Vet

C6 Road Side Emergency Tool Kit

Before I had left on my first C6 cross-country excursion in 2006, I put together a road-side emergency tool kit. Below are photos and description of this tool kit.

Everything pictured below (except for the lantern) fits neatly into the two rear stowage compartments in the trunk floor of a C6 coupe. Completely out of the way, but there when you need it.

Many feel that a C6 “tool kit” need not be anything more than a cell phone and credit card. For the majority of the problems we might encounter, at least when in urban areas, this is true.

But if you do a lot of long-distance, “back woods” driving, it can be a good idea to have a few actual tools and repair-related items on hand which can potentially save you many hours of downtime at the road side and/or save you money, grief and possibly additional damage to the car.

In the LEFT side rear stowage compartment of my coupe I carry a small pouch which contains all the tools / items shown in the below photo. This, along with the owner’s manual, fits just right into the compartment.



Items in this above photo include, in no particular order:

-Assorted all-purpose universal wrenches / pliers / wire cutters etc.

-Assorted screwdrivers, flat head and Phillips, large and small

-Socket handle, long socket extension, deep 10mm socket and short 13mm socket (for battery removal)

-Torx head sockets (this car has a lot of Torx fasteners)

-Extra string, wire, electrical tape, painter’s tape, tie straps, heavy paper clips and small bungee cords (may seem unnecessary but you’d be surprised how useful these things can be on the road for assorted reasons – painter’s tape was for possible roof separation but this is no longer a problem)

-Extra fuses

-6mm allen wrench to adjust headlamps

-Full set of “jacking pucks” (don’t expect your back woods shop to have these)

-Full set of towing “T-hooks” (for times when the flatbed that comes to get you doesn’t have the correct hooks)

-Sharp utility knife

-Several pairs of disposable surgical gloves and some cotton gloves too

-A few packs of “Wet Ones” hand cleaning wipes

-Long funnel (ever try pouring gasoline into a modern car when you don’t have a pouring spout or funnel handy?)

-$100 in cash (in the back woods, sometimes cash is the ONLY thing that will get anyone to even talk to you)

-Cork-screw (for when you get your hands on a fine bottle of wine and have no other way of opening it)

Also carried but not shown…

-A few large garbage bags (good for carrying any greasy parts, also good for placing on the dirty, wet ground for times when you may need to crawl under the car a bit, etc.

-A small, basic computer code reader (picked this up more recently, can be handy for road-side trouble-shooting, I only have one so I carry it in whatever car I’m traveling in)


Then in my RIGHT side rear stowage compartment, I am able to fit everything in the below photo. It all fits in perfectly.



-Jumper cable set, 8-gauge, 14-foot

-An electric air pump (good to carry even if you have run-flats, because if you have a slow leak, adding air can get you to the next town without damaging the tire… and the next town may not have such tires in stock)

-An air pressure gauge (yes, the car has TPMs, but I don’t like relying on them 100%, especially if you should experience a handling issue and are trying to trouble-shoot - also handy if you need to add air at road side)

-Telescoping lug-wrench with 19mm socket (for wheel removal – but yet I’m not carrying a jack - I guess the concept is, if a wheel must be removed, I’ll need to find a jack, but at least I have the correct lug-wrench, one less thing that needs to be found – someone might lend you the scissor jack out of their trunk but they might not have a 19mm lug wrench)

-Small but powerful LED flashlight (I keep this in the front glove box so it’s handy at all times)

-Small LED lantern (I only carry this on long trips, usually in my suitcase, I could probably get it to fit into one of the rear stowage compartments but I don't like putting anything that contains batteries in those compartments because inevitably I will forget and the batteries will eventually leak)

A lot of these items may seem unnecessary to carry, but in my travels over the years, I’ve actually had a need for and used a lot of these things at the road side. I very much do not like being stranded and do not like being at the mercy of random auto shops that may not have the right tools / parts for the C6. Carrying extra tools / items can potentially keep the car moving as opposed to being totally stranded. As well they can help you make it over to a preferred shop as opposed to being forced to deal with whatever shop is closest.

I've also been out in very remote areas where my cell phone did not work and have been in small towns where the only open shop at that particular time did not accept credit cards, so… the “cell phone and credit card tool kit” will not always save you.

Imagine getting stuck here:


Link to thread that describes my first C6 cross-country trip, with pics:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...with-pics.html

Rich Mickol

You my friend are well prepared. Didn't see any first aid items but I'm sure you have them. Have a safe trip.

dvilin

Everything but the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, have a good trip.

binster

No Duct Tape?

Vet

Thanks, guys.

Normally I would carry duct tape but replaced it with painter's tape for the C6. Painter's tape is not as strong and not as flexible as duct tape of course, but it's way easier on the car's finish if you should need to apply it to any body panels, or, more likely, tape on a separated roof panel. But now that the roof panel issue is no longer a problem, perhaps I will replace the painter's tape with duct tape.

First aid kit... good point... usually on long trips I carry adequate first-aid supplies in my suitcase or hiking pack, etc. Though I'll admit, I don't carry first-aid supplies on a daily basis. Perhaps I'll put together a small first-aid pouch for the C6, should still fit into one of the rear stowage compartments.

Tide Will Roll!

Where do the towing J hooks go?
Have not heard of them before

Bert

Roll Tide!

jnx911

Thomasmoto

Nice. I pretty much have a similar kit, but also have "Betsy" my 9 mm Glock, I don't go anywhere without her. It's a shame, but there are evil people out there and taking advantage of others happens.

Vet

They're actually "T-hooks"... these are common, universal hooks used to tow modern vehicles. Most flatbed (rollback) trucks should have these on hand, but you never know. There are still flatbed operators out there that will just want to strap the control arms but GM says that's a no no for the C6... you NEED to use the hooks to do it right or damage could result.

The "T" portion of the hook fits into one of the four oval slots in the C6's frame, the same slots that folks insert their "jacking pucks" into. With this in mind, if you happen to use the type of jacking pad puck things that stay in place at all times, be sure you can get them out easily in the event you need to have the car towed.

Once the hooks are in place, a chain can then be attached to one or more of the hooks. Some folks have installed T-hooks into the two front slots, then spanned a piece of chain between them, then hooked a tow chain to the center of the span chain, so in effect it becomes like a "Y-chain", to pull a C6 up onto a flatbed. Such hooks are also good to use for securing the car to a trailer, etc.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...ct_43572_43572

BigKitty

Pint bottle of cheap whiskey!

ip-do-tan

Lady Smith in .357 mag for me

HOXXOH

I carry some of what you show and stuff rags and micro-fiber towels in between layers to avoid rattles.

I also carry several plastic grocery bags. They take up almost zero space, but can be used so many ways. Getting water from a stream or ditch and then trimming the corner to refill coolant means a funnel can stay home.

BTW, I also travel the back roads of America and did get stranded with a blown out tire in a spot very similar to the one in the photo. No cell service, so the wife flagged down a guy who took me 25 miles to the closest town and called a flatbed for a tow. Sometimes you have no other choice.

Vet

Indeed. Reminds me of the time I was headed to a town that was 50 miles from civilization, the town supposedly had a gas station. Arrived at the town, turns out that the gas station was no longer there (recently shut down) and nobody around to help... and no cell service. Had 20 miles worth of fuel left and the closest help was 50 miles in either direction. Then later I found a guy in the town, he did not want to even give me the time of day... I pulled out a $20 bill, waved it under his nose and within 5 minutes the guy happily produced a can of gasoline for me (well, this was back when gas was under $2.50/gallon anyway)... as if he had it ready... probably happens all the time there... but he wouldn't talk to me until after I showed him some cash. My cell phone and credit card were useless in this situation. Anyway, I took a few gallons and made it over to the next town and all was good... and I learned my lesson with regards to assuming that a remote town that is supposed to have an open gas station actually has one. In the back woods, anything goes... and your cell and credit card can potentially be completely worthless. You're truly on your own.

2vette2

Kitchen Sink? Good job and happy traveling. I should know this but do not. Do the verts have the wells in the trunk?

JoesC5

I also carry some of the same items as you, but I also carry a small aluminum jack that weighs 3 pounds, collapses to 2-3/4", but is just a little too long to fit in the rear cubby hole. It is from a late 90's Mercedes E class sedan. I carry my portable tools(and jack) in a 6" X 8" X 18" duffel bag($10 from walmart) and use elastic cords($4 from Harbor Freight) to secure the duffel bag to the rear hooks that the mesh cargo thingy clips onto. Duffel bag doesn't move around the rear compartment and I can remove it(and everything inside of it) from the car just by lifting the duffel bag by it's handles after removing the two elastic cords. A couple of things I carry, that you don't, is a 1/2" torque wrench for the wheels(also too long to fit in a cubby hole), a plastic 4' X 6' tarp, an old towel, a can of hand cleaner and a qt of Mobil1 oil.

MikeyTX

No cheese and crackers either ................

gonezen

That's a great looking emergency kit and the OP has obviously put a lot of work and thought into it. My problem is if I put a similar kit into my C6 I'd need the OP riding shotgun to show me how to use half the stuff. Guess I'm one of those credit card and cellphone types, but then I never stay far from home.

MikeyTX

You've had the car how long and never looked ?

jack5hd

church key=first aid

B-Vette

I've got about a 1/2 of your inventory in my car now. One thing I always take on a long trip is a spare set of vette keys.