I have a few emergency items I keep in my car at all times, one thing I have overlooked is a tool kit.  I have a plenty of mechanic tools I keep at home but none in my ride.  That needs to change.

Anyone have a list of tool?  I’d like to see a list broken into maybe (1) essential, (2) good to have, & (3) icing on the cake.   For instance, it is worth keeping a SAE wrench set, Metric wrench set, 1/4 Socket set, 3/8 socket set, 1/2 socket set OR could those all be covered with a couple adjustable wrenches?   I know, not really but you get the idea.   I have a SUV, 4Runner more specifically, so I do have room but I do not want to have everything plus the kitchen sink.  That is a lot of weight and takes up a lot of room.

What tools do you think are essential to keep in all cars and what do you think are really good additions?

Tow strap, chain cutter, rain coat, air pump spare key

Ratchet
Sockets
Breaker bar
Pliers
Needle-nose pliers
Tire repair kit,
Screwdrivers
Probably
Battery terminal cleaner
Jump-starter
Tire pump
Bolt cutters

For my older beater car I keep a bit more:

spare hose clamps
spare belt
tow strap
small mechanics tool set
spare fluids such as a qt of oil, brake fluid, coolant, and CVT fluid.
zip ties
electrical tape
short round pointed shovel
OBD2 code reader
jumper cables
fire extinguisher
small tool box with a few extras like some electrical repair stuff.  
tire plug kit


For my primary truck I keep much less.

tow strap and soft shackle.
small mechanics tool set.
hi viz vest
gloves
zip ties
electrical tape
short round pointed shovel
block for jacking up the car
4way lug wrench
fire extinguisher
tire plug kit

Both vehicles are OBD2 with emissions so there is not a whole lot you can fix roadside without a full tool set and whatever replacement parts you might need.  If you need to get replacement parts you can also get whatever extra tool you might need.

The best thing to do is become familiar with your vehicle and get a small problem fixed before it becomes a big problem.  Routine maintenance is key (I my own.)  My beater is a 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid with 230K on it.

If I am going on a road trip the will require more than one tank of fuel round trip and/ or a trailer, then I bring a few more things such as a bottle jack, rechargeable jump starter etc.

I don’t keep full tool kits. I took the time and went through all of the stuff that I can eff with on my Jeep. I carry 8-24 mm sockets, wrenches, and pliers, vice grips, and a few screw drivers. I also have a few SAE stuff that is from “upgrades”.

I have pioneer kit, plugs and patches, an air compressor, and air locker air line repair kits. And I always have recovery kits.

I also have winter preps that I keep year round as well as summer preps.
I am not a rolling tool box.
Now when I hit the trails I add more stuff to help others on the trail.

A properly inflated spare tire .....

This!

A half flat spare 8 miles from a paved road is no fun!

Anybody tried the Harbor Freight tow ropes?

A dead blow hammer

Or at  least a hammer of some sort with a small block of wood

Sometimes the rim is rusted to the rotor/hub and hard as hell to get off, a heavy hammer helps


ETA:  and some zip ties for multiple uses

& if you drive a truck or vehicle where the spare tire rides on the underside, take it out at least once a year, check the pressure, and clean/ oil the mechanism.  

I wash mine good, spray lubricant into it, and soak the chain in used motor oil then raise and lower the chain multiple times.

I have seen trucks with a flat and seized in location spare several times.

Years ago, we would use my wife's Honda Civic for road trips.  Any time we went any distance I would put one of the full-size snow tires on rims that we had in the trunk for just in case.  Not returning from a road trip on a donut.

My Tundra has a spare belt for the water pump, alternator ac compressor. I also recommend Tire patch kit, duct tape for hoses and a socket set for general wrenching.

I think a lot of people overdo it with vehicle tool kits.  Nothing wrong with that but I don't want to.  Certain repairs aren't going to be done/can't be done roadside.  So, no need to carry tools for those types of repairs.  Since you have a Toyota, you should have sockets and wrenches in 8, 10, 12, and 14mm.  That'll cover almost anything you might ever deal with road/trail side.  A small and a large adjustable end wrench, a set of locking pliers (Vicegrip type), needle nose pliers, regular pliers, and Channellock/slip joint type pliers.  A small multi meter....not used much so doesn't need to be large or expensive.  I think you should have screwdrivers in flat head (maybe a small and a large head) and phillips #1 and #2.  I'm not a big fan of the all in one screwdrivers because sometimes you have to get a screw out that's down inside a hole and the large shank won't allow it.  I prefer several specific screw drivers.  

Jumper cables.  I like and own the little jump boxes.  Have used them many times.  But, they don't work well, if at all, when it's very cold out.  I do recommend carrying one because, unless it's really cold outside, the jump boxes allow you to self recover.  You can also use the box for a portable power source trailside to charge your phone etc (just don't forget to recharge it!).  But, I still think you should have jumper cables.  You don't need huge cables.  A 2-4 ga 20ft set will be plenty.  

Tire plug kit.  I like having one of those kits and usually have a Slime kit with me.  But, if I get a flat tire I will change the tire.  If I get another flat, then it's time to plug it.  I prefer to repair tires properly (dismounting, patching, and remounting) whenever possible.  But, a plug kit can get you down the road.  

A winch is a great thing to have if you go off road or back trails much.  It's also handy to pull other people out when they slide off the road if you choose to help.  Small tip....don't hook to their vehicle...make them do it.  That way, if something goes wrong, it's on them.  Also, watch them as they hook it up to make sure they are hooking it where it shouldn't damage anything.  

Tow strap.  I prefer straps over chains.  I like the type with hooks on the ends.

A 4 way lug wrench.  I have one that collapses into a fairly compact package.  Some times you need the extra leverage to get off a lug nut some shop tightened too much (always check your lug nuts to ensure they aren't too tight BEFORE you leave home).  

Look up your vehicle and see if there are common things that sometimes fail without warning.  Then, bring spare parts and the tools to change it.  For example, I have a 2005 Jeep Wrangler TJ and the ignition switch actuator pin will fail without warning at times.  Not a frequent issue but does happen and has happened to me.  I carry a spare actuator pin.  It takes a certain security torx bit to remove it so I have every tool I need to replace it roadside.  

On the spare tire topic, have your jack accessable, &make sure it works ok.  Many factory jacks are junk,  Throw a bottle jack in the back. Couple of small
boards if needed.  If you don't have a 4 way lug wrench that fits, have a 1/2" drive socket that fits, breaker bar, & piece of pipe for more leverage.
When it is raining or 10 degrees out is not a good time to figure out the jacks messed up.

Serpentine belt

+1

I also leave a 4-way lug wrench in my truck.  Block for jacking on to.  Forgot to add those to my list.

There are some good suggestions here and some good lists on tacomaworld.com and the other Toyota forums that list what tools you ought to carry and what's optional, largely depending on your skills but also what spares you carry, where you're going, etc.  Make sure that you have actual tow points; a lot of what folks think are tow points are actually the transport tie downs (and don't use J hooks, frame keys, etc. for actual recovery).  

Unless you are the Boy Scout type (I am), field strip your tool kit and take out stuff that doesn't fit anything, i.e. 16mm sockets, or you just don't need for your truck.  That said, realize that due to space constraints you may need 1/4" drive and 3/8" drive, extensions, universals, etc.  If you have Toyota's junk lug nuts with the cheap chrome covers on them, either go ahead and change them (best plan) or add a 20mm socket since the cheap chrome covers slip and you have to take them off then the lug wrench won't fit.  Better yet- don't even bother with that PoS Toyota puts in the "tool kit" as a lug wrench (leave the kit in place for the spare tire winch), but add a couple of extended impact sockets and a breaker bar and you'll be miles ahead.  I carry more junk than I need, but I always seem to end up helping people with other projects so I just leave everything in a Husky tool bag with Husky tool pouches in it (I got them on sale; buy whatever brand you like.  I find the bags store and organize better than a box like those bulky blow molded cases that waste a lot of space but do keep things looking organized).

If your truck has any lift your factory jack probably won't lift it so you'll need some sort of cribbing.  Tacomaworld etc all have threads on which pump style bottle jacks from Harbor Freight, Northern, Walmart, Tractor Supply, etc. (or you can just measure it yourself) will fit in the factory space so you remove the PoS factory jack that wants to flop around while you try to use it and stick it in your garage or on ebay.

As others have noted, be sure to service your spare depending on where you live, where you go, etc.  At least every six months crank it down and inspect it for damage from stuff flying up under the truck or off-roading, overfill it (since it's easier to let air out than to inflate it)*, blast the winch out with whatever cleaner you like then spray liberally with whatever lube you like (I use motorcycle dry chain lube as it seems to stick to the cable and it's what I've used on all of my trucks since I started driving pickups).  



*Next time you're in a truck stop, grab one of those extended valve stem hoses and you can attach it, run it through an opening in the wheel and then you can check the spare pressure without having to crank it down (presuming you don't have one of the goofy tire pressure sensors in it, in which case I would yank all of them out, build a tire pressure bomb/box/pvc pipe/whatever you want to call it, and toss it in the back).

Two levels of kits. Jeep has pretty much any hand tool repair most things. Standard only, no metric sizes. Spare parts kit and extraction gear.

My pickup has specific hand tools that fit the truck metric no standard.

As to jacks I have a Hi Lift in the Jeep and in the pickup I now carry an electric scissor jack. I also carry a cordless Milwaukee impact. The scissor jack and impact make changing a tire a breeze.

TLDR

Jerry Can
Hand Ball Pump with Tubing
Surgical Tubing
Tarp
Duct Tape
Axe
Bow Saw
Fixed Blade Knife
Sharpening Stone
Come-Along
Tow Straps
Shovel
Road-Side Kit (battery cables, fix-a-flat, hand or foot air pump, car jack, tire tool, etc)
Standard Tool Kit (vice grips, screw drivers, channel locks, lineman pliers, needle nose pliers)
First Aid Kit (trauma)
Hand-Crank Lights
Hand-Crank Lantern
50 pound bag of rice (you can eat it or throw it under your tires in snow to get traction)

If I left a bag of rice in any of my vehicles they would be overrun by rodents in a very short amount of time.  I prefer my wiring intact.

If I put food in a vehicle its short term while in use only.

I use to live in a very remote area surrounded by a state forest, and 3/4 of a mile off a road.  Mice, bugs, coyotes, snakes, opossum, bobcats, deer, racoons, skunks, hawks and owls (attacking my chickens) were a constant issue.  I stored rice in heat-sealed mylar bags inside food grade 5 gallon buckets (with gamma lids).  Never once did I have any issues with the rice.  I'm sure it would work in a vehicle too.  

Freaking mice would get in my house, barn, vehicle engine compartment, tractor, etc.

I carry more gear and supplies than I will most likely ever need, but better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.  

Full size 2500HD crew cab with large Weatherguard tool box in the bed.  12,000# electric winch mounted on front of truck.  
In cab:
Extra pistol and rifle magazines
Extra pair of Cabela's hunting boots and athletic shoes
Binoculars
Fire Extinguisher
Factory jack and lug wrench kit
IFAK kit as well as comprehensive first aid kit.
OBD II code reader
Gloves for light use, winter use, and heavy duty leather gloves
Boonie hat and Carhartt knit stocking hat
$100 in small bills and change stored in a hidden freezer bag.
Sunglasses
Charging cables for electronic devices.
Tire pressure gauges, slip joint pliers, ratcheting screwdriver with multiple bits, and key for special lug nuts on aftermarket wheels.
Older Surefire G2 flashlight.

In tool box:
Tool kit with both standard and metric tools, that would cover any issues that I could fix along the road or trail.  Also includes spare fuses, zip ties, and a few misc. fasteners.
Extra change of clothes and 2 winter coats stored in vacuum seal "space bags".
1" kinetic recovery rope, 2 soft shackles, aluminum recovery spool that serves as a snatch block, tree protrector, and assorted clevises and recovery devices.
Shovel
Axe
Fire starting kit
Extra fluids including engine oil, ATF, Anti-Freeze, windshield washer fluid, and 75W-90 gear lube.  
I add a 5 gallon can of gas for longer road trips.
Winter additions include winter formula windshield washer solvent and tire chains.
Jumper cables and a combo jump pack/air compressor
4 ton bottle jack with a couple pieces of 2X6 for giving the bottle jack a lift and a stronger base to sit on
Extra serpentine belt
Duct tape and electrical tape
Small tarp in original package to keep it neat and small in size
50' of 3/8" nylon rope
25' 3/8" log chain with two clevis's
30' 3" wide tow strap
A few contractor bags
HI-Lift jack in locking bracket on bottom of tool box.

I'm sure that I have overlooked some items, and I definitely have WAY more stuff that I will probably ever need.  But, I travel in a lot of remote areas and have large areas where there is no cell coverage, and I really hate walking.  

Add a thick (3/4") piece of plywood, of as large an area/size/shape as conveniently possible, to use as a base for jack if loose/wet soil is present.  Paint it some sort of "noticeable" color so it isn't left behind in the dark.

This. I got bit by stupidity right after Christmas. My son needed help moving his stuff into storage before he mobilized for deployment. I had cleaned out my truck tool box and didn't load it back up.

About 100 miles, back country roads, very rural. It wasn't cold but storming really bad. Tire blew out, no shoulder and in the mud. Didn't have my bottle jack and the OEM sunk in the mud without a proper base, fully extended it didn't even lift the tire. I did have a shovel to dig another 4-5 inches under the tire just to clear the rim. Oh, and before I tried jacking it up the lug nuts were welded on and beat my ass to death with out an extended breaker bar. To top matters off, yes, my spare tire was very low...but enough to make it 10-15 miles to the next gas station to air up.  I was pretty damn miserable and the spent three hours hauling furniture and appliances to the storage unit. Before heading home to fix my stupidity.

Get home bag was almost needed because of poor vehicle prep...another painful lesson learned

ROCK6

If one has an "L" shaped lug wrench, adding an appropriate length of steel pipe selected so that it "just" slips over the lug wrench is a lot less expensive than a breaker bar.  Anti-seize compound on wheel studs and torqued lug nuts; only a thin film is needed.  With cheap, mass-produced threaded items such as wheel studs and lug nuts, it is often useful to run a tap through the lug nuts, and a die over the wheel studs.  Makes removal and installation easier, and it makes for more accurate torquing.  If properly-fitting Acorn lug nuts can be found, they help seal threads from moisture/crud.  Chrome plating on such lug nuts will eventually flake off, but before that, helps reduce rust on exterior of lug nuts.

Instead of using a cheater bar, you can also use the heaviest thing you have- the vehicle.  Put the lug wrench/breaker bar on so that you can put the jack under it and pump against the weight of the vehicle.  As long as nothing bends or breaks you should be able to get it to break free.  Obviously you want to crack all of your lug nuts before you put the jack under the vehicle; you're not taking them off yet, just making sure they're going to be free when you get the vehicle lifted.  And lifting, lift it as high as you need to in order to get the flat off, stick it under the vehicle in case it falls off the jack, lift just enough to get your spare on and the nuts snugged then lower it again before trying to torque them down.  I'm always amazed how many people think they have to lift their vehicle as high as the jack will go and then attempt to remove or tighten the lug nuts.  

If you're jacking up the rear on a rear wheel drive, put a chock in place to help ensure the thing can't roll.  Even a little movement can cause one of the PoS tiny jacks they put in vehicles to shift and fall.  

With that jack baseplate, besides painting it I also run a length of paracord through one corner.  After it's been pressed down in the mud it's easier to pull it out; having the cord in the corner can make it a little easier to break the suction that mud can create.  

Also along those lines, a tarp or one of those cheap Tyvek painter's suites from Lowe's/HD/etc takes almost no room and can help keep you from having to get filthy and wet.  They're not going to hold up to a lot of movement, but they will help keep you cleaner (which is preferable to getting dirt and mud in your interior) and more importantly, it can help keep you dry, which can be a lifesaver if it's cold.  

If they weren't already mentioned, gloves, both for dexterity and weather (I keep a set of mechanic's gloves and a set of leather gloves in the truck year round, in the fall I add a set of winter work gloves), and safety glasses.  


If you think we're going to see another Summer of Love Pt 2^TM you might want to add some additional tools (not talking about firearms), but that's a different discussion.

Good reason to always carry a 12v air compressor even if you have a spare.  All my vehicles have 12v air compressors.  Peace of mind.

Torque specs for wheels are normally set for dry threads.  Lube or anti seize could potentially cause overtightening if you aren't careful.  That said, I could potentially see the value of anti seize in climates with a lot of salt and moisture.  If you use it, consider tightening with a bit less torque (no matter if you are using a torque wrench or not) than if you are using the threads dry.  Routine rotation of tires should prevent seized lug nuts.  I helped someone replace brakes recently and his truck came from a high salt area.  The tires were shot and probably hadn't been rotated/removed in many years.  One lug nut on one wheel would not budge.  I finally cut the lug nut and stud off with a torch and we installed a new stud.  Anti seize on a neglected vehicle like that probably would have been a good thing.

There is value in what you say concerning "adjusting" torque values when using anti-seize compound; I generally use the lower torque figure if an "acceptable torque" range is given; otherwise reduce torque by 20% of "nominal" torque value.  I have been swapping in-and-out snow tires on many vehicles for decades with no adverse effects, so perhaps I am doing some things right, at least.

1) Pistol and xtra loaded mags
2) riffle and xtra loaded mags
3) shotgun and xtra ammo

So far two people have listed "serpentine belt" but nobody has the tool to manipulate the tensioner.

In some engine packaging you're not getting a regular socket wrench down there...

It's kind of a PITA without a lift, but on the Toyota 4.0 doesn't require anything special (depending on which engine his 4Runner has, I'm not familiar with the V8).  Better to have learned how to do it before you have to on the side of the road or trail.  


Make sure that you have a diagram somewhere that shows how it's routed.    Here's the Toyota 4L

Attached File

There may be many occasions where use of firearms is not appropriate.

A piece of 2X6 or 2X8 wood board, nothing any worse than trying to change a tire on soft ground and the jack has no support underneath it.

Learned this lesson about 15 years ago, stopped to help a guy change his tire. There was nothing to support the jack and that left us walking the road to find anything that would help. What made things worse was that his wife had Alzheimer’s disease and she would wonder into the road, one of the reasons I stopped to help him.

Personally I don’t carry extra serpentine belts although I don’t think it’s a mistake to do so. My reasoning is, serpentine belts last a very long time compared to the belts of years ago. If you replace them on or before normal schedule with a quality belt, they should never fail. If they do, there is something seriously wrong and any new belt will soon fail too.

If I did carry one, I would look to see if I can bypass the AC compressor with a shorter belt. The AC compressor isn’t needed for emergency travel and it’s not too uncommon for the AC compressor clutch bearing to fail and if it does, you will have to bypass it to get home…or tow it. If your engine has a serpentine belt running the water pump, then you’ll need a belt that can run the alternator and the water pump. If it doesn’t run the water pump, then just the alternator. Most cars today don’t have a power steering pump run off the engine but if you do, you can usually get home in a pinch without power steering. You won’t run long without an alternator or water pump.

Concur; suggested above.

Agreed- I also put a couple of wood blocks in the spare tire well, for raising up the jack or leveling it out, as it seems like new jacks barely cut it on flat paved surfaces for height.  Wrote on them with a sharpie pen to use it underneath the jack, so anyone looking at the spare tire and moving the wood block out of the way realizes what it is for.