Thought about this after reading L'escargot's post in the spare wheel thread regarding carrying a torque wrench in the car as a part of a get you home toolkit he keeps in his car. This reminded me of something I used to do religiously, but somehow drifted away from.
In my early motoring career, I used to carry a big cantilever toolbox in the boot. This toolkit was pretty comprehensive, with a range of sockets, screwdrivers, pliers, cutters, and spanners, as well as spare hose clips, fuses, self tapping screws, bulbs, a spare HT lead and spark plug, and other assorted paraphernalia that "might come in handy". I used this toolkit once, when the fuel line on my Sierra split under the hose clip at the carburettor end. I disconnected the pipe, lopped off quarter of an inch, and refitted it, at the side of the A34 somewhere in Hampshire, being happily on my way inside of 5 minutes, with no major inconvenience.
Nowadays, I carry nothing in the car, apart from whatever tools are supplied by the manufacturer, and I can't really remember how this change of attitude came about. If I'm driving on the continent, I chuck whatever bits in are required by law there, but here, I just don't bother.
I don't know if this is because modern cars are so DIY unfriendly, generally more reliable (although my first few cars were 80's manufactured and no less dependable than today's equivalents), or because I am simply lazy and enjoy the luxuries of a mobile phone and breakdown cover these days. In the case of the Sierra, even though the toolkit got me out of trouble that day, I shudder now to think that I kept three figures worth of tools in a car which could be opened in about 2 seconds with a plastic ruler....
What are your own thoughts on this? Do you keep tools in the car? Have your attitudes changed over the years? Would be interested to hear.
Cheers
DP
Last edited by: DP on Wed 16 May 12 at 09:22
|
Very much the same as you DP, but it always seems strange to me that as modern cars have become more reliable, more people seem to have the safety net of Breakdown cover.
No wonder those companies are doing well.
Pat
|
As a yoof, I had no breakdown cover so the only way to get the car home was to get it fixed there and then. So yes I had an extensive toolkit and spares in the boot. Then I became a company car driver so all I had was the number of the leasing company and car hire company.
Now, I get free recovery to a garage with my back account. So in the boot I have a socket set, a spanner set, a screwdriver set, and some tape. And a Torque wrench to get the Wheel nuts on and off.
|
As Z, i couldn't afford breakdown cover so made sure i could fix most likely things if they happened, always carried a spare fan belt, a couple of plugs, points and condenser, and a reasonable selection of tools.
Course i maintained my cars well seeing as i didn't want them to break down in the first place, luckily i discovered Diesels in the early 80's when they were simple so breakdowns were not a problem.
These days i carry enough tools for bulb changes, and thats about it.
I make sure the wheelbrace and jack are up to the job, and i recheck the wheel bolts at the earliest convenience if anyone else has touched them, these days i can afford good breakdown cover.
If a modern car or truck really does break down the chances of a roadside fix by me is pretty remote (and increasingly rare by breakdown service) so no point in carrying a full toolbox.
|
|
Same here I didn't have any breakdown cover.Always carried a spare toolbox when I drove the old Kubelwagen.They never broke down do.>:) I have got a full spare tyre in the Focus.Decent jack and bits I need for driving abroad.Full breakdown cover for here and the continent.To complex to fix a modern diesel.
|
|
In addition to whatever the car came with, I carry one of those extending wheel nut spanners, a can of Tyreweld, WD40 and a Leatherman multi-tool thing.
|
Socket set and other basic tools including a tommy bar for wheel nuts lives in car.
Rarely used other than to secure loose electrical connections I cannot remember last time I did a more involved roadside repair. But it's a sensible place to keep them.
Always have set of bulbs in both cars though together with water, oil, screenwash and (in the Xantia) LHM. LHM has been used occasionaly if there's a minor leak.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Wed 16 May 12 at 10:27
|
Just like you GB
I think I am set up for bulb change, wheel change and volts change :-)
The rest is optimism.
So a full set of bulbs and a fat screw driver for headlamp job.
Extending wheel nut remover.
Long fat jumper leads but it seems I am the one supplying the volts.
Small LED torch, head LED torch, heavy gloves, surgeon gloves and a poncho with a hood.
2/3 black sacks, Kitchen roll and tiny amout of Swarfega.
Roll of electrical tape, hose bandage, a couple of screwdivers and a pair of pliers.
Thats the optimism bit.
All tucked away in the spare wheel well.
|
|
Henry your collection of torches, tapes, bandges, black sacks and surgeon gloves is likely to lead to a forensic search of your car and an extended interview with Japp of the Yard if plod ever asks to look in the boot..:-)
|
>> Henry your collection of torches, tapes, bandges, black sacks and surgeon gloves is likely to lead to a forensic search of your car and an extended interview with Japp of the Yard if plod ever asks to look in the boot..:-)
>>
Good thinking :-)
Then I had better get rid of the face mask and a black balaclava
|
face mask and a black balaclava :-)))
|
|
I've got a Draper wiper arm removal tool in my glovebox. Better safe than sorry.
|
I've always had a box of one kind or another bungee'd up against the rear seat backs in my boot. When I was 18 it was a cardboard crate containing tool rolls, bottles of water, oil and brake fluid, and spare parts. By 25 the box was made from wood and held two enormous bass speakers. These days it's a lidded Addis plastic job with muddy walking boots in.
Like others here, I find that the silly little failures like split hoses or loose electrical plugs just don't happen any more.
Last edited by: Dave_TDCi on Wed 16 May 12 at 11:04
|
I carry a tow rope, given to me years ago as a joke by a mate after I bought a Lada.
Not sure why, I've never used it, although it might come in handy in the winter if a kind soul is prepared to drag me through some snow.
|
|
On the bike (Norton) I used an old army shoulder bag to carry sufficient spanners to repair at the road side. Like removing cylinder head and replacing valve springs. Not quite so bothered now breakdown services can be afforded:) Litre of oil, bottle of screen wash, torch, bulbs and extending wheel brace in the recess above emergency tyre. Must get a new first aid kit though: I'd chucked out the old one. And a fire extinguisher! Wish I hadn't started on this:)
|
I was somewhat tickled to find that permanently logged in the car's internal telephone directory is a direct dial to Mercedes UK.
"I say, now look here, damn chariot's broken ! Could you send a mechanic chappy to sort it out lickety split will you there's a good girl...what?..."
:-)
|
|
BMW remind you that you bought the poverty spec model / were stingy with the options, by having this option available on the i-Drive menu, and then displaying "not available" with almost joyful glee if you try to select it. :-)
|
I drive a Toyota.
Wat's a tool kit? Is it for tools? (as in the human kind)
Last edited by: madf on Wed 16 May 12 at 11:57
|
>> a direct dial to Mercedes UK
I'm sure one of the hypercars (might have been the McMerc SLR) would automatically call HQ if it broke down, with its location and the nature of the fault. A technician would immediately be dispatched :)
|
Don't carry one as its extra weight to lug around. Never had to use one and if anything major fell off such as an exhaust end box, a spanner ain't gonna fix it. I'll call Green Flag for that.
I do carry a few tie wraps and a length of wire though.
|
|
Nothing but an AA card and hope in my heart.
|
>> I'm sure one of the hypercars (might have been the McMerc SLR) would automatically call
>> HQ if it broke down, with its location and the nature of the fault. A
>> technician would immediately be dispatched :)
My BMW will automatically dial the emergency service with the GPS location in the event of a crash.
|
Previous BMWs I have had would apparently call the emergency services in the event of an accident that deployed an airbag; they also had an 'SOS' button up by the rear view mirror, though I never tested either function...
Edit...beaten to it :-)
Peter
Last edited by: PeterS on Wed 16 May 12 at 13:23
|
>> On the bike (Norton) I used an old army shoulder bag to carry sufficient spanners
>> to repair at the road side. Like removing cylinder head and replacing valve springs. Not
>> quite so bothered now breakdown services can be afforded:)
Ditto, though the sidevalve Harley is blessed with a commodious toolbox. Apart from the obligatory spanners, screwdrivers, pliers and a long 7/16 Allen key for removing the wheels in the event of a puncture, I am never without a metal tin containing spare spark plug, roll of insulating tape, spare split link, feeler gauges, length of electrical wire, few assorted nuts , washers and split pins; and of course a slack handful of zip-ties. On longer trips, a set of bulbs in the luggage, as it's 6 volt.
Sounds like a lot but packs down quite small. Probably wouldn't need the fasteners were it not for the fact that imperial stuff isn't so readily available these days.
On the modern Harley, and in the car, the only toolkit is a piece of plastic in me wallet; as much an affirmation of their reliability as an admission that if either did break down there'd be very little I could do at the roadside. the old 'uns are equally reliable but there's a perverse streak in every classic vehicle owner that forces them to fix the beast themselves first, or try to.
Last edited by: Harleyman on Wed 16 May 12 at 23:31
|
The only thing in my boot (its an estate actually) is the ole woman's shopping bags (+ spare wheel & jack)
And ... like Dutchie, I don't belong to any breakdown service.
In the olde days I would have carried everything inc. the kitchen sink, even carburettors, fuel pumps, distributors,
(a pair of tights!)
The last car that gave me any ag was ... French!
|
>> The last car that gave me any ag was ... French!
On my travels it seems that >90% of cars waiting for recovery on the hardshoulder are French, Italian or Rovers. The rest are mainstream Fords/Vauxhalls. Can't remember the last time I saw a Jap or German car broken down.
|
Seen plenty of VWs on the side of the hard shoulder. Usually chaved up MK4 Golfs.
It is odd when it comes to anything in the house I tend to repair it myself, unless it involves the roof or gas. But when it comes to cars unless its simple servicing or basic electrical repairs I never attempt to fix it.
That said I look after my car to such an extent that I shouldn't need a break down service unless I am unlucky and the aux belt flies off or I get a puncture etc. This thread reminds me, I haven't checked the fluids etc since I had it serviced. Best do it now.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Wed 16 May 12 at 13:51
|
I carry a goodly assortment of tools in the vintage car. Most spanners, screwdrivers and a chain press and spares (car is chain drive and the RAC/AA do not carry spares for 3/4" chain).
Last roadside spannering job was putting carburettor back together after it decided life was too boring in one piece. The passer-by who helped me push the car to the roadside was amazed I was quite happy to do the needed work and not call a recovery firm (job took me all of 5 minutes and oddly for a Morgan, I didn't even get dirty...).
|
I carry a small box of tools. The last couple of times I've needed anything was when a hose started to spray, but a fellow competitor had some self-amalgamating tape that got me through the event and home. The other time was a spectator needed an allen key to put a pedal back on his push-bike.
The tools are mostly used to fix things at other people's places.
|
|
As a youngster I was in the fix it yourself or walk league and carried a comprehensive tool kit. These days it is a multitool gadget, (for the pliers), led torch, extending wheel nut tool and a pair of gloves. The car kit contains a Phillips and flat blade screwdriver and a 10 / 12 mm spanner, needed to remove the headlamp units for a bulb change.
|
Rather like DP and others I used to carry a cantilever tool box and a few other bits. The only way to be sure of getting where you wanted to be.
Now there are a few tools, a footpump, some jump leads and a tow rope in the spare wheel well. Not used them for years. There is often a plastic box in the boot with de-icer, scraper, old jacket and a few ropes/ties although this is left at home if maximum space is needed.
|
Ah yes, I was forgetting the footpumps - one in each car.
An old boy taught me early in my motoring days that a tyre rarely deflates instantly. A pump will get you to a tyre place and they can remove the damn thing.
|
|
I have a canvas tool bag with some open ended spanners, screwdrivers, mole grip, fuses and duct tape. I don't what purpose they may serve! I was checking in my engine bay the other day and I couldn't even see/find my spark plugs! It is a petrol BTW!
|
Both BMWs have a screwdriver and a towing eye...and that's it. The three series has a beuatifully designed little tool box under a carpeted lid in the corner of the boot. The X1 has a tool roll in with the spare wheel.
The GS has a hybrid tool kit from two bikes, in that it carries the original tool kit from my first GS which had a screwdriver, a selection of Torx keys and a couple of spanners all wrapped in a little tool roll (they reckon you can strip the entire bike down with the native tool kit). It also has a tyre repair kit complete with two C02 cannisters. The little Kwaker has a enough tools to adjust the chain and do basic roadside work as well.
The Volvo has a jack and brace and nothing else.
Last edited by: R.P. on Wed 16 May 12 at 16:10
|
|
Oh, and no little re-chargable torches on either BMW car...shame that.
|
|
A guy I knew had a skoda superb. That had an umbrella in a hole in the back door.
|
|
Yep - that would be good !
|
|
I hide a tenner in a cunning place in my car. Comes in handy on the days I forget my wallet. ( quite often )
|
Apparently the Skoda umbrella has been a victim of its own success-cum-novelty. Dealers have found them hard to get, and have been delivering new cars without them. It hasn't helped that the umbrellas themselves seem to be more than usually, ahem, portable.
Our Mercedes has a folding crate that lives under the boot floor and emerges from under a (gas-sprung) flap when I need it. It's out there now, holding two herb plants I bought at lunchtime.
|
I thought that crate thing was for use if one had a sudden urge to try a new wine merchant with premises outwith one's delivery area? Didn't see it as an aid to one's gardener...However, I suppose it doesn't hurt to become a little more inclusive.
:-)
|
I chuck my dirty hunters in it after a walk round the estate...
...car :-)
|
|
Funnily enough I did just that the week before last, although the merchant - where I used to be a regular - was kind enough to box the bottles up for me.
|
>> Funnily enough I did just that the week before last, although the merchant - where
>> I used to be a regular - was kind enough to box the bottles up
>> for me.
For us lesser mortals, a milk crate does the job just as well and holds an awful lot of wine...or in my case , a lot of awful wine.
I also use one, upturned, as a caravan step. Much to the displeasure of the Dragon, who thinks I should lay out 30 quid on a proper one. But, you can also carry bottles in that..without rattling. Dual purpose kit !
Ted
>>
|
>> I hide a tenner in a cunning place in my car. Comes in handy on
>> the days I forget my wallet. ( quite often )
I keep one behind my train season ticket for the same reason.
|
Never without a brolly, but don't leave me silver collared green Fox in the car.
Years ago in the days of log books and 12.5 hour maxiumum working days, before we joined the EU and achieved 15 hour days in the interests of safety, truck drivers would be thumbing all over the place to get home when they ran out of hours.
The log book once raised would see the next truck pulling up to give you a lift could travle miles in no time.
I was known as the driver with the brolly in the 70's in my area cos i always carried one, but always paid the lifts back, wasn't uncommon to have anywhere from one to 4 drivers in my cab on 'dodgy' nights out making their way to home, or someone else's home..;)
I had 4 trade platers in the cab early one morning blasting up the A1 about 70 or so when a pheasant flew up and hit the front, the noise was amazing and not one of the 4 saw it coming cos they were busy gassing, the reactions were great, thought we'd got 4 heart attacks at once..tee hee...pheasant put a massive dent in the front panel, was worth it for the reactions alone..;)
|
Apart from the factory-supplied tools, I only carry :
An extendable wheel brace for the wheel bolts.
A very old (worthless) laptop with VCDS software and diagnostic cable.
A 1p coin to undo the quick release trim-screws in the boot.
|
|
I do have a torque wrench in the car, but it's for doing them up not undoing them. I had one of those cross type wheel wrenches in each car for years, but they are deuced awkward to stow and I came across a version on which two of the arms fold so I carry that now. Other than that and the torque wrench, there's a water pump plier, mole grip, screwdrivers, cable ties and duct tape - a bodger's arsenal - and latex gloves.
Last edited by: VxFan on Sat 19 May 12 at 20:24
|
cable ties and duct tape and latex gloves.
>>
hope you and Henry, who carries similar tools of the trade, run yer own manors MT..:-)
|
|
Yes I guess my intentions could be misinterpreted! (I'm only pretending I know what you mean).
|
In car toolkit - do you carry one? - Pat
