New to Offroading. What hand tools are you carrying, and in what?

My previous offfroading has been limited to hunting treks down well-maintained national forest backroads. For your adventures out there beyond the realm what hand tool collections are you taking with you? How are you packing them to take up little room?

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/off-road-tips-and-gear-list.15254/

 

Thanks for linking that freakin' comprehensive list. I think I'll skip the "funky fishing hat" but it's a good list to treat like an a la cart menu. Thanks.

@tonykarter if you don't already have a tow strap and intend to buy new consider buying a "snatch strap" instead. Different to a plain tow strap and more expensive but a good investment.

Also, instead of jumper cables I've taken to packing one of these. Not only will it jump start your truck without having to maneuver two vehicles into just the right spot but it can be used to charge cell phones and other USB charged items; you can recharge it by plugging it into the accessory outlet (cig lighter) in your truck.

$100 NOCO Boost Plus GB40 1000A UltraSafe Car Battery Jump Starter, 12V Battery Pack, Battery Booster, Jump Box, Portable Charger and Jumper Cables for 6.0L Gasoline and 3.0L Diesel Engines, Gray

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015TKUPIC?ref_=nav_ya_signin

 

No prob!


Ham radio never hurts

 

That is a comprehensive list for sure. Thanks for putting me on to it. I'm interested in the hand tool sets people are including as part of this load-out. Looking for a comprehensive set of repair tools that pack down small and dense. Currently I'm resolved to carrying my boat tool kit, a tall plastic version of the .50 cal ammo box full of every tool that I didn't have when I needed it over the last 40 years. Now that I've downsized from a 1/2 ton longbed pickup I need to trim storage size where possible. What sets are others carrying, and most important, how are you doing it compactly?

 

Crafstman 165pc set

https://m.sears.com/craftsman-165pc-mechanics-tool-set/p-A014491227

 

Recovery gear (d-rings, soft shackles, tree saver strap, kenetic rope, tow strap), jumper cables (or a jump box), air compressor, small ratchet straps (for helping to re-set a bead), and at a minimum I would include: a BFH (big f'in hammer), a basic mechanics set of wrenches/sockets/screwdrivers, an axle nut socket (I forget off hand if this was a 35mm or 36mm... lord knows I've made good use of mine, I just don't recall the size off hand), a couple of big adjustable wrenches to help cover the range of larger bolts such as jam nuts and what not (don't recommend them for general maintenance, but on a trail, they can come in handy in a jam), and vice grips.

You never know what might happen, but here are some of the plausible things that might fail that you would want to have the tools on hand to address: broken CV axle, broken/bent inner tie rod, torn brake line (if no spare lines, vice grips can help clamp off a line until you can get off the trail), broken wheel studs, driveshaft u-joint.

 

....hack saw...because, you know.

Metal and wood blade. Wood blade makes short work of trail cleanup of fallen wood if you're not packing a sawzall

 

You are talking repair tools I think?

I started with an empty tool bag, and then I try to do all the work I can in my driveway. With every job I add the minimum necessary tools into the bag, and this bag stays in the truck. In some cases there are tools I keep in the shed because they make the jobs easier, but because I can do the work without them I don't carry them all the time. From this approach, I learn more about the truck with every job, and I also have the tools that match my experience and expertise at hand. I find this better than carrying a comprehensive set of tools, like a full socket set, because there are a lot of sizes you may not need... like nearly all the imperial ones. It is also important to me that every tool I carry has passed the test in my own hands. Turns out you can do A LOT of work with a tool bag that is not much bigger than your .50 ammo box!

My truck is a Second gen so I started here for some ideas: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ckets-and-wrenches-for-2nd-gen-tacoma.158302/

 

Good experience there. That's what I am trying to do, parry it down to just what is absolutely needed. This thread is my try at lucking into someone's well-considered hand-tool inventory, cuz', much of what is in that ammo box I'll never use on this truck. I do the same thing you do every time that in-tank fuel pump goes out on my '97 C1500. It takes only seven tools to do the whole job, and those are the only tools I get out. (Even have it written down somewhere!) This is a job I have done way too often since '97. As a result I can change that fuel pump out faster than Gump can field clean and assembly his rifle...SARGEANT! However, there's a '93 4Runner out there that I know little about. BECAUSE IT DOESN'T BREAK DOWN!

 

My Kingdom for a 3rd Gen list like that...

 

Don't buy one of those big tool kits. You likely don't need 85% of the tools in them. That's just extra money, and extra weight you likely don't need. Those kits are usually stocked with pretty inferior quality tools, too.

I would just start and the front of the truck and work your way back and makes notes of the different sizes of sockets/box wrenches you need. There are probably only like 4 or 5 metric sizes you really need to bring. I have a few odd ball sizes for things like the uniball bolts on my upper control arms.

Then bring a whole bunch of zip ties, duct tape, wire, adjustable wrenches, ratchet straps, pliers, bungees, hammer, screwdrivers, etc... I also bring a hatchet, toilet paper, air compressor, and other odds and ends.

I currently have all (most?) of that stuff in a yellow-top box from home depot and strap it in my bed and some of those plastic ammo boxes from harbor freight. I have a portable air tank form harbor freight as well that I strap in the bed, too.

But I'm really thinking about just getting a roll up tool bag or two - much easier to keep the tools organized and easy to find, and getting rid of the yellow top and getting a couple Rubbermaid Actionpacker boxes, where I can keep extra fluids/spare parts in one box, tools in the other.

 

No, I'm not. I've got oceans of tools here. Last thing I need is another tool set to say grace over. Just fishing for that perfectly-conceived tool list and a concise way to travel with them. That bow to stern audit sounds like a wonderful idea. Somewhat similar, I remember back when I was restoring Triumph TR-6's. Everything on them was 15mm except the engine. Everything on it was 9/16". British Leyland had entered into a deal with International Harvester to source the engine from them. It was a proven cast iron block inline six that IH had been using on their tractors for years, but it was imperial. All you needed to work on those cars was 15mm and 9/16"! And bailing wire. And a miracle.

 

Yeah, would be nice if you could consolidate the sizes and make everything 14 or 15mm... It seems like 14mm is one of the sizes I use the most.