Just interested in what useful (operate word there) things that people have in their car at all times. These could be comforts or tools or anything that lives in your car for emergencies or day to day.
I have:
What else is useful to have lying around?
First aid kit
Dash Cam
Allows me to constantly practice some bogan profanity so I can be famous on Dashcams Australia
deliberately cutting off teslas in traffic these days such that my driving gets posted
First aid kit
Sunglasses
Spare shopping bags including a freezer bag and wine bag
Umbrellas
Tissues
Felt baskets in the boot to hold the shopping
Windscreen shade
Steering wheel shade
Driving gloves for when the steering wheel is too hot
Apple Polishing Cloth for the infotainment system
12V phone charger ‘cause my car has no USB-A port
Spare USB-C cable along with a short USB-C cable for my phone
Card reader so I can access dashcam footage quickly if needed
Pen and notepad
undies and tp is a must
I wouldn't admit it anywhere else, but there's been a few times where I've almost shit my pants on long distance drives because I had a really bad stomach ache from eating something Both sides of the highway are just open and empty land (that is, not even a single tree to squat behind!). Since then, I've kept heavy duty garbage bags in the boot! 😁
I wasn’t feeling great but decided to go into work on the train. Debated getting off at one station and decided I only needed to get to the next stop. Of course it got just out of the station and it stopped dead. Fortunately they got going fairly quickly or this could’ve been an explosion of epic proportions. I felt sorry for whoever was next in the cubicle when I finished.
omg… the people in the carriage with you that morning have no idea how lucky they were!
I've always wondered how many people actually piss or shit themselves when the trains just stop in the middle for a long time with the doors locked!
@bobbified: It really was almost me. I was white hot and clenching desperately. It was a fast shuffle to get to the loos. Thinking I could go to work was just dumb. It is the advantage of laptops and WFH. I’m sure it would’ve cut down the number of sick days people have off. You can answer emails between running to the loo.
@try2bhelpful: I'm laughing just picturing your description. But i'm only laughing because it wasn't me! 😂
@bobbified: Actually I can see the humour as well because it wasn’t a colossal disaster. They say there are no atheists in fox holes, well I was praying for all I was worth.
you can get camping buckets with toilet seat and X frame toilets that you attach a bag
I seriously considered one when having a bout of IBS
I looked at that, but my car is pretty small and I can't fit much in the boot as it is.. imagine going to pick up someone from the airport, open the boot and it's like.. "waaait, let me get my portable toilet out of the way first! " 😁
5 pairs of undies because you never know when you’ll be in the middle of nowhere and get hit by crazy diarrhoea… or basicallly everyday I choose to start the day by double fisting large dare iced coffees
5 pairs of undies because you never know when you’ll be in the middle of nowhere and get hit by crazy diarrhoea
I think you're supposed to take your undies off before opening the flood gates! 😂
I’m not afraid to admit I **** myself 6 times in a night, during sleep one time I had serious next level food poisoning. Was so exhausted from vomiting, ****ting and fever and cramps that I seriously considered sleeping while sitting upright on the toilet. Felt like I was going to die. Then I thought, if this is how i go out, I think it’s prob a little more dignity to die in bed.
@Jimothy Wongingtons: that sounds so shit! (no pun intended!) What the hell did you eat?
That sounds like the level of food poisoning I only get from drinking the tap water in vietnam!
@bobbified: I had bad food poisoning in China circa 2010 and it STILL wasn’t anywhere as bad as this one. Was bed bound for about a week. Day 1-2 basically just had hydralyte and jatz biscuits (that I would promptly throw up involuntarily) - day 3 could at least keep the jatz down. Day 4 could get out of bed could visit the doctor (who said there was nothing to do but keep fluid up and eat whatever I could).
I have a set of screwdrivers, gloves, tape etc.
Street Bounty addict.
A tyre lever concealed under the drivers side foot mat - in case of emergencies.
Have you ever had one of these "emergencies"? I have a 6-D maglite on the backseat in a cargo box where I can just reach over (in case of emergencies). It's just a flashlight if I ever get pulled over.
A fire extinguisher is also good for emergencies and totally legit.
I prefer to rely on my mastery of Ninjitsu.
A telescopic socket breaker bar is a better choice. Plus it's good leverage for undoing the wheel lugs.
Club lock works well too.
GLOVEBOX
Service log book
Tissues/napkins
Hand cream
Pen/small notebook
Car escape tool
Battery pack (with cable) to charge phone
CENTRE CONSOLE
2x USB-C charging cables (one connected to Quad Lock mount)
Paracetamol/ibuprofen
Wuben C3
Key swipes + Wilson parking card
Remote for gate
Sanitiser
Trolley key
PASSENGER SEAT
First aid kit (under seat)
Jumpack for flat battery (under seat)
Car escape tool (behind seat)
Food prep/latex gloves (behind seat)
Zip lock bags (behind seat)
Reusable shopping bags (behind seat)
IN DOORS AND UNDER PASSENGER SEAT
6-8 bottles of water
BOOT
Basic tool kit
Umbrella
Ironclad Exo Impact gloves
MISC
Quad Lock mount
This guy accessorizes!
I always like to be prepared for anything :-)
Anything but a fire.
Great list
I'm curious about the car escape tool (I'm assuming its a combo seat belt cutter & window breaker) and why you have two of them located in areas where the driver can't reach them if the seatbelt is tensioned
i.e. if you are angled downhill or upside down, you may be unable to lean over far enough to reach the tool in the glovebox. Depending on the car you might not be able to reach the one behind the passenger seat either.
For this reason, I've got a small seat belt cutter mounted to the sun visor.
Yes it's a cutter and breaker. I have them in the glovebox and rear seat so they are also easily accessible for passengers if required. I only have a small-mid size sedan and they're located in areas that I can reach fairly easily, but attaching to the visor is a good idea actually. It was a recent order of three, but only two arrived so I'm waiting for the third one, which I may just use your idea for that one; thank you! :-)
Do you have a link to the one you have?
This thread is a good reminder to pick up a window breaker + seatbelt cutter tool.
What is the car escape tool?
It's a seat belt cutter and window breaker, to be used in case of an emergency.
Do you have any recommendations for one?
@KangaDrew: I did have a search on Amazon prior to asking, but there were so many different choices. Yours looks good (and matches my car unlike orange ha) so I think I'll copy you and get that as well. Thanks!
Jelly beans, in case I get the munchies.
Used lip balm.
In the centre console*
(If only @muzeeb was around to also understand this reference)
That makes sense. Cheers
I keep a reserve of KFC's lemon scented wet wipes
Hoges had a sketch where he made lemon chicken by blending KFC with lemon scented wet wipes. He said don’t use the lanolin wet wipes because lanolin chicken tastes terrible.
Cheap toolkit. You always need one when your tools are at home.
Nice try police.
Or thieves?
Towels.
Rebuild kit for the quadrajet in case I get bad fuel.
9/16 spanner, flat blade screwdriver and feeler gauges in case the tappets need doing.
Not intentionally at the start but I’ve been carrying around in the glove box a sealed vampiric bloodlust precon commander deck since 2017 - I keep it in the car to remind me everytime I get weak and consider buying more cardboard crack (I dont play face to face anymore)
Curious - does anyone keep a de-fib machine in their car?
With the amount of fast food I have maybe I should…
I normally try not to preach, but I've got to say that a heart attack at a younger age isn't fun. If that's not bad enough, the surgery to fix it afterwards is much much worse! And the recovery is much much muuuuuuuuch worse! haha
So I make sure the heart attack is not survivable, got it.
Dirt
A couple of leaves
A few stray chips that I can't reach
An allens red snake stuck to the carpet even though I haven't eaten one since 1992
50 receipts that I really should remember to look at when I do my taxes
100 bunnings receipts (non-deductible but I might need to return something)
A dozen sauce stained napkins from bunnings
Sunglasses were last seen in the car, probably still in there
The wrong USB cable
First aid kit with all the bandaids used
Glovebox has the manual and whatever items various passengers have left in there
few stray chips that I can't reach
KFC or hjs
Maccas. Now, before you judge me, I live very close to both KFC and HJs so I pick it up and race home before slapping my face into it. Don't grease and drive.
Maccas though, that's roadtrip food. Chicken is too hard to eat while driving, whopper has all that salad rubbish. But a quarter pounder or a double cheeseburger? That thing is glued together with cheese. The fries are never very hot anyway so I can jam my hand in that bag no problems. Good nugget game for continued snacking. Frozen fanta blueberry on a hot day. It's just unbeatable, right up until the moment someone tells me how it can be easily beaten.
I agree
My drive from Coffs Harbour to parramatta for work was exclusively fueled by maccas. Nuggets and chips still good when cold. Added bonus , 4 days of maccas clogged me right up so less chance of being stuck in traffic and crowning
Plenty of things others have mentioned.
Plus
Tie down straps, at least 8.
Tow hitch, so i dont bash my shins or get it stolen.
Towel.
Water, water and water.
Small scale
Spare mobile phone
Rubber bands
Where mirror and razor blade
First aid kit
jumper cables
starter battery
torch
deodorant (just in case)
tissues
USB C cable
Hidden 50 dollars in case I forget wallet.
shopping bags
shopping trolley key
I carry the following in a milk crate tied into the boot so it doesn't slide around or tip over;
- a better tyre iron and jack than what the car manufacturer provides (sits in the spare wheel well)
- a wooden base for the jack. I'm not always on roads with paved emergency lanes
- leather gloves
- small wd40
- roll of duct tape
- 1L engine oil top up
- 1L coolant top up
- radiator stop-leak
- tyre inflator
- tyre repair kit (plugs etc)
- small pouch with energy food like cliff bars, replaced every 6 months
- 2x 2L of water, rotated monthly
- a couple of individually wrapped toilet rolls inside a freezer bag
- gooloo 2000A battery jumper, topped up every 3 months plus extra USB cables
- toolkit (screwdrivers, pliers, spanners, sockets etc)
- extra fuses and bulbs
- first aid kit
I'm essentially trying to be self-sufficient for small issues. Some of the regional roads in WA I use might only have a handful of other cars per day so I want to be able to get things going enough that I can limp to the next town or mechanic.
I keep mostly the same things but a few others as well
hopefully Linda reads this and fondly remembers the soft, moisturised feel of your lips
spare clothes change (may be spare work uniform too)
vinyl/nitrle glove pairs
distilled water (instead of coolant, cause water is more than enough for emergency, and can technically drink too although not recommended to drink 100% pure water due to electrolyte imbalance, but better than going thirsty). You might be better of getting distilled water + drinking water separately. (but i just always have drinking water bottle in car from home filled everytime, so dont really need a spare one left in car).
pen
deodorant
mintz (to freshen mouth incase needed to)
adjustable spanner
ant raid ( in case you end up getting ants in summer in your car its super useful trust me, especially if you park outside on grass/soil driveway or roads with trees/ant colonies nearby).
tissue box
sanitiser for hands
waywantech gps tracker
audew jump stater
tyre inflator
small foldable esky
The sh!t factory car jack with spanner
shopping bags
minor change for car washes (say too many bird 💩 like scenario)
sunglasses
and ofc the fancy aftermarket tech stuff fitted in car too (android headunit, fm transmitter & usb c cables to charge power hungry devices (even laptops), RGB floor lights, dashcam)
I keep a puncture repair kit, gloves, and pack of wipes with the jack. Figured this out after numerous dirty hand episodes.
Condoms
Tissues
Cables
Thimble for the midlle finger?
Dimpled for your pleasure.
Leather boots and gaiters
I keep my crypto in there
When I worked as a valet, one car that came in kept all their empty VB and Melbourne Bitter bottles on the floor, as well as other mixed rubbish. Got in the car and gagged resulting in driving to the carpark with the window open and my head sticking out for fresh air.
My own car has tissues, wet wipes and sometimes spray stuff to get bird droppings off my car along with a microfibre cloth. Also charging cables for my mobile.
How do you keep the wet wipes wet? They just dry out with the amount of heat in the vehicle.
Pair of old runners in the boot.
Worth their weight in gold if you break down and are only wearing a pair of thongs.
get good $10 kmart moulded thongs. Only cheap thong that lasts
Keep a tyre iron in the driver's side door pocket… just in case.
Cheap fluoro vest in a zip lock with the spare tyre.
GOLF CLUBS
Shopping bags, umbrella in boot. Bottle of water, some tissues in the main cabin. Pen and pad in glove box. Hand sanitiser in one of the seat back pockets.
And usually a few old receipts and loose change in the cupholder.
Just my wife's boyfriend's lip balm… Just gets kept in the center console.
And wife’s boyfriend in the boot?
My shotgun
Glove box:
Cabin contains a box of tissues and a car bin, one cable for phone and the windscreen cover thingy
Boot:
I've got a 2 seat car. Boot is empty. Got a few of those re-usable shopping bags on the shelf behind the seats for when I go to the supermarket. Packet of tissues and the owners manual in the glovebox. Small bottle of hand sanitiser and sunglasses in the centre storage compartment. That is all.
In addition if not already mentioned
Zip ties/rope/ratchet strap/fencing wire
Gaffa tape (cloth tape)
Multi tool (leatherman etc) and
WdD40/grease/oil/wax
Baseball bat….ball and mitts as well 🤣
Electric portable tyre pump
Torch
$5 note
Isn't anyone else carrying?:
Also carry:
Fold up shovel, Toilet paper, bottled water, and snap lock bags.
Tissues on the dash