pint of jack and a blanket

 

This is quite a list. Now I have to subscribe to another topic, because it is, once again, obvious that I am totally unprepared to drive my truck to Walmart, buy a sandwich from the deli and return home alive. I'm just lucky that I can do it alone.

Is it this?
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Colonel... that Coca-Cola machine. I want you to shoot the lock off it. There may be some change in there.
Colonel "Bat" Guano: That's private property.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Colonel! Can you possibly imagine what is going to happen to you, your frame, outlook, way of life, and everything, when they learn that you have obstructed a telephone call to the President of the United States? Can you imagine? Shoot it off! Shoot! With a gun! That's what the bullets are for, you twit!
Colonel "Bat" Guano: Okay. I'm gonna get your money for ya. But if you don't get the President of the United States on that phone, you know what's gonna happen to you?
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: What?
Colonel "Bat" Guano: You're gonna have to answer to the Coca-Cola company.



Do I get extra credit?

 

Ole red has Just basic fluids and cleaners, jumper cables.

Orange one has Cleaners, rags and towels, polisher, hammock, 2 chairs, build book, flareside memorabilia.

 

Any trips that short, we usu. do by bicycle or on foot. 95% of our driving is out of town, so we just keep all that stuff in the bed (helps to have a locking topper). Even when we switch trucks, it's basically four or five boxes/bags, takes two minutes.

Now, as for what I carry "just in case" on my bike..... (never mind....)

That's the Coca-Cola reference. Ted got the Vegas reference (but he cheated, being the guy who did the original quote). If you look closely when Slim Pickens (Maj. Kong) says "Vegas", his mouth movement doesn't quite match. It was dubbed as "Vegas" in post. The original line was "... a pretty good time in Dallas...". But the movie was released very shortly after the JFK assassination, and it was determined that the use of "Dallas" in that line would be inappropriate. "Vegas" was the closest match.

"Yes, a little water on the back of the neck and the code, Jack..."

 

Unfortunately for me, the Walmart is just over two miles from the house. I would need my cane to walk that far. Then I'd need several hours of rest and my Hydrocodone. Then I'd have to repeat that process when (if) I returned home.

I have a locking topper, too. They are very handy.

 

As you can see you can put together quite a list, and really what you carry depends on you, your rig, and where you go. My list which I'm not going to bother with would not be the same as anyone else's. Some suggestions and responses though.

Of course you wouldn't have any use for a DSII module, but maybe a couple spare plug wires, a coil, a cap/rotor, etc. Really it gets to the point that if you're going to carry all that just carry a complete distributor,(with cap and wires) a coil, and some regular wire.

I find a rubber/plastic rain suit more practical then a hoodie, Carhartt jacket, overalls, etc. Good chance you'll be under the rig and it will break down when wet or raining. A rain suit will do a great job keeping you warm and dry while working on the truck and in general if stranded. Often are yellow/orange, and or have reflective stripping so you can be seen. In a pinch can be cut up to make gaskets, etc. Also they tend to roll/fold real small, some even coming in/with small carry bags, though I keep mine(and many things) in a zip-lock bag as the bag to is useful.

Along the same lines, I see a lot of people mention blankets of some sort. A large tarp is a better use of space, will keep you dry/warm, can put on ground as work surface, can make a shelter, packs up small, and if orange or even blue easy to be seen. Of course having both is ideal, but we can't pack everything, a tarp is a better choice if only room for one.

I see a lot about air, but little about air sources. I suggest a 12V compressor or two. Most 12V compressors on the market are very expensive and generally suck. I however am a big fan of these 12V 100 PSI High Volume Air Compressor Often only $20 on sale, I've bought maybe 10 over the years, keep one in every trunk/bed box of everyone I'd get a car help call from, and give them as gifts. I don't have a single complaint and I've really worked them.
EDIT, I mention "or two" or more really, cause well they don't push a high volume, it can take 30 min to fill one of my 37" tires from flat. However a few standard air quick connects put together and you can tie more then one together. Even in my home shop, I don't have one large compressor, I have several small ones tied together, much more versatile, portable, and cost effective.

Oils and coolants, basic would just be a quart of engine oil to top off when needed. But if your packing for emergencies then you need to pack with a hole in mind, which means at least one fill worth, 2 gallons of engine oil, 3-4 gallons of ATF, and a quart or two of brake fluid. A note on brake fluid, better off with many small bottles vs. one big one. Brake fluid absorbs water from the air so once opened it starts to degrade and can of course leak, and brake fluid all over is a big problem. Also, the small bottles make great space fillers.

Also need to consider the source of the leak, a pack or two of JB weld can fix a very large variety of holes. Also often the oil filter, carry a spare, and cycle it out with oil changes.

Water, people say distilled, and if toping off the coolant is all your packing for then yeah a gallon of distilled, or better yet a 50/50 distilled/antifreeze mix. But for emergencies 4 gallons of tap water or a mix of 1 tap and 3 distilled. I say tap cause drinking distilled water sucks and is bad for you. But tap in your cooling system is no big deal in an emergency, just drain it later when you fix the problem and fill with proper coolant. Worse case, drink the tap, pee in the radiator.

That self sealing silicone tape is AWSOME, that is all.

Lights, flashlights are great but headlamps are better, ideally at least one of each but if only one choose a good headlamp. I'm a fan of Coast products and use a HL8 for hours daily. HL8 - LED Headlamps Powering the lights is also an issue to consider, some great lights use fancy, unique, and expensive batteries. This makes the maintenance of a light for emergencies a pain and expensive. I suggest unless a daily use/carry item stick with one standard size with lights to match either AA or AAA and get them in a good NiMH rechargeable version with a 12V recharger. This keeps them standard for many uses and always charged, easy to cycle, etc.

I dislike Glocks or any light trigger no manual safety pistol as a carry/truck gun, to much risk of a negligent discharge. Many better ways to go about it.

Fire starting, hatchet/big knife, good lighter, spray can, etc. A good lighter is a must, a rugged butane torch lighter is well worth it. Not only to light fires, but can also solder, and vary reliable. I mention spray can here as fire is a great way to seat a tire bead, youtube it if you don't know, I suggest brake clean, cheap, clean, many uses, and VARY flammable.

HAM radio is very high on my personal to do list. Sounds like it should be on yours to.

 

I've actually blown out one of those ^^^^^^ HF compressors. But I was able to exchange it so no biggie. Still a decent quality pump for the price, and can handle a full-size truck tire.

You'd only need that much ATF for an automatic.

We only carry water when it won't freeze. Otherwise, going out of town, we keep the Berkey in the bed. The tap water here, as with most urban tap water, is deadly toxic with fluoride and chlorine. We filter every drop we drink, of course, but if I had to choose between unfiltered tap water and distilled, I'd drink distilled in a heartbeat.

I forgot to mention, we've also thrown one of those magnesium fire starter thingies in each glove box. And of course, a fire extinguisher behind the seat in every cab.

 

Wow, what it blew out at the head?


Well yes, I was assuming automatic, changes if it's manual. More brake fluid for clutch slave, fluid of choice for PS but engine oil can be used in a pinch. Might consider oil for transmission but with a manual a major leak is quite unlikely.


I personally don't drink tap water either, I drink an alkaline bottled water called Essentia. I just wanted to make the point that distilled isn't that important vs. a more drinkable water. However Essentia is a 9.5 PH which is also very good for your cooling system. Personally I buy it by the case of 12-1.5L bottles and generally have about a case worth in my truck.


While I have some of those magnesium fire starters around I don't carry one in my rig. They are last ditch pain in the **** items. Useless for all but survival fires. You got a truck, a good lighter is much more useful, maybe some good matches in an emergency kit. Lighters and matches have so many more uses and the odds of needing more is very minor.


I got those magnesium things, a nice high end butane torch, a nice zippo, etc. But I've never been let down by and choose to always carry my little firebird butane torch lighter. This handy little thing I bought a long time ago at a gas station or smoke shop or something for a few bucks, and have used ever since to do as much as solder wires. Smaller then a zippo, cheaper per light(with refill bottles) then matches or bics, I really dig the little thing.

 

No, that HF compressor failed internally. I'm pretty sure the rod from the electric motor shaft to the pump piston came off, or broke. Started making an icky noise and stopped pumping. I didn't open it up.

Def. gotta look into that Firebird lighter. I was thinking some strike-anywhere matches in a ziploc bag wouldn't be a bad idea.

 

When I was looking for that pic I came across these, the first one looks like a good deal, IDK about the money on the second, looks like it kicks **** though.

 

While I found most of your suggestions to be great, this is complete nonsense. Glocks in factory form do not have anything approaching a "light trigger" and in fact have a much longer trigger than many other popular carry guns. They do have a short reset but from rest they are fairly heavy (actual pull measures over 6 lbs in factory form despite the 5lb designation) and travel of .5 + inch. Due to the factory trigger safety they cannot in fact fire unless a deliberate trigger pull is made.

The internet myths and idiots who have shot their own legs have fueled this stuff and it is a sore spot of mine. Glocks are very safe if you keep your booger hook off the trigger until you are ready to fire. Carry it in a holster or otherwise secured and get training.

While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and I support that, statements like these promote misinformation and do nothing to keep people safe.

 

1911 is what you show your friends.
Glock is what you show your enemies.

 

True dat (in my best rapper voice)

My oldest is a second gen 19 from 1989. Been like a member of the family.

My wife and daughter both have the same. Arguably the best carry gun ever conceived.

 

This is both my point and a problem, 6 lbs is a heavy trigger for a SA firearm, but not for a safetyless striker fired functionally DA carry weapon. A DA M9 for example is 13lbs, 10-12 is common for DA weapons. Yet 6 lbs is also on the heavy side for accurate shooting. Yes, I get your point, in many ways the holster is a Glocks manual safety, and of course keeping your booger hook off the bang switch. But stuff happens with a carry or truck gun that you just can't predict or plan for. A carry gun spends 99% of it's time being carried around not being used in self defense. Of the time it's used in self defense, maybe 80% of the time it's at most pointed and not fired. In that time so much can happen, why not make it as safe as possible. In a world where so many firearms are available that are DA/SA, decocker, manual safety, etc. why take the risk?


I can say without a doubt that if I carried a Glock I'd have gotten shot in 2008. I was attacked in a busy store by a retarded security guard who decided to attack me from behind and try and take my 1911 from my right hip. In the fight over control of the gun it was largely pointed at my hip and without a doubt would have gone off.


Do your thing it's your business but when the subject comes up I speak my piece. Too many new gun buyers buy Glocks cause it's what everyone has or whatever. We all have an interest in firearm safety and IMO only those who understand the risks of it should daily carry a Glock like weapon. That said, IMO in the time it takes to learn the skills associated with carrying a Glock safely the skill to operate a manual safety under stress can be learned and you end up in a much better condition.




Ohh gotta add my fav

 

All that gear will just slow you down if you try to prepare for every contingency. It's insidious, the best tool is what's between your ears. Everybody's seen those magnesium fire starters, have you ever actually tried it? It's not difficult, but a driving snowstorm is not the best time to learn. For real fun try making a bow-drill fire sometime. I very much doubt anyone has (successfully) done this under survival conditions simply from memory or reading about it. If it teaches anything, keep a Bic lighter handy! Dry steel wool - is very flammable and will light with a nine volt battery.