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submitted 6 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) by rmrf@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

I ride a scooter around my city for fun and often find people having car struggles. I'm skilled with automotive work, so I figured I'd fill a "go bag" with stuff to bring anytime I'm riding for pleasure and have extra space. My goal is to cover as many common issues as possible while fitting everything inside a 30 liter top box.

My current list is:

  • Jumper cables or small jump back (interesting edit at bottom)
  • Common wrenches (10, 12, 14, 17mm)
  • Common screw drivers
  • Maybe common fluids (5w-30 oil, distilled water or coolant, etc.)
  • Tire plug kit
  • zipties
  • duct tape

Suggestions from this thread I will add:

  • OBD-II Diag tool
  • Telescoping magnet
  • cig lighter charged air compressor
  • Pliers
  • wire stripper/crimper combo tool
  • crimp terminals/splices
  • multimeter
  • fuses
  • SNACKS!!!!!!!!
  • gloves
  • air-freshener/momento type of thing :)

Are there other super useful things I might have left out, or niche stuff small enough that it'd cost nothing to bring on the off chance it helps? Common spec bolts/o-ring sizes, or something like that?

I want to make sure when I stop to help someone I can actually help, and not narrowly miss an opportunity because of an oversight.

Thanks for the help with this :)

Edits:

  • formatting list
  • adding "?" to title
  • added zipties and duct tape to list, added o-ring example
  • added suggestions from thread list

Interesting edit at bottom: TL;DR is supercapacitors. Main story: My concern was the longevity and cost associated with jump packs; lithium batteries don't like to be stored at high charge and also don't do great in varying temperatures. Enter the TIL: supercapacitor jump packs, which seems absolutely perfect for my use-case. They're designed to be stored with no charge, and are super happy with offloading all their charge at once. The intended use is to be charged off of the dead battery just enough to breath life into the starter long enough to get it running, but they can usually be charged quickly by other methods like an outlet (plentiful in the city) or a working vehicle.

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[-] 11111one11111@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

Fix-a-flat. Its compressed can of air and goo that will plug up surprisingly large punctures and keep your tire drivable to get to shop to fix. Keep 2 cans on my 4 wheeler and 2 cans in my truck.

The other carry everywhere item i have on 4wheeler and truck is the battery charger/aircompressor combo units. They sell them at any auto store or walmart. Its a battery charger that you plug in to charge and also has a built in air compressor.

Afrer a year or two of carrying both those items with me I stopped paying for AAA. Oh but also carry bags of cat liter in my car in the winter time for weight and get out of the ditch or snow pile aid. I guess add the cat liter and collapsing shovel to the winter everyday carry items.

The truth is, mechanics tools in your car are fenerally useless. You arent carrying with you every part that could ho wrong or need replacing with you, there isnt much that can go wrong that doesnt involve buying a part to fix. I spent decade and a half driving around $500-$2000 cars because it made more financial sense than buying newer vehicle. Anything broke that cost more than half the car id scrap them and buy the next. The last thing ill add is that any vehicle 5 years old or newer is guna need oem tools to fix for like 70-100% of everything that could possibly go wrong with them. Even the dumbest most common shit like swapping winter/summer tires on rim certain shops cant do any more for a bunch of makes and models because of the change in rim design without buying a new tool. Spend the money on a rolling cabnet toolbox for your mechanics tools and rolling stackable toolboxes for your home repair tools because they are things you will buy once and store a life time of tools in for decades.

Edit: add ratchet straps for anyone not redneck who wouldnt laugh at the notion of ever not already having ratchet straps in their vehicle, even for a car. Hood latch breaks-strapit, door latch or lock breaks-strapit, tailgate wont latch-strapit, muffler falls off after bottoming it out jumping the tracks-strapit, people ne3d ride to town who are gross or scummy - close ratchet in trunk and let strap free for scummies to hitch on skateboard or bike.

[-] criticon@lemmy.ca 1 points 59 minutes ago

Flix-a-flat and similar products should be an absolutely last resort. They can plug the tire pressure sensors and they will corrode the tire over time, and the patch itself will deteriorate quickly so it will be leaking air after a while and most shops won't touch a tire that has been plugged with one of those products

[-] Botzo@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

Flex tape or other wet seal tape for hose repair.

Channel lock and a small mixed set of worm drive clamps.

Other things I don't see mentioned: JB weld, RTV (silicone sealant), thread chasers, tire spoons, dialectric grease, all depends on the services you want to offer!

[-] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 3 points 3 hours ago

Lights. At least a headlight, though I'd also consider hanging lights that could hang from the bottom of your hood and/or a light that can be positioned to stand somewhere and shine where you need it. Sure you might have your phone on you but you might need to use both hands for things other than holding lights.

Also, if you have someone wanting to help but doing more to get in the way, you can delegate them to "hold the light" to hopefully redirect them out of the way. Just use the headlamp if they are bad at aiming the light.

[-] rmrf@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 hours ago

I've been wanting to add a flashlight to my EDC and this might finally get me to do it. Good idea :)

[-] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago

Another suggestion is to have multiple lights and rotate them as you charge them. Freshest charge in emergency bag, then the one previously in the bag is for day to day use until it dies and needs charging. Though this is mainly a concern if you rarely use it. If you're frequently stopping to help people, you might not need to do special battery management beyond just charging when it gets low.

Not sure if anyone has mentioned it but car adapter to USB charger can also help here (and in many other cases... My daughter isn't SOL when her DS dies because I got a USB charging cable for it).

Similar (to the first paragraph) for jump starter kits. The first time I needed mine after getting it, it was winter and the battery was dead and wouldn't even charge until it had warmed up. I leave mine in the car during the summer but leave it inside by the door in the winter now.

[-] Agent641@lemmy.world 6 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

Get yourself a lithium jump starter. They aren't too expensive, but mine has saved my ass heaps of times. No other car needed, just jump straight from the battery pack.

Riggers gloves, for handling anything car related at uncomfortably low or high temperatures.

A 10mm socket for emotional support

Maybe bring some air fresheners so when you're done helping someone, you can go "Here's your complimentary air freshener, thank you for choosing us!" To lighten the mood.

[-] rmrf@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 hours ago

Gloves are brilliant, good idea!

The air-fresheners are a great idea, too, especially next to the snacks. I think momentos like that are really good for helping people even when you're not around.

[-] DataCrime@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 5 hours ago

Snacks!

Never underestimate the power of sugar to fix an angry brain.

[-] rmrf@lemmy.ml 5 points 5 hours ago

OUT OF LEFT FIELD!!!!!!

This is definitely going to be one of the highest value suggestions here for sure :) My wife and I absolutely LOVE the baby food puree pouch things and they're less than a dollar each, shelf stable, and super healthy/likeable.

I think you made my day with this one, I smiled the whole way through typing this. You rock <3

[-] DataCrime@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 5 hours ago

Happy to hear:-)

[-] Vanth@reddthat.com 5 points 5 hours ago

Compact, cig lighter charged air compressor. Once you use that tire patch kit, be able to air up their tire.

[-] RodgeGrabTheCat@sh.itjust.works 1 points 4 hours ago

Excellent. I suspect most spare tires are flat (I know mine is) as they are stored under the floor of the trunk and hard to get to.

[-] rmrf@lemmy.ml 2 points 5 hours ago

Yes! Added.

[-] FilthyHands@sh.itjust.works 3 points 5 hours ago

Space blanket. Hi vis vest.

[-] rmrf@lemmy.ml 2 points 4 hours ago

Good ideas :)

[-] lettruthout@lemmy.world 3 points 5 hours ago

This is admirable, but in which city are you often seeing people struggling with car troubles?

[-] rmrf@lemmy.ml 2 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

Thank you! I won't dox myself so precisely, but in the US larger/dense cities like NYC, Boston, Philly, Chicago, etc. I'd say I see someone broken down on more than 50% of my >20 minute excursions. Crazy high rate for sure, but if you think about how many residences I ride past in that time I can't imagine it's a much higher rate than other equally poor areas of the US.

Edit: specified that 20 was the number of minutes, not excursions... haha

[-] lettruthout@lemmy.world 1 points 37 minutes ago

I asked because in Southern California the occurrence of breakdown seems quite low in comparison. Maybe because the weather isn’t as hard on cars?

[-] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 5 hours ago

Pliers, wire stripper/crimper combo tool, a couple feet of random 16ga wire, and a few crimp terminals/splices. Wires are prone to being abraded, melted or chewed on by rodents and I have gotten out of a couple sticky situations by scavenging up wire for a temporary patch to obvious damage.

Depending on how much space you have on top of that, a $9 multi meter from harbor freight is also a great carry tool to determine if fuses are blown without pulling each one individually, or seeing if someone's charging system is still working.

[-] rmrf@lemmy.ml 2 points 5 hours ago

Found the electrician :)

Multimeter is a great idea. My multimeter used to live in the bag I'm using for this, so looks like it'll continue with its residence :)

[-] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 hours ago

Ha, I'm not even an electrician, just autistic and really good at low voltage and automotive electrical. But sounds like you're on the right track.

[-] Tolookah@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 5 hours ago

A jumper battery that doubles as an aux phone battery would be worthwhile to have, because it has two functions, essentially. A telescoping magnet and or grabber is great for things that fall.

Anything else is bigger work steps, I think. Maybe a Bluetooth obd scanner? Though I don't think strangers will let you plug into their car, typically.

[-] rmrf@lemmy.ml 3 points 5 hours ago

Excellent point, I think I'll try to get my hands on one of them. My concern is they're only good for so many starts and are quite pricey (or you gamble on quality which is spooky with lithium)

Telescoping magnet added for sure OBD Scanner added; your hesitation is legit but IME the people with frequent car troubles often don't think about stuff like that haha

[-] Tolookah@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 5 hours ago

I've got one that isn't manufactured anymore so I'm not a big help there, Costco has several, and told me that some even have an air compressor.

This is a long way of saying an air compressor might be small enough to carry around and be potentially useful

[-] rmrf@lemmy.ml 2 points 5 hours ago

I have the perfect compressor for this; walmart makes one that looks like a drill and takes batteries. Might be a better option in case they don't have a 12v outlet (I have a 12v one I was going to bring until I thought of this)

They make smaller lithium jump packs that are the perfect size, but again price is an issue. Having said that, I belong to an org that might be able to toss some money at this on trust alone to help. For a high quality one, it looks like it'll be $5-$10 per jump based on lifespan numbers, which I think they'll be okay with.

[-] justdaveisfine@piefed.social 2 points 5 hours ago

I found having a scissor jack and some stands came in handy.

[-] rmrf@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 hours ago

interestingly enough, I haven't yet encountered someone without one. If I end up with more space, this will definitely be included!

[-] Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org 2 points 5 hours ago

diagnostic computer device

[-] rmrf@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 hours ago

Perfect! Added to the list :)

this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2026
18 points (100.0% liked)

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