Daily Driver Basic Tool Kit - What do you carry?

[TeriAnn]

I have two daily drivers, a 1960 Land Rover Dormobile and a 1961 Triumph TR3A.

The TR3 has as spares: tyre, cap, rotor, condenser, fuel filter, a set of formed hoses & fan belt. Mostly my boot is a place to store them as in the last decade I think I have only swapped out a condenser away from home.

Consumables: A quart of oil, a plastic jug of coolant, a roll of paper shop towels.

Tools: jack, handle, knock off hammer and a very basic set of hand tools.


The Dormobile is my expedition rig and I store a lot of my gear permanently in her. So I can always pull over to the side, brew a nice pot of tea and contemplate any problem that occurs.

Spares: A replacement for every relay used on the vehicle. Spare fuses, spare set of fan belts, flashlight bulb & batteries, and most of the time a spare tyre. Instead of a jack I carry a AAA card.

Consumables: A well stocked hardware, nut & bolt box, full change of engine oil, new oil filter, fuel filter, power steering fluid, brake fluid, a can of electrical contact cleaner and a can of liquid wrench. Things like 90 wt & the parts cleaning kit go on the roof rack so are not part of day to day driving.

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Tools: I store my trip tools, including a torque wrench, in the vehicle all the time because it keeps everything together, hidden away in otherwise unused spaces. So I basically have the tools needed to rebuild or replace anything on the vehicle with me on each trip to the grocery store. I guess you could also count the built in air pump.

All this stuff goes along to th grocery store just because it is stored in the Dormobile in out of the way otherwise unused locations. If I took it all out, the stuff would get scattered and I could never be sure it would all get back into the vehicle for the next trip.

Its easier to say what the Dormobile doesn't carry to the grocery store: 3 jacks, a jack stand, grease gun, oil gun, hose for filling the water tank and box of spare parts.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Good lord people...is there anyone on the middle ground? It may be a DD, but I like to be prepared, but at the same time, it isn't like I'm in the middle of DV with no services around.

Trying to find that "nice median."

What are you likely to need driving to work? I mean, what do you think will break and what are you willing to repair on the side of the road? The point that you are in the middle of town and can call a tow truck I don't think should be glossed over. If my starter goes bad in the parking lot at work, I'm not gonna be too concerned that I have to go back inside and call my wife for a lift home. I'll change clothes, grab a tool box and creeper, stop at the NAPA or the dealer and go back and fix it. I happen to carry both my tool rolls, Hi-Lift, shovel and all that mainly because I don't have anywhere to store that junk and it's really a PITA to pull out of the back every time we go someplace.

But the truth is the only tools I've used on the commute might be a screwdriver to change a light bulb or lug wrench to change a flat. We go so fixated on the minute details that we lose sight of the big picture. A Crescent wrench, a couple of screwdrivers, lug wrench, fire extinguisher and a small tarp is about I can think you really need daily if you're in town. I've got no problem walking a few blocks to use a phone to call AAA and get my truck towed a few miles back home rather than laying under the thing on the side of the Interstate. I'm not gonna flush the cooling system or do an oil change at work, so why carry 5 quarts of oil and a drain pan? I carry one extra quart of oil if I need to add a little when checking the oil at the gas station. I don't bother with a full spares kit. I replace belts and hoses if they start wearing out and so the chance that I break one is pretty small.