What do you carry in your truck and why?

I asked about general purpose tool kits for expedient purposes in another thread, and there was a bit of a tangent about other things people carry. I think that's a great topic.

I just got my '24 SR5, and so far it's been primarily used for road trips, dump, and grocery runs.
So far I only have a couple fire extinguishers (finding suitable places to mount them that works for me has been difficult,) bottles of water, cargo tie down, and a small kit of TP, wipes, and sanitizer for those nasty bathrooms on road trips. My wife is less tolerant than I am. And a cheap first aid kit in the door; I'll develop a better suited one eventually.

In my daily driver, a Ford Escape, my choices are determined by the fact that I drive across a major metropolitan area, and my concerns are 1) breakdowns of myself or others 2) road emergencies and 3) the possibility I'll have to walk for three days to get home across a difficult city following earthquake or other natural disaster. I have a basic first aid kit in the front and trauma capability in the kit in the back. Going shooting away from civilization makes you think about those things. I don't intend to daily driver the Tundra, but I do want the setup to be similar, and I don't want to have anything in the bed due to its multipurpose use. That means things have to be even more compact, which requires a lot more thought considering the truck's use cases.

How about you? What do you carry, and why?

 

A 140-piece craftsman tool kit my son got me for Father's Day, a tire plug kit, and the lug wrench under the driver's seat, with a cheater bar in the door pocket. Also got one of those jacks that are built like a jack stand in the toolbox, the factory jack leaves alot to be desired.

 

(Regarding the fire extinguisher mounting)
Check the rear door cupholders for fitment.



they fit perfectly in the older gens.

 

It would be easier to list what I don't carry
Trail edition privilege

 

My cell phone and a bag of ratchet straps and a jump box. Depending on the road trip maybe the 140pc toolbox and a jack and first aid kit. Theres only a couple of spots within a 5hr driving radius that don’t have enough cell service to dial an uber or tow truck.

 

Mine are 3" diameter, hence my challenge. I discovered that mounting it on the floor behind the center console would be an awesome place, except that's where we keep the cooler on road trips. I refuse to mount things in the wheel wells where flailing body parts will impact or be impacted by hard things in an accident, so that's off limits. I also don't like the quick disconnects as they require two hands. In a panic, two hands are one hand too many.

 

Mine are 3 1/8th..

 

Well, still too big for my 24. Sigh.

 

I recently made a list of everything I keep in my truck, for shits n gigs, so I’ll paste it below. I am one of those people who uses their truck as a closet/toolbox. It’s mostly organized, but definitely overkill for a daily driver.

Powered things:
1/2” impact gun and two batteries
Air compressor/light/power bank (3 in 1)

Measuring things:
Measuring tape
Calipers bc engineer
Carista OBD reader / scan gauge

Torque wrenches:
1/4” and 3/8” (nice to have for dirtbike trips)
1/2” (for wheels)

Random things:
Gorilla tape
First aid kit from my Passat that had a lot of goodies in it so I’ve been rocking that for 9+ years. Should probably check expiration dates.
Zip ties (mostly medium, need some thick zip ties)
Water/electrolit/protein bars/trail mix
Off-road trail patch/plug kit for tires.
Beach towel
Jumper cables
Trash bags
Headlamp
A sweatshirt
Leather work gloves
A few gardening/mechanic gloves that are oil resistant

Recovery/straps:
6-9 Ratchet straps (nice)
Recovery rope (i still don’t have front recovery points, though)
Recovery trailer hitch thingy (stays on the hitch carrier)
Extra hitch pin
A couple of bungee cords

Sockets / other tools:
39mm crown nut socket for axles (if I need this I’m probably screwed anyway)
Spline socket for wheels
3/8 & 1/2” swivel impact sockets
3/8 impact socket kit (deep and standard length) metric and standard
1/2”—>3/8” extension
3/8 extensions
3/8 ratchet
A few different knives, some that can be thrashed. One of them is actually sharp.
Needle nose pliers
Small / medium vise grips
A few random open ended box wrenches

There’s probably more that I keep in my truck but this is just what I took inventory of lol. I keep all that in the cab, mostly under & behind the rear seat. I keep ratchet straps in a ziplock under the driver seat for easy access.

 

laying down in front of passenger seat mounts. Desert Does It makes seat jacker mounts

 

Scan gauge
Tie down straps
Jump pack
Toilet paper
Underpants <-- haven't needed yet !

Breaker bar, extension and impact socket

 

Wow, not seeing tire pressure guages listed

 

I carry a plug kit, gauge and compressor in the tundra.

 

same, plus a valve stem kit

 

Yep that’s in my tire kit as well. Keep those kits in both trucks.

 

I am taking notes!

 

The art of taking a piss at 80MPH

 

Now I know who's holding up the fast lane and why

 

Over the years i've fine tuned my truck kit. Everything I carry I have used or use regularly. I keep a fire extinguisher on a mount in the back seat. Then I have two separate boxes - one is medical, the other is recovery and tools.

Medical box is a HF Apache case that includes trauma supplies (tourniquet, quick clot, splinter forceps, sutures, needle drivers, needles/syringes, bandages, coban, ACE wraps, and SAM splints), ocular trauma (saline eye flushes, eye patch), medications (IM benadryl, lidocaine, PO pain medications, antidiarrheals, zofran, tetracaine drops)

Recovery/tool box is a Plano Sportsman case with a tow strap, tree strap, soft shackles, hard shackles, regular ratchet straps, 10k ratchet straps, paracord, 3/8 and 1/2 ratchets, sockets, Dewalt 3/8 impact gun, pry bars, screwdrivers, Viair compressor, tire patch kit, tarp, hammer, flashlight, mini shovel, NOCO jump pack, jumper cables, duct tape, mylar blanket.

Can't tell you how many people i've saved on the roadside, done recoveries on everything from tractors to cars in ditches, or done medical aid with this stuff. Immensely useful.

 

Ya'll be careful with them jump boxes/packs, some have caught on fire. I just test my battery every six months and generally just buy a new one every four years regardless of test results at that point. Never been stranded with a battery issue in well over 30 years. However, I also don't wait until alternators fail so maybe that is why. Just easier to swap in a new one at my home shop when the weather is good and the beverages are cold at around 120-150k on the clock.

 

I fall into the category of carrying more than some and a lot less than others. Not quite Swiss Army truck or Samaritan load out, but at least some things that I've either needed for myself (or others) or things I can think of that I might need. My truck is my daily driver.

Fire extinguisher
Jumper cables
Socket set
1/2" impact driver and sockets
Tow strap
Several ratchet tie downs
Cargo net
Paracord
Nylon rope
Gas mask (and NBC cartridge)
Work gloves
Road flares
Allen wrenches (mostly for t slot anchors)
First aid kit
Glowsticks
Magnetic Flashlight and a headlamp
Inverter (with cigarette lighter plugin)
Toilet paper
Paper towels
Blanket
Entrenching tool
Folding step stool
WD40
Trailer hitch/ball
4 way tire tool
Rain parka
torque wrench

 

Ratchet straps, small tool kit, duct tape, zip ties, tire plug kit, battery jumper, umbrella, my old drive belt that I recently replaced. and a glock 19

 

I have most of the same stuff you guys carry (tools, safety, and roadside emergency stuff), and I also always have a cooler in the bed. It's great for keeping things like groceries cold during multiple errands, or beer, or whatever. Just swing by a gas station and load it down with ice and I'm good to go. One time we even brought my wife's favorite ice cream home while on a road trip 2.5+ hrs away. Worked great.

 

Another mounting option location: passenger floor.
The Bracketeer is a universal mount that attaches to the seat rail.
Sits behind passenger's feet, no interference.
Easily accessible by driver.

The mount bracket that came with my extinguisher (attaches to Bracketeer) only needs a single hand to operate it and release.

$60 Car Fire Extinguisher Bracket | Fits Most Vehicles

https://www.amazon.com/Bracketeer-Extinguisher-Bracket-Universal-Vehicles/dp/B015G3QXMY

 

In addition to the fire extinguisher:

In the cab:
Console: Tire pressure gage, small 1st aid kit, pen, notepad, multi-tool, cheapie folder pocket knife w/ glass breaker. Flashlight.
Door pockets: gloves; couple different types, small roll of shop towels, spray can of quick detailer, clean and dirty microfiber towels.
Under rear seat: Tire patch/plug kit, small compressor, extra cold weather gear in winter.
On the rear seat: tote for Target / grocery runs

In the bed:
Swing Case: More gloves, Adjustable ball mount, other towing related stuff, bungees of various lengths and types, ratchet straps, a better tire pressure gage/inflator and dual fill connector for airbags, other tools / junk.

Winter gets another roller case with lid with recovery gear, cold weather gear

 

I toyed with the idea of mounting the fire extinguisher in front of the driver's seat. My seat either lives all the way forward when my wife drives, and all the way back when I drive. Turns out that the extinguisher the forward end of travel, which wasn't good. When I drive, I occasionally rest my left foot right in front of the seat, and I didn't want to be putting my foot on the thing. It'll come to me; I just need to think about it some more. I'll share when I do. I'm thinking it'll likely wind up on the door; I just need to figure out how to securely mount it, given how flimsy the door panel is.

 

For my fire extinguisher, I have a molle panel on the back of my front passenger seat. I have a molle fire extinguisher pouch attached to that, as well as other various pouches.