One of the most common questions we’re asked is what gear do we always keep in the truck, well here’s your answer.
I’m pretty lucky, driving the Land Cruiser and having a set of ARB Outback Drawers really makes it easy for me to carry a lot of gear on a day to day basis. With this plethora of easy to access storage space, I can pretty much keep everything I need in the truck short of a dishwasher.
Tools:
I’ve seen Land Rover guys carry around enough tools to make a master ASE mechanic jealous, but for me I just like to keep the basics on board because things can still break on Toyota’s. Yet if you’re like me, you’ll spend more time using them on Tony’s your buddy’s truck on the trail, mainly because they never bring tools.
- Matco Screw Driver Set (Phillips and Flathead)
- Matco 1/4″ Flex Head Ratchet
- Matco 3/8″ Ratchet
- Matco 1/4″ Metric Sockets
- Matco 3/8″ Metric Sockets
- Matco Diagonal Cutters
- Matco Pliers
- Matco Ratcheting Wrench Metric Set
- Jumper Cables
- Tire Patch Kit
- On Board Air Accessories
Recovery Gear:
You just never know when you’re going to have to break out your recovery gear. From pulling your neighbors rear wheel drive German sled out of a ditch during a snowstorm to winching a broken down Land Rover car onto a trailer, your recovery kit will always find a use.
- ARB Kinetic Recovery Strap
- ARB Tree Strap
- Soft Shackles
- Warn Winch Remote
First Aid Kit:
You should have a first aid in your truck, enough said. The next time you’re tailgating and the hot girl in flip flops cuts her foot on some glass, you get to play hero – you don’t need to thank me for introducing you to your future wife. All you need is something small and simple.
Extra Parts:
If you drive a VW Westfalia then this packing list includes axles and drive shafts – if you drive something less-needy (meaning you don’t hate yourself) then it should mostly be extra filters and some fluids.
- Toyota Engine Air Filter
- Toyota In Cabin Air Filter
- 1 quart Mobile 1 0w-20 Motor Oil
This is pretty much all of the items I keep on hand as part of my basic every day carry for the truck, let us know what you carry, or what you think I might have missed.
Could you tell us a little about the round zippered cases you for your jumper cables and air hose? They look perfect for this use.
I carry a similar kit in my Toyota but added a small plastic box with a handful of nuts,bolts,washers a few sheet metal screws and a few hose clamps. Over the years I’ve been surprised how often I’ve needed items from this little case, oh ya’ I also keep a few coat hangers under the bed-mat.
Isn’t it nice to not need a hundreds of lbs of tools and spares? I can’t believe more people don’t drive a Toyota 🙂
I use Bucket Boss Jumper Cable bags for storing my jumper cables and air line. They work great and are the perfect size to hold multiple pieces of kit.
soft shackes have an 18000 lb BREAK, which equates to a 2.25 ton wwl. a medium grade 3/4 bow is 4.75 and a high grade is 7. also they cant take abrasion or cutting well, from things like… the cheap arb 3/8 thick recovery points of the unequipped truck youre pulling out. while convenient and i carry one, they arnt a bow shackle replacement, now matter how they are being sold. well, you cant use a bow shackle as a dog collar for kinky sex, so there are some exclusive uses.
The soft shackles we use have a Working Load Limit of 18,000 lbs, testing has shown them to fail at around 25,000 lbs after being continuously cycled to 25,000 lbs over 70 times without a cool down period.
We’re not saying shackles are the greatest thing since sliced bread, they do have their weaknesses, but saying they can’t be used in place of a bow shackle in a recovery scenario would be a stretch. I’ve used the same shackle for over a year in numerous recoveries pulling the 200 Series out of some nasty spots.
By no means are we engineers, but these have worked for us in the field, and nothing speaks like results.
0W30? Is that what you always run in your rig?
Matthew, it’s actually 0w-20, there was a typo in the article, sorry for the confusion.