When portable vehicle tool kits help others...

[KnurledNut]

I was at a rural gas station today and an older gentleman in a pickup truck pulled up to the pedestal air machine on an almost flat tire. He appeared homely and perhaps of little means.
I noticed a dejected look on his face when he grabbed the hose and it was puking air.
We made eye contact and he walked over to me as I was getting ready to leave.
He knew it was a slim chance, but asked if I happened to have an air chuck because someone had stolen the one off the hose, but the crimped male threaded end was still there.
Well I actually did. I use one at work quite often so I keep one with me, a long dual head version. I also had a couple adjustable wrenches with me and was able to remove my fitting and put it on the hose to air up his tire. I had a portable inflator too, but the convenience pump was going to be much faster.
In short order his tire was filled and I also found where it was probably leaking around an imbedded piece of metal.
He was shocked I had a chuck and thanked me profusely. I felt good helping someone that was in a bad way.

We have a variety of opinions here: the AAA and credit card only group, the whole garage in the trunk people, and everything in between. Personally, I have helped others on several occasions and rescued myself many times because of having some basic tools in tow.
Any such memorable experiences from you guys?

 

[Steve_P]

I'm in the middle of preparedness with tools that I feel are necessary to do a realistic repair in a parking lot- I feel that I could change a belt or battery in most vehicles and an alternator in some. I could do more than that in mine, but it's a truck with plenty of access. I have 8-19mm sockets, 1/4 and 3/8 drive ratchets, 8-19mm combo wrenches, screwdrivers, a few pliers, torx bits, wire stripper and crimper, a few crimp connectors, etc. All of those are in a tool roll. Then a 1/2" breaker bar and two sockets for tire changes. Cordless and also a connect to battery air pump for tires. Tire plug kit. Two tow straps. Jumper cables. I'm sure a few things I've forgotten. (Edit: jump pack!) All of this in a 4WD Tacoma.

Almost all of the repairs I've done have been on other people's vehicles. Nothing major: change a battery, tighten a squealing belt, change a belt, change a tire, plug a tire.... I'm sure I do 100+ miles of dirt road driving in the summer in remote locations. The cost to get help is going to be crazy expensive off the paved road. I was talking to a guy last year and he was ~10 miles up a 2WD dirt forest service road and a total of ~20 miles from the local town and his Sienna wouldn't start. He had cell service and was able to get help. But his tow to town for a repair was over $500. AAA covered it, but yikes.

 

[Achilleus]

When I had my Land Rover Disco II, I had all the off-road kit - winch, tow hitch, straps, etc. And my way home from work was several miles of pokey narrow road next to a canal. It was humped in the middle, and when it snowed there would always be some stuck car that slid off into the side. Not into the canal, bit completely stuck with two wheels in the ditch. I'd stop and offer to help them out and they always accepted.

I always managed to get them going again, and they invariably tried to offer me some cash as a thankyou, but I never accepted anything, it was just so satisfying to help them out.

Once it was a young lady who seemed nervous about being out in the middle of nowhere with me, but when she saw my little baby girl in the back (she was like 6 months old) she was all happy and reassured again! So funny.

 

[kaymccampbell]

When I pushed shitboxes of the first water, I used to haul a Craftsman 26 inch top box stuffed with tools, and a cardboard box with bits n bobs to keep the junker running. I still have the box. It's the crown of a stack in the woodshop.

Many the night I'd get home late from lying by the side of the road, on a chunk of cardboard, up to my elbows in dead sbox. Mine or other's.

There was one night I remember finishing putting a timing belt in a Mazda by a kind trooper's flashlight, cause both mine and the owner's lights had finally died. The cop cheered as loud as we did when it came to life again.

Then along there somewhere I got AAA. The toolbox went home, and the hook just dragged the heap to the shop, or what passed for a shop. It made things easier.

Nowadays, I've got a more modern, reliable sbox. The big projects are tuneups, fluids, filters, purge valves, brakes, frame repairs. I've got a 7 way screwdriver and a Leatherman in the glove, and AAA and credit cards in my purse.

It's easier now. But I kind of miss those days. I met an awful lot of nice people. Got more than a few dates. They were grand times.

 

[hobie18]

I help. But GF calls me the progressive commercial. Says I am so bad, she bought me the book. No really. There is one.
Helped many. A few I wish I hadn't.

 

[N8sToolz]

All the vehicles have stuff to swap spares, and some basic stuff. Knife, pliers cutters flashlight.

The Jeep and the truck have quite the assortments. The truck has enough to be a mobile service. It tows a horse trailer so I want to keep downtime to a minimum with that. Spare wheels for everything, inflaters bearing kits etc.

Jeep has enough to get out of the woods. Had to swap an alternator while out one time.

It's definitely worth keeping wire, mechanics wire, hose, tape and plenty of fuses, fluids. That kind of dumb stuff will save your *** more than some of the tools will.

Rarely do I need to fix my own stuff but more often than not I fix something for someone when I'm over. Last time was toilet for MIL.

 

[Zewnten]

Usually it's flat tires. Problem is no one checks the condition of the spare. Most of the time it is so old it's not safe to drive on or completely flat and theyre still stuck.

 

[Buckgnarly]

I still prefer to be self reliant. Now you gotta add a plug kit and cordless compressor to really help the guy out!
I had a flat on my Jeep once, pulled over, plugged it, and filled tire back up with my on board air setup. Took about 10 minutes and some guy stood and watched the whole time...he was amazed!

 

[Oily Ape]

I carry the basics of tools and jumpers, as well as an air chuck with a couple different male ends that can be swapped out, 2 separate plug kits, and a valve stem puller set.

Then there are the extras. Blankets, food, water, enough RX for the intended trip plus a couple days, 2 9mm hole punchers with extra hole makers, and my ole' trusty oak cane.

 

[Hannahranga]

It's definitely worth keeping wire, mechanics wire, hose, tape and plenty of fuses, fluids. That kind of dumb stuff will save your *** more than some of the tools will

Yeah enough tools to make apprentice mechanic jealous is great and all but you generally need parts more than tools these days.

 

[txvwnut]

I keep a small tool kit in the back of one of my veedubs, I've never needed it for mine always someone else in the group. The truck has an off brand multi-tool in the door pocket but when it breaks you ain't fixing it on the side of the road, actually I don't want to. Anything else is a tow truck call away from getting it to house for repairs which is where I prefer to do all of my work.

 

[Wubicon]

This is not so much a tool story but an experience story:
When my brothers and I were kids, our folks took us camping at least one a summer. It was a great way to spend some time with our extended family and get away from all the stuff with the house etc etc. One time we were driving home from one of these trips when we stopped for gas or maybe a bathroom break. There was this family in a fairly new Volvo and they had everything out of the car. It was clear they were also on a road trip, duffel bags, pillows etc. They had the car jacked up, the owners manual out and all the lug nuts off but still couldn't figure out how to get the wheel off. My mom noticed this and said to my dad "Would you go over and see if you can help?" To which my dad replied "No problem."

He calmly walked over, asked a few questions took a quick look, and I will never forget, said: "Don't worry, I'm a professional." and proceed to kick the ever living sh!t out of the wheel for the next 2 minutes. With this nice new Volvo violently shaking and this this family looked on in abject horror while this stranger assaulted their car... Once the hub broke loose they thanked him and we continued on our way.

My dad was a heavy equipment mechanic since college. At the time of this story he would've had about 15-20 years experience in the industry but had spent his youth rebuilding motorcycles, fixing boats etc. I bring it up, because sometimes it doesn't matter what tools you have, you need some experience with stuff. Like getting stuck with a broken vehicle.

Today I keep a few simple tools in my vehicles so something like a loose screw or nut won't take me out, a couple zip ties, fuses, rags, stuff like that. That's about it. If I can't fix with that, I have the back up: credit card.

 

[ecotec]

I carry only a few tools in my glovebox. A 1/4” ratchet, extension, 8mm socket (taillight), 10mm socket (battery), small diagonals, 19mm x 1/2” drive socket. In the back, I carry a tire plug kit and a breaker bar. I have a multi tool in the center console.

On road trips, I carry a Milwaukee inflator.

I have AAA, but when you call and they say 25 minutes, and you can have your family on the road in 10 minutes….

 

[KnurledNut]

I still prefer to be self reliant. Now you gotta add a plug kit and cordless compressor to really help the guy out!
I had a flat on my Jeep once, pulled over, plugged it, and filled tire back up with my on board air setup. Took about 10 minutes and some guy stood and watched the whole time...he was amazed!

I keep both a good 12v compressor and plug kit. Even if I had the best cordless on the market, the station pump took less time including putting the chuck on. I was actually surprised how well that pedestal compressor worked compared to ones I have used in the past.
The guy was headed to a tire shop but needed it filled again to make it so no need to plug it then.

 

[KnurledNut]

He calmly walked over, asked a few questions took a quick look, and I will never forget, said: "Don't worry, I'm a professional." and proceed to kick the ever living sh!t out of the wheel for the next 2 minutes. With this nice new Volvo violently shaking and this this family looked on in abject horror while this stranger assaulted their car... Once the hub broke loose they thanked him and we continued on our way.

Had to do the same thing to a Volvo. Apparently thats common.

 

[ecotec]

We have all had to kick a tire or whack one with a gigantic mallet from behind. Usually, it is just one or two kicks or whacks with a huge mallet.

Two minutes, to me, implies that he had never taken the wheels off his Volvo.

 

[littlebean]

once stopped to help an elderly gentleman who was taking his grandkids home in his daughters car
he was struggling because he couldn't get the hub cap off to change wheels after a puncture
he'd really tried though which meant I had to come up with some 'creative' explaining so he didn't feel bad as the car had alloys........

 

[lardy1]

I keep a cheap set of combination wrenches, multi-bit driver, adjustable wrench, gloves, rags and some other things in both vehicles. We drive newer vehicles so they really don't get used but they're there if needed.

Our Harleys both are far better equipped with tools. Anyone that rides one knows why. But, to be honest, I've let others with no tools on their bikes use mine more than I've used them myself. But I like the peace of mind of knowing they're with us if we need them.

 

[RTM]

Way back in ‘76-7, I’d just started driving, worked on a used car lot. We had a huge rain, flooded intersections, and I knew how to dry out distributors w WD40, a precious and expensive commodity back then.

Driving home, saw a car sitting in a flooded left turn lane, flashers on. “Stalled, won’t restart”. Grabbed a rag, the spray can, and a screwdriver. Climbed up on the bumper, leaned way in to get to the 350s distro, popped the cap, shook the water out, dried with a rag, sprayed WD, reassembled, started immediately.

Back in the car with a smile about 3 minutes later. He offered $, I think I took it, was very poor back then. Huge sense of satisfaction.

 

[Wubicon]

We have all had to kick a tire or whack one with a gigantic mallet from behind. Usually, it is just one or two kicks or whacks with a huge mallet.

Two minutes, to me, implies that he had never taken the wheels off his Volvo.

I forgot to mention they had the owners manual out and were rereading the steps on how to put the spare on.

 

[ecotec]

I forgot to mention they had the owners manual out and were rereading the steps on how to put the spare on.

Wow. How do you get to adulthood without ever having changed a tire? I changed so many when I was young.

 

[Steel_Rain]

I've helped many folks with my roadside kits. I keep them in every car, mostly for others.

Wow. How do you get to adulthood without ever having changed a tire? I changed so many when I was young.

Just a few weeks ago I helped a bunch of guys in an Audi A4 with a flat. The biggest trouble they had was the lug cap covers. They had no idea the covers weren't the actual wheel bolts, and they didn't have the lug cap puller(yea, that's a thing with German cars). My 8 y/o son was with me and I had him remove the lug caps, lift the car with my HD scissor jack and help me cut the excess rope plug off the thread block with dikes. The guys were impressed and I told them I bet they wish they're Dad did the same for them.

 

[bwringer]

I ride motorcycles everywhere and all the time, so I carry a pretty decent selection of tools and whatnot everywhere I go. Reasonably well-maintained modern motorcycles are as reliable as any four-wheeled transportation appliance, but if something goes wrong, you are well and truly on your own and far from help, in a way that's utterly alien to folks driving Chevys. Not to mention, the best roads are out where the people (and cell towers) ain't.

I'd say 90-95% of the time, maybe more, my tools and supplies are deployed on OPM (Other People's Motorcycles).

My opinion is that the bare minimum for a rider is to carry a means of plugging a tire puncture and putting air back into the tire; this is the most common issue on the road by far, and it's not something that's really within your control.

I carry an air pump powered by the bike battery on all rides. For bikes with tubeless tires, I carry a Nealey puncture repair kit; these are IMnsHO the best on the planet; they're a sticky string style plug that requires no glue, and is installed in such a manner that you end up with four thicknesses of sticky string in the hole, making them extremely adaptable.

Home | Nealey Kool Tools

www.nealeytirerepairkit.com

And on bikes with tubes, I carry spare tubes (two; ye krustee olde byker legende of stuffing a front tube in the rear just plain doesn't work for more than a few miles, plus it dooms you to performing the task twice) and tire irons, etc. as well as a wee puncture kit as a "plan C".

I also end up carrying a few tools that my bikes don't use. For example, I have a 13mm socket and some torx bits for my friends with Euro bikes, even though my Japanese bikes don't use 'em.

 

[Steve W.]

For bikes with tubeless tires, I carry a Nealey puncture repair kit; these are IMnsHO the best on the planet; they're a sticky string style plug that requires no glue, and is installed in such a manner that you end up with four thicknesses of sticky string in the hole, making them extremely adaptable.

Home | Nealey Kool Tools

www.nealeytirerepairkit.com

You convinced me of that a few years ago at our annual get-together, I now have a couple kits for my bikes, too.

.

 

[dcg9381]

We have a variety of opinions here: the AAA and credit card only group, the whole garage in the trunk people, and everything in between. Personally, I have helped others on several occasions and rescued myself many times because of having some basic tools in tow.
Any such memorable experiences from you guys?

Depends on the vehicle. 2 door sports car, I keep a jump box and that's it.

Truck, it's a portable tool box with a Makita impact, axle jack, lug kit for all lugs, vice grips, compressor, screwdrivers, basic wrenches, tire plug kit, voltmeter, etc and that's just "around town". Enough tools to handle "reasonable" trailer bearing failures or change a tire on a heavy 5th wheel.

It depends on where I am... Within 2 miles of home, if you're on the side of the road, I'll likely stop. Filled up a tire on an MB - retiree that had a flat. 1990s Rover parked on the side of the road, I went and fetched 2 gallons of water for his radiator, got him home. I don't mind.


Funny, neighbor with an "attractive" wife.. Wife was pulling a trailer home, called the husband to say that the trailer had come off and was on a chain. He looked at me and said "she'll be fine" - she's in a skirt and boots.... We took a drive down the road and sure enough 3 different men had already stopped to "resolve" the issue.

 

[DAustin]

Depends on the vehicle. 2 door sports car, I keep a jump box and that's it.

Truck, it's a portable tool box with a Makita impact, axle jack, lug kit for all lugs, vice grips, compressor, screwdrivers, basic wrenches, tire plug kit, voltmeter, etc and that's just "around town". Enough tools to handle "reasonable" trailer bearing failures or change a tire on a heavy 5th wheel.

It depends on where I am... Within 2 miles of home, if you're on the side of the road, I'll likely stop. Filled up a tire on an MB - retiree that had a flat. 1990s Rover parked on the side of the road, I went and fetched 2 gallons of water for his radiator, got him home. I don't mind.


Funny, neighbor with an "attractive" wife.. Wife was pulling a trailer home, called the husband to say that the trailer had come off and was on a chain. He looked at me and said "she'll be fine" - she's in a skirt and boots.... We took a drive down the road and sure enough 3 different men had already stopped to "resolve" the issue.

Was that pulling a trailer or a train? Asking for a friend.