night so traffic can see your vehicle is disabled and keep a safe distance.
Are jumper cables enough?
Next we have JUMP START. Since I have one of these I don’t carry jumper cables. As long as you keep this charged the cables aren’t really needed, but if you feel more comfortable with both, then by all means carry both. Just be sure your vehicle has some was to recover from a dead battery.
Flat Tire? No Spare?
Rounding out our ultimate emergency roadside kit are these two tire related tool sets. First we have the lazy man’s tire changing system. This is an electric jack, impact wrench, and air compressor. Now I joke that this is lazy, but in all reality getting back on the road quickly is important. None of us like being sitting ducks on the side of the road. Pack this in addition to your vehicle’s jack and lug wrench. I like this kit because it has extras such as fuses and a glass breaker.
Plug Your Own Tire Puncture
Lastly, we have a tire repair kit. This is optional for some but necessary if you don’t have a spare tire. If you have a custom car or an EV without a spare, you need this. This allows you to repair a punctured tire with a plug. This is very easy to use, but these plugs are only temporary! It’s good enough to get you to your destination, but you should have a proper plug installed since those are designed to last the lifetime of the tire.
EV Driver’s Reminder (This is obvious!)
For EV drivers it should go without saying, you need your plug in charging cable in case you can’t make it to a charging station. Don’t forget any adapter either!
Hit The Road
You can see everything doesn’t take up too much space. It fits nicely in the frunk of a Tesla, but it wouldn’t take up much space in the trunk either. You may want to purchase a plastic bin to keep everything together if you don’t have a nice storage compartment built into your vehicle.
In my opinion this kit is ideal for us drivers who stay on commonly used roads. Even if you have roadside assistance, I recommend these items in the event that they can’t get to you for hours. We hope to never use these items, but if we do we know we are prepared. So if you’re headed out on a road trip, stock up and stay safe.
