Driving Prepared: 3 Must-Have Boot Tools For Fixing Common Car Problems & How They Can Keep You On The Road Without A Mechanic
Have you ever noticed how country music is always about some guy whose wife, dog, and farmhands all left him?
With all this progress lately on self-driving cars, I assume his truck will be leaving soon, too.
I’m just kidding, probably, we don’t need to worry too much about our cars driving themselves away any time soon… I hope.
If that starts to happen, you can be sure that I’ll write more about it, maybe we can come up with some way to prevent it — and you’ll be reading that in the next one.
For today, I want to talk about how to keep your car moving, even after some kind of accident or breakdown, because no one likes being stuck on the side of the road.
It should be noted that this won’t include any great tips for keeping your car mobile if you’ve just been in a car crash. These tips are more focused on mechanical incidents, such as flat tyres, blown fuses, and so on.
If you’ve been in a car crash, then your first concern should be the safety of yourself and anyone else on the scene, then the safety of drivers on the road, and then getting the accident reported and dealt with.
However, if you’ve just pulled over because a light is flashing on your dash or your tyres are making a funny sound, then maybe I can help.
Though, for preference, it’s a lot better to be prepared in advance, and I hope you’re not reading this on the side of the road, and looking for an instant solution.
I might have an instant solution for some problems, but typically, they require at least a little bit of preparation to be sure that you have the right tool or replacement parts on hand.
These are the 3 simple tools that I always keep in my boot, and they can help you to face and fix a whole range of common car problems.
1. Emergency Power, Air & Light
While there are many types of emergency that you can have on the road, many of them can be solved (or at least helped) by one of these three things.
You can, of course, keep a battery pack, air compressor, and flashlight in your trunk — or you can pick up a multipack that does all three and save yourself a little space.
Whichever way you go about it, be sure to have a way to shine a light on the situation, to plug in your phone or other devices if they need an emergency charge, and a way to fill your tyres if they’re low or flat.
Using an all-in-one typically means more battery power for all of the options, and it’s easier to recharge, but as long as you’ve got a way to cover all three areas of concern, you’re good to go.
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For bonus points, you could also carry a tyre patch kit. They’re pretty easy to use with a little practice, and they can help to seal up punctures caused by screws, nails, or other sharp bits.
However, if you use a patch kit, you will absolutely need a tyre pump afterwards, because you lose a lot of air in the process.
2. Fuses, Fuse Pullers & Cables
If you’re having a problem with your car, and it’s not caused by your tyres, chances are that it’s electrical.
While most electrical problems will require a mechanic, there is a basic set of issues that can be easily solved in moments. So let’s hope it’s just a blown fuse.
Here’s the thing, though, unless you know what you’re doing, or you brought along a tester, it’s hard to know which fuse might be blown without pulling them all out.
A little bit of mechanical savvy or an electrical tester tool can be your best friend here, allowing you to quickly find which fuse is blown, and be back on your way.
Well, as long as you’re also carrying spare fuses, and probably a fuse puller.
If you’re driving an older vehicle, or have really tiny hands, you may not absolutely need the fuse puller, but for any car made in the last 30 years, or anyone with larger hands, they’re basically a necessity.
Lastly, for bonus points, if you’re carrying booster cables, you can also help out anyone who’s stuck with a dead battery, or get help if your own battery goes dead — possibly after leaving the lights on, or the door open.
3. Empty Fuel Can
The final and easiest part of our essential repair kit is one that you should never really need… but it is nice to be prepared.
If you pay attention to your fuel gauge, you should never run out, but life is funny that way.
I’ve found, in my personal experience, that the more prepared I am for a bad situation, the less likely it is to happen, and I think that’s absolutely great.
It’s probably some kind of confirmation bias or whatever, but as far as I’m concerned, being prepared in advance basically reduces the risk of a problem happening in the first place.
That’s why I always carry an empty fuel can around, just in case I run out and need to walk to a petrol station for more. As long as I’ve had the can in the back, I’ve never run out of fuel — though I have lent it out to others, so it’s still come in handy.
I could be wrong about how being prepared actually somehow reduces the risk of a problem occurring in the first place — but I’m not going to take the chance.
I just know that the first time I leave home without spare fuses and an air compressor in my trunk, that’s when I’m going to need them.
You can’t catch me that easily, I’ve got a whole boot worth of space to keep a few emergency supplies, and I don’t leave home without them.
