You’re gearing up to go on an amazing cross-country road trip with your best friends. You’ve whipped together a killer 100-hour playlist, mapped out your route, and taken your car into the shop for a check-up. But there’s a little voice inside your head that keeps saying, “what if.”
“What if we get a flat tire? What if we get stuck in a ditch? What if we have no cell signal and can’t call CAA/AAA?”
Any major convenience/hardware store can supply you with a standard roadside emergency kit, but for those of us who like to be prepared for anything, it’s necessary to supplement.
Before you hit the road, here is everything you should have stocked in your roadside emergency kit:
Jumper cables
To use:
- Place both cars in park or neutral and shut off the engines in both.
- Attach one of the red jumper cable clips to the positive terminal of the dead battery.
- Attach the other red jumper clip to the positive battery terminal of the working car.
- Attach one of the black jumper cable clips to the negative terminal of the working car.
- Attach the other black clip to an unpainted metal surface on the dead battery’s car that is not near the battery.
- Start the working vehicle and let it run for a few minutes.
- Try to start the *dead* car.
Flares or triangle reflectors
Motor Oil
- And know where to put it.
Coolant
- Know where to put this too.
Blanket
Flashlight / Lightsticks
- Extra batteries are always a good idea.
Tool kit with pliers, wrench, pocket knife, and screwdrivers
A can of tire inflator and sealant such as Fix-a-Flat
- Quickly research how to use this beforehand.
Tire pressure gauge
- To test your tire pressure, remove the valve cap from one of your tires. Place the pressure gauge on the valve stem and press down so that the hiss sound goes away and your gauge gives you a reading.
- Know your car’s recommended psi (pounds per square inch).
Paper towels
Granola Bars
Ice Scraper
Pen & Paper
Bottled water
First Aid Kit
- Band-aids
- Tensor bandages
- Thermometer
- Cotton-Tipped Swabs
- Anti-itch lotion for insect bites / minor irritiations
- Antiseptic ointment for cleansing wounds
- Face mask
- Latex Gloves
- Clean towel
- Chemical Ice Pack
- Ibuprofen
- Fever Reducer
- Antihistamine
- Antidiarrheal
- Eye drops
Wire/ Zip Ties
Duct Tape
Rags
Plastic Poncho
Extra fuses & fuse puller
- To change a fuse, locate the fuse panel on your car (the owner’s manual will tell you where this is). Find the faulty fuse and remove it. Replace the blown fuse with a new fuse of the same amperage. Check the circuit to make sure it is working.
