7 Garage Staples for the Ford Truck Owner

1. Fire Extinguisher

Your swapping out your fuel pump and your idiot neighbor comes nosing over with a lit cigarette in his choppers. That's not a position you want to be in and as such, having a properly charged fire extinguisher on hand is a life saver. Even if you are fortunate enough to never need to use one, having a fire extinguisher nearby is always a good peace of mind. Back in the day, Ford even used to offer it as an optional accessory, like these antique brass examples. 

2. Spare Parts

You never know when you might have to limp it home, or wake up to find a garage floor soaked with coolant that used to be in your truck. The only thing that sucks worse than not having the part you need on hand is getting a part that is almost but not quite right from the auto parts store, and not realizing it until you get home. Having a shelf full of commonly replaced spare parts, such as belts, hoses, spark plugs and filters, can be a huge time saver and headache remedy. 

3. OBD-II Scan Tool

Few things in life are as manly as the dude who can find out what his CEL means. Keep a firm grip on that man card and have an OBD-II scan tool on hand. Impress your friends and neighbors by offering to tell em' why their CEL is on. A garage just isn't complete without one of these tools in the drawer.

4. Ratchet and Socket Set

Depending on which era Ford you have, you may need a metric, or inch socket set, or even both. You can wrench just about anything off of your modern Ford truck if you have the basic 8 mm, 10 mm, 13 mm, 15 mm and 18 mm sockets on hand. If you have a classic truck, something made before 1997, you need all the standard inch sizes, 3/8", 7/16", 1/2", 9/16", 5/8", 11/16", and 3/4". If it was made from 1980-1996, you will likely have a few metric fasteners mixed in with the USS sizes, thanks to Jimmy Carter! Throw in a couple of different sized extensions, a breaker bar, and maybe a torque wrench, and you are open for business.

5. Jack and Jack Stands

Ford trucks may be a lot of things, but light weight is not one of them, so you need a good jack. Also, the last thing you want to be is a statistic. Don't let your hopes and dreams and least of all, your skull get crushed by your beloved Ford truck as it slides off your floor jack. Never work under your truck without deploying jack stands first. 

6. Shop Rags

Even the neatest of neat freaks can have a mishap or two, and the rest of us can't set foot in the garage without getting dirty. Always have some shop rags handy to quickly clean up any spills that you might have while working on your Ford truck. Just about every fluid you are likely to use in your truck is slippery if it gets on the floor, even things not designed to be, like antifreeze. Speaking of antifreeze, it and other fluids are quite deadly to pets and other animals. Clean up your spills immediately for safety's sake.

7. Penetrating Oil Spray

There are not enough good words that can be said for miracle penetrating oils, like PB Blaster or Kroil. More accurately, there will be fewer bad words streaming from your mouth while working on your Ford truck when a liberal dose of penetrating spray is used before trying to loosen rusty bolts. This stuff will help even the most stubborn, rusted-on hardware come off with much less pain and fewer pulled muscles.

And for more helpful garage tips, be sure to check out the Ford-Trucks' How-Tos section.