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14 Top Road Trip Tool Bag Essentials
Now that summer is here, many families will be preparing to head away in the car for a spell.
Realistically, we always recommend having some kind of roadside assistance subscription that covers your vehicle and allows for trailer towing (for times when you’re heading away with a caravan). This means that in the event of a serious mechanical failure or a critical issue, you’ve always got that option.
Roadside assistance and towing is great, but for some minor issues on the road, having a well planned tool kit will save you time, money and a lot of stress. We’ve listed a few must-have tools for a standard road trip tool kit. It’s impossible to prepare for every scenario, but this will give you a great place to start.
First Aid Kit
Many vehicles come from the factory with some kind of first aid kit, but if you haven’t got one, they’re invaluable. Splinters while camping, minor burns and grazes, insect bites and more can be effectively treated out in the field before an infection occurs, preventing a minor incident from turning into a hospital trip, or worse. Depending on where you’re travelling, eyedrops, a snake bite kit, mosquito repellant, antiseptic cream, ponchos and more are potential add-ons to consider.
Flat and Phillips Screwdrivers
Useful for all sorts of odd-jobs, such as tightening loose fasteners. Save space by getting a single screwdriver with replacement bits. There are even options for screwdrivers with bit storage in the handle. Flat head screwdrivers can be used as a pry bar, and many come with a striking handle for use on stuck or rusty hardware.
Adjustable Spanner
There’s not much that the humble spanner can’t help with. You want to choose a size that is just right. Too small won’t be useful for stubborn jobs, while too big will be heavy and awkward to use in tight areas, such as under the bonnet of a vehicle, or inside a caravan. Adjustable spanners are great for gas bottle fittings, snugging up loose fasteners and in a pinch, can be used as a hammer or as a tool to bend sheet metal.
Zip Ties
Useful for tidying cables, repairing cracked components, and securing items. Buy a multipack with a few different sizes and bring a pinch of each size along. They can be chained together to help solve larger issues on the road. When using cable ties, either leave the tail on them or cut them as flush as you can. Sharp cable tie ends have caused plenty of injuries over the years. Pro tip: Use one of your cable ties to wrap around the rest of them, each time you use a cable tie, snug it up a little tighter to keep everything nice and tidy.
Tape
Bring along some electrical tape and also something a bit sturdier, such as water resistant duct tape. Windows can be held up with tape, and leaking containers of liquid can be temporarily patched up with tape to slow down leaks. Electrical tape and twisting wires together can be used to temporarily Macgyver yourself out of a sticky situation.
Pliers
A good set of long nose pliers as well as a pair of vise-grip locking pliers will be invaluable for recovering dropped items between seats, pulling fuses and bending sheetmetal back after an off-road indiscretion.
Hammer
A medium sized ball-pein hammer has come to the rescue of many stranded motorists. It’s particularly useful in straightening dented and damaged exhaust heat shields, bent mudguards, putting in tent stakes and generally hitting things.
Knife
No need to go full Crocodile Dundee but a small knife can be used to cut cable tie ends, remove splinters, strip wiring, undo coin-style battery compartments and more. Depending on where you’re travelling, carrying a knife may be an offence, so make sure you check ahead. A folding utility knife with replaceable blades is ideal. The blades can even be used as scrapers to remove stickers and gasket material.
Tyre Pressure Gauge
A simple, inexpensive tyre pressure gauge can be left permanently in the glove compartment in your car, regardless of whether you’re heading away or not. Tyre pressures ought to be checked once a month, or before any long trip away, or first thing in the morning before leaving camp.
Tyre Plug Kit
One of the main reasons for a breakdown while on a trip is a punctured tyre, resulting in a flat. Stay ahead of the issue by grabbing a few tyre plugs. These are a sticky roll of rubber that can be used to seal a punctured tyre. Of course, you’ll need something to inflate your tyre afterwards. Or just change to your spare tyre.
Air Compressor
If you’re going offroad, or you’re travelling on gravel surfaces on your trip, it’s smart to adjust your tyre pressures to suit the conditions. Deflating tyres is easy, but having tools to re-inflate them so you can get back up to speed upon returning to better road surfaces is critical. There are options for plug in 12v compressors, battery-powered compressors and foot compressors that don’t take up much space or weight.
Jump Pack/Portable Charger
Honestly, some jumper leads would work too, but that’s so last season. Modern jumper packs can easily put out 1000 amps or more, providing plenty of oomph to start big grumpy engines. Some jump packs even include USB ports for device and accessory charging.
Torch
Murphy’s Law states "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time." That essentially means; at night, covered in mud, in the middle of nowhere. Even if you don’t have an issue at night, a torch is useful for peering under your vehicle, into an engine bay, inside cabinets or under seats. Grab a light with a metal body and weather sealing for a few dollars extra. Extra points for a torch with a magnet to help keep the light pointed where you need it.
Vehicle Specific Tools and Parts
Most manufacturers have a small tool kit in the vehicle already, which should have everything you need to jack the vehicle up and change a tyre, but you might also consider spare headlight bulbs, and a handful of fuses, especially if your vehicle has aftermarket accessories added, such as driving lights, radios and more. For recommendations on vehicle-specific tools you might need, chat to the team at Donnellans or visit internet forums specialising in your vehicle.
Extras
Depending how long you’re travelling for, the age of your vehicle, and where you’re going will heavily influence what else you feel the need to pack. For example, one of our team never goes anywhere without a spare fuel pump relay and an alternator drive belt, such are the dramas associated with road tripping a 30 year old vehicle. For extra-remote travel, buying or hiring an EPIRB or satellite phone can be a literal lifesaver.
Most of the items we’ve listed can fit in a small, inexpensive tool bag along with a few rags or a pair of work gloves and shouldn’t add too much weight. Depending on your vehicle, most of this gear can fit under a seat or tucked away in a corner of the boot.
Realistically, there are a hundred more things you could add to a tool kit, like a socket set, but at what point do you decide it’s quicker and easier to just call in your roadside assistance service? Building up the perfect tool kit is something that can only be done through experience and intimate familiarity of your vehicle, caravan, and whatever else you routinely take with you.
In the Event of a Breakdown
In the event that you have an issue on the road, it’s important to stay calm and collect your thoughts. Frustrating as breaking down is, your first priority is to get your passengers and vehicle out of harm's way, making sure you’re out of the way of traffic. If stranded in traffic, never turn your back to oncoming vehicles. In remote areas, stay with your vehicle, because from the air, a vehicle is much larger and easier to spot.
Pre Trip Inspections
If you’re planning a trip away, make sure that your vehicle is in the best shape possible with a pre-trip inspection and service from Donnellans, the Tyremen. We have 4 locations that are able to help out with advice, information and top-tier products.
Donnellans The Tyremen
With 4 convenient locations, come and see the team at Donnellans today!
Blackburn
Collingwood
Preston
Balwyn
