Tools to live in the boot

[s p a c e m a n]

hellorent said:

s p a c e m a n said:

East London/Essex..

TVR ran out of petrol on the A13 because the fuel gauge is crap. I had waited so long for the AA to turn up that the police arrived as I still had 2 wheels in the road and then an hour after that I gave in and got a taxi to go get petrol.

Wow, you ran out of petrol and called a breakdown company for assistance, I wouldn't have thought of that as a breakdown.

It happened on a 3 lane dual carriageway with nowhere to really pull off of the road at night in a car with candles for tail lights miles away from any petrol station, someone drove past and thought that it looked dodgy enough to call the police on me. I was paying for the top tier of a breakdown service that I hadn't used in years and thought that would be a good opportunity to use it, but you do you mate.

Edited by s p a c e m a n on Friday 23 February 10:08

[ChocolateFrog]

CheesecakeRunner said:

Christ, it’s 2024, not 1904.

I'd rather spend 10 mins fixing a Puncture than spend 4hrs+ waiting for a man that might or might not turn up once he realises I'm an unaccompanied bloke.

[hairy v]

Not in the boot, but my keyring has one of these:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/386796152840?itmmeta=01...

I keep a spare battery for the central locking remote in it after I had to wait 4 hours locked out of the car for RAC to bring me a new one.

[TwinKam]

sjwb said:

Ho ho ho, you are all just playing at it!
Picture this; Marlborough town traffic lights, complete traffic jam, we are at the head of the queue and father lets the clutch out to pull away. BANG, no drive. Dad’s best friend in the car behind comes to our aid and helps push the car to the market square.
Diagnosis; a broken half shaft. Panic, end of journey, total despair?
Nah, jack it up, pull out a complete tool kit from the trunk and of course - a new half shaft!!!! Father and friend had the diff out (to remove the broken end from the output gear), old shaft removed and new one fitted in under an hour. Wash up in the local conveniences and away we go. They didn’t even break sweat.
The back story: We were on our way home from our annual holiday in Wareham in 1956 in our 1936 Hillman Minx BRM 535 reg. Dad fitted a Talbot 80 OHV motor with a dirty great Stromberg carburettor and straight through Burgess muffler - perhaps that’s why the half shaft gave in?
Happy days.

You were carrying an elephant too? Gosh.

[donkmeister]

CheesecakeRunner said:

Christ, it’s 2024, not 1904.

Yes it's 2024. Nowadays you simply say "I identify as a man" and no-one is allowed to question your lack of manly car fixing skills.

[donkmeister]

ChocolateFrog said:

I'd rather spend 10 mins fixing a Puncture than spend 4hrs+ waiting for a man that might or might not turn up once he realises I'm an unaccompanied bloke.

I wonder how many "unaccompanied females" turn out to be blokes who've decided they don't want to wait hours and hours?

Despite my protestations I do indeed have breakdown cover (I first got it when Mrs D was pregnant and I had to go overseas for a week, and have renewed it since), so perhaps I should bear that in mind if I get stuck in a less than chivalrous state of mind?

[rambo19]

Whatever you carry in the boot, you need to know how to use it.........

[Gad-Westy]

rambo19 said:

Whatever you carry in the boot, you need to know how to use it.........

Erm, well yes obviously.

[Pedaller]

I drove my 18 year old Honda on a 2000 mile road trip last year into some very remote places. I spent a while planning the tools and spares to take, and ages packing it efficiently into the small boot. I didn’t need any of it, which was nice. Buy a Honda

[Stick Legs]

On this subject can I praise Land Rover.

I was on the M6 on Friday night southbound & had a flat near Stoke.

‘Smart’ motorway so drove on the flat to a refuge area.
Picked up the SOS phone to be met with a ‘Temporary Fault’ message ‘please hang up’.

So despite it being OSR I parked as tight on the Armco as I could & fixed it.

The jack & wheel brace worked perfectly and were sturdy. Full size spare too.

Back on the road in under 30 mins but annoyed to have had to drive on the flat as if I had been able to pull onto the hard shoulder I could have got away with a puncture repair. Less than 2 month old Pirelli Scorpion Verde.

As I was travelling back from a shipyard I had a high viz vest & a bump cap with a high viz band (I needed to wear this to get off the ship & through the yard).

I felt 100% happier knowing I was visible.

Also wagon drivers are saints as every single one pulled into Lane 2, some cars didn’t.

So now a high viz vest is being stuffed in the spare wheel well of each of our cars.