Originally Posted by jk_sea

People carry some pretty incredible amounts of stuff with them. People go to great lenghts to be prepared on-road and on the trail. A lot of what people carry is some pretty ingenious stuff--and a lot of it is experience and encounters with breakdowns where they had everything except the one part/tool/piece of gear that they needed. So, it gets added to the list for the next trip. Then, Murphy (of Murphy's Law) breaks or requires the one thing that nobody has again, and so the list grows. Suddenly a 2-door Jeep that can seat 5 people now only seats 2 people and is piled to the roof with tools, parts, and gear. There will always be people to tell you that you MUST HAVE 'x' tool/gear/thing with you at all times. There are some safe bets to carry with you, and then there are some crazy people that carry some really bizarre things. But hey, they might have needed it so you just never know...

I don't have an exhaustive list of simple/basic tools for you to carry. My best advice is for you to think about the situations you might encounter in your own driving and adventures, and make lists of things, tools, gear, etc that you would need or would be nice to have. For example, what could you reasonable carry with you in the event of: Really think about this. What would you have to have? What would be nice to have? Think about yourself, any passengers, the most basic/boring and also the most extreme conditions and what you would do if:

--Blowing a tire at night, in inclement weather, on a narrow shoulder, with passengers in the vehicle.

--Encountering a "check engine light" /Jeep computer f-up breakdown (i.e. you aren't fixing it on the side of the road) on an interstate in inclement weather (hot OR cold) 100 miles from the nearest town.

--Sliding off the road into a drainage ditch in mud or snow, vehicle is driveable but definitely stuck.

--Encountering a tree fallen across the road on your way down a trail/headed home, that egress being the only way out.

--You or a passenger, or favorite animal companion experiences a minor medical/trauma incident (cuts, scrapes, gashes, fractures, etc) --that can't be solved with a regular sized band-aid.

--Getting lost (on road, or off-road).

--Your battery goes dead. Mall parking lot; or; 100 miles from civilization. Or, encountering someone with a dead battery.

--You run out of fuel. (The credit card machine at the pump is down; or; there is no gas station within reasonable distance and you must negotiate with passers-by)

--You experience a major collision, rollover, or extreme medical emergency and you are hours up a trail and may not be readily accessible by EMS. (you definitely aren't putting the Jeep back together, but how do you communicate with help? What do you do if you have to stay for a night?)

--You experience a minor fluid leak-- gasoline, oil, break/clutch fluid.

--You or a passenger are hungry, thirsty, too hot, or too cold, and you are 100 miles away from civilization

--You experience a minor collision with an object or another vehicle, and your Jeep is still driveable, but lamps may be broken or trim and plastic are hanging off, coolant may be leaking.

--A headlamp goes out while driving in nighttime conditions.

--A fuse or relay blows.

--A window gets busted out.

--You lock your keys in the vehicle, or lose them.

--There's a zillion more ways "Murphy" can absolutely fuck up your trip...keep thinking!

In order to perfectly handle all of these situations, you'd probably need to carry around a u-haul with you full of food, supplies, gear (or multiple travlers with Jeeps loaded to the rooves full of stuff). Focus on the basic and minimal. I did, and I carry a duffel sized bag in the back of my Jeep, plus the compartment at the rear cargo floor is full of stuff, and I've got a few goodies stashed in the center console, mostly for basic on-road situations and light off-road travel. When I go exploring, I bring a lot more tools/supplies but by no means do I have tool chests, drawers, organizers. I bring other people and another rig with me, and together, we've muscled our way out of some tricky situations. Together.

Originally Posted by Sirtreysif

My jeep is not my "daily driver" so I pretty much leave my tools/gear in there. I can take a picture of the setup if you would like. But I carry extra radiator hoses 2 drive belts, u-joints, wd-40, grease, cordless impact, high lift, 2 scissor jacks, full set metric/sae socks, wrenches, also full set screwdriver, pliers. I still have enough room for a 48q cooler and grill in a 2 door.