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What kind of Junk is in the trunk?
I've been thinking for sometime of putting together an emergency pack and storing it in the back of my van. My emergency pack would have redundant essentials;
Spare batts for flashlights
Spare flashlight
Spare tactical knife
Back-up ammo
etc.
So what kind of junk are you keeping in your trunk?
*Disclaimer* This isn't my car, etc. This is just some pic I found on the internet, etc.
DCG
Tool kit, first aid kit (a good one), jumper cables, bottle jack, zip ties, bungee cords, duct tape, a bit of food, some bottles of water that get rotated out regularly. There are probably at least 3 flashlights back there right now, a knife, batteries. Some extra fluids for the vehicle.
And dive fins, a snorkel set, and 3 prong fishing spear.
This is unique. I have thought about maybe a fishing pole and a light tackle set but I thought it might be a bit obsessive. In worst case scenarios, this would get you through if you had to survive in an independent manner.Quote:
Originally Posted by buckeyeLCPL
Great list.
Thanks for sharing.
DCG
Actually, I'm based in Hawaii right now, and spear fishing is one of my favorite off time activities. So I just keep it in their because there isn't space in my barracks room. I don't think spear fishing is the most economic method when it comes to exertion compared to an average catch. I think that for people on the mainland, a simple fishing pole that is easy to break down isn't a bad idea. Or at least some fishing line, hooks, and weights, since you could cut a pole yourself.
in my personal vehicle i have flashlights, first aid, spare ammo for the 12 gauge, 7 birdshot and 00 buck, spare ammo for each carry gun, just 2 boxes each caliber. two AK mags. 12 gauge when i am in that vehicle. Work vehicle, I have my patrol bag, obviously all the paperwork/safety vests i may need, in addition to a shotgun, ammo for my duty weapon preloaded into mags, shotgun shells, 00 buck only, 3 flashlights, batteries/bulbs for each light, spare radio batteries, spare phone batteries, back up crank radio, and my trunk monkey who goes from vehicle to vehicle with me, in both vehicles i have enough MRE's and bottled water/gatorade to last for three weeks.
Back when I was stationed in California and used to run back and forth to Reno and Lake Tahoe a lot I always carried a sleeping bag, blankets, a couple of candles and water just in case I got stranded or snowed in. now that I am in North Carolina about the only thing things I carry are spare ammo for my EDC a couple of flares and a set of triangles.
I carry a bug out bag with the following items:2boxes of 9mm ranger ammo,100 rounds of .22.,.22 pistol,3pair socks,2pair underwear,3 bottles water,2days food,first aid kit,snakebite kit,(I live in Texas),small spool fishing line,hooks,In trunk:tool kit,jumper cables,twine,rope,entrenching tool,
If i go somewhere on vacation I toss in my AK and 5 loaded 30round mags and of course I always have my glock19 with me.
I have a decent small extinguisher, a pair of fire gloves and a pair of work gloves, a small trauma bag, a compressor and a tire plug kit, flares and lightsticks, light and spare batteries, a tomahawk, an AK bayonet, a reflective vest, an umbrella, a small tool kit, firestarter, a space blanket, and a box of 9mm ammo.
In addition to the above items cited by many of you - preparations for true emergencies - it's also good to simply pack for the conveniences of daily life and/or short-term comfort. This past winter's snowstorm stranding motorists in Metro Chicago spurred a fellow XDTalk member to share with us his wife's experiences, and I've learned from that to also pack in our vehicles a set of winter boots for everyone is essential to those of us who live in colder areas, and particularly for females, a "portable toilet device," is a great morale booster.
Having a 5-and-1/2 year-old means that we also have a lot of potable water and ready-to-go snacks in the car, and that is a great short-term supplement to the emergency rations in the trunk. :smile:
Remember that it's not only about surviving SHTF emergencies - it's also about getting through "inconveniences" and "minor emergencies," too. :smile:
For those of you who pack batteries/flashlights, please remember to check them as you would your spare tire's pressure and your emergency rations' expiration dates. Even Surefire's lithium cells have a finite life. Extra cell-phone batteries are a good thing to have, but they typically lose their charge rather quickly, and unless you are good about caring for them, it's often more efficient to keep a 12V car-charger adapter and/or solar-charger in the emergency kit.
Tote bins help keep it organized. My buddy has several duffel bags of different varying colors. The red is all first aid, the yellow, flashlights, communications, electronics, batteries, the brown, tools or anything grouped in that category. He has winter bags with shovel, emergency blanket, sterno, fire-starters, survival knife, rations, etc. Makes McGyver look like a school kid. LOL
I really like the color coded scheme your friend subscribes to, etc. I've been thinking about the way I want to organize things and I may employ this in my system. Thanks for sharing. :-)Quote:
Originally Posted by Gunsmoke16
I've thought about this too. I'd like to keep some 123s in storage and realize they have a long shelf-life but I also realize that the change in temperature that they will undergo from being in the back of my van will shorten this shelf-life.Quote:
Originally Posted by TSiWRX
Does anyone know how often someone should check their batts that are stored in the back of a car?
DCG
For color coding I use different colored 550 cord to make zipper pulls on the bags I have. day glow orange for medical for example.
I don't know about battery life on 123s, but they are relatively cheap. I use the battery holder from Countycomm dot com and only keep four of them stored.
I wish I knew a way - unfortunately, I don't. If someone could school me on this (short of using a multimeter, which I actually do know how to do :smile:), I'd appreciate it! :smile:Quote:
Originally Posted by DefConGun
From experience, I know that they last at least 4 years, in my climate (NE-Ohio) and with my storage methods (in the trunk, in the flashlight, tail-cap locked-out). I change them out after that time, just to be safe, rotating the old batteries to one of my low-consumption utility-use flashlights.
Thanks for the website. A lot of things on here that I was not aware of before now. This will help me formulate a setup.Quote:
Originally Posted by Superhouse 15
DCG