What to put in car BoB

[smojo]

Tried searching for old posts but it says BoB words are too common so I'm starting this but probably been asked before. Anyway might be a different slant on it. Putting together a very basic BoB to keep in the car and started thinking about it. Some say a BoB should carry enough for 72 hours but I tried to prioritise the most essential to start with keep it minimum and for the most likely events, like getting stuck on a motorway behind miles of traffic after an accident or car breaking down and having to wait for recovery. Or stuck in a blizzard etc. So I broke it down to what you need for 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours and 72 hours. My list is for the most essential for your welfare and/or to make you comfortable. So for eg you're not gonna died of dehydration in 12 hours but you might get thirsty. Please feel free to add what you think to my list but please keep it absolutely minimum and essential as I don't want to fill my whole boot space!

up to 12 hours for two people is my first list to get you by till you can move on

1 litre water
two plastic cups
small first aid kit
two fleece blankets
a towel
wet wipes
tissues
multi function knife/tool
folding shovel
some kind of long life snack
some paracord

tried to think what else you might add for 24 hours and all I could think was:-

more food and water

For 48 or 72 hours it seems just more food and water again and maybe a sleeping bag and toothbrush and paste. Dirty clothes aren't going to kill you so no need to pack any more in my opinion. The car is your shelter so no need for tarps or tents. So what have I missed that might be essential and not overkill.

 

[Mesquite]

So what have I missed that might be essential and not overkill.

Enough water... 1 litre between 2 people isn't exactly a lot even if it is for 12 hours. I'd personally go for at least 2 litres

Something to read as well wouldn't go amiss

A torch and backup batteries

A windup radio would be handy also

 

[Wildgoose]

Cheap waterproof/weatherproof hi viz jacket? Makes leaving the car safer and more comfortable.
Couple of chemical light sticks and a torch with decent long life batteries.

 

[rik_uk3]

Much more water, brew kit, little gas stove, cup o soups, couple of cans of all day brekkie and lots of chocolate. Spare phone battery or battery bank to charge it and store a few good films on it, stand alone radio and two cheap head torches, couple of foil blankets too.

 

[sandbender]

A good understanding of the Haynes manual for your vehicle. A basic selection of car maintenance tools, spare steering belt (if it is readily replaceable), fan belts, bulbs etc. etc.

Unless of course your daft enough to own an old Landrover Defender (like me), in which case a much larger selection of tools and spares will be required (it also wouldn't hurt to have a mate with a Landcruiser in your bug out team).

 

[Macaroon]

Toilet paper, and seeing as you don't need to carry it at least 5L of water.

 

[tom.moran]

ray mears, he might not be too happy about it though

 

[British Red]

A good understanding of the Haynes manual for your vehicle. A basic selection of car maintenance tools, spare steering belt (if it is readily replaceable), fan belts, bulbs etc. etc.

Unless of course your daft enough to own an old Landrover Defender (like me), in which case a much larger selection of tools and spares will be required (it also wouldn't hurt to have a mate with a Landcruiser in your bug out team).

Its funny - because its true!

 

[peaks]

All of the above and.......
Containers + plastic bags for bodily waste, handwarmers + lighter fluid, some means of charging mobiles, headgear, high viz vests. Hose repair bandages

Recently got stuck on the M42 for 6 hours, with my dogs whilst police sorted out would-be suicide from a bridge. I have a vehicle emergency bag for human + canine needs. Biggest problems were a) other motorists with mobiles running out of power, b) overheating engines + 2 vehicles with bust radiator/cooling systems hoses + no means to repair hoses. c) people needing the loo. Big problem for lady travelers.

 

[Realbark]

i have a full FAK. 2 litres water plus what i have in the front with me, a sleeping bag, cookset (Ranger volcano stove with filled burner n firelighters in a ziplok) and some tinned snack foods (mussels n stuff), a ripstop poncho with 2 bungees n some tentpegs. A change of clothing ( i work in a suit) and SAK/Classic Mora. I travel a lot and put this lot togehter a couple of years ago after seeing stranded motorists all over the news. Torch, handgel n toilet paper. I have all except the clothing n dossbag in one of those velcro carpet bags which sticks to the boot uphosltery and the bulk of the stuff is in a snugpak in that bag. The dossbag n clothes are in a drybag. May well be overkill but i know im gonna be fine for a bit.

 

[smojo]

Cheap waterproof/weatherproof hi viz jacket? Makes leaving the car safer and more comfortable.
Couple of chemical light sticks and a torch with decent long life batteries.

Yes good idea. I'll usually have a kagoul anyway but a hi-vest would be good in case of breakdowns and won't take up much space.

 

[smojo]

Much more water, brew kit, little gas stove, cup o soups, couple of cans of all day brekkie and lots of chocolate. Spare phone battery or battery bank to charge it and store a few good films on it, stand alone radio and two cheap head torches, couple of foil blankets too.

brew kit good idea, chocolate won't last long - it'll either melt in the heat of the car boot or more likely get eaten within a week

 

[smojo]

A good understanding of the Haynes manual for your vehicle. A basic selection of car maintenance tools, spare steering belt (if it is readily replaceable), fan belts, bulbs etc.

Haynes manual - now they were the days. Had many of them when I had crap cars and little money but my mechanic days ended when I looked in the bonnet and couldn't recognise anything anymore or even find room to get my hand in. It's a black art nowadays.

 

[smojo]

All of the above and.......
Containers + plastic bags for bodily waste, handwarmers + lighter fluid, some means of charging mobiles, headgear, high viz vests. Hose repair bandages
QUOTE]

Yes doggy poo bags great idea even though we don't have a dog. Useful for anything messy. I think some gaffer tape might do for the hose repair and many other things so that'll go on my list. Thanks everyone for your input.

 

[smojo]

i have a full FAK. 2 litres water plus what i have in the front with me, a sleeping bag, cookset (Ranger volcano stove with filled burner n firelighters in a ziplok) and some tinned snack foods (mussels n stuff), a ripstop poncho with 2 bungees n some tentpegs. A change of clothing ( i work in a suit) and SAK/Classic Mora. I travel a lot and put this lot togehter a couple of years ago after seeing stranded motorists all over the news. Torch, handgel n toilet paper. I have all except the clothing n dossbag in one of those velcro carpet bags which sticks to the boot uphosltery and the bulk of the stuff is in a snugpak in that bag. The dossbag n clothes are in a drybag. May well be overkill but i know im gonna be fine for a bit.

I'd probably need to buy a trailer to carry everything that everyone has suggested but it's great to hear what people carry. I'm retired now and a caravanner so most of my long journeys have my survival kit on wheels behind me. (please don't groan - it's the little old man in a clapped out fiesta in front of me that's holding you all up) When I was working I travelled all over the place and carried sleeping bag, brew kit and a big toolkit for my job anyway, and I was often glad of it.

 

[Goatboy]

Its funny - because its true!

Yes an overnight bag, phone number for a good garage and the number for a hotel are handy too

 

[Joonsy]

i was once well off the beaten track and had a puncture, reaching for the spare tyre i found it had deflated due to slow puncture leaving me with a problem (no spare 'inflated' tyre) so i had to walk out to get help, after that i carried a footpump and bought one of those tyre inflators that plug into a cigarete lighter in the hope it would inflate a tyre enough to get one out of trouble even if repeatedly having to inflate on route. it was my own fault for not checking the spare beforehand but a lesson learned, but one could possibly have two punctures anyway.

 

[British Red]

i was once well off the beaten track and had a puncture, reaching for the spare tyre i found it had deflated due to slow puncture leaving me with a problem (no spare 'inflated' tyre) so i had to walk out to get help, after that i carried a footpump and bought one of those tyre inflators that plug into a cigarete lighter in the hope it would inflate a tyre enough to get one out of trouble even if repeatedly having to inflate on route. it was my own fault for not checking the spare beforehand but a lesson learned, but one could possibly have two punctures anyway.

Yep I carry one as well. I also carry industrial sized jump leads. Having learned the hard way that "bump start" does not work when you now drive an automatic!

 

[Quixoticgeek]

In the UK a vehicle BoB has a high chance of being used when you are trapped in the vehicle due to snow. So things that allow you to function within the vehicle would be useful.

At risk of making assumptions, if you're planning proportions for 2 people, I'm guessing good odds that at least 1 of those is going to be female. So I would go with something like these to make things easier. Ditto the bags with the funky crystals to absorb the contents... Sorry, not the most glamorous of subjects.

Oh, and based on the rest of the list - More water (2L per person per day), and the ability to warm up something, even if it's just soup or tea will be a great boost for morale.

Consider some sort of large saw as well, something you can use to clear a fallen tree on a blocked road. Maybe some good rope, to go with it.

J

 

[slowworm]

I always have a selection of tools, decent sized jump leads and a working foot pump with me; a hang over from when I had a slightly less reliable car. I also add things depending on weather, so a large saw if it's been windy, a shovel in winter and a charged spare car battery if it's been cold for a while. Funnily enough I tend to end up helping others more than myself - a spare battery is far easier to jump start a car parked front in in garage.

And speaking of helping others, I've just started carrying a bike puncture repair kit as I see more cyclists struggling with punctures than snow drifts or traffic jams round here.