Truck EDC - Everyday & Emergency Gear

I feel being prepared is most important while traveling away from home when your options are much more limited. Preparedness can influence all levels of need, from convenience to necessity. Hopefully 99% of the time you will find that your gear is simply making life easier. 

VIDEO HERE (24:11 minutes)

*****

My truck..... oh dear Lord.

Y'all ever see those hoarder programs on TV? Okay, my truck isn't that bad but only because I can't find any more shit to cram into it.

The bed: A couple jugs of water for the radiator, a quart or two of oil, large bottle of Sta-Bil, and the spare tire for my trailer. The tire is there because I don't want it to get ripped off by a tweeker in the middle of the night so I tossed it into the bed of my truck - which is parked 25 feet from my trailer. Go figure.

Toolbox mounted behind the cab:  It's packed full of shit, everything from road flares to a come-along or two, a 20 foot length of chain, a half dozen or more tie-down straps, 50 feet of rope, 100 feet of 550 cord, a floor jack, a bottle jack, one jack stand, 2 different sized trailer hitches, a can of bearing grease, a couple spare ignition coil packs and spark plugs, wrenches, 3 socket sets (1/4, 3/8 and 1/2"), breaker bar, bolt cutters, jumper cables, empty 2 quart canteens (2 ea), big fucking hammer, hatchet, pry bar, entrenching tool, a moving blanket in case I have to crawl under the truck, and a 10x10 foot piece of crawdad netting that I carry if for no other reason than I've hauled it around with me for the past 40 years. It'll come in handy one day.

There's no telling what else is in there and to be honest with you I'm afraid to look, seeing as the neighbor's little terrier still hasn't turned up since I was last in that toolbox.

Cab, front seat driver's side: In the door pocket there's a small pair of binoculars, a pair of 20 round magazines loaded with 5.56, one loaded 45 ACP magazine, one speed loader of 357 magnum, one stun gun, a Buck 110 folder, a spare multi-tool, a pair of those laser mitigating safety glasses I bought when antifa and BLM was rioting in the streets, and a bottle of caffeine pills I've had since we drove out here 6 years ago, along with a couple grease rags stuffed in there to keep everything in its place and prevent all that shit from rattling and driving me insane. 

Clipped to the inside of the sun visor is a small 3" sheath knife that's there as a seatbelt cutter. On the dash is a pair of shooting glasses. In the small overhead storage compartment is another pair of safety glasses for my passenger and anywhere from 10 to 20 bucks for fast cash.

Why 20 round magazines instead of 30? The shorter magazine allows me to maneuver an AR around easier - it's not banging around on or getting hung up on the steering wheel. Yes, it makes that much of a difference, for me, anyways.

Console: All the usual shit everybody else carries - a 20 round box of 5.56, a 20 round box of 357, a 10 round box of 00 buckshot, a spare pair of eyeglasses, a code reader, Garmin GPS, dash cam, a hand-held CB radio with magnetic roof antenna and power cable, a couple camo head/face gaiters in case I feel the urge to do any creeping, a package of nitrile gloves in case I break down or don't want to leave fingerprints for whatever reason, a cold weather beanie, and a paperback book to pass the time if I'm stuck in traffic or broke down waiting on a tow truck.

In the console tray is a pen and notebook, a spare can of Copenhagen because I'm always forgetting my open can, plus a cold chisel that's been there so long I forgot what I used it for. Then there's my flip phone when I remember to bring it.

On the transmission hump: a pair of Mechanix gloves so I don't burn my hands on a hot gun barrel and a spare camo ball cap.

Passenger's side: In the door pocket is a leash in case I break down with that asshole dog Jack in the truck, a small LED flashlight, a tire gauge and a map of the county. In the glovebox is a couple of those LifeStraws in case I've got to hoof it home, owner's manual for the truck, registration, proof of insurance and approximately 9000 paper napkins.

In the cupholder on the dash are a half dozen P-38 can openers and my good luck charm, a little stuffed lion that a kid with Down's Syndrome gave me about 35 years ago.

Cab, back seat: Directly behind the console is a trauma kit in a small Maxpedition sling pack, geared more towards gunshot wounds with 3-4 hemostatic bandages, packages of gauze, Ace bandages, 3-4 tourniquets, a couple chest seals, and a mouth guard for mouth to mouth so I don't get spit from a vaccinated person in my mouth. There's a few other odds and ends in there, but I'm too lazy to go out and inventory it.

Behind the back seat is an aircraft flash panel and an itchy army wool blanket. I don't know why I think I'll ever feel the need to signal overhead aircraft, but if the situation arises, I'm ready.

In the floorboard shoved under the front seats is a pair of knee guards, a lightweight rain jacket, a pair of cold weather gloves, and a pair of leather work gloves. Attached by a cable to and situated under the rear seat is a lockbox for a handgun, which I've never used. Also under the back seat are a couple MRE meals that I probably need to replace by now.

Attached to the back of both the driver's and passenger's seats are aprons that hold an AR in the upright position. My AR goes in the passenger's side and his goes on my side for easier access. In the pockets of each of them are hearing protection headsets for the driver and passenger.

Now, all that's just for local driving. If I'm traveling more than a couple days' walk home, I'll toss in my old getting-lost-in-the-mountains pack which has everything I need to live on for damned near a week - that includes extra clothing, small stove, dehydrated food, shelter, space blankets, you name it.

That's rare though, I seldom venture more than 30-40 miles from home anymore and that's maybe every 7-10 days when we go visit Lisa's parents.

Just like every other packrat, I've always maintained that it's better to have and not need than to need and not have.

Gotta justify all that shit somehow, right?