Setting up your car survival kit has to be done meticulously — much like you put together your stockpile at home. We can’t emphasize enough why: the essence, however, is that a disaster can happen at any time. And when it happens, you’d better be equipped enough to pull through.
However, I get that some people are reluctant to have a kit in their car. After all, you can always quickly drive home to your supplies & tools. Plus, you aren’t even too far out of town, so help from others is always guaranteed. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth & a reason that I’ve heard too many times that I’d like to. That’s the answer I get when I ask why a person can’t change a flat tire, can’t render first aid, can’t organize a survival kit, and can’t even breathe on his own.
That bandwagon is way out of reason. While it is okay to believe in humanity to provide help when it matters (you can be Mother Theresa if you wish), you have to help yourself when you get in problems. Help can be unavailable where you are stuck, and even if it is, it may arrive a little too late.
You don’t want to be the person who left his life to chance. Maximize the vast space in your car & pack up as you should. Let’s see the gear to include in your potentially life-saving car survival kit.
Tools to Pack When Setting up Your Car Survival Kit
Prepping up your car has to be done according to your location. When putting your car kit together, you have to consider your region to select the appropriate gear. You will need to consider what works best for you too.
For instance, if you live in the Chicago suburbs, you can’t possibly have the same gear as a man driving around Alaska. Some items may be a constant in all car kit types (regardless of location, that is), but there should be obvious differences planned according to what will be best for you.
We’ll look at the classes of supplies to have packed in your car for when the poop hits the fan. There will be a combination of items that are remote, particularly applicable to the car, as well as those more concerned with survival. You can use the list below as the basis of your car survival kit, taking away what you find irrelevant & including what you deem necessary.
Here we go.
Vehicle Escape Tool
If you’re unaware, a vehicle escape tool is used to escape the car when things go wrong. There are common cases of people drowning in submerged vehicles because they couldn’t find their way out. You can avoid this by keeping a couple of tools with you. Essentials include a glass breaker & a seatbelt cutter. For this purpose, I would recommend a multi-tool featuring a flashlight, seatbelt cutter, & glass breaker, and should be small enough to fit in the glove box from where you can easily access it.
Entrenching Tool
You are not trying to entrench yourself or your car in any fix; instead, you are planning to get yourself out of an entrenchment. There are situations that may cause your vehicle to get stuck in the mud or snow, and you’d have to dig out. I don’t expect that you’ll be okay with using your bare hands for the digging, but if you are, there’s no problem except for losing a few fingers without any remarkable result. Get a small shovel when packing up; that should do the job.
Jumper Cables
Several issues may get you stuck in a spot. It could be a fall into water without an escape tool, a dive into the snow & most annoyingly, a dead battery. I’m sure everyone hates finding themselves in the middle of nowhere due to something as controllable as a car battery. And while this may initially appear harmless, it will only take a few uncontrollable factors to go wrong & that’s it. You don’t want nightfall to meet you in the bush. It may not even be nightfall yet. Being stuck somewhere for some time is usually a good pointer for criminals to hunt.
Oil & Antifreeze
Keeping your oil at the required level has to be an effortless yet critical task to fulfill in a vehicle. I mean, it’s so easy to keep your oil full, but failure to do so will be disastrous. Have a couple of oil quarts handy & grab some surplus antifreeze too. Please, avoid falling into the error of believing that your oil levels are enough to take you to your destination & return. There are always factors that may require you to keep driving & not return home when you planned.
I will emphasize having one or two spare containers of gas too. You can also tell that it is annoying & potentially risky to end up on the road due to the lack of fuel. Store your tightly sealed gas containers in your car & travel with confidence.
Emergency Ready to Eat Foods
These are foods that one can readily eat when the need arises. I’m suggesting these foods because they don’t need to be cooked or processed further before eating. I am not necessarily referring to the standard MREs — you can always get canned foods. Have foods that will be enough for you & everyone else in the car for at least three days.
Flares
Flares are used to send SOS signals to others. They can be grabbed anywhere. Buy them and include in your kit. It’ll be very much easy to call the attention of others using flares & other signaling devices than any other way. I don’t see a lot of benefits (both result-wise & health-wise) in shouting about the road to be noticed. Flares will make it much easier.
Final Words on Setting up Your Car Survival Kit
Setting up your car survival kit does not require much. You don’t have to spend a lot nor dispense a lot of energy. If you would not like to buy the items above individually, there are several car survival kits that you can get from manufacturers. Meanwhile, other items to have in your car include your tire changer (of course), an atlas & a map, duct tape, fire starter & do much more. Remember that you can only try as much as you can to avoid accidents; some situations are out of hand.