Putting together a small "car bag" for kids

[Darrell KSR]

As of this Christmas, I will have five children behind the wheel of a car, four of them with driver's licenses and their own cars. Sigh.

Sear's has a very nice zippered canvas bag I have bought in the past (I actually own two, and use one for electronics and one for camera stuff that doesn't go in a camera bag), and when a slick deal arrived, I bought six new ones. The idea was to put a basic bunch of stuff in it for each of their car's (and mine, and my wife's--hence, the six. Driver's permit boy will be driving one of the others, so he'll have to wait).

Here is what I have bought for each of the bags so far. Remember, every time I buy something, it is TIMES SIX, so dang thing is getting expensive, even buying inexpensive stuff. This is NOT meant to replace a tool box or anything; just more or less "one time" emergency type stuff that you might be glad was stuck in your trunk:

* 7-in-1 screwdriver
* Lowe's knock-off Leatherman type tool.
* Electrical tape
* Duct tape (small rolls)
* Headlamp
* Magnetic key holder
* Magnetic pick-up tool
* Claw-type pick up tool
* Adjustable wrench
* Wire brush

What other things would you recommend to put in this bag? Now, try to think -- the three daughters are completely incapable of screwing in a light bulb, so don't view this as something you might put in YOUR bag, but something that might just help a little in a quasi-emergency type situation. They're not going to use a tire repair kit and plug a tire, for example. It's also not replacing a tool box, more of a "junk bag" with some stuff in it they might find handy.

I'm not a big fan of fix-a-flat, but maybe to get them somewhere safe?
I'm thinking about a small coin purse with some change in it, good for parking at parking meters or buying a soft drink or a candy bar from a machine.
Maybe something with a $5 bill stuck in it too, for a little gas money just in case they have left their wallet and are out of gas or something?
Small flares or reflective stands in case they are broken down by the side of the road?
Prepaid cell phone not activated, but with a card available?

Any other thoughts?

[bigsky]

Piece of bailing wire--get a roll and cut a 10' piece just roll up a piece on a little piece of wood. combo screwdriver okay but a single bigger flat screwdriver. 1.99 poncho? chemical handwarmers? fixaflat is good even if tire store guys hate em

[Darrell KSR]

Great thoughts, bigsky.

[PedroDaGr8]

Flashlight with strobe function or safety signal strobe. To warn cars when they are broken down. Better and safer than flares.

[dan_bgblue]

Here is the kit I put together for my wife's car. Her mechanical abilities likely rival those of your children

watchman's cap
stadium blanket
insulated gloves
scarf
bottled water
booster cables
3 D cell batteries for the big flashlight that lives in the glove compartment
2 cans fix-a-flat (we had a school on the usage of that product and I do believe it might help her with a slow leak puncture)
pliers to remove the valve stem cap on the tire
extra usb auxiliary electrical outlet plug in phone charger and phone charger cord.
cheap rainproof poncho and small umbrella
2 quarts motor oil
1 gallon 50-50 mix antifreeze
(if she can call me, I can help her not get those two mixed up when adding them to the vehicle fluids)

Other than pliers for the valve stem cap, any other tools would just take up space and in 99% of cases would not help her out.

I just want her to be relatively comfortable while using the cell phone to call for help and during the wait for help to arrive.

[KeithKSR]

Jumper cables would be a great addition, LED flashlight. Keeping in mind your area's problems with a bit of snow or ice I'd include a couple granola bars and a couple bottles of water in the event they have to spend a night on the side of the road, those would be nice as they snuggled in Dan's stadium blanket (you can get inexpensive throws at Walmart for about $3 right now).

[Darrell KSR]

Great suggestions, you guys know my wife and kids.

[Darrell KSR]

2 quarts motor oil
1 gallon 50-50 mix antifreeze
(if she can call me, I can help her not get those two mixed up when adding them to the vehicle fluids)

lol

[PedroDaGr8]

lol

You laugh but.....

[Darrell KSR]

Oh my... 17 quarts, 15 quarts of water...

[Darrell KSR]

Here's one for you.

Daughter calls me yesterday afternoon. Says her brake fluid light is on, and what does it mean? I tell her that it means we need to check her brake fluid.

I tell her I'll check it as soon as she gets home.

She calls back later. "Just kidding" she says. "I googled it," she explained. "Its low tire pressure."

I tell her that makes sense, we just got a cold snap and that often happens. That tires lose air and just need to be checked regularly.

This is the fun part.

She says, "I checked them. They were fine." I asked how much pressure was in each tire, and she said, "I don't know. I just squeezed each tire and they felt full."

Sigh.

[dan_bgblue]

[CitizenBBN]

Well D, that's disheartening. The fruit of your tree is so universally impressive I'm surprised one would make that kind of mistake. Then again I bet she never took a shop class.

not that I'm any smarter when it comes to cars. OK, I do know how to check tire pressure, but I'm still a dummy w/ cars.

in the "adjustable wrench" category I'd go with vise grips. By far my favorite tools. Best pliers ever but also passable substitute for any wrench or socket. more grip than an adjustable wrench IMO.

I'd at least have jumper cables. There are some really good small lighter plug air pumps out there too. A full size jump pack is probably a bit big but they are handy. You get jump capability plus air pump plus Ac inverter and usb charger all in one device.

Oh, and a handgun. Never want to be stranded on the side of the road without self defense.

[Doc]

Triple A membership and call it done

[CitizenBBN]

Triple A membership and call it done

Good call. Need the other stuff too but having one is a good thing.

[Doc]

My daughter called me Monday night to tell me she was at a gas station in Hollywood (75 miles from me) and had locked her keys in her car and had to be at work in 10 minutes. Her cell phone was in the car as well (she was on the land line in the station) so we couldn't try the over the phone remote. I asked here why she didn't call her policeman boyfriend???? I gave her the triple AAA number and they got her in. Took about 15 minutes

[Darrell KSR]

Just FWIW, we already have AAA and jumper cables. This is a different type of bag.

Have used AAA probably a dozen times in my life. Never less than an hour. Sometimes longer. That's in Alabama, Louisiana, and Georgia. But I've never called them for locking keys in car, maybe that's different.

[CitizenBBN]

That's why the pistol. Standing around for an hour waiting for help. Maybe throw in a game boy too.

[Darrell KSR]

I didn't feel great sitting around on 2nd Avenue North downtown Birmingham broken down a few years ago, that's for sure. Wasn't that late, but that area is pretty vacant after dark.

[CitizenBBN]

The game boy would have helped. And a good 45.

[Darrell KSR]

Off to Wally World to pick up oil, antifreeze in mass quantities (I hope I don't get reported to some anti-terrorism group), and various other sundries. Thanks to all for the outstanding suggestions here, many of which I am getting.

As a side note, I now see why the "all-in-one" things are so popular. Will be a lot cheaper than what I am putting together. I do think what I'm putting together is much superior, though, with stuff that can be used.

[KentuckyWildcat]

Just a sleeping bag in my wife's car to keep her warm until I can get there. She would be dangerous with anything else.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[Darrell KSR]

Just got finished...

A. Adding THREE quarts of oil to my wife's Honda Odyssey.

B. Filling my daughter's Hyundai with 32 psi in each tire (from 26 or 27)

C. Oiling my daughter's Jeep door hinges with WD-40 so it doesn't squeak when it opens

This is my life. In fairness, I should've checked my wife's oil before now. It's crazy, but she only had an oil change 3,000 or so miles ago. And according to the mechanic, it's not leaking oil. Hmm.

[CitizenBBN]

No Honda engine can burn that much oil and not leak, at least I can't imagine it. Not without it smoking like a diesel running on bad cigars.

I don't keep enough air in my tires. Got new ones and they didn't use nitrogen, I really prefer nitrogen, doesn't fluctuate as much. I need to check them more often, esp. during weather changes.